How Negative Money Blocks Hold DJ/Producers Back From Upleveling In Dance Music
You want to earn more money as a DJ/producer in dance music but something is holding you back.
You’re not quite sure if that’s even possible for you because it’s difficult to make money and earn a living as a DJ/producer in the dance music industry - at least that’s what everyone says.
And since you haven’t been able uplevel in dance music so far, it must be true, right?
With this blog post, I want to invite you to have a look at your thinking and how you currently see money. It’s not about giving you tips on how to make or even manage your money but rather open up your perspective of what you THINK about money and why that subconsciously may get in the way of you upleveling your career as a DJ/producer in dance music so that you can get paid to play, by confidently asking for the fee you deserve and comfortably being able to negotiate fees in a way that is of the highest good for all parties involved.
Is it possible to make a living as a DJ/producer in dance music?
Yes!
There’s no clear career path laid out for you as it would be for a full time job working in IT or finance. But then again, when is it really with any type of job? Most people forge their own career path in some way.
The exciting thing is that you get to use this freedom to forge your own DJ career and adopt the perspective of being an entrepreneur as you DIY your way up in dance music.
But, there is no fixed set of rules and regulations when it comes to getting paid to play. Nor to have benefits like paid vacation days, a health care package, and so on.
So when you are not yet in a position where you have representation who takes care of certain music business aspects, you can benefit from putting your entrepreneurial hat on. You gotta be resourceful, smart, driven and ensure that you know how to keep yourself motivated as you build out your career and life around electronic music. I believe it’s a healthy attitude to have even if you have a team around you.
With that said, there is something you must always keep in mind whenever anybody is asking you to play a DJ gig.
Employment is a transaction:
You offer your time, effort, and skills
You receive money as a compensation for that
Not getting paid or being underpaid for a DJ gig impacts every aspect of your life. What is lacking in one area of your life can overflow into another because everything is linked. As a DJ/producer, you are more than just the sum of your parts. You are a human being who wants to support yourself and/or take care of others.
Of course, it is 1 thing to intentionally support a venue, brand, organization or event from a friend or acquaintance. If that feels good to you and that has been agreed upon in a way that is of the highest good for all parties involved.
But, if you have negative beliefs about money, these money blocks may hold you back from upleveling as a DJ/producer in dance music.
I’ve seen first hand through working with my clients that doing the mindset work to overcome that is totally possible to a point where you can book several DJ gigs even in times of COVID (true story).
Many subscribe to the myths that artists are poor, whenever you start out you have to do things for free because you don't have “that” reputation yet, it’s difficult to make money and make a living in this industry, and so on.
“If you recognise and perhaps even identify with this ‘poor artist’ perspective, then I’ve found it’s in your best interest - see what I did there, to learn how your thoughts and beliefs about money could potentially affect the progression of your DJ career in dance music because I imagine you want to get paid to play. ”
You are not doing this for the money in itself. It’s what the money's for. Money is a neutral thing that you exchange for the things you need and love. It puts a roof over your head and food on the table. It allows you to provide a way to create well-being for yourself and your loved ones. When that becomes hard, sacrifices are needed and dreams go unfulfilled.
Soon you find yourself working twice as hard in your day job because you think that’s what it takes and you lose touch with that glimpse you had of the life you could have in dance music.
Electronic music is in your soul and you wouldn’t know what else to do but somehow you seem to be doing very little of what you want to.
Over time, feelings of frustration, stress, anxiety and resentment might surface when you see others upleveling their DJ career in dance music. By the time you realize that you are absolutely nowhere near where you would want to be, you fear it might be too late!
A much-needed skill for DJ/producers who want to make a comfortable living for themselves doing what they love the most without feeling like someone is going to pull the rug from under them.
Once you’re clear on your money blocks you can become confident to ask for a fee that you deserve for a gig and feel comfortable negotiating a fee too!
What are money blocks?
Money blocks are negative beliefs about money - self-imposed limitations that keep you from upleveling your DJ/Producer career in dance music.
Like any other limiting belief, a negative money mindset keeps you small and in your zone of comfort.
It’s interesting to note that these money blocks show up at any level in your career as a DJ/producer in dance music - whether your DJ bookings are a side gig, earning a comfortable full time living as a DJ/producer or you’re an electronic cash king, as soon as you want to level up on the earning scale in dance music, you’ll hit money blocks because they are tied to what you believe is possible for yourself.
How do money blocks hold you back from progressing as a DJ/producer?
If you don’t believe you can get gigs, it seems harder to believe you can get paid to play.
A client of mine came to me because she wanted to promote herself more as a DJ but she kept going around in circles and felt like the world’s worst procrastinator. Through mindset work we were able to successfully identify what was holding her back. With my guidance, she made the mindset shifts needed in order to get confident about her next steps for getting gigs. She used her newfound energy to get better organised, stop procrastinating and get her own stuff done. As a plus, she was also able to help her kids become more organised by making little tweaks to the family schedule - making it more effective.
More importantly, she landed several Livestream DJ gigs on platforms with over 16K followers and a regular slot on an online radio station. She achieved all of that within a little over a month just as COVID had hit and nightlife was completely shut down by then. Knowing that no events were taking place, she still didn’t let that get in her way to promote herself more as a DJ and get DJ gigs because she believed she could do it 100%.
So in order for you to get paid to play, I’ve found it’s important to identify the thoughts you’re having around that and make sure those thoughts align with the desired outcome - which is get paid to play.
And you’ll also want to get clear on how much you would want to get paid, because if you don’t have that clarity, talking about and agreeing on a price can turn out to be a really confusing, uncomfortable and unpleasant experience.
I imagine you’re ready to be done with that because those situations only cause unnecessary stress and awkwardness that deep down you know can easily be avoided, but you’re just unsure how to do that. And as you can tell, having money blocks isn’t tied directly to money, but what you believe is possible for you.
“The positives and benefits of your goal to be paid to play have to be greater than staying where you are - going around in circles, so you know things will only change if you do. ”
Transforming your money mindset is one of the key things you’ll want to focus on when it comes to progressing as a DJ/producer so that you can take your DJ career to the next level - whatever that level looks like to you, and move the needle in dance music.
You can start right away with my free money mindset training for DJ/producers where you’ll learn to change your money talks so that you can get paid to play.
Getting clear on how money mindset is holding you back and creating a new set of beliefs around money will help you to take your DJ career to the next level so that you can get paid to play, by confidently asking for the fee you deserve and comfortably be able to negotiate fees in a way that is of the highest good for all parties involved.
Let’s continue the conversation!
What is 1 thing you took away from this blog and how will you put that insight into action starting now? Drop it below and in doing so, inspire others to follow in your footsteps!