If you are passionate about music and love entertaining the crowd by playing and mixing music tracks, Disc Jockeying could be a career option worth pursuing. Once considered as just a fad in India, it slowly staked its claim as a viable career with multiple options and good money to make.
A Disc Jockey (DJ) is one who has a great taste and knowledge of music and makes a career out of these interests. In the early days, the gramophone records were called discs and hence the term “disc jockey”. DJs create music for an event or a radio audience by combining various genres and tracks through a variety of equipment like turntables, mixers, graphic equalisers, tape decks and several other sophisticated sound processers. They may work alone or with other music professionals, Master of Ceremonies, and even other DJs, depending on the event.
There are mainly two types of DJs – those who work for the radio/ FM channels (radio DJs- popularly known as RJs) and those who work at clubs and perform for a live audience at events (club DJs.)
Club DJs generally have a more challenging task. The performance depends mostly on the personality and music choices of the DJ behind the console and how he connects with those on the dance floor. Most event DJs are expected to provide the equipment and music lists.
Eligibility criteria:
You need to understand music, have a passion for it, and understand the technical aspects and intricacies of rhythms. While a graduate’s degree may be a minimum requirement at some places, mostly its your experience of music that counts. Since a deejay is more a music artist, it’s his/her personal traits that count.
These are the DJs who have chosen this profession based on their in-born talent and flair for music. Most of them are from a background where they have acquired a liking for this profession during their earlier days at school or college. Then there are some who have learnt the ropes practically by working as interns in FM Radio channels. A degree in Communications or Journalism is an added advantage. Even a music degree could be fetching.
Skills required:
You should have an ear for music, be well versed with cueing, equalization and audio-mixing, beat-matching, scratching and beat juggling. An aspiring DJ must also have an outgoing personality, ability to mix with people and know their mood. He/She must be well-versed with the music in vogue i.e. trending songs/music, how to make them trendy by mixing them.
DJ courses:
- Pro DJ
- DJ Training and Development course
- Digital Live DJ’ing course
- Audio Engineering course
Institutes offering courses:
- I Love Music Academy, Gurgaon
- Electronyk Academy, Delhi
- Jazzy Joe, Delhi
- Skratchlab DJ Academy, Chennai
- Global DJ Music Production & DJ Training Academy, Mumbai
Salary:
Most DJs are self-employed artists or work on freelance contracts. Depending on your credentials and experience, a stint at an event can earn a DJ anything between Rs.30,000 – Rs 70,000 per night. There also several DJs who are employed full-time in the broadcast and hospitality industry. Salaries can vary between Rs 3 lakh – Rs 8 lakh per annum, depending on experience and popularity.
