Are you having a writers block? Are you not getting many gigs as usual? The Gigstarter Team and your fellow musicians are here to save the day! Over the last few months, we gathered some useful tips from our very own musicians and DJs and highlighted them for you in this article. Keep reading to hear from our DJs and musicians!
The best tips from our DJs
Dj Mini Maal was crowned our DJ of the Year 2021. We interviewed him after his glorious victory to get to know him better. Do you also want to know more about this techno / house DJ from Belgium? You can read our interview here.
"Always make your music for yourself. Your real self is the best you have to offer... and sell it!"
Mini Maal while giving an amazing set
DJ Maestro is one of the pioneers of jazz DJs, we were honoured to interview him a while ago. We even managed to get him to share an interesting tip for his fellow musicians on Gigstarter. Read all about it here.
"Follow your own course and make your own music. I was lucky that you could become famous with a compilation LP or mix album. Nowadays this is hardly ever done. You really have to make your own music, eventually you will be booked for something unique. I also see making remixes as making your own music".
Maestro and his prized collection of vinyls
The next allrounder with dance and latin influences is DJ BatuCada43, read more about him in this interview.
"If you have an idea, work it out immediately. I really wanted to do a livestream in the Roosendaal football stadium. I sent an e-mail straight away and didn't think I would get a reply. But I managed to perform there. Try not to think too big, start small and search locally and build this up slowly. I live by the saying: you never know until you ask!"
Batucadu43 during one of his sets
DJ AdV is one of the DJs with the most booking on Gigstarter. He recently passed 100 verified bookings, round of applause for DJ AdV!
"Stick to yourself and try to stand out from other DJs. We are all fishing in a big pond. Tip for the novice DJs organize your own parties. If you only post remix on a platform you will not get there is my experience".
One of our most booked DJs, DJ AdV
The finest tips from our musicians
Espíritus del Sol is one of the most successful Spanish artists on our platform. Recently, They gave us an interview where they provided some tips to musicians who are starting on the platform and are eager to perform more often.
"There are a couple of things that have worked for me and that I would suggest to any musician on Gigstarter. Firstly, It is essential to understand the importance of reviews. We realized that positive reviews of past concerts we performed have improved our position on the platform and more people want to hire us. We always try to give the best show to our audience and encourage them to leave a review on the platform as this would multiply the chances of getting more gigs. Secondly, Content such as videos and photos you upload on the platform must be good. Of course, what matters the most is your music and your artistic concept. But you need to have good content to signal quality to people. That way, people can gain a good idea of what your project is all about. Too often, artists underestimate the importance of generating high-quality content, leading them to miss valuable opportunities".
Espíritus del Sol
Dion Cooper is definitely a rising star as we discussed in this interview. Dion has worked with multiple big Dutch artists and even toured and wrote songs with Duncan Laurence, Eurovision 2019 winner. This tip is definitely one to remember!
"First thing that comes to mind is that basically everything is a people business. People like to do business with people they like. I make it a sport to respond in a fun and enthusiastic way and preferably to call or facetime whenever possible. What I often do is in my messages a kind of, that they have the idea of 'oh here we do nothing to do this dude is professional' that I indicate 'normally I do this and this and I suggest this way to do, normally this works very well and I would recommend that we look at it, we can always keep a kind of slack and improvise' and very much put to them firstly what fun that they do and fat that I may be part of it and how do we fill it so that you find it totally amazing. I often get a message back with thanks for your enthusiastic message. So that's a big thing so just being nice and human actually".
Dion Cooper for one of his shoots
If you are from the Netherlands, you may know The Billy Joel Experience from varies tv shows for musicians and tribute bands. The pleasure was all ours to interview Alexander the leading man of the band. Alexander's tip really reflects his honest and pure character.
"Always be honest, with yourself but also with your audience. Feel what you are doing and don't try to fake it".
Alexander behind his piano
A while ago you may have seen our article about the very first Gigstarter artists hitting over 100 official bookings. Of course we couldn't leave this band out of the top of the tips! Read more about from The Rivals and their success here while Robin of the band shares a precious tip we can all learn from.
"I think content is very important and also the look of your photos. That's something that Jeff always corrects us on, the look of the energy in the photos. We may be a party band, but you have to look carefully at what you want to project. We have had some super cool photos in the past, where you can't really see that there is a party going on, but where we were standing around with a guitar in our hands, looking super cool. We thought it was fun, but will you get bookings because of it? We don't think so. It is much more important that you radiate what your goal is. It is better to have blurry pictures where you see a really big party where the beer flies through the air. People will get the feeling that if they book our band, they will really have a great party. Also contact the booker, especially if they still have a hangover from the day before, and send the review request right away. Because especially with a review request, almost all of them respond to it and that's really important".
The Rivals rocking the stage
Which tip spoke the most to you? Or do you maybe have a great tip yourself you would like to share? Let us know!
Related blogs on Gigstarter:
