And now you too want to become a DJ?

Outide Looking In
D E Wasake

A few years ago in 2002, my mother threw me into the deep end of this business. She bought DJ equipment and said there boys "go play music". I had to replace my knowledge of Kirk Franklin and Fred Hammond with Snoop Doggy Dogg, Evanescence and Ziggy Dee. She was no DJ herself and so of course didn't buy us the full set of equipment and so learning the hard way; "gwe DJ oli musilu! osobola otya oku playinga "Eggali Ekozzeko?" I set out my simple observations.

First the CONS OF COURSE

1. The sector is over saturated.
Every tom, dick and Sebanenya who thinks playing music in the night is the most sure way of getting laid wants to become a DJ... and yet they forget every mother's advice to their well brought up daughter; "Stay away from DJs!" But that's not the point. Every person I know has at least 3 DJs in their phone book(that's an exaggeration). Every mall in kampala has a DJ(that's another exaggeration) and CD burning place in the corner, yes right under the steps where you have to bend your head to speak to the owner(knowing Luganda is key here). To succeed in this sector, you must develop yourself a niche. One of the persons I know who first started working with me in my mum's company now focusses only on corporate functions. He is doing pretty well, he dropped out of his Architecture degree to pursue this. He has no regrets I believe.

2. Your family/personal life will suffer The life of a DJ or of an owner is not necessarily a glorifying one as often you will be required to provide the entertainment into the wee hours of the morning and in many cases rural areas(I once played music in a banana plantation) and the more inebriated your patrons become, the longer they expect you to play music. A DJ is usually the first to arrive and the last to leave and as such if you are say a typical family person and are to play at a typical function which say starts at 7pm, you will be required to arrive at least 3 hours before(technical glitches can take impossibly long to fix) and you will have to leave when the last guest cannot stand up.

3. Start up capital and equipment In order to differentiate yourself from the every Tom, Dick and Mukasa, you will need to invest in top of the range equipment. There is no compromise here as you have not incurred the wrath of a client who paid you only to give them a Microphone that cannot go beyond 100 yards and is critical at that Kwanjula. I therefore summarise the costs here of decent brands taken primarily from this site; The total cost is about Shs. 24m. and comprises of the following

CD player(CDJ 900): Shs 8m, Mixer(behringer): 850k. Flight case(road ready): 729k. Amplifier (QSC): 1.7m. Crossover (DBX): 810k. Speakers-tops (4 pairs, Mackie): 4.4m. Speakers-Bass bins(wharfdale titan): 3.6m.Speaker stands(2 pairs): 490k. Microphone (pair of shure wireless): 1.6m. Computer system: 1.1m and cables: 450k.

These costs do not of course include the cost of the music which will be a continous expense but of course depending on your ethics will range from buying original CDS or legal downloads to bootlegs and a youtube converter programme.

I have also excluded the cost of transport as you will usually need a van or pick up. It is perhaps more cost efficient to however hire unless the vehicle is used for alternative uses during the week as most DJ gigs are over a weekend.

4. Seasonality/Long period for return on capital
As the typical DJ gig is going to be on weekends, it is subject to the seasonality factor i.e business is not daily or regular and so unless you are very successful or have a residency(ie are playing at a venue on a fixed basis) you will need to have many gigs to recover your investment (of Shs 24m) as in 3 above. Assuming a client pays you 350k per function and you have a function every 2 weeks i.e twice a month, and costs of say 150k (transport, DJ fees and generator hire), you will retain about 200k per function which works out at 400k a month. You will at this rate get a return on your capital in 60 months, which is about 5 years.

5. You must know your music. Alot of it.
Music is such a private passion that unless you are a mind reader it is difficult to sometimes know what people want. A successful DJ is one who can "read the crowd" and this is a combination of knowing what type of crowd you have, knowing the popular hits and also the classics and of course a mix of luck and genius. Fail at this and you have failed at the fundamentals (in addition to the 4 above). In knowing your music it goes without saying that you must know how to use your equipment well. Nothing annoys clients more than a DJ who can't mix!

6. Skills are not transferrable How do you replace a good DJ? or replicate his skill when say you consider expansion of the business? Apprenticeship can partially solve this problem though.

AND NOW THE PROS

1. Entertainment is big business with no saturation limit
Music is a passion and as a good DJ you can command fees way in excess of the market rate. So know your music/niche and you will have the crowd eating out of your hands. Tied to this, whilst the "market" is saturated in reality there is no limit to how many DJs there can be as for almost every aspect of Ugandan life music is central.

2. Alternative uses
Good quality equipment serves as a Public Address(PA) System and with loads of seminars and conferences and the like there is a good opportunity to make money say during the week without the stress of having to play music. This should reduce the "seasonality issue" mentioned amongst the cons.

3. Cash business
This is a business which primarily deals in cash. Payment for services is often in advance and in form of cash and as such debts are generally avoided.


Final word There is an enormous market out there and the DJ who can establish a niche coupled with some good marketing so as to stand out from all the "noise" will do well and they can quickly re- coup their expenses. It is however critical to invest in good equipment being played by a good DJ. Of course now you just need to go out there to find the best DJ. This site has some pointers and this newspaper article lists several names.


P.S
If you would like to work with me on this business series or would like me to feature your article in the same format above, please dont hesitate to email me at: dewasake@gmail.com.


And now the disclaimer: While I have taken steps to research this information as well as based on my experience, you should not rely on the information given here to base your investment decisions. You should seek business advice from a professional knowledgeable of your specific circumstances. I shall therefore not be held responsible for any loss you may incur when acting on this information.