After reading this article over at 99% and watching the video below I started thinking about motivating factors to be a better DJ. Â As you build skill, reputation, and experience there’s no doubt that you will be able to demand a higher payrate as you go along. Â But what does that mean? Will you perform better for a higher amount than you would for a lower amount?
I agree with what has been expressed in the article and the video (and the theory has quite a bit of merit to it as it’s based on multiple research studies). Â I have been paid large sums of money for some of my gigs and I don’t necessarily believe they were my best shows. Â So for me personally, money isn’t much of a motivator. Â I do think you can use your payrate to judge your progress, but I think the progress you’re making is more important than the money you’re getting. Â Climbing the ranks of your scene and getting respect plus being at a higher skill level should be your indicators of success. Â Sure, we all like money, but money doesn’t drive you to be a better DJ, it just drives you to take more gigs (a lot of which you probably don’t really want anyway, right?)
So there you have it, money is not an indicator of skill level, nor will it guarantee a great performance.  This is another thing to think about when another DJ is willing to pay for less than you.  Doesn’t necessarily mean they are less skilled, and vice-versa.  Obviously tying this in to the issue of undercutting makes the topic a bit more controversial but still pretty much true in my eyes (needless to say I am internally conflicted now).
When I think about the things I’ve done in my career so far (travelling the world, winning some battles, getting notoriety as a producer), those are the things that push me to higher levels, not thinking about how much money I’ve made over the years. Â Read the 99% article and check the video below and then let me know what you think.
