The Power of Recording Sets and Creating Digital Legacies (we remembered to fist bump!) - Ep #20

Hey beat-mixers and rhythm aficionados, Ilya here, alongside my partner in beats, Nino. Ever wondered how recording your DJ sets could skyrocket your career? We're here to tell you it's not just a trivial pursuit. This episode cracks open the vault on the transformative benefits of capturing your live sessions. From bolstering your online presence to refining your mixing prowess, we share our own cringe-worthy moments and triumphs, proving that a recorded mix is a treasure trove for growth and opportunities. 

Now, imagine a digital fortress carrying the echoes of your sickest beats and most memorable gigs. That's what we're building! Join us as we discuss the ease of creating personal websites and the importance of immortalizing your performances in this digital realm. Clients love reliving those magical moments, and what better way to secure a place in their hearts (and future bookings) than sharing a piece of that joy? Let's not forget, this online space isn't just for today—it’s a legacy for the beat-droppers of tomorrow.

Wrapping up our 20th episode—yes, we’ve hit two full decades of episodes—we've got wedding day laughs, vendor mealtime shenanigans, and serious talk on protecting your DJ rep with a little help from video evidence. Self-advocacy is the name of the game when unfair accusations fly, and we’re all about keeping that DJ honor intact. So, grab your headphones, and let's celebrate this milestone as we keep you armed and ready to amplify your DJ career. Catch you on the flip side!

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:18

Welcome back to another episode of the Clever DJ with Ilya and Nino.

Speaker 2: 0:23

Oh wait, hold on.

Speaker 1: 0:27

Yeah, we forgot to do that that we forgot to fist bump. Uh, I think a couple of the episodes we got to go back and watch I have a feeling we did, but it's okay, we'll make up for it, ready, ready one more. Yes, uh, those those who just listened to us on Spotify, apple Music, whichever platform you chose. We're also on YouTube. You can watch us Actually, you can watch the video, so I think it's worth it.

Speaker 2: 0:56

I think it's interesting.

Speaker 1: 0:58

I used to listen to a lot of podcasts and when they said that that they're also on video at first I was surprised when the podcast just became a thing oh you're a video dude? No way, yeah, that makes more sense because I couldn't understand certain things he was talking about and I was like, nah, I'm not gonna watch it. And then I watched it and it was actually pretty worth it.

Speaker 2: 1:18

So it was right, so it'll be worth it. If you guys watch, it would be really worth it trust me.

Speaker 1: 1:24

Yes, so much more work to do this on video it is so much more work.

Speaker 2: 1:28

It would have been so much easier if we just kept it a podcast so much easier if it was just audio we're doing it for you guys right there, guys pointing at the camera. So this is episode number 20. Right now. Number 20, number 20, we're in All right.

Speaker 1: 1:44

So the benefits of recording the video and audio of your set At your events, at your events. Yes or even if it's not at your events, but strictly talking about your events for this episode yes, sir, so many benefits. We wrote so much, but there's so much more. It's just that you'll get the idea right. We're trying to keep these episodes kind of semi-long, like not too long.

Speaker 2: 2:21

Not too long, so you guys stay engaged.

Speaker 1: 2:24

Yeah, because if it's too long you might tune out right. Not too long, so you know you guys stay engaged. Yeah, because if it's too long you might tune out right. So we want to make it interesting but not keep you here forever. If you guys want longer episodes, let us know. But the first reason to create footage for yourself is it's promotion. To create footage for yourself is it's promotion. It's promotional footage for your social media, for your YouTube gig, vlog, instagram, your website, which honestly helps you get more gigs, gives you credibility when a client asks you how do you DJ, what's your style, and they're more likely to hire you again or hire you to begin with.

Speaker 2: 3:10

actually, yeah, because they can see your style and how you rock a crowd right. So it's right there. The proof is in the pudding. You can't stray away from it, man.

Speaker 1: 3:20

Yes, now, an obvious benefit of recording your audio would be that you could upload your live mixes online, which, again, the client can hear. But now it's a clean recording of just the audio straight from the controller or your system, right, yeah, depending on how you record it, of course, but and then? And you can improve on those mixes too. You know, when I just started, yeah, and I thought you know you gotta listen to this mix, it's so fire yeah yeah, I said it's so fire, and then you listen to it fire, emoji fire

Speaker 1: 3:53

emoji uh, fire truck emoji, fire truck and um, and listen to that I was like, oh wow, did I send it? Did it already send? Yeah, it already sent. Never mind, it's not so fire, it's not so fire. And there were parts that I guess made me believe that because they were actually good. But then I there were parts that I did not notice how not even bad, mediocre they were yeah.

Speaker 2: 4:22

But when you're doing it right at the moment, you think, oh my gosh, this is so good, it sounds good. But when it's, the proof is in the pudding and you listen to it, you listen back to it, you're recording and it's like, oh, it wasn't that clean, or doesn't?

Speaker 1: 4:34

yeah, could have been a lot better yeah, so you could definitely um improve so much, even as a pro. As a pro, you think you do everything right, but uh yeah, you you can almost forget that you could probably still get better you always can get better.

Speaker 2: 4:57

Yeah, when you listen back to your, your, your recordings, it'll it'll just give you a wake-up call a lot of times, right? So it's always a benefit to to record your mixes, whether it be live or, um, especially live yeah, like how you execute certain transitions, uh live, as opposed to practicing at home.

Speaker 2: 5:15

Yeah, so if you're doing like word plays or like tone plays and stuff, and you're practicing at home, of course. Uh, you do it multiple times, hundreds of times, and but when you actually get to a gig, that's when the nerves kick in. So you're most likely going to make a mistake when you're going to do it live. But, uh, you get to see it live on on camera how you did, how you, how the people reacted to it. Too right if it made a big impact on the crowd.

Speaker 1: 5:42

You don't really have more than one shot at certain things right or at anything really yeah. At home you're like ah.

Speaker 2: 5:49

Yeah, you can redo it again, redo it again Redo, redo, redo.

Speaker 1: 5:53

Redo. Oh, every time I try to imitate that rewinding sound. I remember what she did at that wedding.

Speaker 2: 6:02

What did they do?

Speaker 1: 6:08

The redo when they were saying their vows oh shoot you gotta bring this back again.

Speaker 2: 6:11

This hurts man it was so funny, oh, funny for you. This is exactly what I said. I will always love you.

Speaker 1: 6:20

Oh my god, I have not heard a crowd laugh with the dj like that.

Speaker 2: 6:26

That was the worst ever, but they, they loved it.

Speaker 1: 6:30

They made the wedding better it did, because they were chill they were so chill, they were so happy.

Speaker 2: 6:35

It was a happy moment, right they were so into it.

Speaker 1: 6:38

I think the way you looked made people realize there was a mistake just like how you didn't mean to do that. I was looks, I looked so embarrassed and I think they laughed at that too, and it was I. I could tell they like you, we were pretty close to them. They could yeah, they could see your reaction. They could see me looking and she's like oh, live it yeah, man, you did this.

Speaker 2: 6:59

I can't believe he did that. Look at the look at his face right now. Oh man, geez, okay, let's move on.

Speaker 1: 7:07

Let's move on. What's the next one? I I lost myself in a list. Uh oh, gives you an advantage over djs and or dj companies that don't post videos online of of their events. We are in the digital age. You like to say that, yeah?

Speaker 2: 7:24

we are in digital age and everyone who is anybody is on social media nowadays, so you can't escape it. If you want to be like the best, if you want to excel in anything, get more gigs you have to be posting. And you want to get popular? The goal is to be popular, right, so you can get more gigs, you have to be posting. And you want to get popular, the goal is to be popular, right, so you can get more bigger gigs, so you have to be.

Speaker 1: 7:50

You know I'm 34 years old and back Nino is younger, by the way much younger yeah. Yeah, I remember reading a magazine or something when I was, I don't know, 16 or 14 years old or something like that. I forget when that was the first time Playboy?

Speaker 2: 8:14

No, not that one.

Speaker 1: 8:16

And it said that each person, or almost every person, like 20, 30 years from now, is going to have a website.

Speaker 2: 8:26

Yeah.

Speaker 1: 8:27

So they were very vague about that, but they said every person is going to have a website. Yeah, so they were very vague about that, but they said every person's going to have a website. Every person's going to have their own internet, like every person, or or close to every person.

Speaker 2: 8:36

Yeah, and I'm like no way, because back in facebook, instagram, because back in the day the websites website their grandparents have it they're like thousands and thousands of dollars, like Like. Our group had a website, we had somebody hosting it and just doing everything on there and we had paid them so much money. I can't believe it Nowadays. Templates.

Speaker 1: 9:00

You pay literally $30 a month. Freelance websites yeah, you can do it yourself.

Speaker 2: 9:06

Literally drag and drop and then you have a website. Yeah, you can do it yourself Literally drag and drop and then you have a website. Yeah, it's true, it was true.

Speaker 1: 9:13

It's just incredible. So do you really want to get rid of that kind of part of the market that could really benefit you and it's just so much fun to have too? I remember you wrote that, yes, there we go. That's actually the next point. Here You're documenting your work and you should be proud of what you do. You're leaving your legacy for your kids, grandkids, family, friends and relatives, especially when you upload it online for the whole world to see. It's just a beautiful kind of moment that you could always go back to.

Speaker 2: 9:53

Yeah, man, and you should be proud of it, man, because you work hard to build these events, to take videos of it, and it's nice to leave that legacy for your kids and people.

Speaker 1: 10:06

What's the next one? You can see and hear your mistakes. That's one of the main reasons you always told me to record myself. You didn't need to tell me I like to record myself anyway.

Speaker 2: 10:17

This guy loves recording everything.

Speaker 1: 10:20

Everything.

Speaker 2: 10:20

Everything like our conversations Well when we just started.

Speaker 1: 10:27

It was so important because we would forget, uh, what we spoke about and and how we were going to execute certain things for the podcast the podcast.

Speaker 1: 10:35

Yes, yes, we were talking like trying to build it and what we're going to do, and I would record like the entire meeting, like we'd have meetings and talking about and learning what equipment to get and everything. So I would record those moments and those moments. And then you would be like what did we say we're going to get on Amazon? He said, don't worry about it, I know that was on the evening of that first. Yeah, one of the first meetings. Yes, I can find it and I found it. And for the same reason, I would also record my gigs because I knew that there was something to come back to.

Speaker 1: 11:10

For some reason, because this is important and I want to be able to watch it when I'm comfortable. Yes, and I don't have to analyze what happened, kind of from memory, I can actually see what happened and you can uh just uh watch and view your mistakes.

Speaker 2: 11:32

You can literally see how people react to your sets. Now, right, you can see that if you have it pointed to the dance floor, you can see how they have moved and reacted, if you could have made the night better, if you could have made them dance harder, or you could have made the songs a little bit longer or shorten them, just to, you know, just to improve. Right, you, you want to take note of that stuff. The little details make a make a big difference yeah, in gigs.

Speaker 1: 11:59

So it's, it's very important. For example, one of the biggest uh reasons for me would be the fact that people didn't dance yeah and for some reason, at some point they all started dancing and then they left again, and then they came back and then they never left it after that and I'm like what did I do right? Well, guess what, I can go back to that video you can and watch. Obviously I paid, I played the right music, that's number one. But what else did I do right? How? How did I transition?

Speaker 1: 12:29

What kind of transitions didn't work with them? What kind of genres worked with them right? What was their nationality? Is it always working for their nationality, right? Because in DJing it matters sometimes. You could be also very surprised. Some people from the same nationality may really not like certain music that usually that nationality likes, but normally from our experience, uh, if it worked for one, it will work for most of them. But yeah, there are exceptions with little yes, little exceptions, because we're all different after all.

Speaker 2: 13:04

Yeah, so it's just so many things you can compare right yeah, yeah, and you can learn a lot from watching your videos that way.

Speaker 1: 13:12

Yeah, so yeah and um, that's something I really like to do creating monta, a montage or like a video clip, uh, from your own point of view, and saying it to the client so they can remember and relive that night, right yeah, yeah, love doing that too.

Speaker 2: 13:31

It's a nice nice touch right, and a lot of uh clients have have mentioned in my reviews, in the five star reviews, that he gave these clips of the night and we can always relive it and go back to it and like, oh, it was such, it's a, it was a nice touch for him to do. He didn't have to do it. He's not, he doesn't have to do it, like djs don't need, they're not obligated to do it, but just him doing that is shows you know he's, he's, he cares stand out from the crowd, stand out for from your fellow djs and bring in something new to the table right, that's what it's all about, man, because djs are all.

Speaker 2: 14:08

We're all dime dozen. There's tons of us, right? Does we need to stand out from each other?

Speaker 1: 14:13

in a way that doesn't sell you in a bad way. I mean to take a video you need. You need to do it anyway. You might as well utilize that all that effort and get a returning client or get an amazing five-star review, right yeah, and that's that's the thing.

Speaker 2: 14:28

They appreciate it so much that they might leave you a good tip and the the ultimate is to get that five-star review. I'd rather get the five-star five-star review than a tip. It doesn't even matter how much it is. Well if it was like a grand and then maybe it would, but yeah, usually usually the sometimes the client will even ask do you want a tip or do you want a review? I'm like, can I get both? I wish I could say that, but no, I can't. I always, usually say, oh, I'd love to review.

Speaker 1: 14:56

Somebody asked you if you prefer yeah, yeah, really.

Speaker 2: 14:59

I'm like, why couldn't you just give me both?

Speaker 1: 15:01

I would never ask someone that I would just not bring up the money. Yeah well, up the money, yeah well yeah, they they, they brought it up for some reason.

Speaker 1: 15:13

So I find, being in this industry it makes it very hard for me not to tip a dj, or I was a waiter, I was a bartender, because we are in the service industry, I I can't walk up to one of to a waiter or bartender and thank them without living leaving a tip, or even not walking up to them, just leaving it at a table right Wherever they served me. So, yeah, djs as well, but again, not everyone understands that. No, no. And you?

Speaker 1: 15:42

I like what you wrote here that you, it makes you more, it gets you to be more comfortable being in front of the camera, talking to the camera, it's a confidence boost and it just helps you be more personable and enhances your mc skills in a way? Yeah, because now you're kind of performing for the camera as well, right? Yeah, you're thinking what you look like, how you move, right. Everything is more important now. It's being recorded.

Speaker 2: 16:11

Exactly, and you're more aware of that because you're taking the video right Of yourself.

Speaker 1: 16:16

I find it much tougher when it's just behind me and I know it's recording 24 seven. It's just recording the entire gig. What do you mean?

Speaker 2: 16:23

tougher, like, for example Because you can't control it.

Speaker 1: 16:33

No, like, if I'm recording myself, then at that moment it's natural for me. I've been recording myself all the time but if it's just behind me, I might I may forget about it well, that's the whole point, man.

Speaker 2: 16:40

That's the whole point right.

Speaker 1: 16:41

So?

Speaker 2: 16:41

so that's when the truth comes out, yes, that's when you're not faking anymore, because, oh, you know, you're on camera you're real it's everything's often like oh, is it still recording and it's like one hour 57 minutes it got everything, yeah, so it's nice to look back at it, right the footage, especially when something funny happens on the dance floor. Yes, you, you make you do something funny, are you?

Speaker 1: 17:04

yeah, like, for this is a very important one. I remember I mentioned this to watch your mannerisms yeah, this is yours. Yeah, uh and uh. The way you react and respond to clients requests and how you deal with how you deal with them, uh, how you look, uh, from the outside yeah, because literally you don't know how you you look like until you see it on camera right. Like are your eyes glued to the screen and you're like, just like see it on camera.

Speaker 2: 17:29

Like are your eyes glued to the screen and you're just like DJing looking at the laptop, yeah, if you're not engaging with the crowd, which you should always do, and if they're actually walking up to you to ask for something and you're just kind of not not on purpose brushing them off.

Speaker 1: 17:44

Brushing them off or because you're too busy talking to them but kind of nodding away and not really paying attention to them. You can see their reaction yes, and like yes, okay, buddy what's wrong with this guy?

Speaker 1: 17:55

walk away um, or I saw that often when, when, and, and it's not because I did I did something wrong. Well, in their eyes I did. But let's say, if I refuse to play a certain song, or if I said I'll play later, you get one of those like did you did? You just did. You see what you just told me?

Speaker 1: 18:15

oh yeah, what you just said like and they're pointing and stuff, they're telling you, normally I don't, I don't see that, right, yeah, so let's say it was the um, the someone from someone from the wedding party or the birthday girl or something, right, I can literally go back to that moment and see, oh shoot, they said that. And then I can message them later and say something like hey, I hope everything was good, sorry if I didn't play all of your requests, or something like that. And they'll be like oh wow, he remembers it. He remembers that part when he came up and asked for that song and he didn't play it Normally. He remembers that part when he came up and asked for that song and he didn't play it. Normally it wouldn't happen with the main party of the event, but it could, especially when you're not a pro. Yeah, yeah, at least you can save yourself by noticing it. That's true, that's true.

Speaker 1: 19:05

Yeah, finding a way to correct that. Yeah, what else did we say here? So, so, yeah, if you eat too much snack or or drink I love eating at an event- this guy literally feeds me at events, because I'm djing and he's like uh video and I'm supporting you right, I know I know late night the late night is fire.

Speaker 2: 19:23

Late night is fire sometimes it's poutine and like sliders.

Speaker 1: 19:27

I'm like, oh my gosh burgers always, you know, I'll sell you for one hit the spot and I can't say no. I can't say no and and then I don't know. Oh, you'll be thirsty. Here's a coke, here's.

Speaker 2: 19:39

Here's how it all started um, yeah, and if you, if you drink way too much and think that you're normal, that that it doesn't affect you, you can really see how you react on camera.

Speaker 1: 19:52

So you can't hide it Exactly and you know what. One more thing what You're drinking, you're eating, you're there for hours. You're going to have to go to the bathroom. Let's say you can't at a certain moment. Now you have to DJ like that. Now it's going to affect your performance, you're squirming.

Speaker 2: 20:14

I've done this before, let's do this.

Speaker 1: 20:17

Oh, I never in my life seen anyone. Okay, I don't actually watch him, but I never in my life noticed somebody going to the bathroom and coming back so fast.

Speaker 2: 20:28

Bro, before I come out and go inside, my zipper is already down bro, and I pull it out already.

Speaker 1: 20:35

I feel like you know those doors. When you push the door and it slowly closes, I feel before it closes he's already opening the door.

Speaker 2: 20:42

Oh there, you're done. It's like a cartoon, and I'm like when did you?

Speaker 1: 20:48

And before I even told him that I started counting, it's like no way. Am I just not noticing how long it takes, or is he actually coming back too fast? Like what is he doing? Do you notice that's?

Speaker 2: 21:00

the same way how I eat too, you inhale your food.

Speaker 1: 21:04

you inhale your food. There's a steak. That's not good for you. You shouldn't be doing that.

Speaker 2: 21:08

Man, I eat like a DJ man. I have no time. I'm like, okay, I have to do something, Just in case I have to inhale it fast.

Speaker 1: 21:16

Can I just say something about that? This should be its own episode, but I honestly think contractors like I'm not even going to start from DJs- djs, I know what you're gonna say videographers, photographers, um anyone who needs to, not, let's say, the florists, I mean. They do their work and that's before. Yeah, but anyone who actually has to work throughout the wedding like videographers photographers, like during the wedding djs.

Speaker 1: 21:42

Uh, if there's like a separate, a separate mc a band, they need to be served first. So I wouldn't say absolutely first. So first you get the wedding party, so you get the the of course the couple, the bride and groom or bride and bride, groom and groom whoever, yes, whatever, whatever works for them. And then their parents, the, and then, and then uh, you know, their siblings, and and then us.

Speaker 1: 22:07

Well, and then the oh, the bridal party, yeah, the bridal party, yeah, and then us, and then us. We're not supposed to wait for 160 people or 200 people to get served and then we get served and the food remains on the table and then they're doing speeches. I would never serve In my events. I always serve them first and I make sure that my waiters and bartenders are well taken care of and they have the breaks they need and everything. I make sure that I'm on top of it.

Speaker 2: 22:36

You know they're actually changing that. Now there's a couple of venues that have caught on and have done that. They've served us first.

Speaker 1: 22:44

I'm like wow, that's great I.

Speaker 2: 22:45

You were just talking about it to me a few days before and I was like yo, they're actually serving us first. I mean I texted you too right, yeah, yeah, why.

Speaker 1: 22:54

Why wouldn't you? Why wouldn't you do that? It makes sense, makes absolute sense. I don't know who thought about not serving, uh, the contractors first. It just like they're not. They're hungry, they're not gonna work as well. Oh, they're professionals. Sure, they're hungry, they're not going to work as well. Oh, they're professionals. Sure, they're human beings, though. They've been there for 6 to 12 hours already at some point. So that's why we are grown-ups and we make sure we bring a protein bar or something. I just think it's etiquette. Tell me if I'm wrong. I don't know, I just think it's etiquette, right. I mean, tell me if I'm wrong. Okay, I don't think so, though, but fine, um, and then I really like that you put this in. I didn't think about that.

Speaker 1: 23:36

I know, being the one who videotapes everything.

Speaker 2: 23:39

You go ahead and read that well, for legality purposes, let's say for example, let's say at the end of the event, your client or your couple um accuses you of not providing them a service. Like, say you? They said, um, you didn't use uplights, we don't, we didn't see it like right, and since you took video of the night, you can actually show them um proof that you did. Then you're, you're scot-free, yeah, if, if it goes to court, they have nothing.

Speaker 1: 24:11

They can't, they can't right, yeah, so if it's like a big event and they're claiming that something wasn't done, or hey, you didn't have the microphones, weren't wireless, um, yeah, or something, something, the things you I'm we're not going to mention names and stuff like that for obvious purposes speaking of legalities, yeah, but the things that you told me, yeah, the reasons why somebody didn't want to pay, and I'm like no way that actually happened.

Speaker 2: 24:40

Yeah, man, it does, it does Stuff they're making up just to get out of paying.

Speaker 1: 24:44

Yeah, wow, it's terrible, you know, and it's not like it's my first business. I've done other stuff and I never heard of stuff like that. People really don't respect DJs. Sometimes they think it's oh, it's too expensive or whatever, or they didn't do what they were supposed to do. So you always have to look out for yourself.

Speaker 2: 25:01

Yeah, so by recording it right, Recording the event.

Speaker 1: 25:05

Yeah. So I personally never experienced that Somebody saying I didn't do something. But I've also been doing this a lot less than you, so it's just something that could happen. But it's definitely not the first reason to record it. The first reason is for you to be able to improve on your performance and on your mannerism and the way you look on camera and everything and just you know your confidence and stuff and and to have that, again, it's not just video. We're stressing that you should also record the actual audio of your mix so this way you can actually use it and then for promotional reasons right, yeah, it's big man, get online.

Speaker 2: 25:54

Everybody needs to be online. It's the wave. Yes, that's about it, man.

Speaker 1: 26:00

That's about it, episode number 20 in the books yes, number 20. Yeah, we made it.

Speaker 2: 26:07

See you guys soon.

Speaker 1: 26:10

See you soon.