Sign In:     

Forum: General Discussion

Topic: Monetary Tips @ Your Gigs - Page: 1

This part of topic is old and might contain outdated or incorrect information

Question for everyone...

When you are DJ'ing specifically @ a Bar/Lounge/Club and someone comes up to you to request a song and puts a $5 bill down while they ask for it. Do you guys take it? This has been happening to me more often lately and I never take their money. It's kind of a weird feeling because I don't like to be treated like a jukebox but will gladly honor requests that are reasonable (won't disrupt the general vibe or flow of my mixing).

For private gigs like weddings, private parties I have been tipped at the end for a job well done by my clients which I feel is appropriate and I gladly take because it's usually a relatively substantial amount of money $25+

Just curious on what everyone's take is on this subject.
 
Posted Mon 14 Jan 08 @ 1:54 pm
nope never ever not even drinks

could be i'm in a different culture being in the uk but anyone dropping money to play a song would get told where to go, i would feel everytime they dropped money i would be obliged to play their track,

don't get me wrong i know there is a different outlook on this in the states and i ain't gonna knock it either its just the way things work over there, actually i'm starting to wonder how much i may have missed putting in my back pocket over the years, so if your comfortable with it why not, think of all the goodies you might be able to buy with these tips

Tayla



 
I've accepted tips for a job well done, even at bars. But I don't allow folks to pass a tip off in order to "buy" the next song in the set, especially if there are already other requests pending. It always seems to be that the request that is accompanied by money is also joined with the phrase: "can you play that next for me, buddy?" This is NOT a tip...It is a BRIBE!
 
I don't take it unless it's a song that I'm going to play anyway. But for the rest I don't take it and if they put it on the table then I put it on my keyboad so if they come back and say that I didn't play it then I can just pull it out say " I told you so ". But I always warn them ahead of time that I may not play it.
 
$5?lol
if they hold a $20 maybe he will get his song maybe not, most of the time I'll tell them to write it down on a $100bill and I'll see to it.
everithing has a price and if he wants me to mess up my program and get creative he has to pay for it.

some other stupid individuals come with their own cd, they will ask" can you play this cd for me?" and I will answer "sure I can, do you have $500 to spare?" so far just once somebody paid that and was a great song too.

never get drinks, I do not drink when I'm mixing and we are not drinking buddies anyway
 
Hah! I put out a jar with a label on it that says "REQUESTS $20". Keeps the pains in the ass away.
 
When I was working the clubs in Chicago, a city that lives on tipping {actually it lives on over tipping}, we had a fish bowl we kept in the booth. On the side of the bowl was printed these words. "Tips: We take requests, not demands." Worked like a charm, I used to leave with an extra 150USD to 200USD every night. And this was 15-20 years ago....
 
tayla wrote :
nope never ever not even drinks

could be i'm in a different culture being in the uk but anyone dropping money to play a song would get told where to go, i would feel everytime they dropped money i would be obliged to play their track,

don't get me wrong i know there is a different outlook on this in the states and i ain't gonna knock it either its just the way things work over there, actually i'm starting to wonder how much i may have missed putting in my back pocket over the years, so if your comfortable with it why not, think of all the goodies you might be able to buy with these tips

Tayla


probably enough to raise your taxes if you reported it all.

i tell people they can tip AFTER (also known as I F i play it) but then again i'm a music whore. for $100 bucks i'll play damn near anything if it'll fit in the format. and have turned down that much for really stupid crap - that tip isnt gonna help me any when i'm looking for a new job if play your song thats gonna clear out the club.
other than that they come in handy when you need smokes, breakfast, gas to get home, etc...

 
This brings back memories. For some reason, I always end up playing in clubs that are owned, controlled or connected to organized crime. This is scary because I am African American. I had an offer in 90 to play at this club in a part of Brooklyn, NY that was going through a lot of racial tension at the time. I'm from NJ, so did not know the club was in the middle of all this. I asked the owner if it was gonna be a problem with me playing there, and he assured me I would have no problems. I know this is a cliche, but if you said "Paulie, Vinnie, Joey, or Tony move your car" a quarter of the club would empty out. I am not kidding.

This is the kind of club where you "took request", with a smile on your face. The great part about this is, I made so much money it was not funny. The thing is, these guys always have to out do each other. Everything they do, is a competition. They just want to show who was the better earner, who had the most money. The thing is , not all of them were connected, some were just wannabes. If Vinnie gave me $10.00, Paulie would have to give $20.00, and Tony would have to give $50.00 and so on. There was a "Joey", that liked Frank Sinatra, and would send up a $100.00 bill for each request. I shit you not, I would stop the song I was playing immediately, and play his song. I would then say over the mic, "If you put as much money in the jukebox as Joey, you could get your request that fast". No one every tried to out do Joey.

The club I'm in now, is different. I'm like a prostitute, even they turn some guys down. It all depends on how you approach me, and the song. Some songs you will not get, no matter what.
 
I almost always except tips. Like Terry said about Chicago above, this is the city of overtipping. The only time I won't take money is if its a hot chick, I don't have the song, or its super cheesy. I won't usually play the song next unless I think it works and I am within the BPM range. I used to work at this wanna be dance club/sportsbar next to Wrigley Field (where the Chicago Cubs play) called Hi-Tops. I would always walk out of that joint with some extra money in my pocket. I'm fine with requests though where alot of DJ's are not. A little extra $$ on top and its coming sooner.
 
I never take tips and I never play a song that's requested unless I can make it fit into the night and then only if I think at least half the people in the place would enjoy it anyhow. You can't please everybody and you can't sit there and try to play to one or two people all night long!
 

I won't accept tips,

but free drinks, that's a different story.

Punter - " what are you drinking mate? "

Jimmy b - " Anything "

So unprofessional ain't it, LOL

Jimmy b



 
"anything"


as long as its a snakebite


 
i dont take tips, dont take requests, only accept drinks if the customer is already really enjoying the tunes so i know its a sign of appreciation and not a bribe
 
Accepting requests and tips shouldn't be thought of as chores and bribes...We play music for the masses why not play what your customers want to hear. Example: There is a stripper pole at one of my residencies right next to the DJ Booth. Its open for girls to dance all night (not paid dancers). If a group of girls wants to hear some bullshit Britney Spears song or Pop, Lock and Drop It...Fuck it, let them dance. It always gets the rest of the crowd going (unless they are unattractive). If the rest of the club isn't digging it mix out after the 1st chorus. I don't play requests like Sir Mixalot or Vanilla Ice but leave me a tip to play the new Britney song for your girl...Its on soon as I get to that BPM.
 
jimmy b wrote :

I won't accept tips,

but free drinks, that's a different story.

Punter - " what are you drinking mate? "

Jimmy b - " Anything "

So unprofessional ain't it, LOL

Jimmy b





Last Bar I did karaoke nights, I had a deal with the working bartender. I would always say announce, "Dont forget to tip your bartender" and he would do the same when he or she would come up on stage to do a karaoke song or two... At the end of the night we pretty much split the tips even though he usually got more $$$.
I would put on requests but not right away, usually when someone came up with a matching Karaoke song, then I would. Only one time did someone make a request and I put the song on right away but then again he was the owner of the bar and building!!!!
 
The amount of times i have had folks offer money as much as £20.00 to sing and i have refused. When folk are waiting patiently to sing on Karaoke it would be totally unfair. I charge a fee to provide a service. I do accept a soft drink from them if offered but it will make no difference to the time they have to wait. The same applys to when i'm DJing request are free. They are customers and may be future clients so my personal opinion is no, very unprofessional to accept bribes. However if the client at a private function insist they wants to pay a little more for services at finish then that is acceptale in my eyes.
 
Well, I work in a resort area. When it is slow in the winter, I have no problem playing requests, but I will put them where and when I can in my set. During the summer when everywhere is packed, I am more likely to take a tip in a heartbeat because I get so many and my pay usually does not go up in the summer. I once got tipped $40 from a guy to just say his name on the mic.
 
i jsut tell them that it may be awhile because theres several request already going but willl work it in as soon as i can as if theyed like a dedication or somthing but as for the tip/bribe, i tell them to give it to the bride as i do mostly weddings or the wait stafe as they are usally not well tipped not from what ive seen in my time in the bars i visite
 
I always take the tips unless I feel the request is not playable. I always try to take requests (unless it is a BS song). If someone wants to throw down a couple of bucks so be it. Honestly I think not taking it would be an insult.

Hell, Bouncers get tipped, bartenders get tipped, cocktails waitresses get tipped, why not the DJ??
 
80%