Can you be a DJ without being a producer?

A lot of DJs out there today appear to be DJing and also have a few releases or albums under their belt as a producer. Back in the day, well at least when I started DJing, this wasn’t as common, DJs were DJs within a specific genre.

So this really begs the question in the modern world we live in today, can you be a DJ without being a producer?

It’s possible to be a DJ without being a music producer e.g. local DJ, radio DJ, wedding DJ, bar DJ. However, it really depends on what type of DJ you’re aiming to be though. Headline DJs at festivals do appear to benefit from being music producers to help with brand awareness of their artist “brand” name.

Let’s look into some ways in which it’s possible to be a DJ without being a producer, and some considerations of producing music too.

DJing in the Past

Broadly speaking back in the day DJs were DJs.

There were some different attributes that make them successful as DJs, without having to produce music.

Attributes included (which are not hard a fast rules to note):

DJs having access to record vinyls that other DJs didn’t have access to.
DJs may of built up a fan base based on a specific genre they play.
DJs may be well known as a radio DJs which help draw crowds to club nights.

As the world’s technology evolved the music scene developed different requirements to become successful in certain areas of DJing.

Determine Your Goals and Type of DJ

What’s important to know about DJing as a career and a profession, is the type of DJing that you’ll want to be pursuing.

DJs aren’t always headlining acts at massive festivals, there are different DJs that operate out there in the world of music.

The below list shows evidence of this. Not all of the below DJs are likely to have music production on their agenda.

Local DJ
Radio DJ
Wedding DJ
Corporate DJ
Bar or Club DJ

So, in answer to the question of this article, “Yes, it is possible to be a DJ without being a music producer“.

On the flip side, say for example, you’re a DJ with the goal of becoming a headline DJ at large main stage festivals around the world.

Then the success of a DJ with this goal would more than likely benefit a DJ to be producing music.

Music Production is a Marketing and Promotional Tool

Music production appears to be a marketing and promotional tool to help DJs become recognised more.

Which in turn helps them to become featured higher up the line up for massive festivals and club events.

There’s a sort of validation on both a festival organisers point of view and ravers attending music events. By validation we mean popularity of the music they produce.

Check out Creamfields in 2019, highlighted in green top left of the line up poster are well known artist / DJs the majority of the other artists I’ve heard of because of following their DJ sets on YouTube and others I’ve not even heard of to be fair (and I mean no disrespect to those DJs either).

Festivals and music events cost a lot of money to run. Therefore maximising revenue and profits is high on the agenda which then influences which DJ is put to the top of the line up versus being at the bottom of the line up.

It simply comes down to popularity of a DJ, music releases contribute towards that popularity. Potentially giving a DJ more success in the long run.

Marketing factors to help with DJ popularity

There are activities that you can be pushing to alleviate your worries about not producing music.

It may be that music production isn’t even a requirement so these ideas may be able to help you build up popularity and brand awareness within your type of DJing niche.

Podcasts
YouTube channel DJ mixes
Social media
Build a website
Release mixes on Mixcloud
Live stream on Mixcloud
Start your own record label

All of these activities should be to build up a following and popularity within your DJ niche. The aim is to build validation to help drive bookings as a DJ.

Read my DJ Marketing Plan: The Ultimate Guide for All DJs this will massively help you out when planning how to market yourself successfully in your DJing career.

Final Thoughts

Some DJs out there start out as music producers.

Calvin Harris didn’t start as a DJ, people mostly know him as a music producer and love him for his music.

Music production can take a lot longer to master than DJing.

From experience I’d say the timeline to learning how to get competent at DJing vs music production is definitely different in time.

It’s worth deciding which is dominant. Music production I’d advise learning sooner rather than later.

Music production can support promotion and awareness of your “brand” as a DJ.

It simply comes down to whether you want to be a superstar global touring DJ or not. If so, music production will certainly help with the success of that.