10 Crucial Mistakes Beginners Make Choosing A DJ Name

Posted on 16 Dec 2016

10 Crucial Mistakes Beginners Make Choosing A DJ Name

If Tïesto had cursed with his real name - "Tijs Michiel Verwest" - he might have struggled to achieve the degree of success that he enjoys nowadays (also, there would need to have been 20 people to hold that name sign up behind him :-)

Choosing a DJ name is one of the most important early decisions you'll make when getting started as a DJ. Get it right, and you may have an associate instantly identifiable name that tells the planet the type of DJ you're and helps get you noticed . Get it wrong, and every one reasonably obstacles can block your path to success. Here are some of the rookie errors people make time and time again, and that it's simple to avoid:

  1. Picking one thing no one will pronounce -hat is the purpose of getting a DJ name that once folks see it, all of them say one thing different? Go for something nice and simple that won't come out of people's mouths wrong
  2. Picking something nobody can spell - OK so people can say it right. But if they can't write it down correctly when they hear it, it's nearly as bad as not being about to pronounce it. You're introducing a needless layer of confusion
  3. Using "DJ" in your name - OK, therefore, folks will say it right. But if they can't write it down correctly when they hear it, it's nearly as bad as not being about to pronounce it. You're introducing a needless layer of confusion Using "DJ" in your name - these days, it's the pretty recent hat to feature "DJ" before your name.
  4. Not registering your URL and social media handles - You really, really do want to get the .com version of the name you choose, and your handle on all the main social media sites too. Don't leave this to chance; get them all as soon as you choose your name, even if you don't plan on doing anything with them for a while.
  5. Picking something that ties you to a genre - Your genre can die. Hopefully, a long time before you do. So don't be "Dubstep Warrior". Even if the type of music endures, there's no telling when your tastes will change. Choose something that'll have a chance of working for your whole career, not just for the current season.
  6. Picking something that doesn't work in major languages - Yeah, you can't cover all bases here, but at least ask any friends you have who speak Spanish if your DJ name works in their language, for instance. Or if you're not a native English speaker, get someone to check it works in English. I mean, why not? Again, you're just choosing something that will save you the hassle of explaining your name to foreign people who don't "get it".
  7. Worrying about finding something totally unique - If there's a company selling canned fish in Kazakhstan that happens to use the same name you want to use for DJing, don't let it stop you. Yeah, be careful. Yeah, don't take someone else's DJ name. Yeah, check on Google to ascertain if you'll "own" the word or phrase you select as a DJ name. But don't be hung up on every use of a word or phrase out there. Not many words are 100% unique nowadays.
  8. Not considering how it will look like a logo - It's not enough to choose a DJ name on its own; you need a logo too. For flyers, for your website (yup, you're gonna need a website), for your social media headers, your Twitter "square" logo, for your "cover" artwork on SoundCloud and Mixcloud... so consider it early.
  9. Picking a name nobody likes - Look, just because you think something is cool, doesn't mean the world will. So test your name on as many people as you can before you decide. At this stage, you've not committed to anything, and it's cost you nothing except time. Don't go to any extent further down the road till you recognize the name you've got picked truly will say what you think that it will to folks, and that they like it.
  10. Not choosing a name at all - If you do not select your name, your name will choose you. Someone will just shove something on a flyer, or you'll make something up on the spot, and it'll just kind of stick, and there you are - an ill-chosen, badly fitting name that doesn't serve you. Don't be that person! Choose early, and choose wisely.

Choosing a good name may take some time. Don't expect to return up with one thing long (although you might). It could take weeks or even months. But don't leave it to chance. Start work on that as before long as you begin DJing, and keep at it daily till one thing sticks. Later on, you'll be glad you did.

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