The DJ Trade Union
Мнения · 26.12.2006
By Алена Александрова
On the eve of the New Year a booking agency, DJ Music Association (DMA), appeared in Moscow - an organisation that undertakes to represent the interests of Russian DJs both at home and abroad. DMA's representatives explained that it is "the first organisation to protect the interests of DJs, the interests of promoters and the interests of music as such", and also that it is "the first trade union of Russian DJs".
DMA's founders - Anton Antonov, Kirill Korolev and Rustem Stukalov - plan not only to handle various organisational and technical tasks in arranging tours for Russian DJs (drawing up legal contracts properly on being hired, clarifying the details of the technical preparation of performances, and so on), but also to acquaint the European show business with our musicians and gradually bring them onto the foreign stage. In addition, DMA intends to invite stars of foreign electronic music to Russia.
At present DJ Music Association has already concluded 27 exclusive contracts with the best-known figures of the domestic club scene. Among them: Annushka, Dasha Pushkina, Fish, Martin Landers, Muza, Nils, Partyphone, Sapunov, Shushukin, Spy.Der, Strelok, Volodya Trapeznikov, Zorkin and many others.
For long years our Russian DJs, with greater or lesser success, handled matters of employment on their own, with the help of friends and acquaintances. Now they have the chance to work like real Western stars, negotiating every detail of their future work down to the finest point. 44100hz decided to find out our DJs' opinions on the matter:
"It's all nonsense, they're neither the first nor the only ones. I've long worked with another booking agency called "DJ Embassy" - they work very professionally. Although it does happen that your gig gets cancelled two days beforehand, and there's hardly anyone who can shield a DJ from that. I take a positive view of everything, but I don't think any particular progress will follow from the appearance of DJ Music Association: all the professional DJs already work in whatever way suits them - some arrange things themselves, some have their own manager. They won't do anything new".
"It's very hard to say anything about this agency right now, because it's only just appeared. If it had been operating for six months, a year, and had proved itself, then one could judge it".
"Today many negotiations don't go smoothly: the legal rights of both DJs and clients aren't respected - for instance, a tour can be cancelled the very day before, and no one will pay the DJ any monetary compensation. So the creation of DJ Music Association is an attempt to bring our DJ business up to a capitalist level, as happens in Europe, where such agencies have existed for many years already".
"I think everyone should mind their own business. Of course, you can work perfectly well without an agency. But why should I constantly deal with negotiations, answer hundreds of calls, when I could spend that time in the studio? It's just that in this business it's obvious who is a creative person and who is a commercial one. Those who are more interested in money work successfully on their own and organise their own gigs. Besides, the form of cooperation with DMA can be negotiated. For example, you could arrange one tour a month yourself, or keep performing at the clubs with which you've developed friendly relations, and cooperate with the agency on top of that. What's more, if negotiations aren't conducted professionally, there's no guarantee at all. Anything can happen. It's like changing money at a bank counter versus right next to it on the street with some shady dealer".
"Where do trade unions get registered here? It's no simple matter, after all - first you have to get a tax ID, a pension certificate, register for tax, work for a year, pay taxes! And then you absolutely have to lobby someone into the Duma. I take a positive view of the appearance of a DJ trade union. The lads are doing great! And I'd like to see a DJ in the Duma. And what is a trade union? It's people who do nothing, they only protect the interests of the union's members. It immediately reminds me of old American films, in which the unions are always fighting against the mafia, and then in the end it turns out that they themselves are the mafia. I'm ready to join a union too, if I'm immediately offered a managerial post, a personal car, and a secretary. No, better two secretaries. But seriously, we have a site, promodj.ru, on which about 3,000 people are registered who consider themselves DJs. Across the country you'd get no fewer than 5,000. So I think the union needs to announce open enrolment into its organisation. And I'd join"!