How to Start a DJ Booking Agency: The Complete Playbook.

Most booking agencies don't start with a business plan. They start with a DJ who gets asked "can you also book my friend?" one too many times. Suddenly you're handling three people's emails, dates and fees on top of your own, and you realise you're already running an agency. Just without the structure.

This playbook is how to turn that into a real business: the model, the money, the paperwork and the tools, step by step.

What a DJ booking agency actually does

A booking agency sits between artists and promoters. On a normal week that means:

1. Selling the roster. Pitching artists to promoters, festivals and venues that fit their sound.
2. Handling enquiries. Answering requests fast, checking availability, negotiating fee and conditions.
3. Locking the deal. Holds, offers, confirmation and a signed booking contract.
4. Advancing the show. Set times, travel, hotel, tech rider and contacts, so the artist arrives and plays without surprises.
5. Getting paid. Deposits, final payments, your commission and the artist's payout.

A manager does something different: long-term career strategy, releases, branding, deals outside of gigs. Many small agencies do a bit of both at first. Be clear with your artists about which one you are, because it changes what you charge and what they expect.

Step 1: Pick your lane

The agencies that grow fastest are specific. "We book DJs" is not a pitch. "We book hard techno and hardgroove for clubs and festivals in Switzerland and France" is.

Decide three things before you sign anyone:

• Scene: one or two genres where you know the promoters, the clubs and the crowd.
• Territory: the cities and countries you can really cover. Start where you already have contacts.
• Level: local up-and-comers, established national names, or international acts. Each needs different contacts and different fees.

Step 2: Sign your first 2 to 5 artists

Your first artists are your proof. Choose them carefully:

• Already playing out. They have a few gigs, a real mix and content. You're accelerating something that already moves.
• Easy to sell. A clear sound, good photos, a presskit you can send in one link.
• Reliable. On time, answers messages, professional with promoters. One no-show can cost you a promoter for good.
• In the same scene. So every promoter you meet is interested in more than one of your artists.

Before you start pitching, make sure every artist has a complete presskit: mix, photos, bio and tech rider in one link. If they don't, that's your first job. Our EPK template and DJ bio examples help them get there in an evening.

Step 3: Decide your commission and terms

Most DJ booking agencies take between 10 and 20 percent of the artist's fee per booking. Where you land depends on how much work you do and how established your artists are.

Decide upfront:

• Commission rate and whether it's on the gross fee or after costs.
• What's included: booking only, or also advancing, travel planning, social media, merch?
• Who pays costs: travel and hotel are usually paid by the promoter on top of the fee. Write it into every offer.
• Exclusivity and territory: exclusive for your country? Worldwide? Only for clubs, or festivals too?
• Term: one year with automatic renewal is a common starting point. Add a notice period for ending it.

Step 4: Put it in writing (the artist agreement)

A handshake works until the first misunderstanding about money. A short written agreement protects you and the artist. It doesn't need to be 30 pages, but it should cover the basics.

Parties: [Agency name] and [Artist name / legal name]
Services: booking of live DJ performances [and/or management services]
Territory: [e.g. Switzerland and France]
Exclusivity: [exclusive / non-exclusive] for the territory above
Commission: [X]% of the gross performance fee for every booking in the territory
Costs: travel, accommodation and riders are paid by the promoter unless agreed otherwise
Payments: how deposits and final payments flow (to agency or artist) and when the artist is paid out
Term: [12] months from [date], renewing automatically unless ended with [60] days' notice
After the term: commission on shows confirmed during the term but played after it
Artist duties: keep availability updated, answer within [48] hours, show up on time
Agency duties: actively pitch the artist, share every offer, keep records of bookings and payments
Signatures: both parties, with date

Step 5: Find promoters (and make them come back)

Your contacts are your business. Build them on purpose:

• Map your scene. List the clubs, collectives and festivals in your lane, and who books them. A simple list with name, event, genre, last contact and answer is enough.
• Pitch one artist, specifically. "We have a peak-time hard techno act who fits your Saturday nights, here's the presskit" works. A roster PDF with 12 names doesn't.
• Be faster than everyone else. Promoters often book whoever answers first with a clear fee and a clear date.
• Make your roster easy to find. Promoters search for artists online. A public roster page where every artist has a full presskit sells for you while you sleep. Our article on how promoters find talent shows what they look at.

Subject: [Artist name] for [Night name]? [Genre] from [City]

Hi [Promoter name],

I'm [your name] from [Agency name]. We represent [Artist name], a [genre] DJ from [city] who has recently played [1 to 2 real venues or events].

[Artist name]'s sound fits [Night name] well: [one specific reason, e.g. "the same driving 145 BPM energy as your closing slots"].

Presskit with mix, photos, bio and tech rider: [presskit link]

Available dates in [month]: [date], [date]. Fee from [amount] plus travel.

Would one of those work for you?

Best,
[your name]
[Agency name] · [phone]

Step 6: Holds, offers and confirmation

As soon as two promoters want the same artist, you need a system. The industry standard is simple:

1. Enquiry. A promoter asks about a date.
2. Hold. You reserve the date. The first promoter gets a first hold. If someone else asks for the same date, they get a second hold and wait in line.
3. Offer. The promoter sends a written offer: fee, set time, travel, accommodation, deposit.
4. Confirmation. Both sides agree. The first hold becomes a confirmed show and any second hold is released.
5. Contract and deposit. The booking contract is signed and the deposit is paid.
6. Advancing. Times, travel, hotel, rider and contacts are shared with the artist.
7. Show and payment. The artist plays, the final payment comes in, you take your commission and pay out the artist.

Step 7: The booking contract

The booking contract is the deal between the artist (or agency) and the promoter. It's what you pull out when a show is cancelled the day before, or a fee doesn't arrive. We wrote a full guide with a copy-paste template: DJ booking contract: what to include.

The short version: fee and payment terms, date and set time, what the promoter provides (travel, hotel, rider, guest list), cancellation terms on both sides, and signatures.

Step 8: Get paid (and pay your artists)

Money is where trust is won or lost. Keep it boring and transparent:

• Deposit: commonly 50 percent when the contract is signed, the rest before or right after the show.
• Invoices: one invoice per show, with the agreed fee, date, event and payment deadline.
• Statements: a monthly overview per artist with every show, the fee, your commission and the payout. Artists who can see the numbers don't ask questions.
• Separate account: never mix agency money with personal money.

Step 9: The tools that keep it running

You can start with a spreadsheet and an inbox. Most agencies outgrow that quickly: enquiries get lost in DMs, two people promise the same date, and nobody knows which promoter already said no.

What you need, at minimum:

• One public roster page with a real presskit for every artist.
• One shared inbox for every booking enquiry across the roster.
• One booking board that shows every deal from enquiry to confirmed.
• Analytics per artist, so you can tell artists which promoters and cities are looking at them.

This is exactly what agency accounts on Backstage.dj do today. You get a public agency page with your roster at backstage.dj/agency/yourname, you can invite artists who are already on Backstage or create profiles for the ones who aren't, and every enquiry for every artist lands in one shared inbox and booking board. Each artist keeps a full Headliner presskit with mix, photos, bio, tech rider and a downloadable EPK.

We're now building the next part: artist agreements and booking contracts generated from your bookings and signed in the app, holds and offers per artist, and invoices with your commission calculated automatically. If you start your agency on Backstage now, you'll get those as they ship.

Common mistakes new agencies make

• Signing too many artists before the first ones are booked regularly
• Pitching every artist to every promoter instead of the right one to the right night
• No written agreement, then arguing about commission after the first big gig
• Promising dates without checking holds, and double booking an artist
• Confirming shows without a contract or a deposit
• Being slow: answering an enquiry after three days when another agency answered in an hour

Your next step

Write down your lane in one sentence, pick your first two artists, and make sure both have a presskit you'd be proud to send. Then set up your roster page and send your first five pitches this week. An agency is built one booking at a time.