They are a very important part of the party scene in Goa, or for that matter at any party outlet in any part of the world. The disc jockey adds a certain pizzazz to the outlet. His or her style can attract the crowds. However the virus put paid to the industry. The tourism industry was hit and night spots were shut. This meant a dramatic loss of jobs. And yes DJ’s lost their jobs. There were no events to earn money too. It was a tough time. However now with the industry opening up, one would presume the good times were around the support. That however does not seem to be the case.
DJ Abdul who is now a freelancer was once based as a resident DJ at a prominent night club said budgets were now very low. Everything he said had stopped and clubs were not offering much. He said “We are surviving on the edge; they now pay half the amount. So if I were paid Rs 15,000 then I am offered Rs 7500 now. This is for a gig once a week.” He said the situation on the ground was still tight. Abdul said there were fewer properties in Goa now and no one seemed to be booking musicians or anyone. He was earlier with a fancy night club and used to get around Rs 40,000 and now that was being reduced to around Rs 25,000. Goa, he said was a small place and there not too many properties and this situation was made worse by the fact that dj’s from Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru were coming in and pitching for gigs. The season he said was still very slow and many dj’s were now looking at starting their own business which were completely different from what they were doing now. He talked about a dj that started a hotel because many could not survive on what they were able to earn now. He laughed and said many were now open to the idea of jobs during the day in an office or work from home.
DJ Afroz who is a freelancer has worked in Goa, domestic nightclubs as well as gigs in Dubai, London, Paris, Italy and Macau. He said the situation a few months earlier was very different and now things had started moving in September. Afroz said “We have EMI’s to pay; I had to pay the rent for the studio. It has been tough. We all managed very well during the first lockdown because we had savings but the second lockdown knocked the stuffing out of all of us”. Now he said outlets were opening which was a good development. He said he was getting a lot of inquiries from corporates, wedding enquiries in November which was good. Speaking about corporate gigs, he said it was not unusual for groups of 300-400 people travelling to events abroad. Now however that number has reduced dramatically to around 100-120 people. Budgets now he said had reduced dramatically and clubs had also reduced their budget. Corporates he said were now looking very closely at expenses that would be incurred for events. It was made problematic by the fact that countries were not open as yet and the process was made expensive. All this he said made it difficult to get gigs at rates he could be comfortable with. Clubs he said were only interested in paying half.
DJ Navin however had an experience which was very different from the others. A freelancer, he has been a DJ for 17 years. He said “Things are improving and I have no complaints. I am being booked for events and yes owners may want to pay less but I am very clear that my rates will not change under any condition. If I don’t get what I want, I am fine sleeping at home.”
Another event manager based in Goa who did not want to come on record said business was still very tight though business was now looking up. However he said bands and DJ’s were not getting the rates they wanted and that would be the way for this season. Perhaps later the situation would improve and the rates charged earlier would then come back. Everyone will hope the good old days return.
