How to Handle Requests

If there is one thing guaranteed to happen during your DJ career, it’s that you are going to get requests. Those will range from perfectly sane ones to demanding to put on some Metallica during your trance set. Whatever the case, you need to be able to handle them.

Rule #1 is to be nice. Remember that you are paid to let these people have good time, and this one person actually took the trouble to come up and ask you for a particular tune.

Being nice doesn’t mean being submissive, however. If the request does make sense and may fit in into where you are taking your set anyway, then sure – say “All right, I’ll see what I can do” and then maybe do put it on after a few tunes… If you really feel it would work.

If the request is utterly outrageous and you would never put on a track like that, be smart. Instead of declaring as much to the requester, go for something like this: “I do have it, but I don’t have it with me.” (This trick is admittedly harder to pull if you’re a digital DJ and they know you have all your music on your laptop.)

Whatever you do, don’t forget that in addition to entertaining the dancefloor, you are also paid to know better. So stick to it and don’t let a few random requesters ruin the party if everyone else is having great time.

Do you get a lot of requests? What’s your favorite way of dealing with them? Let me know in the comment section below.