Pune: DJs in dire straits as live gigs become a thing of the past

PUNE: Disk Jockeys (DJs) are in dire straits as the Coronavirus pandemic has brought live events to a grinding halt.
With nightclubs and bars shut, many are feeling the pinch as their income has dried up in the past few months.
“I have not been paid since January but have paid my crew till June and told them to start looking for jobs as I can’t afford their salaries any longer,” said DJ Abhishek Mantri.
“ Many clubs have not paid our gig fees from events before the lockdown. Some DJs are doing virtual shows, but I doubt if anyone is making money,” said DJ Garry Kumthekar.
DJs are live streaming their sets, but the income is next to nothing. “Live streaming has been a new experience for me. It’s weird not to hear the crowd response when I am playing popular tracks,” said Kumthekar.
Yogesh Patil, aka DJ Dustin, said many DJs were posting their GPay and Paytm numbers so that the audience could support them financially. “The only way to weather the storm is to take up different jobs for now,” he said.
“I work as a training manager at an MNC, so life is not that difficult, but I miss the extra perks I earned from shows. Many have started online tutorial of DJ courses, opened YouTube channels or even ventured into stock trading,” said Patil.
“We have other sources of income — I work as an operations manager at a fashion brand, while Christoper Naidu, another DJ, is into marketing. We did a couple of live streams during the initial days of lockdown but realised we don’t enjoy them as much as we love performing in front of a crowd. Club DJs may need to perform at private gigs/weddings in order to survive,” said DJ Rohan Gaikwad.
Many of them are already bracing for pay cuts. “At least 30% of the nightclubs in the city have downed shutters, and the rest will have huge budget cuts too,” said Kumthekar.
“The pay for resident DJs will also go down by at least 50% during the initial stages of reopening,” added Patil.