How to build a profitable podcast.
Podcasting for DJs: The Ultimate Guide to Growing Your Audience Beyond the Club Scene
It takes more than a turntable, mixer, and a good tracklist to be a DJ. Aside from the technical aspects of operating music and recording equipment, DJs need to be able to connect with the audience in front of them—both on the dancefloor and beyond it.
In this hyper-digital age, DJs, musicians, and artists of all kinds can benefit from expanding their repertoire beyond just performance-based activities.
When there’s an industry lull, or you want to elevate your DJ career, expanding onto another audio platform is a great way to share your passion with the world while generating more income and cultivating a more loyal fanbase from around the world. One option that offers all these advantages (and more!) is starting a podcast.
Podcasting for DJs is an excellent way to reach a bigger audience, earn extra income, and expand your repertoire as a music professional.
Here’s how!
Podcasting has revolutionized the way we consume audio content. There are successful podcasts for just about every topic you can think of—from mental health and wellbeing to legal advice and environmental stability—the global community of podcast listeners (all 383 million of them) is stronger than ever, and the demand for music and DJ-related content is growing fast.
By creating a podcast, you could add a new dimension to your DJ offerings. You’ll not only have a platform outside the club to share your skills with, but you’ll also cultivate a broader audience and connect with other music enthusiasts worldwide.
Here are some of the reasons why podcasting for DJs can push your career forward in a sustainable way while helping you amass a broader global audience:
As a DJ, the main way you interact with your listeners is likely the club or the dancefloor. But there are opportunities to connect with the people who enjoy your music beyond this kind of environment. With a podcast, you can reach people at any time of the day, wherever they are. You can create content that’s accessible on-demand on desktop and mobile devices.
This opens up the potential for a much broader network of dancers and audiophiles to tap into your craft, enjoy your skills and knowledge, and become a part of your world.
Relying solely on the club environment to attract audiences can be limiting—but by creating a podcast, you can continue to bring great music, stories, and ideas to the public from wherever you are.
One of the biggest perks of hosting a DJ podcast is sharing all of your favorite music tracks with the world. From set playlists and samples to your own productions, a podcast gives you the perfect platform for broadcasting the sounds you’re working on to a receptive audience.
You can also share so much more than just your favorite tracks. You can tell people why you love them, what they mean to you, their origin story, and how they ended up on your setlist.
Being a DJ has a lot to do with social skills and how you present yourself as a creative professional. In the music and club industry, you need a strong, unique, and memorable identity that sets you apart from other DJs and establishes you as a frontrunner in the community.
A podcast can also empower DJs to develop a more specific sound. It’s important to have an original brand association that helps listeners get to know you and your unique style so that they want to follow you for the unique skills that you bring to the table.
Paired with social media, a quality DJ podcast can enable you to stand out among the crowd and cultivate an authentic and unmatched brand identity.
While many DJ podcasts involve playing actual music, most focus on personal anecdotes, hot industry takes, experiences, and ideas relating to the club industry. A podcast can serve as an amazing platform for teaching listeners about music culture while learning a lot about the industry you work in.
By hosting a range of guests who operate in similar circles, you can also deepen your understanding of the music world and build stronger relationships with other passionate, talented individuals.
DJing can be a profitable source of income, but it requires a lot of initial capital and is often too inconsistent to rely on exclusively. Having multiple sources of income is a great way to supplement your career—and podcasting could be one of the many paths you use to fund and push it forward.
Even though there are many similarities between DJing and podcast hosting, the latter requires a more concise plan and set-up process that is different from being behind the decks. There are lots of factors to consider: audience, niche, regularity, goals, profitability, and budget, to name a few.
If you’re trying to build an audience beyond the club environment, here are some simple steps you can take to create an amazing podcast from scratch:
Before you can start recording your podcast, you need to consider what kind of listeners you aim to attract. Think about:
Who do you want your podcast episodes to reach?
Do you want to cater specifically to those who just love music and dancing? Or do you want to appeal more to those who want to learn how to DJ and join you in the industry? Determine who your core audience is and why you want to grow your reach in this area.
What can you do to engage them?
Will you share industry tips, offer the opportunity to listen to new tracks or experimental music, or provide insight into your career and why you love spinning the decks?
When you’ve answered these questions, consider factors like Age, Location, Music tastes, Social demographics, and Industry/Profession.
This will give you a clear idea of your audience, making it much easier to write scripts and create episode content that appeals to them.
The consumer demand for podcasts is growing—and that’s great! But it also means there is competition. Establishing a clear topical direction for your podcast is crucial for engaging audiences digitally and distinguishing you from other musicians and sound artists.
Podcasting for DJs offers you the opportunity to explore numerous directions. You could talk about equipment technology, club culture through the ages, industry secrets, social dynamics, emerging new genres, or simply focus on playing music—anything that you find genuinely fascinating and have good reason to believe others will, too.
Having a niche will give you a trademark brand identity beyond just being a DJ and allow you to flex your knowledge in more diverse areas. This will enhance your credibility and invite your audience to join you in exploring these creative topics.
Starting a podcast requires some basic technological equipment. As a DJ, the good news is that you likely already have some of what’s needed.
You’ll need a microphone (or two if you plan on hosting guests), a pop filter, an audio interface, headphones, and a laptop to mix and edit your content.
Some of the best microphones for podcasts include:
The higher-quality gear you invest in, the better your podcast will sound. This is important, as the last thing you want to be associated with is poor sound quality!
You also need a space to record in that has great acoustics, and this may mean investing in sound-proofing to ensure crisp audio.
Podcasters these days are spoiled for choice when it comes to choosing where they want to upload their episodes. However, you need to do your homework before you pick a platform. Not all options are created equal, and some may be overcrowded with similar content. There’s also your budget to consider and options for monetization.
Of course, we recommend FAME Host if you’re looking for a podcast platform with the ultimate ROI. We do everything necessary and a whole lot extra to help get your podcast noticed.
If you want to build a solid audience beyond the club via an amazing podcast, you’ll need a strong online presence that communicates your vision and establishes you as a member of the scene.
People will be much more responsive to your podcast if they have a clear idea of who you are and what kind of vibe you bring. There are many ways to promote your podcast, and one of them is social media. You can use all your favorite social media apps, such as Instagram, Facebook, X, and even Threads, to build up a micro-culture around your podcast and promote it organically and impactfully. Encourage comments and feedback and make a point of responding to everyone, and don't forget to direct them to where they can listen to your podcast!
Podcasting for DJs is an excellent opportunity for collaborating and networking. By inviting others in the industry, as well as those in the greater music, events, club, and sound industries, to your podcast, you can forge new connections. These connections will help you build your audience far beyond the club and bring you to the attention of those interested in what you do.
The bigger your network becomes, the more reach you have and the greater the potential that others will find you.
Starting a podcast as a DJ is one of the best ways to share your passion for music while generating income and cultivating a growing audience, both in and out of the club.
With the right strategy, tools, platform, and creative vision, you can produce a podcast that inspires listeners, motivates them to attend your shows, and propels your career into the next phase of sustainable success.
