Start with the slot you can serve
Choose the role you are ready for: opening a night, supporting a headliner, playing a bar residency or joining a local collective. A warm-up set requires different judgement from a peak-time festival performance. Being specific makes your approach more credible.
Write one sentence: “I play [sound] for [kind of room], and I am strongest at [role].” Replace broad claims such as “I can play anything” with a clear musical identity. Include where you are based, how far you can travel and the nights you can realistically accept.
Build a shortlist of ten relevant promoters
Start with rooms you already understand. Listen to their recent line-ups, attend a night where practical and notice how the evening is programmed. Select ten promoters whose current audience, sound and scale fit you. Ten carefully chosen conversations are a better starting assignment than a spreadsheet of hundreds of unrelated addresses.
For each target, record the event, venue, contact route, recent artists, likely slot and one specific reason for the fit. Use the organiser’s published business contact or submission route. Treat personal numbers and backstage access as private unless the person has invited contact.
Prepare the three things a booker needs
Have one representative mix, a concise DJ EPK and an easy way to contact you. Choose a mix that demonstrates the proposed slot rather than every genre you know. Check the link on a phone with no account signed in.
Your EPK should make your sound, location, images, genuine credits and booking contact easy to find. Use accurate evidence: a real residency, a released record, a promoter quote with permission or a performance clip. If you are starting out, be honest about that and show preparation. Inflated claims create problems later.
Send a useful, personal pitch
Keep the first message short enough to understand at a glance. Name the night, explain the fit, give one relevant proof point, link the mix and EPK, and make a small clear ask. Do not attach a huge media folder or paste a life story.
Subject: [Artist] — opening-slot idea for [Night]
Hi [Name], I enjoyed the way [specific recent line-up] was programmed. I am a [city]-based DJ playing [sound], and I think my deeper opening sets could fit [Night]. Here is a relevant mix: [link]. My EPK and contact details are here: [link]. Would you be open to considering me for a future support slot? Thanks, [Name].
Only use the “I enjoyed” line if you genuinely know the event. The template gives you structure; the relevance must come from your own research.
Follow up once, then keep building
Respect any stated response window. Where none is given, a single polite follow-up after roughly one to two weeks is a sensible starting practice. Ask whether the mix reached the right person, rather than demanding a reply. If there is still no response, pause the pitch and return when you have a meaningful update.
Use a tracker with sent date, next action, reply, status and notes. Record a declined offer as information: was it the sound, timing, fee, availability or lack of suitable slots? The aim is to improve fit and relationships rather than count messages sent.
Confirm the booking professionally
Before accepting, clarify the date, set time, venue, fee, travel, equipment, payment arrangements and promotional expectations in writing. Check whether it is a warm-up or closing role. Prepare for that job, arrive when agreed and make the promoter’s night easier.
After the show, thank the organiser, send any agreed assets and ask for permission before publishing private feedback. A well-delivered first booking can become repeat work; a calendar full of unsuitable pitches cannot.
Your action checklist.
- Define your sound, location and the slot you can serve.
- Choose ten relevant promoters and record why each fits.
- Prepare one suitable mix and a working EPK.
- Send three personalised pitches this week.
- Set a respectful follow-up date and track replies.
- Confirm booking terms before accepting.
Want help doing the work?
Inside In:House, we help shape your positioning, build the EPK and website, select relevant targets and keep your outreach and follow-ups visible in your artist portal. The guide gives you the process; the programme helps you carry it through.