TL;DR
You can check in thirty minutes whether you're booking the right DJ: a clear sound identity, real and recent gigs, a core style that fits your crowd, clean logistics and an actual conversation before you sign. Look at the price last.
People often ask me how to choose a DJ when two of them look serious on paper. The brochures all read the same: "guaranteed vibes", "all styles", "pro gear". What separates a DJ who will carry your night from a DJ who will just fill it hides in other details, and after 450+ gigs I know which ones to look at. This is my checklist, seen from the other side of the booth.
Start with their sound identity
A DJ who can play everything but stands for nothing is a weak signal. Even an open format DJ has an artistic direction: families of sound they master deeply, a way of building energy, a signature in the transitions. Mine is club-leaning open format, house, afro house, urban and electro, with bass that talks and transitions that hold even when the BPM moves.
Ask them plainly: "what's your home turf?" If the answer is "everything", dig. If they name precise families and explain how they connect them, you've got someone who has thought about the craft. I wrote a full piece on the difference between open format and specialist DJs if you want to settle that point for your event.
The experience that counts: the number of gigs
"15 years of experience" means nothing if it's three parties a year. What forges a DJ is volume and variety: clubs, bars, weddings, stages, crowds that have nothing in common. A DJ who plays every week has fresh floor-reading instincts. A DJ who unpacks the gear twice a quarter is playing last year's setlist.
Ask concrete questions: where did they play in the last two months? Do they hold a residency, recurring dates? If it stays vague, be wary.
The craft comes from the rough nights you turned around. When you're comparing two DJs, ask them for their recent gigs.
· Dopa
Their core style versus your crowd
This is the criterion everyone underrates. A brilliant techno DJ at a multigenerational wedding is a polite shipwreck. An interchangeable DJ with no turf of their own, at a party where the crowd expects sharp afro selection, same thing the other way round.
What you want to know is whether they're good for your crowd in particular. Describe precisely who will be there: age ranges, proportions, the occasion, the key moments. Then watch the reaction. A pro will ask questions back, sketch an approach, sometimes tell you they're not the right fit. That last case is rare, and it's a good sign: a DJ who turns down a date outside their turf respects your event.
Your DJ's location
Your DJ's location matters on two levels. Logistics first: a local DJ knows the venues, the neighbourhood's noise curfews, sometimes the venue manager by name. Travel costs second, which stack on top of the fee as soon as the date leaves their zone.
There's a third level people think about less: the scene. A DJ rooted in a real local scene (the clubs and bars of their city, the other artists, the promoters) regularly faces demanding crowds, and that tells you a lot about their level. I play the club scene in Paris and tour in summer, and every date teaches me something I bring back to the next one.
Reviews and long videos: the proof that cannot be faked
Two quick checks:
Reviews first, and above all what they actually say. Reviews that tell precise moments ("he relaunched the floor at 2am when everyone was fading") weigh more than twenty "great night!". Look at the diversity of contexts too: wedding, corporate, club. A DJ who delivers everywhere has a real toolbox.
Videos next. Be wary of 30-second edits for Insta: everyone has 30 good seconds. Ask for a long excerpt, or better, go watch them play if you can. Twenty minutes is what it takes to see whether a DJ builds something or just lines up bangers with no direction.
The call: what you should hear, and what should worry you
The last filter is the direct conversation. Fifteen minutes on the phone will tell you more than everything else. What you want to hear: questions about your crowd and your timeline, a clear breakdown of what's included (gear, duration, setup), a straight answer about the plan B if something fails technically.
What should worry you: a quote that can't be itemised, a systematic "no problem" with zero questions back, and nothing in writing. A pro puts things down in black and white, even when the rest was said in voice notes.
Key takeaway
To choose a DJ, one rule: if a single point is still blurry after the call, dig before paying a deposit. And if the DJ has a residency, go hear them play one night before you sign anything.
Running the checklist on your event
If you're planning an event and want to run the checklist on a real case, the form on the home page reaches me directly. You can also describe your project on the booking page. And if your question is more about what music to plan, I covered that in what music for your party.