The Pains Of Choosing A Stage Name
DJs are known to perform under made up stage names and it works for each of them differently. Some careers improve from the promotional value and unique ring of a catchy and relevant stage name. Others fall short and can sometimes hold back their owners. Like most things in this business, your individual situation and personal choice must be at the grounding of your decision regarding a stage name.
The reasons for DJ stage names can be quite obvious, like having a nickname everyone already knows you by or consciously improving upon the pronunciation and remembrance factor of your original name. They might also be part of a controlled effort of promoters who help push the new DJ into the masses. Consider that once taken, the name will represent you and stick to people’s minds. Regardless of reasons, there will be consequences for taking a stage name, sometimes good, and sometimes bad. The outcome of this is affected by three different factors, each of which requires extra thought from you when working on your very own stage name.
Is it relevant?
Your stage name has to be understandable in the context of your work as a DJ. Each music genre can claim that certain kinds of stage names represent it more than others. Therefore, it would be a good idea to choose one that fits your music style. While this can be very subjective, fans are likely to embrace these limitations and choosing the wrong stage name can hurt your career. There are no rules set in stone here, which makes this factor even more difficult to determine or predict. That’s why most stage names are taken to mean exactly nothing, other than simply sounding cool and that’s the story you should stick with if you ever get in trouble over your stage name.
Will it still be “awesome” in 10 years?
Another serious pitfall for stage names is the use of dated slang terms that just don’t kick it anymore. Might be the reason why no big company has picked up DJ EpicWin yet. Or DJ Mc Awesome. It’s one thing to go by an edgy stage name fresh out of the vocabulary all the cool kids speak, but another entirely when you have to look back 20 years for its origin. The easiest and most obvious way of avoiding this is not to choose any time-sensitive slang term as the name to market you by. While this might mean you'll have to take extra care when choosing the name, it will only serve for your benefit. If you’re not careful, you might end up jinxing yourself to go out of style as quickly as your stage name will .
Is it mature enough?
In the music industry, there’s nothing quite as awkward as outgrowing your name. Even if having the words “boy” or “kid” in stage names seems cool for aspiring DJs barely out of their teens, they most certainly won’t stay that way forever. What are they going to do when they’re in their mid-20’s or 30’s? It’s a question everyone has to ask themselves before they make up their minds on a stage name. Another weird naming tendency concerns female DJs with the ever-present “girl” in their stage names, or choosing the generic “DJ” fol owed by their first name. Surprisingly (or perhaps not so much), it actually works. Unfortunately, all the guys out there shouldn’t be too eager to jump onto the international music arena with their boring first name as stage name. Unless their first name is not boring, of course, in which case it can turn out to be a great stage name to break into the industry with.
Will your real “not boring” name work then?
Those lucky enough to have a real name that has a good ring to it might be happy to go right ahead and use it in their music life. Using your real name can be effective and genuine, as far as your career as a DJ goes. It can also hurt you in other ways. For example, when dealing with day-to-day job applications or other tasks that might expose your name to a thorough research and evaluation, you may take little pride in your other life as a DJ working at night clubs. Then again, you might, but that’s why you’re the one making this choice.
The truth is that all the most prominent success stories out there feature stage names than were, in fact, only slightly improved versions of their owners’ real names and merely changed the sounding a bit or trimmed it for lighter feel. This should not be taken to mean that there is absolutely no place in the music industry for DJs with snappy made up stage names, but there’s definitely a bigger risk involved when dealing with them.
Try going the simpler road. It’s you and your music that matters here. Choose a stage name based on that or spin your real name in a unique way using the same principle, and not only will it not hold you back, it will become a highlight of your promotional efforts and fan interactions.