plexipr
04-09-2009, 08:51 PM
The New York Times-Instead of Falling Into a Rut, Busting Out a New Groovey (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/08/nyregion/08dj.html)
By VINCENT M. MALLOZZI
Published: April 7, 2009
Channing Sanchez, who lost his job in January, has found a way to mix business with pleasure.
Mr. Sanchez, 51, was a jewelry salesman at Tiffany & Co., on Fifth Avenue, for 23 years. After hearing what has become a familiar phrase — “You’re being laid off” — he put himself on a different sort of track to future employment: he is training to become a D.J.
“I used to spin records 30 years ago,” Mr. Sanchez, headset in hand, said the other day just before he began another session at a turntable. “Now that the stress of losing my job is gone, this a fun and creative way to make some extra money.”
Within minutes, Mr. Sanchez and several other aspiring D.J.’s were sliding into their stations to scratch records and mix songs at dubspot (http://www.dubspot.com), an electronic music production and D.J. school in Manhattan, where enrollment — now 300 — has doubled since it opened last year, largely because of the economic downturn.
“I’m getting a lot of calls from people who are saying, ‘I just got my severance package, and this is something I have wanted to do my whole life,’ ” said Kelly Webb, dubspot’s director of operations. “In the midst of this economic crisis, some people have simply decided to go out and do what really makes them happy.”
That description certainly fits Tom Macari, 26, who was until last month an information technology manager at Frederic Fekkai in Manhattan.
“I used to D.J. at parties when I was 16, and I’m still young enough to get back in the business,” he said. “I used to mix records and CDs, but now most D.J.’s are downloading songs from computers, which is why I needed to take this course.”
Rob Principe, the founder and chief executive of Scratch DJ Academy in Manhattan, said that his company had also seen an increase in enrollment.
“This year as opposed to last, we are up 18 percent,” Mr. Principe said. “When the going gets tough, people tend to go back to things that they are really interested in doing, whether that is to pursue something like this as a hobby or as an alternate means of income.”
Dan Giove, the president and founder of dubspot, where a five-month course costs $1,695.00, said that a D.J., depending on experience and venue, can make anywhere from $50 to $1,000 an event.
“You can absolutely make a living as a D.J.,” he said. “In fact, we are seeing some of our students going out there and finding themselves decent-paying gigs.”
Mr. Giove pointed to April White, a 30-year-old account supervisor at a public relations firm in Manhattan who is so worried about losing her job that she has already put Plan B in motion.
“I’ve been gigging like mad,” said Ms. White, who has been working at bars and other event spaces around the city, including at a bar called Mr. West, where she was spinning her vinyl one evening.
“My company has laid off 10 percent of its staff, and all the worrying about losing my job has put me at a weird crossroads in my life,” she said. “I love music, and I was always the first one on the dance floor, and so I knew when D.J.’s were really killing it, or when they were totally bombing — and I always thought I’d be pretty good at it.”
Another dubspot student, Marcia Levine, 53, an account executive for a television network in Manhattan, recently landed her first gig. On May 1, she will work a fund-raiser at a Manhattan public school, where students from kindergarten through fifth grade will pay $20 each to hear her spin Top 40 tunes.
“I’m so excited,” said Ms. Levine, who said she used to frequent Studio 54. “I don’t know what I’m getting paid, but just to know that I’ll be getting some form of payment to do something I really love is a great start.”
Ms. White said that even people who still have a job are wise to start thinking about another line of work — nothing is certain these days.
“What do you have to lose at this point,” Ms. White said. “I’m doing everything I can to hold down my job, but at least now I’ve created a potential exit strategy.”
By VINCENT M. MALLOZZI
Published: April 7, 2009
Channing Sanchez, who lost his job in January, has found a way to mix business with pleasure.
Mr. Sanchez, 51, was a jewelry salesman at Tiffany & Co., on Fifth Avenue, for 23 years. After hearing what has become a familiar phrase — “You’re being laid off” — he put himself on a different sort of track to future employment: he is training to become a D.J.
“I used to spin records 30 years ago,” Mr. Sanchez, headset in hand, said the other day just before he began another session at a turntable. “Now that the stress of losing my job is gone, this a fun and creative way to make some extra money.”
Within minutes, Mr. Sanchez and several other aspiring D.J.’s were sliding into their stations to scratch records and mix songs at dubspot (http://www.dubspot.com), an electronic music production and D.J. school in Manhattan, where enrollment — now 300 — has doubled since it opened last year, largely because of the economic downturn.
“I’m getting a lot of calls from people who are saying, ‘I just got my severance package, and this is something I have wanted to do my whole life,’ ” said Kelly Webb, dubspot’s director of operations. “In the midst of this economic crisis, some people have simply decided to go out and do what really makes them happy.”
That description certainly fits Tom Macari, 26, who was until last month an information technology manager at Frederic Fekkai in Manhattan.
“I used to D.J. at parties when I was 16, and I’m still young enough to get back in the business,” he said. “I used to mix records and CDs, but now most D.J.’s are downloading songs from computers, which is why I needed to take this course.”
Rob Principe, the founder and chief executive of Scratch DJ Academy in Manhattan, said that his company had also seen an increase in enrollment.
“This year as opposed to last, we are up 18 percent,” Mr. Principe said. “When the going gets tough, people tend to go back to things that they are really interested in doing, whether that is to pursue something like this as a hobby or as an alternate means of income.”
Dan Giove, the president and founder of dubspot, where a five-month course costs $1,695.00, said that a D.J., depending on experience and venue, can make anywhere from $50 to $1,000 an event.
“You can absolutely make a living as a D.J.,” he said. “In fact, we are seeing some of our students going out there and finding themselves decent-paying gigs.”
Mr. Giove pointed to April White, a 30-year-old account supervisor at a public relations firm in Manhattan who is so worried about losing her job that she has already put Plan B in motion.
“I’ve been gigging like mad,” said Ms. White, who has been working at bars and other event spaces around the city, including at a bar called Mr. West, where she was spinning her vinyl one evening.
“My company has laid off 10 percent of its staff, and all the worrying about losing my job has put me at a weird crossroads in my life,” she said. “I love music, and I was always the first one on the dance floor, and so I knew when D.J.’s were really killing it, or when they were totally bombing — and I always thought I’d be pretty good at it.”
Another dubspot student, Marcia Levine, 53, an account executive for a television network in Manhattan, recently landed her first gig. On May 1, she will work a fund-raiser at a Manhattan public school, where students from kindergarten through fifth grade will pay $20 each to hear her spin Top 40 tunes.
“I’m so excited,” said Ms. Levine, who said she used to frequent Studio 54. “I don’t know what I’m getting paid, but just to know that I’ll be getting some form of payment to do something I really love is a great start.”
Ms. White said that even people who still have a job are wise to start thinking about another line of work — nothing is certain these days.
“What do you have to lose at this point,” Ms. White said. “I’m doing everything I can to hold down my job, but at least now I’ve created a potential exit strategy.”