We read every DJ application that comes in, and most of the ones that don’t make it aren’t chosen because they can’t DJ. They’re not chosen over small, fixable things - a broken link, a set that doesn’t match the sound, an Instagram that gives us nothing to go on. None of it takes much to get right, and sorting it puts you ahead of a big chunk of applicants straight away. So here’s what actually gets checked, and what to fix for next time.

Start with the basics that rule people out instantly. Only tick a date if you’re genuinely available, and only apply if you live in or can easily get to London - if the brief specifies that it doesn’t cover transport or accommodation, then please don’t ask. Make sure every link you submit actually works and opens to the right place. If you send a Google Drive link, set it to public - we don’t have time to sit waiting on access requests, so a locked link is just a no. When we ask for your Instagram, send the URL to your profile, not the @handle, and make sure it loads; if it’s private, we can’t consider you. These sound obvious, but they’re the single most common reason good applications get binned.

Then the part that actually decides it: does everything line up and prove you can do the job? The biggest one is matching your set to the sound you ticked. Loads of people apply for tech house for example, and then submit a chilled, lower-BPM warm-up house set - that’s an instant mismatch. Listen to the music briefs or playlists provided, because that’s the energy we’re actually looking for.

And your Instagram has to show a real DJ. We don’t consider accounts that are all graphics and event posters with no trace of a human, and we don’t consider accounts that never show you on the decks at all - just photos of you, mates and family. We need to see that you can actually operate the gear in real life and read a crowd. That’s the whole point of the booking.

Getting picked is rarely about being the most technical DJ in the inbox. It’s about making it easy to say yes to you.