Your Questions: Should I Have Different Aliases For DJing And Producing?

Digital DJ Tips Platinum Facebook Group member Aaron asks: “Out of curiosity, does anyone here use a different DJ and producer name? I have my own website and branding for the DJ side of things but I’d like to start releasing tracks under a different brand for production. Would this be a good idea?”

Digital DJ Tips says…

You’ve raised a good question here, Aaron. It seems fairly obvious to say that there is no issue with that whatsoever and in truth, it only depends on how different the ventures are from each other. For example, if you are playing disco and funk sets but producing uptempo acid house, it might be a good idea to have different aliases for each project. A good example of this is DJ / producer Eric Prydz. For his commercial releases, he uses his name and for his darker, more “underground” stuff, he uses Cirez D (see what he did there?).

However, if you are producing music of a similar style to that which you DJ, it can be a bad thing to have different pseudonyms. In this case, having different aliases effectively splits your followers across two similar projects. Why not just have one name and have one group of followers? This is much easier for club owners and promoters to get behind and promote which means that you are likely to get more bookings. This is especially true if you are DJing under one name and produce a hit with your different production name. Surely you want people to know that it’s you who made the track?

Of course, it makes it doubly important to get that name right! Picking your DJ, producer or joint name for both is something that requires careful consideration. Once you start getting your name out and about, you don’t want to be thinking about changing it. Your career can be held back or given a boost by your chosen name so it is a decision that shouldn’t be taken lightly.

Do you produce music under a different name? Do you have different DJ aliases? If so, why? Let us know in the comments below…