Published: Thursday - May 8, 2008
Words by Jay Casteel
Green Lantern Photo: n/a
Being a DJ in the music can be profitable, but there's no retirement plan for the spin doctors.
In an effort to assist the masters of the wheels of steel will be introduced in late August, with a three day event on Washington, DC called the Million DJ March, which will begin at the Capitol Building on August 28th and head down to the Washington Monument on August 30th.
The march are expecting the attendance of DJs from around the world, where they will introduce plans for an organized union to assist the DJ with things like 401ks and gig compensation security, which the organizers hope the DJs will sign up for.
Founder of the Million DJ March, A. Shaw, a long-time sponsor of Justo's Mixtape Awards, felt compelled to address the economic disparity DJs experience after many years of working with them through various channels.
"DJs do not get fully recognized for the work they do," she said. "Label and major businesses who reap the rewards of default publicity need to pay attention and give more recognition and financial compensation to DJs for the promotion they provide, without which music sales would surely suffer."
Long recognized as the backbone of the music industry, the DJ is generally the least compensated members of the music equation and are, in fact, often harassed and legally penalized for their promotional efforts, even when those efforts have been solicited directly by the labels and artists themselves: an arrangement that is known about throughout the industry but kept "on the low."
Popular mixtape DJ, Green Lantern, is the main poster boy for the March. During the event, attendees will be able to watch artist performances and hear the speeches of music industry leaders and founding DJs, which will highlight the DJ's decades of service to the industry.
"I am calling upon the industry to show support for an event to unify DJs and help create future economic safety for those that have chosen this art form as a career." A. Shaw said in closing.
For further information, or to become involved, kindly contact the event's publicist, Nancy Byron, at (832) 220-6071 or nancyb@ogpr.net.
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