Guide on creating a technical rider for DJs
You would give a technical rider to venues and promoters. This document is meant to let people/companies know what you need.
You would include the technical rider in your press kit.
Do beginners need a technical rider?
If you're just DJing at house parties or doing live streams, then you don't necessarily need technical rider. Although you could benefit from one when you're house parties, particularly if you're getting paid.
If you can't create one yourself, you could pay someone to create one for you.
What's contained in a technical rider?
A technical rider is split up into sections. You would first start off with your logo and DJ name.
You would put "Technical Rider" as the title.
Stage plan
A stage plan is a diagram of where things go on stage. You don't have to include one if your set up is simple. Include the names of items and where they will be positioned on stage. You could have a drawing of the items along with the name, but you also don't have to have drawings.
what you'll bring to the venue
You'll need to state what you would bring to the venue. This may include a laptop, controller along with accessories.
Accessories might be laptop stands or covers for equipment. You'd also include equipment such as USB hubs, extra soundcards etc
You would need to state the models of any controller, mixers and CD players.
You'll also need to note if you have any adapters and power supplies.
What you need from the venue
This may include power cords, microphones, monitor speakers and details of your DJ booth.
You need to state the number of extension cords and power outlets that you're going to use.
If you want to include information on monitor speakers, then you can include what cables that you require to connect the monitor speakers to your controller.
Stating that you need a microphone would be wise, even if you don't use it. You may have to unexpectedly announce problems or promotions.
If you can, you should bring spare audio cables and other small items. Mistakes by venues do happen.
Pictures
You may want to include pictures of your equipment from several views, including he front and where the outlets are.
Contact information
You would typically include contact information, including a phone number and email address.
You can request to be contacted if something cannot be supplied.
Hospitality Rider
Many touring DJs include a hospitality rider, too.
You would give information on the flight ticket type that would be acceptable to you. If you would prefer a window seat and/or a meal on the flight then you would state this. You may want to say what airline you prefer, and/or the airlines you'd wouldn't fly on.
You may want to say whether you want a morning, afternoon or evening flight. Alternatively you could include a time range for this.
This would have the accommodation type that you would accept, for example hotels, motels, AirBNB. You would state if any accommodation type is unacceptable.
You'd state what mode of transport you would use to get to the event's location. This may include going by airplane, train or van. You would probably say airplane, and give additional instructions regarding transport if the region doesn't have an airport.
You would give information on what meal types you expect. You can say if you want restaurant meals, and if fast food is acceptable or not.
You would state everything you need at the venue regarding hospitality, including drinks, snacks, a towel, a standing mat, and any fans. You'd include quantities, too.
For alcohol you'd state whether you'd accept generic brands. Generic brands can save the venue money, so they might be more generous.
if you don't want people in the booth while you're playing, state it. I also recommend to explicitly tell the staff when you get there.
You would state how you would travel to/from the accommodation. Options include taxis, Lyft, and Uber.
Accessibility requirements
Where appropriate, you'd also want to list your accessibility requirements. Below are some examples.
You may be sensitive to light and wouldn't want a direct spotlight on the DJ booth.
You may need a ramp to the stage, and require and all establishments you visit to be wheelchair accessible.
Alternatives
Remember to provide alternatives where possible.
Contract
You may want to format your technical/hospitality rider as a contract, though many DJs wouldn't do this. This will transfer enforcement of it to whoever signs it. It's probably best to get a lawyer to do a template for you.
Expect companies to mess up sometimes
Dealing with people messing up is part of life unfortunately. It's possible that people at companies will miss things.
Format
Generally you'd format this document as a PDF. You can use Microsoft Word or Google Docs to create them.
PDFs cannot be easily edited, so ensure you keep a copy in another format. If you use Google Docs you would just need to keep the document so you can edit it later.
Thanks for reading
I hope that you have all of the information that you need to create a technical rider.