As someone who has been in the radio industry for years, I often get asked how much money radio disc jockeys (or DJs) make. It’s a difficult question to answer because there are actually two different radio DJ salaries: the amount the DJ says they make, and the amount they actually make.
To help shed some light on this topic, I teamed up with a major midwestern university to create the danoday.com DJ salary calculator. This tool takes into account various factors that can affect a DJ’s salary and provides a more accurate estimate of what they might actually be earning.
Let’s say you meet a DJ who tells you they make $100,000 a year. Sounds like a lot, right? Well, let’s answer a few questions to get a more realistic estimate of their salary.
First, how many years has this DJ been in radio? Let’s say four years for this example. During those four years, how many different radio stations have they worked for? Let’s say two to five. How many times have they been married? Let’s be conservative and say two. And how many times have they been in rehab? Let’s give them the benefit of the doubt and say none.
Next, let’s consider how many times this DJ has moved in the past four years. We’ll estimate at least five moves. And how many different formats have they worked in? Let’s say three. Do they own or rent their home? That’s a no-brainer – they rent.
Finally, we’ll take into account how active they are online. How many daily postings do they make to internet news groups? Let’s say two or more. And how many different air names have they used throughout their career? Let’s be conservative and say two to three.
Based on the answers to these questions, it’s pretty safe to estimate that this DJ’s real salary is around $55,187 – less than half of what they claimed to make. Of course, if they work for a company like Clear Channel, their true salary may be even higher.
While this DJ salary calculator is by no means an exact science, it does provide a more accurate estimate of what DJs in the radio industry might be earning. So if you’re considering a career in radio, keep these factors in mind when negotiating your salary – and don’t be afraid to ask for what you’re worth.