We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nico Blitz a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Nico, appreciate you joining us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?
I’m currently able to earn a full-time living from my creative work, but that’s something that took years to acquire. As a DJ there isn’t really a blueprint on how to become monetarily stable, and frankly even when you think you have stability there will always be something that tests your willingness to stay in the industry.
I started off in radio in 2016, which evolved into DJing in 2017. Back then I was willing to do gigs for free or as low as $50 for 4 hours. I’ll admit that I had time to get another job or find ways to make more money, but I spent my ‘free time’ honing in on my craft and becoming a better DJ, networking, marketing, and finding my next gig. I was finally getting booked for some private events and clubs in 2019/2020 but then the pandemic hit.
At that point I joined Twitch, which eventually led me to DJing for 365 days straight on the online streaming platform, raised over $30,000 in donations to the Philippines Typhoon Relief Fund and #StopAAPIHate, and met a lot of cool people over the internet. This eventually led me to getting a club residency, managing a club, quitting the residency and managing, and put me in a position to fly as a fully independent DJ through social media marketing.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Back when I started radio in 2016 I never knew where my life was going to end up. The difficulty about being a full time DJ/Producer is that your creativity sells only if it’s marketed correctly. I was most proud of putting myself out on social media platforms (Twitch, Instagram, TikTok), as it enabled me to become present in people’s lives through the internet.
Inquiries for weddings, private events, clubs, and festivals I didn’t. even know existed started to come my way. It’s only been a year of actually putting myself out there and it’s worked dividends.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
My creative journey is constantly fueled by wanting to get what’s inside of me, out of me (I hope that makes sense lol). I’ve always enjoyed creating something that makes people FEEL, and I’ve found that I’m most effective in this field when it comes to music. When I can make people sing a song they haven’t heard in a long time, make people Shazam something they’ve never heard before, or keep people jumping because the energy is phenomenal; it’s all of this and more that keeps me going.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
I actually believe society is doing the best that they can right now to support creatives. Social media is currently a major driving force for creatives to market themselves, and it will tell you exactly what people are looking for and what they see in you.
What I don’t like is when creatives blame the algorithm for their lack of creativity. Relatively to my career, I hate it when DJs downplay the fact that you have to be able to market yourself in order to be seen or relevant in today’s state of DJing.
What they don’t come to realize is that DJs had to market themselves back then too, it was then through parties, radios, word of mouth, etc. Now we have more tools to help us grow, so why not use them?
Contact Info:
- Website: https://nicoakablitz.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/nicoakablitz
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2UFy0sE64DamZfD20t0DMP?si=VrfuyfQbSpy4XJQ73aCwZw
Image Credits
Daniel Aquino (https://www.instagram.com/danieleaquino/)