Switch AZ: House DJ Competition Rules

Competition Structure and Rules

  1. Five contestants will compete for a single championship position, and two runner up positions
  2. The order of contestants will be the result of a random drawing right before the competition starts
  3. The night of the competition, all contestants will perform on a Pioneer CDJ two controller system, without any other additional peripherals (e.g. effects processor) other than a laptop or USB playlist
  4. Contestants using a USB will need two USBs, and must be formatted and ready for use on the CDJ system
  5. Contestants using a laptop must be formatted and ready to connect to a CDJ (midi mapping and drivers loaded)
  6. The first contestant will have 1 minute to mix into the opening DJs closing loop
  7. Each contestant will have 30 minutes to play their set
  8. At the end of the 30 minutes, the current DJ will start a loop that the following DJ will have 1 minute to mix into.
  9. This process will repeat until the final DJ has played their 30 minutes.
  10. Scoring will be based on two factors: Judges scores for each contestant, measured in tandem with audience scores to provide the best weighting of experts and our audience
  11. Judges will rate from 1 to 5 across several categories including technical areas like music selection, transitions, effects, and other technical skills. They will also score on things like presence, audience engagement, energy, etc.
  12. Audience members will simply rank the DJs from their favorite down. If you were their favorite, you will receive 5 points, if you were the least favorite, you will receive 1 point.
  13. All entries by judges and audience members will enter their scores electronically on their phones. Scores will be tallied in real time so the results will be available within minutes of the final DJ set
  14. The results will be announced starting with the runner ups
  15. Then the DJ with the highest score will be crowned the winner
  16. The champion will receive a check for $1,500, a physical trophy, some sponsor provided premium prizes, and a guaranteed spot for a weekend night to play in front of a full crowd at the venue of one of our judges
  17. The 2 runner ups will receive smaller trophies, sponsored prizes, and a chance to audition for several venues in Phoenix
  18. There will be 3 judges: Names will be announced the week following the contestants.
  19. Winner plays closing set
  20. Cash prizes awarded via ACH transfer within 1 business day of competition event date. Other prizes will be available at time of event, or shipped upon confirmation

Entry and Selection Process

  1. Potential candidates will have 10 days from initial kickoff to submit entries online ** JUST GIVE A SUBMISSION DATE
  2. All submissions will be kept confidential and not shared with anyone or company (privacy policy)
  3. Potential candidates will be considered based on provided set recordings online (e.g. Soundcloud, Mixcloud, etc.) and any related videos online (e.g. Youtube, Vimeo, etc), showing performance, engagement with audiences, etc. A chosen panel will review all submissions based on a set of common criteria to pick the final five.
  4. The deadline to enter the competition is January 20, 2023 at midnight
  5. The final 5 contestants will be selected and announced on February 1, 2023
  6. If for any reason a candidate can not participate in the competition, the next person in line will be asked to take their place (we will have a top 10 in our back pocket just in case)
  7. All candidates will receive an email notification of who the final five are
  8. The final five will be contacted directly to review next steps, obligations, and schedule
  9. You must be an AZ resident and will be asked for proof if chosen as a candidate

Eligibility

  1. Must be over 21 and be able to provide a drivers license or state ID
  2. You must be a resident of Arizona with a state issued drivers license or state ID
  3. You must be available on March 15, 2023 for the competition
  4. You must be an individual. Teams, partners, or groups will not be eligible to compete
  5. You will be required to participate in some PR and marketing events leading up to the competition

Candidate Obligations

  1. Must be available for minimal prep and rehearsal meetings
  2. Must be available for a scheduled photo and video shoot, with potential follow ups
  3. Are not allowed to share anything identified as “event confidential”
  4. All candidates will have free use of all official photos and marketing assets created for their own promotional use, but no manipulation or modification of those assets are allowed in order to reinforce brand consistency and recognition. Violation of this will result in a disqualification.
  5. Candidates will be offered 2 rehearsal / sound check opportunities to do equipment checks. One will be on a coordinated date before the event at the venue, the other will be the day of the event.
  6. SAKRD will provide a Pioneer CDJ standalone system for USB sticks (see rules above for details)
  7. Candidates will receive 2 free VIP tickets
  8. Candidates will be expected to participate in the VIP meet and greet up until 30 minutes before the competition
  9. We will not allow candidate equipment in the contest to avoid logistical and technical problems