Ace Agency represents some of the biggest names in the dance music industry, like Martin Garrix and Don Diablo. Jasja Heijboer tells us how a small agency gets by in an ever-more concentrated DJ industry.

A lot of DJs knock on your door. What do you look for when recruiting new talent to your agency?

We receive about 25 applications each week. I mainly pay attention to the goosebumps I get when hearing their music or that feeling in my belly that never lies. Also, especially today, we only accept talents that are smart, healthy and that have a good team around them.

Why is that more important especially today?

The competition. If the talent does not have a good team around them, then you are wasting your time. Also, if someone is drinking or has a drug problem, it is never going to work.

Like many other industries, the DJ industry has seen consolidation among heavyweights such as CAA or William Morris. How do you defend your smaller, independent agency in this context?

I have turned down purchase offers by bigger agencies interested in buying Ace, because no one can guarantee that Ace´s distinct DNA will remain intact. There are 30 of us at Ace Agency and we represent 30 different artists. This allows us to offer truly individualized attention and focus on creating a long-term strategy for each talent. Many of them wouldn´t appreciate a bigger agency where one booking agent may have many artists to work on at a time. As a result our agency profits might be lower, but the satisfaction and happiness of my team and our acts is most important to me.

What is it like to be a woman in the predominantly male, DJ industry?

I never realized I was short, until someone called me short. I never gave any thought to being a woman until everyone started talking about women in business! Although until recently, only women worked at my agency. There are certain traits that I look for in booking managers such as attention to detail and what I call “overcuddling”, looking after the artists to make them feel happy and at home. This treatment is part of Ace Agency´s DNA and women embodied it best in the beginning. I began hiring men four years ago and now make an effort to keep it 50% women and 50%. I really like the dynamic and balance it brings to our work.

What advice do you give your new DJs?

Network! Impress other artists with your music. Listen to your inner compass, especially in the beginning. Always stay in tune to your core music because that is what will make you stand out. Eventually, if you want to be successful commercially, you may have to make some concessions. It all depends on what makes you happy.

How do you define what a successful DJ is?

Any DJ that is a game-changer, even if that happened 10 years ago.

What makes a good booking agent?

A booking manager always needs to look at the DJ´s long-term career. The devil is in the detail. It is so important to look after every detail, including the “extra stuff” such as billing and flyers, even if it´s not your job. It might not pay back right away, but in the end, it always makes a difference to go that extra mile.

What is the biggest misunderstanding about being a booking agent?

It is a lot of hard work, around the clock, but people only see the fun side. Once, one of our artists needed to bring a guest DJ with him to an act in the U.S. Their plane was leaving in eight hours from Rotterdam and the guest DJ had still not received his visa from the US embassy. It was ready but stuck somewhere in Belgium and we had no idea where. We made hundreds of calls to courier companies across Holland and Belgium until we located it in a depot in Belgium. We convinced the courier agent to look through thousands of packages until he found it. The artist picked up the package and then rushed to his flight. Meanwhile we managed to delay the flight just a bit which was just enough time to resolve the issue and get them to leave on time.

Is the DJ industry saturated?

I think it´s hard to say, but if you compare the life-cycle of a pop artist and that of a DJ, I think the DJs are actually doing quite well. Some DJs have been around for 15 to 20 years. You don´t see that with many with pop acts. I think it´s because DJs perform a lot more than pop acts and that binds them to their crowd and fans.

Do you think the Electronic Dance Music (EDM) DJ scene will continue strong?

I think new styles will enter, but everyone´s been saying for four years already that techno is going to take over Electronic Dance Music. Yet EDM DJs are still the main stage acts with the biggest fees and the best time slots, so I think these changes go really slowly. In general, there is a huge longevity in careers and it´s because artists are so creative both in their music and in their business.