Gigs & business
Live PA
A live PA is a performance where the music is played or built rather than mixed from finished records — hardware, software instruments, or a hybrid. It is a different booking with different technical needs.
In practice
Played rather than mixed. It needs setup time and inputs, and the DJ after it starts from silence.
If you are following one, agree in advance how it ends and be ready to start cold — a cut into a strong record on a downbeat is the honest move, and trying to blend into the tail of a live set rarely works. If you are performing one, advance it in detail: how many inputs, how long to set up, whether there is a table, whether you need power in the booth. None of that is standard and all of it is assumed.
Setup time
What it needs most
From silence
How the next DJ starts
Advance it
In detail
Where these come from: Booking and changeover practice, not a catalog figure. For what we can measure, see the swap around it.
Why it matters
It is the format most likely to break a changeover, because it needs setup time, a table, more inputs and often more power than a booth was designed for. A promoter who books one without advancing it properly discovers this at the worst possible moment.
For a DJ the relevant fact is what happens either side of it. Following a live PA means the handover has no beatmatched exit — the performer stops, and you start — so plan an entrance that works from silence rather than a blend.
Frequently asked
How do I follow a live PA?+
Be ready to start from silence. Agree how it ends beforehand and plan a cut into a strong record on a downbeat rather than a blend.
What does a live PA need from a venue?+
Setup time, a table, spare inputs and often power in the booth. None of it is standard, so it has to be advanced in detail.
Is a hybrid set a live PA?+
It sits between the two — decks plus instruments or sequenced elements. It has its own page, and it usually needs some of the same technical accommodation.
Related terms
Hybrid set
A hybrid set mixes records in the ordinary way while adding live elements — a drum machine, a synth, vocals, or stems triggered alongside. It sits between a DJ set and a live PA.
Handover
A handover is the moment one DJ stops and the next starts — the logistics of it, not the mix. Sticks come out, headphones swap, someone finds a channel, and the room hears whatever happens while that goes on.
Advance
Advancing a show is the exchange of practical information between artist and promoter in the days before it — times, equipment, travel, contacts. The document that results is usually called an advance sheet or day sheet.
Producer DJ
A producer DJ is booked primarily for the records they made rather than for how they play. The set is expected to include their own music, and the audience came for the catalogue.
Explore: DJ tech rider template · Handover · Hybrid set · All DJ terms