Techno DJs Tour Managers Fundraiser Goes Viral for All the Wrong Reasons

Several tour managers for top techno DJs including Carl Cox, Joseph Capriati, Nicole Moudaber and more are part of a project whereby they have posted mixes to Bandcamp as a fundraiser since they have been out of work due to the Covid-19 crisis.

The press release and video put out by the people behind the Tour Managers Not Touring (TNT) – The Sofa Sessions clearly state that the purpose of this project was to raise money for tour managers since they have not been working recently.

While everyone can appreciate the massive financial effect on the entire world of the Coronavirus, the project appears to be quite tone def when you have the highest paid techno djs in the world recording videos asking you to give money to their tour managers – the implication is that the tour managers are not being taken care by the artists they work for so they have to ask for help to pay their bills.

This quote was provided by Dubfire’s tour manager Dingo (Tim Price):

“The tour managers in our scene are like one big dysfunctional family. A lot of tour managers play themselves and have great musical taste. So we thought this would be a great way to come together, and an interesting concept to explore the sound of the tour mangers in comparison to the sound of the DJs we work with. Our goal is to release some new and interesting content to help with the #stayhome initiative and also try and gain some financial support for us tour managers during this unfortunate time as most of us if not all are not paid a salary, we are paid per show. This project is being done out of love of music, our scene and the people involved in it.” (Bold added by EDM Life)

Carl Cox today defended the project below:

Carl states:

There was no suggestion ever made that this was to cover “wages” that is simply ridiculous and I feel saddened that this has even been suggested.

However the press release we were sent as well as the video put out of as part of this project clearly use the words ‘support’ by multiple djs. When you are asking someone to pay money to ‘support’ someone in tough times, its hard to see this as anything but as asking for charity.

Yes times are tough for many now and we don’t begrudge someone asking for help if they need it. What has rubbed so many the wrong way is we have well paid djs asking you to give money to their employees since they need it. Which suggests they aren’t being taken care of by their employers, the djs.

Joseph Capriati noted that he did not ask for any money to be sent:

The issue came to light mainly by DJ John Askew who posted this video questioning the endeavor:

Its not clear if the djs themselves truly understood that this project was intended to raise money for tour managers that needed financial help.

Alan Fitzpatrick who’s tour manager was part of this project chimed in as well:

Techno legend Dave Clarke didn’t take kindly to this and posted this:

As Dave noted, let’s forget if it was your favorite dj but say a famous actor or singer instead that asked you to support their assistant or agent or manager in this tough time – not a good look.

The mixers that apparently were on the Bandcamp page have been removed and damage control as noted above is been undertaken by the djs involved.