Side hustle hero: how Kez spins DJ decks into cash

By day, 32-year-old Kez Duxbury is a public relations professional living in South Cambridgeshire. But when the workday ends, his passion for music takes centre stage - literally.

Though he doesn’t DJ professionally anymore, Kez has found a clever way to keep the decks spinning and the cash flowing - renting out his high-end DJ equipment. What began as a hobby at university has evolved into a profitable side hustle.

Here’s how he built it, what he’s learned and what advice he has for anyone looking to do the same.

Hello Kez. What first got you interested in DJing and how long have you been doing it?

I’ve been DJing for over a decade now and got interested in it at university. I knew a few people who were making music and performing and thought it was out of reach until I started messing around with a programme called Virtual DJ on my laptop. With that, I got to understand the basics of beat matching, mixing in key and cutting, and started to record mixes for friends, family, and publishing on the likes of Soundcloud and Mixcloud. 

I have been into electronic music since I was a kid and was influenced a lot by my two sisters, who are 8 and 9 years older than me, so I listened to a lot of UK garage. I also grew up in the era of music television, so was exposed to a lot of early EDM and club music. I also watched a lot of YouTube, including skate and cycling videos, which had some weirder underground electronic music, and at university, got into trap and bass music. This is when my interest in DJ really started to accelerate.

It was only when my then girlfriend (now wife), bought me a basic Pioneer DDJ-RB controller, which is essentially a full deck set up in a compact piece of hardware, that I really started to DJ properly and focus a lot more on it.

I was then fortunate enough to receive some inheritance and an insurance payout from a motorcycle crash when I turned 25. After putting some money down on a flat, buying an engagement ring for my wife, and paying off some debt, I treated myself to a full DJ club set up. For anyone interested, I bought two Pioneer XDJ-1000mk2 decks and a Pioneer DJM-750mk2 mixer. This is essentially the setup you’d have in a club but on a slightly cheaper budget, so you can only use USB sticks and can’t use CDs, for example.

Do you DJ professionally or just for fun, and where can people catch one of your sets?

I only do it for fun and if I make any money from it, brilliant. I used to DJ on an online radio station called Locked Online, based in Tower Hill and from there, met lots of other DJs who were my age so I tried to put together shows and the like but it was a lot of work. Doing it alongside a 9-5 was tough so I did weekly online shows and this was more manageable for me.

When my wife fell pregnant and we were doing the NCT course (during the pandemic), the course leader said about having some music that was relaxing but with a beat can help with breathing during labour. So, I started trying to make music and focus on making lo-fi hip hop beats. I played a couple of these to my wife and she liked them, so I made her an album and since then, I make and release an album for my son. Since then, and for the last six years, I’ve focused mainly on making music rather than DJing, but I do occasionally do shows where I play my own music, but I don’t actively reach out for those types of gigs proactively in the way I did in my early twenties.

How did the idea to rent out your DJ equipment come about?

I used my DJ setup a lot at home and during the pandemic and also tried DJing around my area in East London, putting on small parties and the like. However, post-pandemic and after focusing on producing music, I had £3,000 of DJ equipment hanging around not being used. I also was struggling to get booked as a DJ, regardless of whether I had my own equipment or not.

But what I did find is that there are a lot more DJs than there are DJ set ups, or at least DJ set ups that are suitable to play in front of a few hundred people. I had bought an amp and some large speakers for gigs so I had a full set up available. I did think of selling it and pocketing the money but everything was only selling for about £1,200 and thought that wasn’t really enough and I’d rather have access to it than sell it for that amount.

So, instead of it being stuck in my cupboard at home, I advertised it on Facebook Marketplace and on a rental site called FatLlama. I realised quite early on there were lots of DJs based in London who couldn’t transport their gear around, so being flexible with delivery or allowing people to put them in Ubers was really helpful. I’d also say that being in London made the process a lot easier. I lived about 3 miles from Shoreditch and this meant I came on local searches for people DJing in local pubs and bars.

Very quickly, I was worried about damage and insurance. FatLlama has insurance coverage as part of their service, but they take 25% of the rental fee to cover their costs. So what I would do is exchange numbers with people I got friendly with and created my own rental agreement (with the help of a lawyer friend) to keep more of the money in my pocket and help out return renters.

What gear do you currently rent out and how much did it cost to get started?

I rent out three things in various combinations; my decks and mixer, my full PA system with speakers and an amplifier, and KRK Rockitt 6 studio monitors.

It didn’t cost anything to get started as I already owned all of the equipment, but in total, it’s probably worth between £3,500 and £4,000 including all the cases and leads.

I wouldn’t recommend anyone uses rentals to pay for the equipment, such as financing the equipment for £150 per month and rely on the rental fees to cover your costs, because some months are much slower than others. However, it is a good way to make some extra money from equipment you already have and essentially, turn your liability into an asset.

Where did you buy your equipment and did you have a budget in mind when you started?

I bought everything from DJkit.com when I was able to afford it all. I wanted to buy everything for around £3,500 and easily could’ve spent more on the then top-of-the-range mixer and decks. However, I was realistic with wanting the most features without breaking the bank, so settled on the setup I have. I easily could’ve spent more but the gains were marginal at best.

Where do you advertise the rental service?

Currently, I just advertise on FatLlama. When I lived in London, there were significantly more people on Facebook within a few miles of me, so it made sense to advertise on there as well. However, that comes with additional risks of insurance and less checks, so be aware of those if you choose to advertise rentals on Facebook.

How much do you typically charge for a rental?

I charge £100 for the rental of the decks and mixer per night, but the longer you rent, the cheaper it is. I also try to be flexible when it comes to pick up and drop off times to ensure people are given the opportunity to recover from their parties before packing up and returning the gear. 

I do charge less to rent out the PA system, as they are more readily available and not as specialist, and about £50 per night for the monitors. I don’t get as much interest in those but have them as options to anyone renting the DJ gear can rent the full set up with the monitors for around £200 as a bundle. 

How long did it take to recoup your initial investment?

In total, it has taken around five years to earn what I spent on them, however that doesn’t include maintenance, time to set up and test everything etc. so it’s not an exact amount. I’ve also dropped off and picked up the equipment for some people, especially when I lived in London, and charged extra for that.

What measures do you take to ensure your gear is returned in good condition?

FatLlama has some protection built into the platform which is helpful, but it comes out of your rental amount. I do have all the equipment covered under home contents insurance away from the house as well.

To make sure the gear is returned in good condition, I also try to present it in good condition. This serves two purposes: 1) it's easier to see if there has been any damage to it upon return, and 2) I think people are more likely to treat equipment that looks good better than if it has a few marks on it.

When renting the DJ equipment out, it comes in a flightcase with all the relevant cable guides to plug in the mixer and decks together without needing to remove them from the case. So before it is rented, I set up the decks so they just need plugging into power, and means people don’t need to remove them from the case and are less likely to drop them or scratch them.

Have you ever run into issues with damaged or lost equipment? Any memorable stories?

Luckily, not really. However, regular wear and tear on the channels of the mixer does happen, so every so often the mixer needs to be serviced so it sounds good. However, I did rent the equipment out to a friend of a friend who needed it, dropping it off and collecting and when dropping off, it was fine. But when I went to collect it, I realised the equipment had been on a partyboat around the canals of Hackney. So I had to drive and then walk down a dimly lit canal to collect the equipment which I wouldn’t recommend to anyone else!

Is there steady demand for DJ equipment rentals in your area/UK as a whole?

No, demand isn’t steady at all. While people have parties all year round, most are focused across two periods; the summer months, and Christmas. I’ve noticed that with the good weather, June 2025 has seen some heightened demand around me in Cambridgeshire.

I also wonder if this correlates to weddings as well. Wedding DJs can charge £1000s a night, so knowing a brother or uncle and renting £200 worth of equipment can save the martial couple a good chunk of change.

There was significantly more demand in London, and I had some requests in the months once I left London that I wasn’t available to fulfill. I imagine being around cities and maybe university towns is always helpful for this side hustle. DJing tends to be a young person's activity so if you have a few sixth form colleges around you, you may find you can create a steady stream of income by renting out audio equipment.

Roughly how much are you making per month or year from this side hustle?

Averaging out across the years, I’ve made approximately £600 per year from it, but I’d add a couple of caveats. I could’ve made more if I’d pushed them more and in the last couple of years, with the cost of equipment rising, keeping my rental price steady has increased demand.

I got a request from someone 60 miles away who wanted to put the equipment into an Uber for an event the next day. I had a look at equipment around them and to get something similar, they were looking at in excess of £350 per night, so there is certainly a market if you’re happy to be more long term and rent them out more often.

Do you use the income to cover everyday expenses, or is it more of a bonus fund?

It’s a complete bonus and more often than not, if either goes into savings or pays for a meal out or a couple of takeaways.

You made a TikTok about your side hustle, can you tell us about that?

I actually started writing a book last year about the personal finance lessons I wish I’d been taught as a teenager, and when discussing assets and liabilities, I used my DJ rental side hustle as an example of turning a liability into an asset. I felt it was more believable than Robert Kiyosaki’s house example.

As I look to finish the book, I started to build my personal brand on social media to talk about money and personal finance and started a TikTok to do that. I cover products, investing, terminology, and how the news impacts finances, but have recently discussed this side hustle to give people an example of revenue streams they may not know are open to them.

Would you consider renting out DJ equipment a profitable side hustle overall?

Technically, it has been profitable, but I wouldn’t rely on it. It’s a lovely little boost that contributes to my family's holiday funds and helps out people who want to put on an event on a budget.

What advice would you give to aspiring DJs or anyone thinking about starting a similar side hustle?

If you are going to buy the equipment, consider renting it out to offset your cost. If I wanted to buy the same DJ equipment as I have at the moment, it would cost me £3,500, despite it being a few generations old, so the financial outlay is high for aspiring DJs. If you don’t get lots of paying gigs from DJing or use them professionally, renting them out when you’re not using them can be a great way to make some of your money back.

Do you have any plans to expand the business, such as more gear, tutorials, or even a full-time venture?

Not at all. I have a nice little set up and it keeps itself ticking over. However, I am looking at hosting an open mic night at a local pub which will earn me £100 extra a month and I’ll use the equipment for that. It all plays a part in extra revenue that can be used to top up savings or help with the ever-increasing cost of living, and I’ll keep using it as an example that I teach people online and in my book to help more people with their finances.