Being a female in MI means you are in the minority. Now, being a female in the DJ industry really makes you one of the few. There simply are not many female DJs. Female DJ company executives are also limited. Linda Arink, vice president of finance and administration at Rane Corporation, definitely bucks that trend. Arink also owns 50 percent of the company, serves as its chairman of the board, and was its founder. “Unfortunately, women in this industry are still an oddity,” Arink said. “I look forward to a time when the [Formidable Females] column is unnecessary. When I started this business, I was in my 20s, so I had a youth disadvantage as well as being female. That made it a little more difficult. The advantage was I was the founder of the company. But there still were questions at the beginning about if I was a figurehead or if I was legitimate. Trust me, I was legitimate.”
Rane was founded in 1981, shipped its first product in 1982, and became completely involved in the commercial install field in 1986. “Club and DJ has also become a big part of our business. Every product we make is designed and manufactured in our hometown of Mukilteo, which is about 20 minutes north of Seattle. Everything is U.S. based and we hope it stays that way,” said Arink.
Back in 1981, Arink said there was about a 1,000-to-one ratio of men to women walking the trade show floors. “It’s improved a lot. It’s unfortunate we’re still an oddity. But it will change.”
Before founding Rane, Arink worked in the consumer electronics industry. “Four of the people I worked with kept talking about professional products,” Arink recalled. “The company we were working with didn’t see that as an area it wanted to go into. But we just couldn’t let these product ideas [go to waste]. So I left the company and, after about six months, the people who would become my partners decided to launch four products in 1982. It’s gone on from there. We almost always have something new. It’s amazing.”
Rane has created a massive relationship with Serato in hopes of taking the reigns (pun intended) of the club/DJ industry. “About five years ago, we started our first collaborative partnership and that was with Serato,” Arink said. “Serato is located in New Zealand and has a product called Scratch Live. We started putting Scratch Live, a software emulation package, into our DJ products and designed products specifically for that use. Since then, we’ve designed a total of five products with Scratch Live inside. It’s an ongoing relationship that’s served both of our companies well. We’re doing great. It’s really exciting.”
Although we do see more women working in the MI industry—which makes a story like this possible—men still outnumber women as far as DJs are concerned. Will that change? “In terms of female DJs, it’s probably the same ratio I experienced 30 years ago: about one female DJ per 1,000 male DJs. One of our endorsing artists is DJ Shorty. She is traveling for us and conducting clinics for us. She did an African tour. She has traveled to Europe and South America on our behalf. We’re trying to broaden DJing for all people.”
Arink added one thing some female DJs must overcome to become great. Some female DJs are concerned more about outward appearance than technical aspects of the job. Although outward appearance is important, it is not the only factor in becoming an excellent DJ. Arink stressed DJ Shorty is NOT filed under that category. “She is professional in every way,” she said.
DJing as a Business
Many consider becoming a DJ a lucrative secondary—or for some, primary—business. Is that something you can really sell to customers? “Well, DJing is harder than it looks,” said Arink. “You have to practice, practice, practice. I’m always interested in hearing how many hours a DJ puts in before doing a set. It’s a phenomenal number of hours nobody sees. But the good news is you can do all of that practice in your home. It can be done in your basement, bedroom, or garage. You CAN keep your day job so you can continue to pay the bills. A lot of DJs find that they first start in the mobile world with parties and weddings before they enter the club world. You have to pay your dues in any job.”
As for you, Mr. or Mrs. Store Owner, Arink added most manufacturers support DJs clinics you can have in your store. “Manufacturers will have presentations, do great [prize] drawings, help people with their technical skills, and give them ideas they didn’t have before or didn’t know they could accomplish,” she said. “There are awesome DJ schools throughout the country. Most are on the east or west coast of the country. But many are weekend schools. You can keep your day job.”
As a manufacturer, Arink wants to continue to provide the gear to make a DJ’s life easier. The rate of technological change is much more rapid than when Rane was founded in 1981. “The most important thing we do is to keep in close contact with DJs and technological experts so we know what will come along. We also have phenomenal engineers and customer support employees, some of whom are DJs. You must read everything you can, talk to everyone you can, and focus on what’s coming [ahead].”
Arink has been married for 22 years. Her 19-year-old daughter is a college student. She lives a four-minute drive from work. Work and family comprise much of Arink’s life. However, she dedicates her time as a volunteer in her town’s library system. “For recreation, I fish and dance,” she said. [Laughs] “Not at the same time, though.”
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