Frequently Asked Questions

SWIVEL is a booking marketplace built for college campuses. DJs create a profile, and students, student orgs, and campus bars find them and book them directly. Every account is tied to one school, so you're only ever seeing DJs and gigs at your own campus.

DJs and bookers need a valid .edu email from their school — SWIVEL is only open to real students. Venues (campus bars) skip the .edu requirement but go through manual approval before they can post gigs or book anyone.

SWIVEL is rolling out campus by campus, not launching everywhere at once. You can still sign up and build your DJ profile before your school goes live — browsing, booking, and the leaderboard just stay locked until it does.

Signing up is free, and SWIVEL only takes 5% (minimum 75¢, which only comes into play on very small amounts). Bookers and venues pay the DJ's agreed price plus that platform fee — it shows up as a dollar amount before you confirm a booking, no surprises at checkout — and DJs keep their full agreed price with nothing taken out. Tips work the same way: the amount you pick reaches the DJ in full, and the fee is added on top of it, so a portion of what you pay is kept. Tipping your DJ in person avoids the fee altogether.

The booker does. DJs can put a suggested rate on their profile — per gig or per hour — but plenty of campus DJs don't know their number yet, so it's optional and their profile just reads “open to offers” without one. When a student org or venue sends a request, they name what their event can pay, and the DJ accepts or declines it. Want to haggle? Message each other on the booking and send a fresh request at the new number.

Once a DJ accepts a booking, SWIVEL holds the payment through Stripe until the event actually happens. The DJ gets paid out after the gig, not before — so bookers aren't paying upfront for a no-show, and DJs aren't chasing anyone down for a Venmo.

Yes — once your event date has passed, a “Tip” section shows up on the booking with a few suggested amounts based on what you paid, and a box for any amount you want instead. Tips go straight to the DJ's Stripe account, and you can send more than one. Free gigs can be tipped too, as long as the DJ has set up payouts. The amount you choose reaches your DJ in full; SWIVEL adds its fee on top to cover card processing, and that part is kept. If you'd rather none of it went to us, tip your DJ in person — cash or otherwise — and they keep every cent.

Cancel before the DJ accepts, or if they decline, and nothing is charged at all — the authorization is just released. Cancel after they've accepted and you're refunded everything except the card processing fee, which the card networks keep on a refund and we can't get back; the exact amount is shown before you pay. If something goes wrong with a booking that already happened, email swiveladmin@gmail.com and we'll help sort out the dispute.

Yes — some DJs choose to take free gigs to build a portfolio, get reps, or support a charity or philanthropy event. It's always the DJ's own call, and free gigs skip Stripe entirely since no money changes hands.

Every campus has its own leaderboard, ranked by a formula that factors in profile completeness, likes, recency, and reviews. It's a discovery tool to help good DJs get found — not a certification of skill or a promise of bookings, and the formula can change.

Hit "Sign Up," pick your role — DJ, Booker, or Venue — and follow the prompts. DJs and bookers verify with a code sent to their school email; venues wait for manual approval before they can go live.