Didn't even vote.
Gigs have mostly been few and far between since Covid.
Hoping it's better in 2026,
but I'm not counting eggs.
Gigs have mostly been few and far between since Covid.
Hoping it's better in 2026,
but I'm not counting eggs.
2026 Event Count Prediction. How many do you anticipate you will work in 2026?
- Thread starter DJ Ricky B
- Start date
I am going to predict you will fall into the 2-5 range. Let me know if I was accurate next January!
Please I don't mean any disrespect. What does what the companies expenses have to do with what the DJ gets paid? I understand they have expenses running their business. Also what about the DJ as Tunes4046 said it making enough money to make a profit to justify them doing the event?
I don’t think you understand how business works, the goal is to make a healthy profit to sustain the company and provide future growth, in most businesses one of the biggest expenses is labor. The more you pay employees the less is left for company. Most people aren’t in business to just get by, they want to grow the business live a very comfortable lifestyle plan for their futures in vest for retirement. You have to control labor costs
Not so much in the last few years but I used to do a bit of subcontracting for other companies. When they call and ask if I'm open and I say yes they say they pay less then I want I say no. Most times they come up to what I want which is obviously less than what I would book it myself for I'm not unreasonable. If they don't that's ok too. Really it's simple.
What they charge is really none of your business what they pay you is
Those expenses the companies pay are what keep the gigs coming for the DJs. Insurance is a real thing and many venues require it. The DJs I sub for are using their Insurance policy to secure the gig. The advertising that gets the client has a real cost to it. I wouldn't take the gig if it wasn't worth my time and effort. The DJs I subcontract gigs from a good friends of mine and they know what my requirements are for taking a gig. None of them take more than 15% of the total fee.
I hear you and I understand. My concern is about ME. If I'm not the owner of the company then what their expenses are is not my concern. Look at it this way. People who go on strike at a job are looking out for what's best for them. Those nurses that are on strike in NY are on strike because they want their situation to get better.
If a business has to close because labor costs are too high then you have no income
We can start by acknowledging that if the office is in the DJs home (or none at all) then that alone is a HUGE monthly cost difference from those that are opening their commercial office doors 5 or more days a week.
Second, established business and entertainment brokers are not limited to selling one personal style or solution for one date and time. They are Entertainment agents able to deliver a variety of scaled solutions well beyond the capacity of a solo-op DJ.
There's a poll on this site asking how many gigs people will book this year. One of the multi-ops I worked with for a number of years provided me with up to 3 gigs each week. The company had a booking capacity of 30 gigs on any given weekend. I also received additional earnings from production support, equipment rentals, and repairs related to their operations. Putting the work of booking DJ gigs in someone else's hands allowed me to focus my own attention on the future of the work I wanted to do as I moved out of the DJ role through age and other interests.
The key business factor to weigh is not 'price' - it's 'time' and to what effort or goal is our time being applied? Are we actually working and moving forward with something or are we merely waiting for some yet unknown opportunity to knock on our door?
They are super generous if they are only taking 15% and pay you 85% NET on the fee, especially in 2025/2026. I am very certain just about ALL the companies now in the DC region pay 50% to 60% to the DJ. My sister still works a lot of sub contract gigs, and they won't book her and pay her more than $600 these days unless it's a previous repeat client that was originally set up under the old pay structure of 75% NET to the DJ. She did a job the other day for $500, and the client paid $1,000. She hates it, but she always needs money and has basically accepted the low pay on these jobs in order to keep an income come in. Also, what is worse with them is they collect the payments from the client, and then make her wait 3-4 weeks after the event is completed to actually get paid now. They moved to a direct deposit system, and at first it was set dates every two weeks, but they decided to change that and just let the entertainers wait until whenever they feel like doing payroll which is running 3-4 weeks now. I think they just "Rob Peter to Pay Paul" type of scheme going on. I have told her not to work with them any more with all this BS going on, but she continues to deal with it. It is unfortunate that a working DJ that has been with them for almost 30 years has to deal with people operating a business in this manner.
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This is the problem people don’t think big picture. If you had a choice between pay that’s reasonable or no pay because you want too much to make employing you possible which would you choose
I think he meant there’s only 15% profit after all expenses are factored
What would you call reasonable vs wanting too much?
I worked for Newark Public Schools for 33 years before I retired. When I retired in 2013 they were getting $950 million dollars a year to run that school system. My salary was $22 an hour. So I was getting paid more than minimum wage. I understood they had a lot of money going to different places. My concern wasn't how they were spending the money. My concern was what I was getting paid.
I understand that you own several businesses and your concern is how much you are making from those businesses which you should. You need to make a certain amount of money to stay in business and you need to make a certain amount in profit to justify you staying in business.
I'm just of the mind set its about what I am getting paid. If I worked for one of those companies doing an event, it would be none of my business how much they make from securing the event.
She chooses to deal with them. Unless they are the only game in town any multi-op would be thrilled to have a 30 year DJ knock on their door
Years ago I did a gig for a local multi-op. I was supposed to be paid the next day cash well it turned in to 6 weeks before I got paid and the reason I got it then was he needed me. I told him sure money up front he said he couldn't do that so I said I can't play then. I offended him I guess he told me to F**k off. so I did. I got home there are 4 messages on my phone (days before cellphone) apologizing and he would give me what I wanted
I did the gig and did several more before he bankrupted himself. It was a gamble because I needed the money back then but it taught me a valuable lesson gamble on yourself and state your terms. Nine times out of 10 it has worked for me
If your mindset is on what you are getting paid and you are as good of a DJ as you have professed to in many many post on this forum, why do you accept so many extremely low paying gigs
You have said multiple times that I said I'm a good DJ. I don't remember saying that. I've tried my best to remain humble. I don't claim to be a good DJ even though others have said that including my buddy that's a DJ. I try to remain humble because of how I lost the business many years ago. I just won't allow anyone to talk to me like I'm complete garbage.
That's nuts. I hope the money is worth it to you, and the events are among the easiest load ins/tear downs and people to deal with for you. I could never do that simply on principal alone.