I am hoping to do 60 this year. Last year I was at around 45 events. Im on a good pace right now being booked out till July. Full time is awesome but it is scary as hell not knowing when the next dollar is coming in. Im full time.
How many gigs???
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G
Guest
Guest
I have averaged between 35-40 the last few years. Mostly weddings. 30 last year with 7-10 other things, parties, school dances, staff or company parties.
This year I have 23 weddings booked, 1 school staff party, a cinco de mayo dance and I am sure I will pick up a couple school functions.
For a single op in my area, cold and weddings are not plentiful Nov-march my guesses would be:
Low = 10
average = 30
High = 50
This year I have 23 weddings booked, 1 school staff party, a cinco de mayo dance and I am sure I will pick up a couple school functions.
For a single op in my area, cold and weddings are not plentiful Nov-march my guesses would be:
Low = 10
average = 30
High = 50
K
Kirby Ball
Guest
Hmmmm.....average? I don't consider myself "average"... 
I'm guessing that a full-timer would need at least 50 high paying events to make a living. If they aren't booking high paying events, I would guess that total would have to double?
We fall into that "part-time" category and our goal is 30 booked events (not counting charity events) per year. We have 27 on the books so far.
I'm guessing that a full-timer would need at least 50 high paying events to make a living. If they aren't booking high paying events, I would guess that total would have to double?
We fall into that "part-time" category and our goal is 30 booked events (not counting charity events) per year. We have 27 on the books so far.
Interesting info guys... I think we can kinda agree that the "average" shown here is around 35. There are obviously exceptions on both extremes.. but I'm looking for a good middle ground as to what we can expect a DJ (and his gear) to work... and I think you've provided that for me. The debate can rage on.
Ben
Ben
I would guess the average is quite a bit lower than 35....considering the number of DJs and how common it is for many to work only a literal handful of events. I would peg average at around 20 with a high in the 50's and low in the sub-dozen. Our sampling here isn't very representative of the market; it's representative of the type of DJs who visit here...which could very well be in the 35 range.
Okay, fair enough. I guess at some point every analogy breaks down... so when I make my point, I'll make it on several scales of economy.
Ben
39 last year, 25 booked so far this year. I hope to add 20 more this year, but time is starting to work against me...
Well as a company we do about 350-400 Weddings/corporate events Per year. Of those I probably do about 75-80. In addition I have added 2 nights a week at Roadhouse Grill. So that puts me at around 180/year.
168 last year-45events and 123 Bar gigs.I hope this year less gigs for bigger money.I think i can make it if I loock at bookings.I rise the price this year for about 20% and I think i do 145gigs this year for 10% more income.
I really think to be full time one needs 50 or more to survive.
You must take into consideration the pricing of the events. Parties are generally priced considerably lower than weddings.
You must take into consideration the pricing of the events. Parties are generally priced considerably lower than weddings.
G
Guest
Guest
Sounds like VERY honest answers...
I'm surprised to hear these answers... they seem very honest. Other boards have guys who claim hundreds per year... we all know that's rubbish. I'm guessing that only a handful of DJ's are over 75 gigs a year.
When I was doing wedding gigs with my old partner, we were at about 40 a year and had to split the fee. Now , as most of you know, I do two to three gigs a week at the club. I average out at about 125 a year, but that's for a much smaller fee that you all get for weddings.
I'm surprised to hear these answers... they seem very honest. Other boards have guys who claim hundreds per year... we all know that's rubbish. I'm guessing that only a handful of DJ's are over 75 gigs a year.
When I was doing wedding gigs with my old partner, we were at about 40 a year and had to split the fee. Now , as most of you know, I do two to three gigs a week at the club. I average out at about 125 a year, but that's for a much smaller fee that you all get for weddings.
I'm just tired of the whole debate...the definition of being full time is one thing but the "who is a better DJ" full time vs. part time brings me back to the crazyace days....it's what you put into it that makes you a pro, full time or not.
Prior to 2005, my partner and I were averaging about 40 - 50 bookings for the prior 5 years. We were working almost every weekend or a couple of back-to-back bookings for several months. It was entirely to much, which probably explained the burn out factor we both got.
Now, with my business direction being different and a solid relationship with another guy who I book for most weddings, I think I'll end up booking about 30 - 35 booking this year, but for more money.
That number seems to be a pretty good number to balance a part-time business and a full-time job and family.
Now, with my business direction being different and a solid relationship with another guy who I book for most weddings, I think I'll end up booking about 30 - 35 booking this year, but for more money.
That number seems to be a pretty good number to balance a part-time business and a full-time job and family.
I had 68 events last year - not too shabby for a one-man DJ company. I stay out of the full-time/part-time debates, but I'll say this: many of my full-time DJ friends admire my dedication to my work and are jealous of my success.
Close to 40 booked so far this year - the remaining dates will fill in as they get closer.
Close to 40 booked so far this year - the remaining dates will fill in as they get closer.
We are a FT single-op company and for the last couple of years we have averaged 120 to 130 jobs (no clubs or bars).
The important thing is not really the number of jobs you do...but how much you charge for each job. We expect to do the same number of jobs this year.
The important thing is not really the number of jobs you do...but how much you charge for each job. We expect to do the same number of jobs this year.
With the DJs I've run across, I think there is quite a cross section: single-ops (part-time and full-time) and multi-ops (part-time and full-time). If I were to add all the DJs up and offer a median value of which type of service I believe is most common, it would be a "part-timer" (a DJ that does have a full-time job). I would venture on average that most of those folks are working 30-40 events per year.
Assuming the average multi-op has an owner and 2-3 DJs, I'd say they're doing 150-200 events.