Quick Mix or Not… A Brides Point Of View

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I doubt any DJs on this forum who are established are all of a sudden going to change their way of mixing at weddings and events because some DJs claim its the only way to go about deejaying moving forward.

As long as a DJ is still getting the same number of events, and earning a similar amount of money that they are used to they will keep on truckin. Also, unless their clients start rating them negatively or start complaining about this very thing to them...they won't feel the need to change either.

With that said...this is market and client specific.

With that client review it is OBVIOUS that the DJ did not discuss mixing style, and how the client want the night to go in terms of the presentation of the music through out the night.

What I recommend: What ALL DJs SHOULD at least do is ask if the client has seen them perform before. If the answer is no, then a DJ should be letting the client know HOW THEY MIX and play the music through out the night prior to them hiring them. I believe this discussion is not happening 80% to 90% of the time when DJs talk with their clients.

If a client wants FAST MIXING, and you as the prospective DJ tell them you play full songs, or you mix in near the beginning of a song and mix out close to the end for every song you play, then a DJ should be willing to tell the client they are not the right fit as a DJ for that particular client, OR the DJ needs to be willing to practice, and go and agree to FAST MIX for that couple's wedding.

Also, some clients MIGHT say they want FULL SONGS played earlier in the night, and fast mixing the last hour of a wedding. OR maybe they want to hear the full songs for all of their MUST PLAYS, but they want everything else fast mixed. A DJ can give them options to how the music is mixed at their event.

PREPARATION AND ORGANIZATION is KEY to a successful event.
 
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DJ Ricky B said:
I doubt any DJs on this forum who are established are all of a sudden going to change their way of mixing at weddings and events because some DJs claim its the only way to go about deejaying moving forward.

As long as a DJ is still getting the same number of events, and earning a similar amount of money that they are used to they will keep on truckin. Also, unless their clients start rating them negatively or start complaining about this very thing to them...they won't feel the need to change either.

With that said...this is market and client specific.

With that client review it is OBVIOUS that the DJ did not discuss mixing style, and how the client want the night to go in terms of the presentation of the music through out the night.

What I recommend: What ALL DJs SHOULD at least do is ask if the client has seen them perform before. If the answer is no, then a DJ should be letting the client know HOW THEY MIX and play the music through out the night prior to them hiring them. I believe this discussion is not happening 80% to 90% of the time when DJs talk with their clients.

If a client wants FAST MIXING, and you as the prospective DJ tell them you play full songs, or you mix in near the beginning of a song and mix out close to the end for every song you play, then a DJ should be willing to tell the client they are not the right fit as a DJ for that particular client, OR the DJ needs to be willing to practice, and go and agree to FAST MIX for that couple's wedding.

Also, some clients MIGHT say they want FULL SONGS played earlier in the night, and fast mixing the last hour of a wedding. OR maybe they want to hear the full songs for all of their MUST PLAYS, but they want everything else fast mixed. A DJ can give them options to how the music is mixed at their event.

PREPARATION AND ORGANIZATION is KEY to a successful event.
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Again... a DJ did not claim this is the way to go. A bride found this important enough to knock off 30% of her score for this dj she hired. But if you don't find her and her friends credible enough that's fine. Just realize that 20,000 brides likely saw that review. Would you want to be on the receiving end of that?

Do you ask your online inquiries specifically if they want quick mixing? Do you expect them to know what that even means in practicality. For example, if it's described as only playing 30 seconds of a second... that's not really what it means and one would be inclined to say, no please don't do that. A skilled dj knows how to seamlessly blend and layer transitions, phrasing, and naturally go from one verse to another songs verse to make it more natural.

The opinion's voiced so far seem to be really really really putting the burden on the couple to express something (mind you, they never planned a wedding before), instead of as a Wedding dj adjusting to the trends that the current market is aspiring to have. What else should we ask them... do you have a checklist for wardrobe options? Do you ask which speaker style they prefer (column vs box) or what decibel level they want things at. Mixing speed is not a technical that the couple can pick and choose... its your style and tool in your toolkit when playing music. You either have it or you don't.

Lastly, a dj's decline doesn't happen overnight. Its typically gradual. I firsthand know a dj who does not quick mix... and went from doing 40 weddings a year, to less than 10 over the course of 5 years. Nothing else was wrong... actually a great dj in general, charged above average, and an honest business operator who went above and beyond. He just truly hated the art of quick mixing and thought it was a fad. He would say that the older guests appreciate the entire song, yet alienated the younger people. Many of his past clients have booked me for the family's or relatives future weddings, and described his dance floors as "dragging".
 
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djtaso said:
As I said... this seems to ALWAYS be controversial on here, and I guess i don't understand why. If you're in the Wedding industry, this should be obvious that this is where the expectations are going. If you don't do weddings or don't focus on them, totally different.
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I think the controversy comes from multiple sources.

1) Despite how worldly any of us think we are, we really aren't at all. We don't really know what goes on elsewhere. A categorical statement ignores this reality. For instance, line dancing and quick mixing don't work well together and country music/dancing is huge in many areas.

2) Many DJs can't or don't quick mix and still manage to have a healthy referral business. That is proof enough that the skill is not required everywhere. More capabilities may make one more versatile but lack of a single capability doesn't make one irrelevant. Today's topic is quick mixing, 20 years ago we might have been talking the same way about interactive games or lighting.

3) When someone states a certain capability is important, someone without that capability will assume an implied negative judgement is being made. This triggers a defensive response.
 
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djtaso said:
If you've never seen someone not quick mix, why would a bride, planning her first and only event w/ a dj, think to ask that.
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Because literally EVERY other instance of music being played - Radio, YouTube, Spotify, Apple, Live performers, your own iPod or Phone - ALL PLAY THE SONG IN THE ENTIRETY. It is in fact - the foremost way music is presented in nearly any venue or performance space.
djtaso said:
You're blaming a bride... but the reality is that bride just broadcasted her opinion to 20,000 people. Isn't the whole point of seeing what she said to adjust so that never happens to you.
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Sure, and that's exactly the point that's been thrown back at BOTH the bride and DJ - ASK don't assume.

If someone is watching TASO videos and then hires someone local - THERE IS NO REASON TO PRESUME the local DJ will be anything like the videos seen online, or DJs seen at other weddings.

20,000 potential views is not 20,000 qualified prospects and certainly not 20,00 potential customers. More importantly - she actaully gave the guy a really good review and simply dinged him for what is her own mistake. If this guy actually can't or won't 'fast mix' her review is likely to help him land propsects trying to avoid that kind of presentation, by highlighting that distinction in his style. There's nothing stopping this DJ from making this a selling point for prospects who don't like this current style.

That's the beauty of non-comformity. Not every one cares about 'influencers.'
 
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:laugh::laugh:Taso you mentioned something very interesting. Most brides you do their wedding for are normally between 25-35. At that age most don't care for a DJ that doesn't mix out songs quickly. A DJ that doesn't do that would be considered corny and wish they had another DJ who does that at their wedding.

Now another factor especially in Taso's case is who is footing the bill for the wedding? Is it the parents or the couple. The weddings he normally does cost a lot. So a DJ in his percentage of being paid to do an event is in the top 5%.

Now myself I'm 67 years old. How many brides even if I was a DJ who knew how to quick mix songs and did it superbly would look at me and not see a old man being their DJ for their wedding.

Also I wonder how many weddings has Taso done for a couple 50 and older?

We did a wedding for a couple a long time ago for a couple over 50 in a restaurant in Rosell. This was long before we became computer DJs. Things went very well.

Another one we did was for a friend he watched grow up. It was during Covid in a backyard. My partner was the DJ and I took pictures. For that one he was a better fit. He did a great job. I did a bunch of quick mixing with a few songs being played fully. For example Follow Me and You Are My Friend. Those songs you had to play the whole song.

Now Pro you're wrong about what radio does. There are songs that get cut short on radio at times. For example Stevie Wonder has a song called Do I Do. It's a great song and I can't remember the last time they played the entire song. They will play a bit of the song before playing another song.

There are some songs that I'm just getting into and they cut the song short.

What it's really all about is knowing who you are as a DJ. Just because a DJ isn't a quick mixing DJ doesn't mean that DJ isn't a good DJ. They may shine as a DJ another way. Also it's about knowing how to read a crowd and knowing when to change up the music if something isn't working.

Also my personal experience doesn't mean if you don't have a packed dance floor things are not going well. Of course a packed dance floor with people loosing their minds helps to feed the ego.😁
 
MIXMASTERMACHOM said:
:laugh::laugh:Taso you mentioned something very interesting. Most brides you do their wedding for are normally between 25-35. At that age most don't care for a DJ that doesn't mix out songs quickly. A DJ that doesn't do that would be considered corny and wish they had another DJ who does that at their wedding.

Now another factor especially in Taso's case is who is footing the bill for the wedding? Is it the parents or the couple. The weddings he normally does cost a lot. So a DJ in his percentage of being paid to do an event is in the top 5%.

Now myself I'm 67 years old. How many brides even if I was a DJ who knew how to quick mix songs and did it superbly would look at me and not see a old man being their DJ for their wedding.

Also I wonder how many weddings has Taso done for a couple 50 and older?

We did a wedding for a couple a long time ago for a couple over 50 in a restaurant in Rosell. This was long before we became computer DJs. Things went very well.

Another one we did was for a friend he watched grow up. It was during Covid in a backyard. My partner was the DJ and I took pictures. For that one he was a better fit. He did a great job. I did a bunch of quick mixing with a few songs being played fully. For example Follow Me and You Are My Friend. Those songs you had to play the whole song.

Now Pro you're wrong about what radio does. There are songs that get cut short on radio at times. For example Stevie Wonder has a song called Do I Do. It's a great song and I can't remember the last time they played the entire song. They will play a bit of the song before playing another song.

There are some songs that I'm just getting into and they cut the song short.

What it's really all about is knowing who you are as a DJ. Just because a DJ isn't a quick mixing DJ doesn't mean that DJ isn't a good DJ. They may shine as a DJ another way. Also it's about knowing how to read a crowd and knowing when to change up the music if something isn't working.

Also my personal experience doesn't mean if you don't have a packed dance floor things are not going well. Of course a packed dance floor with people loosing their minds helps to feed the ego.😁
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Sorry I didn't mean to post those 2 smiley faces at the beginning. I wasn't poking fun at you Taso.
 
sawdust123 said:
I think the controversy comes from multiple sources.

1) Despite how worldly any of us think we are, we really aren't at all. We don't really know what goes on elsewhere. A categorical statement ignores this reality. For instance, line dancing and quick mixing don't work well together and country music/dancing is huge in many areas.

2) Many DJs can't or don't quick mix and still manage to have a healthy referral business. That is proof enough that the skill is not required everywhere. More capabilities may make one more versatile but lack of a single capability doesn't make one irrelevant. Today's topic is quick mixing, 20 years ago we might have been talking the same way about interactive games or lighting.

3) When someone states a certain capability is important, someone without that capability will assume an implied negative judgement is being made. This triggers a defensive response.
Click to expand...
1) I meant line dancing like cha cha slide lol. I play country music here... although admittedly not for the purpose of line dancing, with exception of a couple of weddings here and there.

2) I focus primarily on weddings and that age range... specifically 25-35. Which is why I personally think that the quick mix skill set is primarily expected by crowds under 40. If you don't focus on weddings or teenage events, then yeah, the opposite applies.

3) I think that's ultimately it. In the personal example I provided for a friend of mine, he never quickmixed and never had to. He was more into house music w/ playing 5-7 minute long tracks, and came from a background where the entire song was meant to be played and to hear all the elements of the song gradually coming together. He built his reputation in the club world in the 2000's and 2010's... but he wasn't realizing his place in the wedding world was fading by not adapting.
 
Proformance said:
Because literally EVERY other instance of music being played - Radio, YouTube, Spotify, Apple, Live performers, your own iPod or Phone - ALL PLAY THE SONG IN THE ENTIRETY. It is in fact - the foremost way music is presented in nearly any venue or performance space.

Sure, and that's exactly the point that's been thrown back at BOTH the bride and DJ - ASK don't assume.

If someone is watching TASO videos and then hires someone local - THERE IS NO REASON TO PRESUME the local DJ will be anything like the videos seen online, or DJs seen at other weddings.

20,000 potential views is not 20,000 qualified prospects and certainly not 20,00 potential customers. More importantly - she actaully gave the guy a really good review and simply dinged him for what is her own mistake. If this guy actually can't or won't 'fast mix' her review is likely to help him land propsects trying to avoid that kind of presentation, by highlighting that distinction in his style. There's nothing stopping this DJ from making this a selling point for prospects who don't like this current style.

That's the beauty of non-comformity. Not every cares about 'influencers.'
Click to expand...
Youtube, spotify, apple, your own iphone, all allow you to switch the song as soon as you get bored of it and que the one you want next for as soon as you're ready. As such, 45-90 seconds and you're on to the next. EDIT: I Added this bc mix brought up something very relavant, at least around here. Many of the top radio stations during rush hour have live dj's mixing... which as you guessed... quick mix, to bang out a bunch of songs in 1hr, commercial free.

She wasn't an influencer, just a bride on a forum doing what other brides do. Reviewing their vendors. A very normal person from what I could see.

The one thing to point out though that seems to be overlooked... She's NEVER seen a dj NOT quick mix at all the other weddings she's attended as a guest. She didn't even know anything other than that existed lol. Her friends even took notice... meaning more than 1 person didn't like it.

The point behind me saying that and reiterating it, is that it sort of proves that this generation, of which I just fall into has an Expectation of that style of mixing as the "standard". Just like a car comes w/ standard equipment... the standard wedding dj in their eyes should know that's the mixing style appreciated by this generation. That may not be reality with all dj's and how they mix, but that's the brides perception. Until you see the opposite, you'll never know otherwise. This bride saw the opposite... it unfortunately was at her wedding.
 
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MIXMASTERMACHOM said:
:laugh::laugh:Taso you mentioned something very interesting. Most brides you do their wedding for are normally between 25-35. At that age most don't care for a DJ that doesn't mix out songs quickly. A DJ that doesn't do that would be considered corny and wish they had another DJ who does that at their wedding.

Now another factor especially in Taso's case is who is footing the bill for the wedding? Is it the parents or the couple. The weddings he normally does cost a lot. So a DJ in his percentage of being paid to do an event is in the top 5%.

Now myself I'm 67 years old. How many brides even if I was a DJ who knew how to quick mix songs and did it superbly would look at me and not see a old man being their DJ for their wedding.

Also I wonder how many weddings has Taso done for a couple 50 and older?

We did a wedding for a couple a long time ago for a couple over 50 in a restaurant in Rosell. This was long before we became computer DJs. Things went very well.

Another one we did was for a friend he watched grow up. It was during Covid in a backyard. My partner was the DJ and I took pictures. For that one he was a better fit. He did a great job. I did a bunch of quick mixing with a few songs being played fully. For example Follow Me and You Are My Friend. Those songs you had to play the whole song.

Now Pro you're wrong about what radio does. There are songs that get cut short on radio at times. For example Stevie Wonder has a song called Do I Do. It's a great song and I can't remember the last time they played the entire song. They will play a bit of the song before playing another song.

There are some songs that I'm just getting into and they cut the song short.

What it's really all about is knowing who you are as a DJ. Just because a DJ isn't a quick mixing DJ doesn't mean that DJ isn't a good DJ. They may shine as a DJ another way. Also it's about knowing how to read a crowd and knowing when to change up the music if something isn't working.

Also my personal experience doesn't mean if you don't have a packed dance floor things are not going well. Of course a packed dance floor with people loosing their minds helps to feed the ego.😁
Click to expand...
Whose footing the bill has started to lose relevancy. Couples want a very personalized experience and for their wedding to represent them. Mom and dad may pay for it, but ultimately, at least with most (not all) of my couples, their not allowing any outside influence.

Your age has nothing to do with it. it's knowing how to adapt to your crowds and that in itself is a skill.

I have done numerous weddings for couples over 50. I don't mix the same as I do for my typical wedding. I recognize that... and I adjust accordingly, both musically and my mixing style.
 
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djtaso said:
Youtube, spotify, apple, your own iphone, all allow you to switch the song as soon as you get bored of it and que the one you want next for as soon as you're ready. As such, 45-90 seconds and you're on to the next. EDIT: I Added this bc mix brought up something very relavant, at least around here. Many of the top radio stations during rush hour have live dj's mixing... which as you guessed... quick mix, to bang out a bunch of songs in 1hr, commercial free.

She wasn't an influencer, just a bride on a forum doing what other brides do. Reviewing their vendors. A very normal person from what I could see.

The one thing to point out though that seems to be overlooked... She's NEVER seen a dj NOT quick mix at all the other weddings she's attended as a guest. She didn't even know anything other than that existed lol. Her friends even took notice... meaning more than 1 person didn't like it.

The point behind me saying that and reiterating it, is that it sort of proves that this generation, of which I just fall into has an Expectation of that style of mixing as the "standard". Just like a car comes w/ standard equipment... the standard wedding dj in their eyes should know that's the mixing style appreciated by this generation. That may not be reality with all dj's and how they mix, but that's the brides perception. Until you see the opposite, you'll never know otherwise. This bride saw the opposite... it unfortunately was at her wedding.
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I personally have attended weddings years back where the DJ was not really mixing at all. One DJ literally had two ITUNES players open, and he would hit play on one player as the other one was ending and that was his version of deejaying. This was a DJ from a multi op in the area.

There is a Rap and Hip Hop Station in Baltimore called 92Q and they have done the 1 hour of commercial free quick mixing for a long time now. Probably at least 14 or 15 years now. However, it has the DJ chiming in and talking/bsing around on the mic a lot too...at least the last time I listened in. Basically the typical hip hop club DJ persona
 
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DJ Ricky B said:
I personally have attended weddings years back where the DJ was not really mixing at all. One DJ literally had two ITUNES players open, and he would hit play on one player as the other one was ending and that was his version of deejaying. This was a DJ from a multi op in the area.

There is a Rap and Hip Hop Station in Baltimore called 92Q and they have done the 1 hour of commercial free quick mixing for a long time now. Probably at least 14 or 15 years now. However, it has the DJ chiming in and talking/bsing around on the mic a lot too...at least the last time I listened in. Basically the typical hip hop club DJ persona
Click to expand...
I think a lot of the exanples are flying off the rails. They are examples from one's own personal space,

AM/FM radio still dominates the drive time airwaves, even outpacing SiriusXM. Podcasts, all other channels are there but have yet to catch up. There will be dance, or hip-hop stations that do segments of fast mixing, but they do it in discreet show segments.

Part of what makes fast mixing possible is technology. In the 1980's standard club technology was 3 turntables and an outboard DJ mixer. Fast mixing a track relied on knowing where to place the needle. If the DJ works full time it doesnlt take long for a key poistion to reside in memory. Many house and hip-hop DJs would mark their records from simplicity.

Todays gear makes fast mixing easier than ever, and nearly anyone can do it if they have good mixing chops. The tech will recommend cue points, sync the waveforms, thread the music, and even match the key. All we gotta do is choose a segment we want.

But fast mixing doesn't solve the most basic problems with resepct to many kinds of events. In each example below, I am not the present DJ (though I have been in the recent past.)

I had been doing some teen dances for kids (Middle school ager) with respect to a private club that is one of my major event clients. I don't really do fast mixing there, I exit songs based on the dancing energy not a rigid plan. I specifically cater to requests. When the club would have a few High School age kids as chaperones the dances were very engergetic becasue the kids all look up to them and the chaperones couldn't help but boogie to the music.

When they did away with the HS age chaperons it became much harder to get the kids really dancing. Fast mixing doesn't help. (This is precisely why we use emcees and dancers at Bar Mitzvahs.) They've been using a differet DJ this year; younger, more likely to be fast mixing, and the manager had mentioned the lackluster dancing. It was a different manager when the HS kids chaperoned and I mentioned to the newer manager how succesful it was when the HS age members (an average of about 3-4 youth.) were there. There going to try that again and we'll see how that turns out.

A gala/fundraiser client has been using a DJ who is also a dance radio club DJ and former student from that school. He fast mixes religiously, but the audience isn't down with it, and he doesn'lt seem capable of changing his style. There's plenty who appear posied to dance - but, they simply don't trust the DJ to play enough of the song to even stand up.

Personally, I would not bank my career on fast-mixing because in a very short time AI will be doing it better. Programming and audience connection alwasy has been and always will be the single greatest skill, not the mixing method.

I'm not saying don't do it - just don't presume that because one has immersed themselves in a particluar trend - that the same trend is universal becasue - It's not. There's a market where you can do it repeatedly but step away from that and the response may be entirely different. Furthemore, if we are internet centric we have to stay aware of that centricity of our client base and new customers. We can expect all of our leads to be like minded; each responding to the distinct stimunli we have posted.
 
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djtaso said:
3) I think that's ultimately it. In the personal example I provided for a friend of mine, he never quickmixed and never had to. He was more into house music w/ playing 5-7 minute long tracks, and came from a background where the entire song was meant to be played and to hear all the elements of the song gradually coming together. He built his reputation in the club world in the 2000's and 2010's... but he wasn't realizing his place in the wedding world was fading by not adapting.
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This same principle would apply to any DJ working within a narrowly defined niche including yourself. The view from 10,000 feet will always be different than the one we choose to immerse ourselves in.

Fast mixing itself is not a new trend. It has alwasy been used for various purposes, most commonly to condense other genre or generational segments within a broader or different program. In prior decades, if I had a wedding in which the couple did not want hip-hop music but agreed to have some played for their friends - then I would use fast mixing for such a segmnet, getting in lot's of the outliar requests within a shorter window.

The new trend has been to make it the entirety of the program.
It's not dificult to see from where this originates, and why it is central to one specific generation. It will be interesting to see what happens next.
 
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Proformance said:
This same principle would apply to any DJ working within a narrowly defined niche including yourself. The view from 10,000 feet will always be different than the one we choose to immerse ourselves in.

Fast mixing itself is not a new trend. It has alwasy been used for various purposes, most commonly to condense other genre or generational segments within a broader or different program. In prior decades, if I had a wedding in which the couple did not want hip-hop music but agreed to have some played for their friends - then I would use fast mixing for such a segmnet, getting in lot's of the outliar requests within a shorter window.

The new trend has been to make it the entirety of the program.
It's not dificult to see from where this originates, and why it is central to one specific generation. It will be interesting to see what happens next.
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This is very accurate,
I have a friend who does very interactive weddings, games, group dances, that kinda stuff. It works well for him and has for well over 3 decades. Very busy travels all over the country, show is 80% pre programmed. His opinion is this is what everyone else is missing out on. There are many types of wedding DJs and many types of Clients,
 
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Taso said I'm stuck on the 80's and 90's. What it's about for me is this. I grew up listening to what I call real music. That's when to truly make it in the music business you had to have real talent. Some had talent but didn't get their break they should have gotten. At one time artists put good thought into the lyrics they were singing. There was a message to be told. Some songs were stupid songs made just for fun. There was a song called Here Comes The Judge. I don't remember who did the song. I just remember it was a fun silly song that sold many copies.

There was groups like The Temptations, Isley Brothers, Earth Wind and fire, Rolling Stones and many more that had real talent. Also singers like Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Patti Labelle and Stevie Wonder to name a few that had real talent.

Now one of the ones I like who can sing of today but is given a lot of commercial stuff to sing instead of really good songs to sing is Beyonce. Now personally for me if I became a Billionaire I would pay 13K to see Beyonce or anyone else for that kind of money.

For me what I say is killing the music industry is that freedom of speech is out of control. There was a time a DJ didn't have to look for a clean version of a song to play at an event. Now there are so called artists that are allowed to say anything on a song and the song will get played. Not on commercial radio or at least the dirty version. I went to a bar that's now a barber shop. I was looking for a bar to play in at that time. That bar was too small for a DJ to play in. On the Juke box the only songs that they played were hard core gangster rap. Now some will say there's no such thing and that's not true. Those songs were degrading women and believe it or not the women were loving those songs. I knew that was a place not for me to be the DJ playing there.

There was a time when you could go out to a bar, club or private event and you didn't have to worry about a fight breaking out or anything else. There was a friendly peaceful time.

Now back to fast mixing. There are those who are great at fast mixing and those who are mediocre. Then there those like myself that's not my cup of tea. The thing I keep saying is to do events that you feel can with doing because you feel you feel you will do a good job at that event.

There are those who are we call gig whores. That's a DJ who will agree to do a job just because there's money to be made.

The question should be who are you as a DJ in terms of your skills? Simply put some are great at quick mixing and that's what they are known for. What are you good at as a DJ? That question is for any DJ that is willing to answer the question.
 
MIXMASTERMACHOM said:
Taso said I'm stuck on the 80's and 90's. What it's about for me is this. I grew up listening to what I call real music.
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Taso is correct.
We cannot be an effective sales person or customer service provider if our base instinct is: "what it's about for me."

I did this for a living for decades. Then I moved on. Why? Because "what it's about for them" is no longer something I want to support. Times change - you either change with it or you change lanes if you don't like where it's leading.
 
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Proformance said:
This same principle would apply to any DJ working within a narrowly defined niche including yourself. The view from 10,000 feet will always be different than the one we choose to immerse ourselves in.

Fast mixing itself is not a new trend. It has alwasy been used for various purposes, most commonly to condense other genre or generational segments within a broader or different program. In prior decades, if I had a wedding in which the couple did not want hip-hop music but agreed to have some played for their friends - then I would use fast mixing for such a segmnet, getting in lot's of the outliar requests within a shorter window.

The new trend has been to make it the entirety of the program.
It's not dificult to see from where this originates, and why it is central to one specific generation. It will be interesting to see what happens next.
Click to expand...
Can you provide insight as to what my "niche" is that is so "narrow" of a client. The way I see it, and based on the number of inquiries I get compared to others in the industry and vs what I charge... what I do and how I do it is something that appeals to a majority not a "narrow" minority.

As far as the trend in itself... one thing I have noticed is that their behaviors in their teenage/college years, will likely carry to their wedding. If that's the case, anticipate more fast mixing.
 
MIXMASTERMACHOM said:
Taso said I'm stuck on the 80's and 90's. What it's about for me is this. I grew up listening to what I call real music. That's when to truly make it in the music business you had to have real talent. Some had talent but didn't get their break they should have gotten. At one time artists put good thought into the lyrics they were singing. There was a message to be told. Some songs were stupid songs made just for fun. There was a song called Here Comes The Judge. I don't remember who did the song. I just remember it was a fun silly song that sold many copies.

There was groups like The Temptations, Isley Brothers, Earth Wind and fire, Rolling Stones and many more that had real talent. Also singers like Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Patti Labelle and Stevie Wonder to name a few that had real talent.

Now one of the ones I like who can sing of today but is given a lot of commercial stuff to sing instead of really good songs to sing is Beyonce. Now personally for me if I became a Billionaire I would pay 13K to see Beyonce or anyone else for that kind of money.

For me what I say is killing the music industry is that freedom of speech is out of control. There was a time a DJ didn't have to look for a clean version of a song to play at an event. Now there are so called artists that are allowed to say anything on a song and the song will get played. Not on commercial radio or at least the dirty version. I went to a bar that's now a barber shop. I was looking for a bar to play in at that time. That bar was too small for a DJ to play in. On the Juke box the only songs that they played were hard core gangster rap. Now some will say there's no such thing and that's not true. Those songs were degrading women and believe it or not the women were loving those songs. I knew that was a place not for me to be the DJ playing there.

There was a time when you could go out to a bar, club or private event and you didn't have to worry about a fight breaking out or anything else. There was a friendly peaceful time.

Now back to fast mixing. There are those who are great at fast mixing and those who are mediocre. Then there those like myself that's not my cup of tea. The thing I keep saying is to do events that you feel can with doing because you feel you feel you will do a good job at that event.

There are those who are we call gig whores. That's a DJ who will agree to do a job just because there's money to be made.

The question should be who are you as a DJ in terms of your skills? Simply put some are great at quick mixing and that's what they are known for. What are you good at as a DJ? That question is for any DJ that is willing to answer the question.
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I focus on weddings... for the most part an event hosted by 25-35yr olds nowadays. I create amazing celebrations revolving around the atmosphere and vibes my couples want me to create for their guests to experience. For most of my couples, they want momentum, they want energy, they wanna reminisce... and the majority... just want the best parts of the song with no downtime.
 
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Proformance said:
Taso is correct.
We cannot be an effective sales person or customer service provider if our base instinct is: "what it's about for me."

I did this for a living for decades. Then I moved on. Why? Because "what it's about for them" is no longer something I want to support. Times change - you either change with it or you change lanes if you don't like where it's leading.
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You missed my point. I never said anything about it being about what I want. I said if I don't feel I'm a good fit for doing an event I will pass on the event and that doesn't always mean it's about the music a client wants for their event. If I feel I don't have the right equipment to do an event I will pass up on an event. There are also other deciding factors that that will either say I'm the right DJ for the event or not.
 
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MIXMASTERMACHOM said:
"I said if I don't feel I'm a good fit for doing an event I will pass on the event"
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Translation: "It's all about you."

I've booked plenty of events for which I was "not a perfect fit." That's how I grew my business - by pitching my proposal and then preparing and equipping myself to be that perfect result. Every success expanded my knowledge base, experience, diversity, and capabilities.

You make it sound like you've been standing still for 40 years - waiting for that next gig that is just like the one you did in 1985. :)
 
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