Weddings Rich Bride Poor Bride

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L

lets dance

New DJ
Jan 30, 2008
169
0
61
Vernon B.C. Canada
I watch Rich Bride Poor Bride about once a week I find it give me some insight into the parts of Wedding planning etc that I never see. That being said it has always sort of bothered me that they never mention the DJ or the part we play in the success of the event. Just when I was getting over that ego problem, in the last episode I watched the Bride could not stop mentioning the great deal she got on her DJ $250.00 out of a wedding budget of $40,000.00 over and over she brought up (like vomit) the great deal she got and how he was worth every penny. Talk about bad publisity any bride who watches this will think thats what she should get her DJ for. The DJ that low balled a reception that involved this much publicity for our industry is a moron. :sqmad:
 
well she should get what she pays for................................. a crap Dj
 
but if they get a crappy DJ
it just plays into the whole tension of the show...
and makes better television.
maybe that's why they don't usually mention the DJ.

But then again,
if they make the DJ look crappy on TV
they'd probably be up for a lawsuit.
:sqerr:
 
I gotta say
I was scheduled to do a $200 gig this Sunday
(it's only 2 hours, and it's for families of kids with special health needs)

It was nice to make SOME money
but they had to cancel because of the H1N1 scare...
so in the end, it was one job I didn't mind losing.

Maybe this DJ took the gig cause he THOUGHT he'd end up on TV!!
:sqconfused:
 
Last time I DJd a wedding for $250 was in 1988.

Some of those DJs would do it for free just to be on TV...thinking that it will help him get exposure.
 
Exposure on television as a $250.00 wedding DJ wouldn't my choice of exposure. :D

We may never know what level of service the bride got for $250.00. But I would wager that the DJ was not happy about his paycheck once he learned what the other vendors were paid. :eek:
 
Esoteric said:
I dunno, right now I might take $250. My numbers are down 20% for last year.

Mike
Click to expand...

I get $225 for a 1 hour bubble party with almost zero stress. That is sad to hear, Mike....
 
Unless this show is really big in the guys local market any exposure wouldn't really help him any unless he runs a national multi-op.

In this case he would have done himself (and the rest of us) more justice if he had charged a very high rate
 
Well, it is get paid $250 for a gig or $0 to stay at home, right now I would take the $250. Being down 20% and very little chance to make it up before the year ends, and with another 15%-20% drop on the horizon, I am looking at taking gigs that I would not have touched a year or even 10 years ago (when I WAS in school). Hell, I am even thinking about doing weddings and parties (my last event like that was a Bar Mitzvah I did 10 years ago when I swore off private events). I don't care if it is teenager money, if I do 5 of those events a month, I could meet my bottom line and make more than my wife.

Mike
 
Esoteric you bring up an interested point. If our numbers are down what do we do? Do we turn our back on the little money we can get, that will add up to the bottom line, or do we let our ego take over saying, "we would never play for that little".

I'm starting to get calls for Christmas parties now. Callers are telling me that other DJ's are charging less then me. They would book the other DJ's but their all booked up. Callers would rather not hire a DJ for their parties at my price, have an ipod party or none at all.

What do we do? Lower our prices to make the bottom end or stay home. The DJ's that are saying that they would not move for "x" number of dollars really have no met the hard times yet. We would all like to get top dollar and build up our egos saying we are the highest priced DJ in town. But in most markets you wouldn't be in business to long.

What the difference in between taking a lower priced event or doing a freebie for a charity? With the charity you get a name mention. With the lower priced event you get your name on the tickets (using a Christmas party as an example) and some money to help you reach the bottom line. (Just remember you're a pro at what you do.)

How many DJ's on this board are making $10,000 or less and have been in business for a while? They're not bottom feeders just surviving in their market.

I ask how many bookings are you taking per year? I'm sure in a lot of markets DJ's are taking many more bookings at a lower price than they ever would at the high price. Sure it means they're playing more, having more wear and tear on their equipment, but their probably making the same money (as a higher priced DJ in their market) or more. Example: Do you play two gigs per month at $500 each or three gigs per month at $350 each? How do you see the difference? I know several DJ's in my market that charge less than me and are always booked up and perform at more events.

I say in these times go with what your market can bare, but don't be a bottom feeder and don't start a price war.
 
Bill Kexel said:
Last time I DJd a wedding for $250 was in 1988.

Some of those DJs would do it for free just to be on TV...thinking that it will help him get exposure.
Click to expand...


They never showed him or mentioned the name of his company the bride at the end of the event said he did a great job. It may have been better for us if he did a lousy job then we could say she got what she paid for. :sqerr:
 
Abbey Lane said:
Esoteric you bring up an interested point. If our numbers are down what do we do? Do we turn our back on the little money we can get, that will add up to the bottom line, or do we let our ego take over saying, "we would never play for that little".

I'm starting to get calls for Christmas parties now. Callers are telling me that other DJ's are charging less then me. They would book the other DJ's but their all booked up. Callers would rather not hire a DJ for their parties at my price, have an ipod party or none at all.

What do we do? Lower our prices to make the bottom end or stay home. The DJ's that are saying that they would not move for "x" number of dollars really have no met the hard times yet. We would all like to get top dollar and build up our egos saying we are the highest priced DJ in town. But in most markets you wouldn't be in business to long.

What the difference in between taking a lower priced event or doing a freebie for a charity? With the charity you get a name mention. With the lower priced event you get your name on the tickets (using a Christmas party as an example) and some money to help you reach the bottom line. (Just remember you're a pro at what you do.)

How many DJ's on this board are making $10,000 or less and have been in business for a while? They're not bottom feeders just surviving in their market.

I ask how many bookings are you taking per year? I'm sure in a lot of markets DJ's are taking many more bookings at a lower price than they ever would at the high price. Sure it means they're playing more, having more wear and tear on their equipment, but their probably making the same money (as a higher priced DJ in their market) or more. Example: Do you play two gigs per month at $500 each or three gigs per month at $350 each? How do you see the difference? I know several DJ's in my market that charge less than me and are always booked up and perform at more events.

I say in these times go with what your market can bare, but don't be a bottom feeder and don't start a price war.
Click to expand...

It is something to think about. I have two moving lights that normally rent for $150 each per week. But recently they have just been sitting at my house collecting dust (3 weeks without a rental), so I rented them to a local theater company for $150 each for 3 weeks. I had to or else they would just sit and collect dust. They are paid for (I made the money I paid on them in the first 4 rentals), so I figure why not get something out of them?

Mike
 
Now there are LDs here that will only work for the $3k-$5k a show price tag they have. But those guys only get 3-5 gigs in the city per year and spend the rest of the time on the road. The rest of us work in the $500-$750 per show area.

Mike
 
lets dance said:
They never showed him or mentioned the name of his company the bride at the end of the event said he did a great job. It may have been better for us if he did a lousy job then we could say she got what she paid for. :sqerr:
Click to expand...

Well, I reckon so. The expectations of a $250.00 DJ service would naturally be much lower than those of say, a 1,400.00 DJ service.

What the bride is really saying ~ he did a great job for no more than he cost. :)

If the DJ biz is one's sole source of income, one may have little choice other than falling into the black hole of lowering rates. In my experience, I have learned that this is not the way to go. Trying to book engagements by competing with lower cost services is a downward spiral. The cheap services will simply lower their rates to maintain their market share.

Then one is right back where he started ~ few or no bookings. Plus one has shot his reputation all to hell in the eyes of potential upscale clientele for good measure. Lowering one's cost is lowering the client's expectations. It's not the way to go, my friends. :)
 
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