What is the minimum a DJ can charge and still be considered a Professional in your opinion?

I'm not talking about a bar or club event where you can stroll up in there with just your laptop, and plug into their system. I'm talking about a private event where the DJ must bring and set up their own sound system. I'm not talking about a 6 hour wedding, or a 4 hour corporate, or a 4 hour birthday party. It can be any type of event...even a 2 hour quick party, so at the most basic level, lets talk about "Hourly Rate". Even if you don't go by hourly, and you say "$500" or "400" minimum...if we are talking a 4 hour event, that would essentially be $100 per performance hour. So keep your answer in by the hour to keep it as simple as possible.

What is the bare minimum hourly rate you would consider the bottom for a professional DJ to be charging? And this has nothing to do with where you live, or a low cost of living area, or a high cost. This is just in GENERAL, Country Wide regardless of the service area! I will put up a poll for basic answers, but if none of my suggestions are what your answer would be, please type in your answer.

Scott Hanna said:

The challenge is many have different definitions of what “professional “ means. If we could agree first on what “professional “ mean, then perhaps we could discuss.

In my opinion, being a “professional“ has much more involved than how much you charge per hour or event. It’s how you conduct yourself in business. It’s how you treat customers and others. Ive met professionals that charge good money for what they do and I’ve met plenty who don’t charge enough. Doesn’t make them less professional.

I understand the connection that a “professional” should be able to charge more per event.

But is someone less “professional“ if they are doing 100 gigs a year making 75k a year than a guy doing 6 gigs a year making 12k?

Bernie Madoff was a professional too, who made billions. I try not to get hung up on words that have much different meanings to others.
Other words that mean different things to different people, which makes them almost impossible to debate:
racism
wealth
privledge
police violence

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Let's not let Semantics and discussion about business ethics/morals get in the way of this.

We have elected as President of the USA many times, WELL ABOVE 50% of the time, Unethical people who generally LIE, and make at least one or two scrupulous/illegal business deals to get to the office of President. They are the so called "Leader of the Free World" on our planet, and perhaps define what a "Responsible Professional person" is which is sad by any standard.

Let's just focus on what you believe a Professional DJ at a bare bones starting point should be charging in 2022/2023 to go and do any type of base level event.

Would you trust anyone (that you do not know/are not friends with) to do a party for you who told you they would do your party for $50/hr as a quote? What if someone wanted $300/hr would you assume as soon as you see the quote that this person is more of a professional service than someone quoting $50/hr or say even $20 per hour?

djtaso said:

This question is constantly asked and honestly I don't think it's the right question. There's a dj in my area that charges $800 for events... half the time you'll catch him outside smoking... he'll blast the volume way beyond what is necessary for the space... doesn't listen to clients and venues expectations... but people hire him cause they're attracted to the low price. However, rarely does he have a repeat client once they see his behavior. Is this a professional level service? In my eyes it's not.

On the other hand, there is a real professional, who normally charges $1950 for weddings... but has been known to go as low as $800 and someitmes even $600 to do events that fill the calendar. So does that mean a professional starts at $600?

Mix charges $300 or so... he cosniders himself a professional. Does that now mean $300 is the right amount to get a professional?

I have no idea.

I charge $2950 for sound only. So if you spend less than that, do I think you're getting low grade service?

There's no right answer to this. Charge what you feel you're worth... let the clients decide if they see the value in it and are willing to pay that. If they don't it almost always means two things. You're not targeting the right clients and/or you're not showing the value in your services. There is no magic number.

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It is a meaningful conversation to have, and it is true that everyone is different. Some people believe that Applebees, and Texas Roadhouse are the standard for what a QUALITY Dine in Restaurant actually is! They grew up in familes that never ate out and experienced other restaurants, and certainly have never experienced fine dining, or anything near Ruth Chris, or Mortons. Going to Texas Roadhouse for a real special occasion is considered a real treat by people like this. To them, Applebees/Texas Roadhouse are nice places to go to! They would perhaps consider these chain restaurants professional places because they either don't know any better, or never experienced anything else.


You pretty much answered my question with On the other hand, there is a real professional, who normally charges $1950 for weddings... but has been known to go as low as $800 and sometimes even $600 to do events that fill the calendar. So does that mean a professional starts at $600?

Assuming this guy will do a run of the mill 4 hour event for $600 that is basically $150 per hour.

Ausumm said:

I didn't answer the poll...
because you can be a professional refardless of what you charge.

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Valid Answer. So, basically if you hear of someone saying they hired a DJ and the cost was only for example $50 or even $150 for the whole event, you won't have any negative thoughts about the quality of the DJ they hired. You will have the belief that they hired a Professional DJ, willl have a great event, and likely received a great deal from whoever they hired.

Jeff Romard said:

Before I start I'm not advocating for anyone to lower their rate I love seeing DJ's make as much as possible but take this in consideration...

Plumbers and electricians average $70-$120 an hour depending on their skillset. It takes roughly 5 years+ of education and work to get to that level. The come with tools that are probably more than what our average system would cost

Joe the plumber hires you for a backyard bash this Saturday. How do you explain to Ol' Joe why your time is worth double his?

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That is also comparing apples to oranges. Plumbers have FAR, FAR more work available to them compared to mobile DJs. Most plumbers either work for a plumbing company, and work 45 to 60 hours EVERY WEEK. And often pull over 60 hours a week...at least down here in Maryland. I know of plumbers pulling $110,000+ per year.

I paid $750 to have a toilet snaked out last year. It took the plumber less than 2 hours to complete the job. The cost was $750. The cost was not $240 or "$120 per hour". The plumber was literally at my house for 2 hours between the time he got here and the time he left. There was no pre planning, or time invested on his end working on my toilet job prior to coming to my house. He came from my house directly from another job that was 35 minutes away from my house, and he told me he had another job about 30 minutes north of my house that he was headed to right after he was done putting my toilet back in.

That 2 hour job for a stuffed up toliet was $750. How many DJs actually charge $750 for a 2 hour job from the time they arrive to the time they leave the venue or place of the event???? A plumber charges more than DJs do generally speaking.

djtaso said:

That's $150/hr in the eyes of some. I look at it differently.

1hr driving lets say back and forth
1hr sectreterial work of writing contracts, inputting data in database, responding to emails etc
1hr of prep work, loading van, getting music, organizing, etc.
1hr of time on the phone discussing the event and getting all the logistics right
3hrs setting up/breaking down
4hrs event itself.
$600/11hrs = $55hr... not as impressive and thats not even factoring any deductions like gas, insurance, wear/tear, businesses operational costs. Hopefully no roadie either. So say $45/hr.

But keep in mind, this is for him to fill up his calendar. It's not like someone can call for an event 6 months out and expect that price for him. So it really has to be put into perspective if the everyday client should actually expect to get a professional of his level for $600.

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This is all true. In most instances, the DJ rarely actually received $150 or even $100 per hour for their total time involved in a DJ job. BUT, it takes typically charging about $150 per hour in order to earn around $50 per hour for total time. A 4 hour job is NEVER a 4 hour total time investment for a DJ. In rare instances where there was no prep work, and the event was down the street from where a DJ lives, it might be a 7 hour total time investment, but generally speaking there is at least 6 hours of time invested PLUS the time involved from start time of event until the end time of the event. A 5 hour event is rarely going to be less than 11 hours total, and a 6 hour event is rarely going to be less than 12 bours total.

rhythmgj said:

I'm with the folks who say "there are too many variables, and it isn't really a question that will ever have 'the answer.'" Again-- dictionary definition means paid-to-do-a-job-or-service, not "paid-a-certain-amount." Market, region, clientele, experience, tools (system, lights), overhead (insurance, assistants/employees), and many other things go into what any particular pro needs to make (per hour/per gig/per year) to make it a worthwhile/solvent experience. Even if you could nail down a workable average for your area, it doesn't mean that would hold true everywhere.

Incidentally, I am a musician as well (semi-retired from both), and am old enough to remember when DJs started to have a major presence in my area (weddings, clubs). The way DJs "got in" here, back in the 80s, was basically by low-balling every band in town. It wasn't long before they started hiking those prices though, and most DJs now cost as much, or in some cases much more, than a 4 or 5-piece band. The more things change, the more.... well, you know the rest.


GJ

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I would say the band comparison really depends on the type and style of band you are comparing Mobile DJs to. In the DC area, for a wedding, a good 5 piece band is generally going to cost over $5,000. A DJ could be had for as low as $395 for a 5 star rated DJ off of Thumbtack with a whole lot of DJs charging between $600 and $2,500. Even the $2,500 DJ is going to cost half as much as a good 5 piece band.

There are some 4 peiee bar bands that will do bar nights for $350 to $600 a night, but even those bands, if anyone asks them to do a wedding...they will generally either decline it because they don't do weddings, or their price goes to $3,000+ to be willing to do it just because it is a wedding and they know they can charge a lot more than what they get at the bars. There are some 6 to 9 piece bands with dancers that charge $10,000+ through a talent agency to do a wedding now. They don't get booked often, but when they do the clients pay big bucks. I'm just saying, DJs are still generally cheaper than the bands are. DJs just earn more money in comparison to a single band member though.