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

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What is the bare minimum a Professional DJ should charge in terms of an hourly rate?

  • Charging anything above National Minimum Wage means they are a professional DJ

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • $50 to $60 per hour

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • $75 to $90 per hour

    Votes: 1 20.0%

  • $100 per hour

    Votes: 2 40.0%

  • $125 to $150 per hour

    Votes: 1 20.0%

  • $200 per hour

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • $225 to $275 per hour

    Votes: 1 20.0%

  • $300 per hour or more is the floor for me or you are not a pro

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    5
djtaso said:
I used to look at it like the way you did... until I went full time and realized every date booked was crucial, especially during the busy seasons, and I had to maximize the income for each date I booked. So whether it was a wedding or small backyard party... that Friday or Saturday in June needs to generate on Avg $3500 or more.

Don't get me wrong, there are still instances that I'll discount... for example a 40th bday party that I did this past weekend came in only 3 or so weeks beforehand. I didn't discount primarily because of the work involved, I discounted moreso because of the last minute nature of the event and that it didn't affect any of my longterm dates which I need to book at a certain amount. The fact that it needed no prep work incentivized me to offer a more generous discount. Keep in mind though... a generous discount is reducing my starting price from $2750 to $2250 and offering like 30-50% off on enhancements.
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You mentioned when you went full time. A person doing something full time says they don't have another job. This is their soul means of paying their bills. So you must make a certain amount from each event or you don't get the bills paid. So you have to have a minimum price you charge and also have the clients who will pay the amount you want. Also it has to be on a consistent basis.
 
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djtaso said:
I never understood why people charge differently for different events. Unless you do more than one event a day, any event that books is taking a date from your inventory. Now there is different demand for different dates, and can adjust pricing on that aspect, but why should I give up a Saturday in may for one price bc it’s a 50th bday and another price bc it’s a wedding?
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If I get more "into the business" I may charge the same across the board.

My gigs have been one of the following:
1. weddings, or small private parties. Weddings are a full day commitment and require some planning in the weeks prior to the event. I also take my who setup for weddings.
2. Private parties - generally less gear, and little to no pre-event prep needed. Usually less than 5 hours including load in/out.

Could I up my rates for the smaller events? Yes, most definitely. However, one of my personal intentions when I started my business was to stay affordable to the different income levels that exist in my small home area. Most DJ's around my start their prices at 125/hr. I start at 75. Not to undercut them, but I know they have priced themselves out of local work. They are okay with that, because the money is more important to them. The people are more important to me. That's one of those factors that is a personal thing but would skew this type of poll.
 
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MIXMASTERMACHOM said:
You mentioned when you went full time. A person doing something full time says they don't have another job. This is their soul means of paying their bills. So you must make a certain amount from each event or you don't get the bills paid. So you have to have a minimum price you charge and also have the clients who will pay the amount you want. Also it has to be on a consistent basis.
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Yes to all
 
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DJ Forbes said:
If I get more "into the business" I may charge the same across the board.

My gigs have been one of the following:
1. weddings, or small private parties. Weddings are a full day commitment and require some planning in the weeks prior to the event. I also take my who setup for weddings.
2. Private parties - generally less gear, and little to no pre-event prep needed. Usually less than 5 hours including load in/out.

Could I up my rates for the smaller events? Yes, most definitely. However, one of my personal intentions when I started my business was to stay affordable to the different income levels that exist in my small home area. Most DJ's around my start their prices at 125/hr. I start at 75. Not to undercut them, but I know they have priced themselves out of local work. They are okay with that, because the money is more important to them. The people are more important to me. That's one of those factors that is a personal thing but would skew this type of poll.
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There’s nothing wrong with the personal aspect of things that you share. And likewise, not doing this full time affords you the ability to make some of those personal decisions… and again nothing wrong with that. Eventually though, this small home area of yours will expose you to calls coming In from outside of this small area of yours… and that’s where you’ll likely have to make some decisions about how you do things perhaps. In the early days of djing, like you, I did everything to be accommodating to those that called me. Events for $200 no problem, $400 sweet 16… sure…. Did that for about 4 years till I valued my time a little more and started bringing in help… and then changed again a few years later as djing became full time. Just be open to the fact that with time you’ll need to revisit things and adjust accordingly. On the flip side if you don’t raise prices with time, you may start to appear too low that the quality of your product gets questioned.
 
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One the of first thing I learned early on was diversification and the ability to do multiple events at the same time. Even as far back as the 80s I was called to do multiple events at the same time. Hilariously sometimes at the same location, a couple of times in the same building. When I look at my friends in business with 30+ years they all do multiple events at the same time and are diversified into numerous different types of events & services. It wasn’t the way I wanted to go but turned out to be absolutely necessary. For both the college and the corporate market, there are some clients & booking agents you don’t say no to. Although I don’t and never considered myself a multi-op even when I had 3 systems & 2 vans. One client wanted us back in DC with just two weeks notice and that required a whole second system to be brought and put together. Crazy stuff right the middle season. But well worth it.

Now I’m in the process of finding some replacements for my son & daughter as things start to gear back up.
 
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adj2ent said:
One the of first thing I learned early on was diversification and the ability to do multiple events at the same time. Even as far back as the 80s I was called to do multiple events at the same time. Hilariously sometimes at the same location, a couple of times in the same building. When I look at my friends in business with 30+ years they all do multiple events at the same time and are diversified into numerous different types of events & services. It wasn’t the way I wanted to go but turned out to be absolutely necessary. For both the college and the corporate market, there are some clients & booking agents you don’t say no to. Although I don’t and never considered myself a multi-op even when I had 3 systems & 2 vans. One client wanted us back in DC with just two weeks notice and that required a whole second system to be brought and put together. Crazy stuff right the middle season. But well worth it.

Now I’m in the process of finding some replacements for my son & daughter as things start to gear back up.
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I could never find people I could trust to do events at the same level as I do, I tried several times and was always disappointed
 
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>>>> A person doing something full time says they don't have another job. This is their soul means of paying their bills. <<<<

It depends on what kind of music they play.


GJ
 
rhythmgj said:
>>>> A person doing something full time says they don't have another job. This is their soul means of paying their bills. <<<<

It depends on what kind of music they play.


GJ
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Why does it depend on what kind of music they play?
 
rhythmgj said:
Because if they don't play Soul music, it might be their Jazz means of paying their bills. Or their House means of paying their bills... Or.... Their Reggae means of paying their bills.


GJ
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It's about what the client and their guests want. It's about pleasing the client and their guests so that they say you did a great job. It's also about in the future if that client has another event that they contact you about doing the event if you're available. Also It's about the guests attending the event that if they are having an event or someone else that they say that DJ did a great and trying to get you to do the event.

If you feel that you can't provide the music they want or feel you're not the right DJ to do the event, then you should pass on the event.
 
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MIXMASTERMACHOM said:
It's about what the client and their guests want. It's about pleasing the client and their guests so that they say you did a great job. It's also about in the future if that client has another event that they contact you about doing the event if you're available. Also It's about the guests attending the event that if they are having an event or someone else that they say that DJ did a great and trying to get you to do the event.

If you feel that you can't provide the music they want or feel you're not the right DJ to do the event, then you should pass on the event.
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It's about the word "soul" meaning the mind/emotions/internal everlasting essence of an individual, and/or the genre of music inspired by this concept, versus the word "sole," which means "only," or in some cases, the bottoms of shoes.


GJ
 
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Let's keep it simple. It's about can any of us do an event where people will say you did a good job or will they be passed off and wonder why you were the DJ doing the event. Hopefully you knock it out the park and people are bragging about the job you did.
 
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MIXMASTERMACHOM said:
Let's keep it simple. It's about can any of us do an event where people will say you did a good job or will they be passed off and wonder why you were the DJ doing the event. Hopefully you knock it out the park and people are bragging about the job you did.
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Let's keep it simple by not making it confusing, i.e., grammar and spelling actually support understandable communication.


GJ
 
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What did anyone get out of this thread? We all can't be just alike. What works for one person may not work for someone else. You have to decide what works best for you and do what you do best. Steve Arrington did a song that said nobody can be you but you.

If you're not happy with the way things are going for you, then only you can change things. Are you happy with where you're at?
 
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rhythmgj said:
>>>> A person doing something full time says they don't have another job. This is their soul means of paying their bills. <<<<

It depends on what kind of music they play.


GJ
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In the Nashville musician scene, I ran across dozens/hundreds of guys who all would tell you "This is all I do. I'm a professional." The problem was, it was often a person who might be making $200/week (total). My opinion, that's obviously not a livable wage and those person(s) are NOT professional. That's what I call a slug who lives off his girlfriend, at least until she gets tired and kicks him to the curb. What do you call a musician who just lost their girlfriend? Homeless.
 
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rickryan.com said:
In the Nashville musician scene, I ran across dozens/hundreds of guys who all would tell you "This is all I do. I'm a professional." The problem was, it was often a person who might be making $200/week (total). My opinion, that's obviously not a livable wage and those person(s) are NOT professional. That's what I call a slug who lives off his girlfriend, at least until she gets tired and kicks him to the curb. What do you call a musician who just lost their girlfriend? Homeless.
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Yeah, you know how they roll with recording sessions in Nashville? 10:00am, 2:00pm, and 6:00pm (or whatever it was/is)? I had a friend who moved down there to try and break into the studios. Mind you, this cat already had some Gold records under his belt (non-country though). I talked to him a few years later, and he told me he was really busy. He had a 10, 2, and 6. The problem was that the 10 was in March, the 2 was in June, and the 6 was a maybe, sometime in October...


GJ
 
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The question should have been what is the minimum you charge and do you consider yourself a professional? That way the focus is on you and nobody else. After that for those who consider themselves a professional what makes you feel that way?
 
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rhythmgj said:
Yeah, you know how they role with recording sessions in Nashville? 10:00am, 2:00pm, and 6:00pm (or whatever it was/is)? I had a friend who moved down there to try and break into the studios. Mind you, this cat already had some Gold records under his belt (non-country though). I talked to him a few years later, and he told me he was really busy. He had a 10, 2, and 6. The problem was that the 10 was in March, the 2 was in June, and the 6 was a maybe, sometime in October...


GJ
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The studio scene is a hard nut to crack. I got a very few sessions and ended up about the only way I could actually get session work was to build my own home studio and find my own studio clients. There are a very, very few guys that pretty much have all the major (and minor) sessions sewn up.
 
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djtaso said:
I used to look at it like the way you did... until I went full time and realized every date booked was crucial, especially during the busy seasons, and I had to maximize the income for each date I booked. So whether it was a wedding or small backyard party... that Friday or Saturday in June needs to generate on Avg $3500 or more.







Don't get me wrong, there are still instances that I'll discount... for example a 40th bday party that I did this past weekend came in only 3 or so weeks beforehand. I didn't discount primarily because of the work involved, I discounted moreso because of the last minute nature of the event and that it didn't affect any of my longterm dates which I need to book at a certain amount. The fact that it needed no prep work incentivized me to offer a more generous discount. Keep in mind though... a generous discount is reducing my starting price from $2750 to $2250 and offering like 30-50% off on enhanceme
Click to expand...
 
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