Need Advice, Please - Potential House DJ Position

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DJ Ducky

DJ Ducky

Resident Duck
Mar 21, 2008
3,096
36
West Lafayette, IN
ampindiana.com
I received a phone call yesterday from a local venue owner (seems like she's just opening up shop) who is looking to provide DJs for different events at her venue. This could be anything from a corporate event to a wedding reception (even though it appears to be an 18+ venue). She was looking to set something up for a discounted rate in exchange for consistently contracting work out to us. All lighting and sound would be provided; we would have to bring our mixer, player, and (I think) the music. I told her what we normally charge and that was when she asked about a discounted rate. I did not provide one, but suggested that we set up a meeting to discuss everything. We are meeting tomorrow night.

We've never been approached about anything like this before. Has anybody here been involved in anything like this and if so, do you have any words of advice for us?
 
My concern is taking yourself out of potentially higher paying weddings....What happens if you have another event booked? Will the owner have issues with you playing at her competition.? Will you be able to pass out your cards?

It might be worth hiring a dj simply for that place and take a cut from the discounted rate...
 
How much is it worth to you not to carry gear?

How much will you lose by doing thier bookings and could you potentially book those same days without this venue?

Is thier gear of a quality that it won't harm your reputation?

Are you responsible for replacing bulbs in the lights (sounds stupid but take my word on this check it out) or any other gear that breaks down?

How much can you afford to discount and still make money?
 
Thanks for the points to think about so far. We will find out more information at tomorrow night's meeting. As it stands now, we are DJing 2-3 events per month, mostly Saturday weddings. We're looking to fill the schedule up a little more, especially during the weekday evenings. We are doing fine on our own, as far as DJing is concerned; our livelihoods aren't riding on this deal, but it would be nice to DJ a few more events. I do have a feeling that this deal would mean that the J Mac and I would be given the rep points, so to speak, not so much AMP Indiana, our company. As far as money is concerned, I don't see that we can discount too much. Yes, there are perks that will offset any discount: less setup work, close location, less gasoline used.

Has anybody here ever been offered such a deal and if so, how did the deal work? (You don't have to disclose price, but a percentage for any discount would help.) Did the deal last long? Did it help your rep?
 
We had a similiar deal with a local bar when we were first getting our feet wet in the dj business. We were bringing a nice crowd in and the owner wanted to secure us for exclusive rights --- meaning he wanted to sign a contract with us to eliminate us from playing down the street --- we agreed to a six months contract with him at a time, that locked us in for every other weekend (Fri & Sat) of the month. We did discount, because we felt like it was a good partnership and it did fill half of our month up without having to try and sell them. We set up our gear on Friday afternoon and took it down on Sunday afternoon. The relationship we had with the owner was great and we enjoyed this partnership until we were ready to depart from doing so much bar work. It's at that time, we realised how great playing this gig for about 2 1/2 years meant. We had alot of faithful followers and much of our business came by word of mouth from playing in that bar.

All situations are different and you'll have to determine what best works for you. At the meeting, you should get a feel for one another and lay ALL expectations on the table. Document everything and sign, seal and deliver one hell of a party!

Good Luck!
 
Jeff Romard said:
Are you responsible for replacing bulbs in the lights (sounds stupid but take my word on this check it out) or any other gear that breaks down?
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Ditto.

Although, depending on the layout of the room, and when you'd have access to do maintenance, I wouldn't mind doing the work if the venue pays for the parts.
 
Well, we just met with the folks last night. They're looking to promote and sell our services as a "partner" of the venue, for a discount. We would be guaranteed a minimum of 2 events per month. We've been asked to do some sort of a demo for them, which will be nice; we will be able to check out their system and play with their lighting. :) I don't plan on going into this without any sort of specific contract that includes a highlight of the perks that they are offering us.

Does anybody else have any more thoughts on what to watch out for on a deal like this? Thanks!
 
Do they have all the proper licensing for the business & the music? What is the character of these people? Remember any association will be a reflection on you. IF this operation,or its owners gets nailed for something illegal, how will that make you look?

Do your home work find out everything you can about them and past business ventures BEFORE you make and sign any agreements.

I am assuming this is Lafayette??? I used to live there in the 80's, all I can say there was an abundance of operators that were shady, and did things on the cheap and sleazy so do your home work and be alert.
 
DougF said:
Do they have all the proper licensing for the business & the music? What is the character of these people? Remember any association will be a reflection on you. IF this operation,or its owners gets nailed for something illegal, how will that make you look?

Do your home work find out everything you can about them and past business ventures BEFORE you make and sign any agreements.

I am assuming this is Lafayette??? I used to live there in the 80's, all I can say there was an abundance of operators that were shady, and did things on the cheap and sleazy so do your home work and be alert.
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Thanks for the advice. I'll be doing my "homework" before offering anything. What sort of licenses should they have for the music? Are you talking about ASCAP and such?
 
DougF said:
...there was an abundance of operators that were shady...
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Shady characters lurk everywhere.

I used to DJ at a club that was also a restaurant attached to a hotel. I.E. Lunch & dinner, seven days a week. On the books, they had one full time and one part time employee. You do the math.

Funny thing was, getting caught wasn't the downfall of the place. The owner decided he didn't need to pay his rent anymore. The hotel also held the liquor license, so, the simplest way to evict them was to let the license go into a suspended status when renewal time came. At 12:01am on 7/1/2, the police showed up. Game over.
 
Yes ASCAP & BMI ,I believe to be safe they need at least those, and maybe SESAC. SESAC used to cover a lot of country music but I don't know if thats the case anymore so it may not be needed.

Also some localities require venues to have a something like a "Cabaret" License if dancing takes place. It's all these little things you need to check into so you go in to this as informed as possible not only to protect yourself, but can also make you an expert in the venue owners eyes that you are knowledgeable and you are on the up & up yourself.
 
Good question, and good advice given in this thread!

I was a "resident dj" at a bar/nightclub here in town for about 2 years. Not quite the same scenario as you are talking about, but some similarities. How I got into it was by taking my sound system into the bar, and tying it into theirs as well one weekend, for free. After that very successful evening, they hired me on once a week, indefinitely, and with their sound system and my music/pc. This worked out pretty well in a lot of ways, but not ideal in others.

Good things:
1. Their sound system was used. Drinks, fights, etc were all on their stuff, in the bar.
2. Steady work, every week. I could count on the income.
3. Decent pay for the amount of work. Setting up my pc took about 5 minutes, versus 1.5 hours for a full sound system, and lights.
4. Good publicity for my services, even if I never echoed a word about working outside of the bar. There was some "street cred" so to speak by being the nightclub dj, for some clients. They liked the idea of seeing me prior to their wedding, party, or whatever.
5. It was fun. Almost got me into trouble a lot, but great fun, as a single guy.

Bad things:
1. Crappy equipment. Low end Peavey junk, with too small of amps. Other djs abused the hell out of this poor old stuff, and it sounded borderline terrible.
2. Smoke and drinks. Being around that stuff every time got old.
3. Manager always harping about certain music, even though I was turning the crowd towards the bar, always beat matching, doing great sets. He secretly wanted to be the dj, but was in the "hip hop only" frame of mind. I proved him wrong nearly every time he bitched about a certain set or song.
4. Proper legal music licensing....they got into trouble for not renewing proper licenses (ASCAP, etc).
5. Missing out on bigger paying jobs, and the every week I was tied to the bar. This was a good and bad thing....steady work, but not very flexible.

Good luck, let us know how it ends up!

thanks,
Jeff
 
I agree with the rest ~ these are all excellent points.

One thing that was mentioned but not yet clarified ~ the house sound system. The PA or FOH can make you or break you because that's what the audience is gonna hear. That's what they'll rate your service by. All the pretty lights in the world won't hide poor or distorted sound.

I don't lay many restrictions on clients nor venues... but there is one thing I will not do ~ patch into an existing system. House systems exist for one thing only ~ bedroom DJs who don't have their own. I don't trust 'em and will not use 'em. Ain't no way.

Wolfie is a stickler for good tone. If I can't load my rig, you've got the wrong DJ company. I don't own 225-watt amps nor glorified home stereo Pyramid cabinets... and I'm not gonna work with someone else's, sorry 'bout yer luck. :D

If I come across as a gear snob, I apologize for that. It's just that I've seen (heard) and read of countless jackleg PAs in venues over the years. Most are horribly underpowered. Many consist of a hodgepodge of factory seconds, poor or nonexistent processing and speaker systems that have just plain been beat all to hell. They look like someone made a trip to the pawn shop for PA gear.

If there is even the slightest chance that you'll be blamed for poor sound or blown drivers, run like hell. Doesn't matter if the drivers were blown before you folks set foot in the place. They own the equipment and they're responsible for it, not you.

Whichever road you folks decide to take, get it in writing. Not some of it, all of it. Ensure that you can live with the terms before agreeing to anything.

Hope this helps.
 
Fred Stewart said:
I don't lay many restrictions on clients nor venues... but there is one thing I will not do ~ patch into an existing system. House systems exist for one thing only ~ bedroom DJs who don't have their own. I don't trust 'em and will not use 'em. Ain't no way.
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Some of us learned that the hard way :sqembarrassed:
 
Fred Stewart said:
I agree with the rest ~ these are all excellent points.

One thing that was mentioned but not yet clarified ~ the house sound system. The PA or FOH can make you or break you because that's what the audience is gonna hear. That's what they'll rate your service by. All the pretty lights in the world won't hide poor or distorted sound.

I don't lay many restrictions on clients nor venues... but there is one thing I will not do ~ patch into an existing system. House systems exist for one thing only ~ bedroom DJs who don't have their own. I don't trust 'em and will not use 'em. Ain't no way.

Wolfie is a stickler for good tone. If I can't load my rig, you've got the wrong DJ company. I don't own 225-watt amps nor glorified home stereo Pyramid cabinets... and I'm not gonna work with someone else's, sorry 'bout yer luck. :D

If I come across as a gear snob, I apologize for that. It's just that I've seen (heard) and read of countless jackleg PAs in venues over the years. Most are horribly underpowered. Many consist of a hodgepodge of factory seconds, poor or nonexistent processing and speaker systems that have just plain been beat all to hell. They look like someone made a trip to the pawn shop for PA gear.

If there is even the slightest chance that you'll be blamed for poor sound or blown drivers, run like hell. Doesn't matter if the drivers were blown before you folks set foot in the place. They own the equipment and they're responsible for it, not you.

Whichever road you folks decide to take, get it in writing. Not some of it, all of it. Ensure that you can live with the terms before agreeing to anything.

Hope this helps.
Click to expand...

Hmm....interesting thoughts on the house system. We're going to be testing before we sign anything. Thanks. :)
 
First and foremost, AND re-iterating everyone else, CHECK THE SYSTEM! Don't sign anything until you do, because you don't know if you will be using theirs or hauling your own.

Check scheduling flexibility. Are these 2 guaranteed gigs when you are available, or are you giving them "Short Notice" rights?

A decent venue will be doing a lot more that 2 events per month. Are they bringing in a few DJs this way- for client selection?


Lastly, 2 events per month ( for me anyway) doesn't demand a huge discount. 15-20% TOPS ( with 15% the way to go). If they come up with more guaranteed events you can always adjust. Keep in mind that if they are doing the client billing and then paying you, they are probably taking that percentage for themselves.

Remember, this isn't a bar. They WILL turn a large profit- it doesn't depend on how many drinks they sell...

Did I mention CHECK THE SYSTEM? :sqcool:
 
From my expirience with this things!
This offer have two sides:Bad side and good side!

Good side:
You dont need to find clients for(if i inderstanded good)at least 2 gigs per month.If there are more than 2 its better-if you need gigs let them(if the price is good for you)do it for you.

Bad side:
If you let them to that that they do youre job(finding clients) then you have a big possibiliti that when the conntract is expiering you will be without any job and no marketing-thats the bad side of any long turn conntract-you loose youre clients.
 
Forgot to ask... By "guaranteeing 2 events per month" do they mean if they get them, or will you be paid for 2 events regardless of whether they get them?

Sonds like a silly question, I know. But in a similar situation, a venue gave me a multi guarantee, then claimed they hadn't had much business. Since I used my head and kept track of the venue, I found that they had plenty of events, but were using a cheaper service. What was horrible about this was that they were booking events using my name (fairly well known locally) and pricing, then sliding in the cheapie at the last minute, saying I was unavailable, and keeping the overage on the rate for themselves.

BTW- They went out of business.......I'm still here. :sqcool:
 
Too counter some opinions here.

The brand of speaker/amp systems have little to do with the sound, the operator has everything to do with it. Abused systems, with blown drivers are going to be a problem, but any DJ who knows anything about sound can analize the system upon setup and EQ it properly and or disconnect any speakers that are blown.

As for calling Peavey crap, Peavey happens to be the most often installed club system in the country, not because of price but because of Peavey's ability to stand up to the abuse of ignorant DJs. The ability to get good sound drops directly into the lap of the DJ and the equipment he or she uses and if they really know how to run it.

The first thing a DJ needs to do is stop using the EQ for a smiley face and start using them for the purpose they were put in for and know what the level meters on gear are used for. (which is why most clubs suffer from an exceedingly high number of driver failures)
 
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