Play My CD, Play My CD - WWYD?

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Kirby Ball

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Last night we were doing a Christmas Party for a repeat client (3 times in the last 4 years) and one of the guests requested R. Kelly's "Step In The Name of Love." Sure no problem, as we had it in our database. He then said that he had to have the "remix" and did we have that? Which we didn't as we hardly ever get requests for R. Kelly.

Finally after going back and forth with this guy for a few minutes he finally gets it that I don't have the remix....duh! So we play his song. His lady and him are the only ones who dance to it, but it made him happy or so we thought.

He comes back later and asks for another R. Kelly song that we don't have and then he wants us to play his CD that he has in his car. Both Coreen and I told him that it was our policy to never play any music off of anyone's CDs as it opens up a can of worms and that if we play his disc then we have to play everyone else's that want that special privilege.

He starts grumbling about it and we stand firm and he finally goes away.

Later on, he evidently convinced one of his coworkers to bring a CD up to have us play. We go through the same damn routine with this guy and then they original guy comes back up to join him and they are not going to shut up.

I finally have had enough and told both of them that there would be not further discussion on this matter as I was done with both of them. Neither one would shut up, so Coreen scooted off to go talk to the owner of the Company and told him that if either one of these guys came back up and harrassed us again, we were shutting down and going home.

The owners assured us that they would take care of the situation, which they did.

Later it dawned on me that we went through this same thing with the same guys 2 years ago and I had forgotten all about it.
 
keep notes for reoccuring gigs for the good stuff and bad it will keep you on top of your game without the interference. Unless of course new hires become problems. You will extinguish most having your guns and your aging brain loaded lol trust an old friend on this. Do you keep a client list on computer or some sort of sheet to be able to go to as a strategic ally. You never know when these contacts might suddenly be needed. Tracking them keeps them at a fingers touch.
 
You handled the situation just the way I would have done. Stick to your guns and just smile. I say to myself, I’m making more money than these jerks in a few hours than they make it two weeks.
 
Good for you, Brother Kirb. :)

As you and Miz C are aware, playing just one track would likely beget an endless playlist from those clowns. Once is all it takes. "Oh I know a good song. Let me run out to the car and get it!" Then they'll bring in a case full of CDs and try to dictate your show the rest of the night. :rolleyes:

One of the campgrounds I used to DJ for every year, the owners had a 14-year-old daughter who was, let me say bossy. That's putting it nicely.

It happened at every show I did out there, every year. The pup would show up as I was unloading the truck and setting up, pestering me to play her CDs. I'd say no and she'd poke out her lip and skulk away, only to reappear an hour or so later with the same nonsense. She was a pain in my ass.

One evening I got the jump on her. Upon arriving I'd always check in at the campground office. The owners said something about a change in venue that year ~ keep it to 50s and 60s dance and some Country. None of this head-banging and rap stuff. Evidently they'd recently had a DJ out there who thought he was playing a middle school dance and it pissed a lot of the campers off.

OKFine. I drove out to the pavilion and started unloading the truck. Sure enough, along comes Little Ms PITA with her CD wallet in hand. She said "My Mom said you can play all my CDs tonight."

I stopped what I was doing, looked at her and said "Nah she didn't. I already talked to her and she said no." Then I turned around and went back to my work.

She didn't bother me no more after that. :D
 
You see Kirby, that's why nobody can ever forget me. You just don't forget an @$$hole when you see one.:sqwink: Of course I'm a happy one.:sqlaugh:

You could always say: The owner of the company must personally approve all music not controlled by me. He also must be present and personally hand me the music. I then need an indemnity waiver signed by the company in triplicate, that places the owner of the music completely liable for any copyright infringements. A copy will be filed with ASCAP and RIAA for their records. Lastly a non refundable deposit of $50 paid in cash must be secured for all handling charges.

Hey, it might work.
 
Kirby : Oh your pain is my pain and I feel the pinch right along with ya. Since I'm laptop only, people hand me a CD and I tell them I can't play it. I'm 100% digital. "Oh", they say, and walk away.

The new thing is to hand me an iPod and tell me to plug it into my mixer. Seriously. If it hasn't happened yet, begin practicing your response now. Some of these New Yawkers have big cajones, which is no coincidence that it is inversely proportion to brain size.

So, I pretend I'm searching for something in writing by leafing through the day's paper work. Back and forth, several times, until the delay obviously begins to annoy Sir or Madam Idiot. Then I look at them, and pointing to my contract, and say, "NO! Nobody's anything gets plugged into anything of mine."

That probably killed any chances having sex with them, didn't it?
 
I had an interesting "reverse" twist on this thread:

Last week, at one of my parties.......someone tries to hand me a USB device (looked like one of those "pen drives" that hold data files).

He looked surprised when I said "Sorry, I'm 100% Compact Disc -- no computer!)
 
I do not have a way to play cd's in my system. To increase system speed my cd rom is disabled.

Problem solved.

I do have people hand me usb drives sometimes. I don't mind playing from them but I don't have any free USB ports on my computer so I can't.
 
You done good Kirby.
Here's something you can use next year.
When the guy says "I've got it out in my car", you say "Good, you can listen to it on the way home."
I've used this line a few times and each time the PITA looked stunned and went away.
Probably not the most tactful way to handle the situation but it got rid of the PITA.
 
I'm a little more flexible when it comes to all this. There have been times when I've played tunes off a guest's CD...depends upon the circumstances - and a lot of times, it depends upon who it is and how friendly they are. My rules are that it must be something that I would consider playing if I had it with me. Of course, when someone becomes a PITA, I tend to avoid their requests.
 
I agree with Ducky.....If someone is NICE to me, hands me a Compact Disc---once I have checked the CD (to make sure it plays w/o scratches, or doesn't have the "F" or "N" words if sensitive ears present).

Recently, someone wanted to hear a new song off the Li'l Wayne CD, at an all-adult party. The song had not been released to radio yet, but it was a popular club banger at the time. (I think it came out on my subscription CD service the following week)

I happily played it and the song packed the floor. Can't remember the name of the song, but its the next Single to be released from that CD, the one that came out after the duet with Rihanna ("My Life").

Many times, I'll find out about a new artist or a new song BEFORE it hits the radio airwaves.

NOTE: if its the "Screaming Jack@sses" or some Indie Punk band I've never heard of --- the answer will be NOooooooooo)
 
I have no problem playing someone's disc IF THE SONG fits into what is happening. I treat it like any other request. Someone handing me a disc doesnt change the priority of the song.

I don't plug other's USB stick into my computer. I don't know where that stick has been. If I had to, I'd plug the usb stick into my denon hd2500


wether someone brings a disc or requests a song I don't know even when i have it, i am not going to play it until i listen to it to see when or if it will fit.

that is going to take some time.

this past saturday, the groom's uncle gives me 3 unmarked cd's that he says has good salsa on it. The bride and groom had already picked out about 10 salsa songs.
Just so I am ready, I ripped the cd's into the computer, about 15 songs a disc. The uncle comes up and requests a song off of one of the cd's. I say sure, which one is it on. Shockingly, he doesn't know. I say would you like to listen to the cd's to figure out which cd and track your song is on. You could see him doing the math in his head that he may have to listen to 45 songs to find the one he wants. he just walked away.
 
I've played 3-4 cds from guests this year, but everyone of these I knew about in advance. The client had ask me if one of their guest could bring in a cd for me to play for a special dance, or in one case it was for a Mexican/American wedding reception and they wanted some music I didn't have, but again it was the client that brought me the cd.

If a guest brings me a cd, I always have a second laptop setup as backup or for song preview. I will play the cd on that laptop, and that way I can listen to it with headphones prior to playing it for everyone.

AS for a memory stick I would be very hesitant to plug one of those into my system, with all the viruses out there you never know where that stick has been. Gee that kind of goes back to Cap's response.
 
Ditto. I wouldn't accept music on a USB stick. It's not the song, it's everything else that could be on there that I don't want to play with.

I'll play your song (maybe) but you'll have to give it to me on a "sterile" device like a CD or an iPod.

You should have let him to go out to his car to get his CD - then locked the door behind him. When he finally gets back in tell him he took too long and you simply don't have time too fit it in now.
 
Give them Matt's phone :D:D:D:D:D:D:D
 
Well as I am listening to the song right now and I think it SUCKS... I would have told them I don't have it... Even though I do... Then if they would have brought me up a CD, I would have said, "Sorry, I don't play CDs, I'm all Digital" which obviously would not have worked for you... But can I play CD's, Absolutely, program handles them and everything, but don't tell anyone ;)
 
My biggest concern that it opens the door for everyone to have me play their discs/MP3 files, etc.

If I accept one and turn down another I feel that I will end up with more trouble than it's worth.

BTW, the original requestor was trying to play the race card on me and it just didn't work. He tried sending a white boy up to see if I would have a double standard, which I don't. No means no, not maybe.
 
Slap them around a little bit Kirby :D:D:D:D:D
 
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