Weddings Brides wanting different/hard to find music

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I have never bothered with having any sort of clause in the contract relating to the availabilty of music. When people ask about the music, we tell them that we have a large collection and that we keep up on new music that's in the mainstream. We also tell them that we do our very best to track down any requested songs that we do not own. To my recollection, we have only been stumped once, maybe twice; both of those were extremely obscure tracks that the bride or groom owned and allowed for us to borrow.
 
I would never sign a DJ with a clause like that in the contract. If they can't find the music or don't want to find it, then I will provide it to them. If they are just too lazy to tell me they don't have it/don't want to get it, then I don't want them to have an escape hatch.

Mike
 
Its not about not getting the songs - its about if you can not find it no matter where you have looked and even the bride and groom or thier friends DONT have it

they want the song and you say you have it what do you do then...

what if they want to cancell because you CANT get the song they want....!!!
and say that because you say you have a BIG collection of music and you cant get it they still want it, it makes you look unreliable...

that is why the clause (a VERY simple one) I have in my contract protects me from ANY of these situations

the contract clause I just read well to me it went over my head when I read what I have (a very simple line of 5x words they understand that if its NOT there, then its NOT there...

now, I said I wouldnt say anything more, but because you keep changing things and make it harder for a client, then your on your own

this thread will just go round and round for years where with 5x simple words it enforces a client to see that if we dont have it and cant buy it, borrow it, steal it or any of the below!! then why tell them anything!

have a nice day
 
Esoteric said:
I would never sign a DJ with a clause like that in the contract. If they can't find the music or don't want to find it, then I will provide it to them.
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LOL. If all clients were like you, we wouldn't NEED such clauses.... but alas...:sqbiggrin:

And it says in the clause we are happy to play any material the client would provide, we just won't be liable if the thing starts wigging out and skipping half-way through!

The clause protects both us (if selections are either not readily available or available at all) and protects the client by ensuring that we can never try to hit them with any kind of "additional charges" involved in getting something unless they know about it and agree to it first.

For the record, I have yet to ever charge a client for getting any piece of music.

But yes, if they want an acoustic version of their first dance song that *happens* to be a b-side or "unreleased" version only available in a new $50 box-set by the artists, then they are going to have me buy it for them with associated charges, or buy it and provide it themselves, and that is what the clause is for.
 
There is no point in arguing about this, it's a matter of opinion. Discussion is why we're here and agreement is not required.

If putting a clause in your contract is necessary FOR YOU then who cares. It's your business. Personally I do not want to scare off clients by filling my contract with "what if's" and worst case scenarios. I have never had a problem acquiring music and clients understand if a song does not exist or cannot be acquired. If they don't then you have a bigger problem then just music!

If you have a bridezilla who is pissed that you cannot find a song then a clause in your contract is not going to help! The problem is the zilla, not the contract or the music, and you're still going to have to deal with it.

And the clause will look scary to the 99.9% of your clients who are reasonable.

Here's a clause I recently took out of my contract:

"If your uncle is drunk and dancing on the tables and asks the DJ to kiss him THE DJ WILL NOT KISS HIM!!!"

it's just sillyness.
 
thats why having the statement in mine being SO VERY Simple then thats why I have NEVER had a hassle in all my 30+ years as a Dj period


have a nice day
 
Nor have I ever had any hassle with mine!

:sqwink:

It doesn't scare anybody, just let's them know what's what.

It just says:

1: We'll provide any "readily available" music or selections for your event provided we have at least X-amount of notice to round it up. (protects us/makes sure they have the music they want or need)

2. If requested music isn't "readily available," and there would be charges for getting it, we will communicate that with you and come to an agreement first... ie, we will never hit up the customer after the fact and say "OH.... BY THE WAY..." (protects the client from surprise charges)

3. If requested musics aren't available, we are not liable. (protects us)

4. We will gladly include any music YOU wish to provide in the performance at your event, as long as it is agreed we can't be held liable for the quality, "skipage" or otherwise, of music that isn't ours. (protects both us and the client)

That's it. The clause protects both the interests of the clients themselves, and us equally.

Nothing unreasonable or scary about it!

If they're scared by it, then they simply need to be educated about what is being said and about how the clauses protect their interests as much as ours. If that isn't sufficient, then the issue lies, as Aaron said above, with them. If anyone is scared off by clauses in a contract they can go elsewhere. I'm not going to dance around a standard agreement just because someone wants to try to keep a card to play in their back-pocket for later.

I had a client once who wanted me to, in addition to my contract, sign a agreement they had that they had drafted up as "standard" for all their vendors and it tried to specify what things would possibly effect my compensation after services were rendered.

I declined to do that, and referred her back to my contract, which is more than sufficient to cover them and myself, and after we went through a few key points she conceded, and we went on to have a great event, and I got a glowing testimonial out of her!

If clauses in your contract are reasonable, all you have to do from there is education for the consumer and a focus on customer service, and it shouldn't be an issue.

To keep things in perspective, you want to talk about some SCARY clauses? When was the last time you actually READ the terms of any one of the major credit cards in your wallet? How many clauses do you think are in THERE for YOUR protection? People make MAJOR life decisions and purchases without even reading the fine-print... deciding to get "particular" with a dj service agreement in light of that is little less than absurd!

But it is precisely because life is absurd that fine print is needed at all!
 
I am stumped here I have Frank Sinatra "Unforgetable" on a CD! The name of the album is the World of Nat King Cole!

It should be readily available!
 
Few years ago we had a groom who wanted some tracks by Sabah Habas Mustapha. The groom was of Asian heritage and wanted the tracks played for his parents who were from the old country.

I'd never heard of 'em... so I did some asking around and searching. Found the tracks available for download at an obscure site... and the CD I needed was available at Amazon. :)

It's rare when a needed song can't be gotten these days. Even stuff that was never released to the public. All you gotta do is ask. Somebody will have it.
 
Sounds To Go said:
Nor have I ever had any hassle with mine!

:sqwink:

It doesn't scare anybody, just let's them know what's what.

It just says:

1: We'll provide any "readily available" music or selections for your event provided we have at least X-amount of notice to round it up. (protects us/makes sure they have the music they want or need)

2. If requested music isn't "readily available," and there would be charges for getting it, we will communicate that with you and come to an agreement first... ie, we will never hit up the customer after the fact and say "OH.... BY THE WAY..." (protects the client from surprise charges)

3. If requested musics aren't available, we are not liable. (protects us)

4. We will gladly include any music YOU wish to provide in the performance at your event, as long as it is agreed we can't be held liable for the quality, "skipage" or otherwise, of music that isn't ours. (protects both us and the client)

That's it. The clause protects both the interests of the clients themselves, and us equally.

Nothing unreasonable or scary about it!

If they're scared by it, then they simply need to be educated about what is being said and about how the clauses protect their interests as much as ours. If that isn't sufficient, then the issue lies, as Aaron said above, with them. If anyone is scared off by clauses in a contract they can go elsewhere. I'm not going to dance around a standard agreement just because someone wants to try to keep a card to play in their back-pocket for later.

I had a client once who wanted me to, in addition to my contract, sign a agreement they had that they had drafted up as "standard" for all their vendors and it tried to specify what things would possibly effect my compensation after services were rendered.

I declined to do that, and referred her back to my contract, which is more than sufficient to cover them and myself, and after we went through a few key points she conceded, and we went on to have a great event, and I got a glowing testimonial out of her!

If clauses in your contract are reasonable, all you have to do from there is education for the consumer and a focus on customer service, and it shouldn't be an issue.

To keep things in perspective, you want to talk about some SCARY clauses? When was the last time you actually READ the terms of any one of the major credit cards in your wallet? How many clauses do you think are in THERE for YOUR protection? People make MAJOR life decisions and purchases without even reading the fine-print... deciding to get "particular" with a dj service agreement in light of that is little less than absurd!

But it is precisely because life is absurd that fine print is needed at all!
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It bugs my fiance that I read every word of every agreement that I sign. Even if it means the car dealer, apt leaser, etc staring at me for half an hour while I do.

Mike

Mike
 
trafficgoo said:
Steve Sharp said:
Can you give some examples? I always find this kind of post useful, because even if I haven't had "that client" yet, it's always possible that I soon will, and I could possibly prepare before they ask. What are they asking for?




One of the latest...
The Vitamin String Quartet (rock instrumentals)
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I carry a lot of Vitimin String Quartet songs (you can find them on I Tunes)

They are great! & have become highly requested.
Last week, they chose "Another one bites the dust" as the groom & groomsmen entered. It was a big hit.

Other great choices for ceremony music & pre-ceremony tunes:
They all sound great when done on violins:
Buddy Holly (Weezer)
Another day (Paul McCartney)
I'll be there" (Jackson 5)
Stairway to heaven
Freebird
Smells like teen spirit
Etc.
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Steve Sharp said:
What I was trying to express earlier is that many times this isn't true, at least not anymore. They don't know how rare or hard to find something is. Conversely, they often also don't know, care, or appreciate how non-mainstream their requests are. Please do not mistake my frustrations here with being unwilling to re-invest into the success of their event - nothing could be further from the truth. I'm very dilligent in doing everything I can for them.

When misinformation is just a bittorrent away, and faulty ID3 tags are provided via confused users of Limewire, I'm not the only D.J. here who has experienced the bride who is convinced that she wants Frank Sinatra's version of a song that Frank Sinatra has never sung. I could certainly provide more examples of this phenomenon. Among the negative side effects of the proliferation of illegal downloading is the lack of respect for what is or isn't rare. And what does and doesn't actually exist.
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you nailed it with LIMEWIRE, Steve...
I actually find it entertaining to see how some morons tag their songs.
but what gets me is how it "got wrong" to begin with.
It has to start with the person who recorded it...
and if so, didn't they read the title and artist when they loaded it?

and yes, there are plenty of brides who don't realize how rare some songs are.
guess I've been lucky to get the ones who DO!
I just meant that the bride usually HEARS a song to know she wants it
and if SHE has a hard time finding it,
she is usually very understanding when I tell her the same.
 
Precisionpower said:
I guess i'm the dumbazz here then....

I dropped $65 bucks for an Elvis box set that i needed 1 song from!
(it was a mastered, studio version of "My Way")

It was a special request from a groom, for his father. (Dad's Favorite song)

Seeing the FOG's face light up into the biggest grin when it started playing was worth it.
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I was in ruffly the same boat... had a request for a song by Rod Stewart and wouldn't you know it the only time it appeared was on a CD single from the Patch Adams soundtrack.... that single cost me nearly $40.00 and has only been played once.
 
Bill try some -- Kitaro -- he is also a friend on myspace and is from japan :)
 
Understood...

MBM said:
This really hits home when they want 2-3 T Carter music selections. The only place to get them is from his site, and the songs run about $10 ea well for 4 versions of the song.

http://www.tcartermusic.com/index.html
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I do understand the frustration on having to pay the higher price for independent music. Please understand that because we don't sell millions of copies, it's impossible to recoup the money spent for recording if sold for .99 like Itunes. We do our best and I do have a lot of positive feedback from DJs that are glad to offer something new. Since launching our new website in August, we now provide a DJ discount for those who register. Saving are usually 25% - 35% off normal price.

I hope that for those of you that have purchased, you have used my songs more than once. I have a lot of requests, my youtube videos are over 4 million in the past year, and the comments and reviews are very positive. Haven't really gotten the "cheesy" or "non-sentimental" comments, but everyone is entitled to that opinion.

Feel free to contact me. I want to work with DJs and often provide additional discounts to those who understand and appreciate what I'm trying to do. I really want to offer something that's great that also has not been played a million times over. Brides and grooms appreciate that and are looking for that.

Best wishes,

Tony Carter
T Carter Music
 
Great job on the music Tony and welcome to this site. I often get requests for your tunes to be used during wedding ceremonies and have had no problem purchasing them from your website, it is a very simple process. As for the price, I've only had to pay about a buck per track which is very reasonable. Being a musician, singer / songwriter myself, I have undertaken many studio projects over the years and know what's involved cost / time wise.

By the way, your interpretations are wonderful.

Question: If one of us on the boards gets a request for a piano version of a particular track that is not available on your site, would you be able to record it and offer it for purchase on your site?

I didn't know about the 'DJ Discount', thanks for that! :)
 
Tony - I really like your highland serenade (I'm in Eastern Canada, where Celtic music is very popular) and serenade discs...bought both....Used it many times.....

Understand that DJ's for the most part are probably the chinziest bunch; yet they have no trouble charging $100 to play the 5th hour of a wedding reception...
 
Paying a high price for 1 or 2 songs is not a big deal to me...acquiring music you don't have is part of the business. It's not a problem to spend $20 to $40 on a music for a wedding when you are getting paid plenty.

The problem is availability. I don't care if we need to pay $1.99 or $4.99 or $15.99 for a song. Just let us DJ's give you our credit card, pay you, and instantly download a full quality 320 kbps or wav file.

I agree with T Carter...if you invest a lot of time and money writing, playing, recording, and advertising a track that a bride finds PERFECT for her wedding day then a 99 cents download (or 11-15 cents cut from iTunes sales) is surely not enough.
 
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