Is a $1,200 to $1,600 for a 5 to 6 hour Wedding DJ a Low End Budget DJ?

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DO you consider a DJ who charges $1,200 to $1,500 to be a low end Wedding DJ?

  • Yes, DJs in this price range are working low end weddings, and are in the lower range of price.

    Votes: 2 7.4%
  • VERY LOW END. All DJs priced below $1,600 are low end DJs working low end events

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • No. This is a middle range price for a Wedding DJ

    Votes: 15 55.6%
  • No. This is Upper Cusp of the Middle Range nearing the High End

    Votes: 7 25.9%
  • That is rediculous. $1,200 to $1,600 is a high end Wedding DJ Price

    Votes: 3 11.1%

  • Total voters
    27
Is there a time when this topic get resolved? I mean when we can agree when it comes to prices. It won't happen because there are different levels of DJs. There are those who are just starting out, those who have been doing this a little while and those who have been doing this for 10 years or longer. Also different levels of equipment used by DJs. Those starting out usually will have starter equipment. Equipment that others wouldn't even consider buying or using to DJ with. That's because of years of experience that they learned why not to buy certain things. That's because they know they will not be happy and quickly want to get rid of it. Then others have more to offer then somebody else. What level of DJ do you feel you are? Also for me it's about what you can command for your prices. What someone else does is what they do. Not saying we all can't learn from some other DJ. We can but 2 big things I learned. First I learned to get my own style. I learned how to DJ from hanging out at Club Zanzibar. I used to buy the same records they played and do the same mixes they did. Eventually when I became comfortable with how to mix I developed my own style. 2nd I learned to be comfortable with what I do. I have no problem with telling a potential client I'm not the right DJ to do their event. I get beat up because I don't do certain events with certain styles of music. It's not me and I'm good with it.
 
For those who have been in this business 5 years or more what is your advice to a newbie? I will chime in later. My mouth is in pain. I had 4 teeth pulled on Thursday.
 
For those who have been in this business 5 years or more what is your advice to a newbie? I will chime in later. My mouth is in pain. I had 4 teeth pulled on Thursday.
You always ignore our advice ...
 
I was at a wedding venue the other day getting a quote for my daughter's wedding and among their options was $1,750 for the house DJ and an additional $350 for the ceremony music by the same DJ. This was not by my measure a premium venue (...premium venues don't offer a house DJ - they use a preferred vendor list so not to enjoin liability.)

If there's microphones or instruments involved I charge more than twice their rate for ceremony sound because I deploy a higher standard of expertise for live audio production than is necessary to rock a dance floor with DJ equipment or playback pre-recorded music.

It doesn't take an audio engineer to play or mix pre-recorded music and that's more true today than it has ever been in history. Higher DJ rates are rooted in exceptional entertainment or hospitality skills - not the music. People expect you to know your music and how to move a dance floor - that's a given. On that basis alone - $1,750 for a 5 hour reception is still a very modest price for a wedding DJ who has the skills to master a room and emcee a large event.

Higher prices beyond the DJ portion are again rooted in the level of production quality and expertise being deployed. Hell, I used to get $500 just for old school par 38 up lights with color Gels. A charge 3 or 4 times that amount for wireless color changing LEDs should be obvious. Too many DJs try to fake it - and they get locked into a cheap tier of multiple suppliers all doing the same pizza delivery version of lighting. Quality lighting at higher prices is rooted in real theatrical or creative skills and quality equipment with capabilities that allow us to stand out from the auto-pilot users.

In as much as people get what they pay for - as a DJ you will get paid only for verified levels of what you deliver. Enhancing the quality of something we do doesn't translate into more money unless the customer is aware and understands the difference. If we provide better quality then it is incumbent upon us to demonstrate how, where, and why we are doing so, by providing clear examples of the difference that people can see, hear, or experience for themselves. Anything else is just empty sales hype.
 
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It won't happen because there are different levels of DJs. There are those who are just starting out, those who have been doing this a little while and those who have been doing this for 10 years or longer. Also different levels of equipment used by DJs.

There's no pay raise associated with DJs getting older or using better gear. 10 years of doing the same thing is likely to get you the same pay or less.
Pay rates and client expectations both increase as a result of our personal and professional growth - not the mere passage of time.

A DJ that sucks using Radio Shack speakers can change to an LA Acoustics rig - and suck even louder.
 
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There's no pay raise associated with DJs getting older or using better gear. 10 years of doing the same thing is likely to get you the same pay or less.
Pay rates and client expectations both increase as a result of our personal and professional growth - not the mere passage of time.

A DJ that sucks using Radio Shack speakers can change to an LA Acoustics rig - and suck even louder.
You said something very interesting. It's not all about what you use but knowing what to do with what you use. I helped out a friend years ago playing in a club that's no longer there. I was using CDs back then. I was using a dual CD player he had. I hated it but got by with it so much so that a lady came and told me she liked me better then the DJ playing in the big main room.
 
Just to follow up on what I said in a previous post. I've actually taken the time off to expand my sources of income during COVID. I've mentioned it a couple of times that I invest in rental properties, and getting my real estate license is something I've always wanted to do to assist in the investment property side of things. I just simply never had time to do it. Enter COVID and now I had all the time in the world, so I went and got it. But with private events up in the air, and a strong interest in real estate for many years, I decided to use the license not just for personal reasons, but to assist others in the purchase and sale of properties. It would be for supplemental income at first... but I would never count it out as becoming my new full time job.

Anyways, back to the point of what I'm doing as someone who is literally starting out less than a week ago. As I was waiting for applications and submissions to go through, I was working on a bunch of things including:
- Creating a new facebook page and getting all the info on it up to date
- New instagram page and getting a photo of me on there, as well as announcing that I'm part of a brokerage
- Created a new website/logo specifically for my real estate aspects.
- Business Cards

This put everything in place so that when I announced my new journey I had things in place to make it stand out a little more than just a simple post or just some text.

After creating a base, I had to quickly work on Marketing and getting business. Real Estate is tough, and unlike djing where there are small parties like a backyard bday party where it's no big deal to hire a newbie... dealing with someones most expensive purchase or sale is something that people are weary to "try" on someone new, so hoping for friends and family isn't a given. So I am doing the following.

- Zillow Ads ($400 a month)
- Direct Mailings to my town - $500 per mailing
- Facebook/Instagram ads for a 10 mile radius - haven't gotten the exact cost for this.
- Doing open houses for other agents in the brokerage who have multiple open houses in a day to generate new leads that come in to view the property.

Results:
I've only done Zillow so far... and well within 2 days I already got a lead who I've been showing properties. Not even a week into things, and I already have a client!

I'm going to have everything else in place by the end of the month, so I expect October to have the beginning of some growth in terms of leads. It'll then be up to me to provide great service to those clients, hopefully get results/closings, and have them refer me out. I also plan on posting online consistently.

These are things that I did as a dj in 2008 as a dj to grow my brand (slightly different tools), and hope that this approach will serve me well this time!
 
Just to follow up on what I said in a previous post. I've actually taken the time off to expand my sources of income during COVID. I've mentioned it a couple of times that I invest in rental properties, and getting my real estate license is something I've always wanted to do to assist in the investment property side of things. I just simply never had time to do it. Enter COVID and now I had all the time in the world, so I went and got it. But with private events up in the air, and a strong interest in real estate for many years, I decided to use the license not just for personal reasons, but to assist others in the purchase and sale of properties. It would be for supplemental income at first... but I would never count it out as becoming my new full time job.

Anyways, back to the point of what I'm doing as someone who is literally starting out less than a week ago. As I was waiting for applications and submissions to go through, I was working on a bunch of things including:
- Creating a new facebook page and getting all the info on it up to date
- New instagram page and getting a photo of me on there, as well as announcing that I'm part of a brokerage
- Created a new website/logo specifically for my real estate aspects.
- Business Cards

This put everything in place so that when I announced my new journey I had things in place to make it stand out a little more than just a simple post or just some text.

After creating a base, I had to quickly work on Marketing and getting business. Real Estate is tough, and unlike djing where there are small parties like a backyard bday party where it's no big deal to hire a newbie... dealing with someones most expensive purchase or sale is something that people are weary to "try" on someone new, so hoping for friends and family isn't a given. So I am doing the following.

- Zillow Ads ($400 a month)
- Direct Mailings to my town - $500 per mailing
- Facebook/Instagram ads for a 10 mile radius - haven't gotten the exact cost for this.
- Doing open houses for other agents in the brokerage who have multiple open houses in a day to generate new leads that come in to view the property.

Results:
I've only done Zillow so far... and well within 2 days I already got a lead who I've been showing properties. Not even a week into things, and I already have a client!

I'm going to have everything else in place by the end of the month, so I expect October to have the beginning of some growth in terms of leads. It'll then be up to me to provide great service to those clients, hopefully get results/closings, and have them refer me out. I also plan on posting online consistently.

These are things that I did as a dj in 2008 as a dj to grow my brand (slightly different tools), and hope that this approach will serve me well this time!
Here's to Success in the new venture !!
 
Just to follow up on what I said in a previous post. I've actually taken the time off to expand my sources of income during COVID. I've mentioned it a couple of times that I invest in rental properties, and getting my real estate license is something I've always wanted to do to assist in the investment property side of things. I just simply never had time to do it. Enter COVID and now I had all the time in the world, so I went and got it. But with private events up in the air, and a strong interest in real estate for many years, I decided to use the license not just for personal reasons, but to assist others in the purchase and sale of properties. It would be for supplemental income at first... but I would never count it out as becoming my new full time job.

Anyways, back to the point of what I'm doing as someone who is literally starting out less than a week ago. As I was waiting for applications and submissions to go through, I was working on a bunch of things including:
- Creating a new facebook page and getting all the info on it up to date
- New instagram page and getting a photo of me on there, as well as announcing that I'm part of a brokerage
- Created a new website/logo specifically for my real estate aspects.
- Business Cards

This put everything in place so that when I announced my new journey I had things in place to make it stand out a little more than just a simple post or just some text.

After creating a base, I had to quickly work on Marketing and getting business. Real Estate is tough, and unlike djing where there are small parties like a backyard bday party where it's no big deal to hire a newbie... dealing with someones most expensive purchase or sale is something that people are weary to "try" on someone new, so hoping for friends and family isn't a given. So I am doing the following.

- Zillow Ads ($400 a month)
- Direct Mailings to my town - $500 per mailing
- Facebook/Instagram ads for a 10 mile radius - haven't gotten the exact cost for this.
- Doing open houses for other agents in the brokerage who have multiple open houses in a day to generate new leads that come in to view the property.

Results:
I've only done Zillow so far... and well within 2 days I already got a lead who I've been showing properties. Not even a week into things, and I already have a client!

I'm going to have everything else in place by the end of the month, so I expect October to have the beginning of some growth in terms of leads. It'll then be up to me to provide great service to those clients, hopefully get results/closings, and have them refer me out. I also plan on posting online consistently.

These are things that I did as a dj in 2008 as a dj to grow my brand (slightly different tools), and hope that this approach will serve me well this time!


Wishing you much success in your real estate journey......
 
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If ever there were a WTF post?
I can't believe I put a like to your last post but I say you're right with that one. The performance is key because if enough people complain about your performance then you more then likely won't be getting much work at all to get paid. Consistently doing a great job for clients is the ideal state to strive for. Now just like any profession there's good and bad. There are those in this business who are stellar and those who suck even after many years in this business. Personally when I do an event I leave a lot of smiles on people's faces. I get quite a few compliments. Now the big question is what do people normally say about how you do an event? If enough people complain about how you do what you do either you need to make changes to become better or quit the business.
 
I got a question to the OP. What is the price you charge to do a wedding for 5-6 hours? I asked that question because that's what counts. It's really all about what people think you are worth. If they think the price you quote them is not worth what you're offering them is not worth it then they won't book. Then it's about you aiming your business to people who will pay the price you want them to pay. No need of asking people to pay you say 2k and you don't have anybody that is even close to paying that price.
 
I got a question to the OP. What is the price you charge to do a wedding for 5-6 hours? I asked that question because that's what counts. It's really all about what people think you are worth. If they think the price you quote them is not worth what you're offering them is not worth it then they won't book. Then it's about you aiming your business to people who will pay the price you want them to pay. No need of asking people to pay you say 2k and you don't have anybody that is even close to paying that price.

My prices start at $1950.
 
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