Can We Turn LOW BUDGET Clients Into Profit?

[Jeff Romard]

Yes, Brian uses click bait.
Let us look at this from a beginners point.
What did it cost to go out the door on your first few gigs?

Depends on how you look at it. I was in 8 Grand or so the first time out I made about $175 that night. It didn't really cost a lot back in those days we didn't worry about insurance, I had a music library, it was gas and go. for a $300 gig back then I'd have to travel 100 miles.

I haven't really calculated it in a few years but I'm sure it hasn't changed much pre 2020 it was costing me roughly $150 a gig

 

[MIXMASTERMACHOM]

The irony in this video is the word "help" in the title, as if it's the customer who is the outlier. Here's a DJ who's calendar is admittedly not filling up - and yet, he describes the customers as the people who are somehow disadvantaged?

Whatever he is trying to sell is either not in demand - or is ill conceived. I mention the record collection in the backdrop because it implies his present self image is rooted entirely in his past glory. That's an ineffective sales strategy.

No one cares what I did in night clubs 40 years ago. What they want is someone familiar with today's technology who can leverage those resources to move their event forward. This is important because DJing itself has become a hi-tech sport that no longer resembles those earlier times.

Let me say this. It's not all about technology and people seeing you use the latest technology. It's about how good of a DJ you are. Technology will not make you a good DJ. You can use the latest technology and still suck. For me it's about how dedicated are you to want to be good at what you do?

Let me say it this way. Michael Jordan is considered the greatest basketball player of all times. Now what's not talked about is the time he spent in the guy to become the great player he was. He was so great that they put a statue out in front of the United Center. They would have never done that if he was just an average player.

I saw a video of my idol Walter Payton getting up and running up and down hills at 6AM for 5 miles and do it again at 6PM. They named the man of the year award after him. I get what you're saying Bob about keeping up with modern technology but modern technology will not automatically make someone a good DJ.

Personally I hate such topics like this because we get into these heated arguments about price and never solve a thing. We keep running into a brick wall at a dead end Street. There are those that if you tell someone how much you charge to do events and someone will complain either you're not charging enough or too much. Either way nothing gets resolved. The problem is when a person has never seen another DJ on here and have decided that this DJ can't be any good. Especially when it's a DJ charging less than they do.

 

[Proformance]

Yes, Brian uses click bait.
Let us look at this from a beginners point.
What did it cost to go out the door on your first few gigs?

Nothing.
The club owned the records, and the equipment was of course installed.

When I started going mobile I joined a local multi-op. The equipment I owned when I went on my own I would have bought regardless, I was just that interested - much like a musician who buys their own instrument and/or amplifier.

Everything after that was venture based - I added lighting and other things as my customer base and demands expanded. I supported other DJs and multi-ops, the frequent rentals supported and paid for my new purchases and expansion of capabilities.

If you want to be a carpenter - you first start with someone else. You don't run out and dump tons of money on tools before you even have the work.
If you want to be a DJ - start by working somewhere or with someone who already has a running endeavor.
It's a simple matter of education: get active in the thing we want to do before spending money on tools that may or may NOT be what we really need.

 

[Proformance]

It's about how good of a DJ you are.

No, it's not.
That was 1983.

 

[MIXMASTERMACHOM]

Nothing.
The club owned the records, and the equipment was of course installed.

When I started going mobile I joined a local multi-op. The equipment I owned when I went on my own I would have bought regardless, I was just that interested - much like a musician who buys their own instrument and/or amplifier.

Everything after that was venture based - I added lighting and other things as my customer base and demands expanded. I supported other DJs and multi-ops, the frequent rentals supported and paid for my new purchases and expansion of capabilities.

If you want to be a carpenter - you first start with someone else. You don't run out and dump tons of money on tools before you even have the work.
If you want to be a DJ - start by working somewhere or with someone who already has a running endeavor.
It's a simple matter of education: get active in the thing we want to do before spending money on tools that may or may NOT be what we really need.

Here's where it's really at. There are those who will see a DJ today and think this can't be hard the way things are being done today and decide they want to be a DJ. The way most of us do things today may look easy but those who have been doing this for a while know it's not as easy as it looks. There's more to it then just playing music. So some will become a DJ and realize it's not as easy as it looks and decide its not for them. To be good at DJing it takes a lot of hard work and dedication. When first getting started you're going to make mistakes. It's about learning from those mistakes and working on getting better.

 

[MIXMASTERMACHOM]

No, it's not.
That was 1983.

Where in the hell did you get I was talking about 1983? I was talking about today. Whenever it was were or are you a good DJ?

 

[Proformance]

Here's where it's really at. There are those who will see a DJ today and think this can't be hard the way things are being done today and decide they want to be a DJ. The way most of us do things today may look easy but those who have been doing this for a while know it's not as easy as it looks. There's more to it then just playing music. So some will become a DJ and realize it's not as easy as it looks and decide its not for them. To be good at DJing it takes a lot of hard work and dedication. When first getting started you're going to make mistakes. It's about learning from those mistakes and working on getting better.

• Being a good DJ is easy.
• Public speaking, interpersonal communications, reliability, and being a good host is not.

It's the 2nd one that determines where the chips actually fall.

 

[tunes4046]

Here's where it's really at. There are those who will see a DJ today and think this can't be hard the way things are being done today and decide they want to be a DJ. The way most of us do things today may look easy but those who have been doing this for a while know it's not as easy as it looks. There's more to it than just playing music. So some will become a DJ and realize it's not as easy as it looks and decide it’s not for them. To be good at DJing it takes a lot of hard work and dedication. When first getting started you're going to make mistakes. It's about learning from those mistakes and working on getting better.

Mix you are so wrong as usually, today it requires an image quality gear from every angle if you offer lighting it needs ti not be uncontrolled spin and puke lights, proper attire, quality presentation with, the knowledge of how to work with computer programs and the associated hardware and not rely on others to fix them when there is an issue

 

[sonic-vision]

Many years ago a man asked, Will you help me learn how to become a DJ.
No, I answered , who is going to speak on the mic for you? The poor guy was not talking well but at the least he didn't cough & have a running nose.

 

[Proformance]

Many years ago a man asked, Will you help me learn how to become a DJ.
No, I answered , who is going to speak on the mic for you? The poor guy was not talking well but at the least he didn't cough & have a running nose.

I want a mic that instantly and seamlessly translates my own voice into other languages, so I can expand my market.
Headphones, not so much. The "I'm happy to take your requests" thing is a bit overrated.

 

[MIXMASTERMACHOM]

Mix you are so wrong as usually, today it requires an image quality gear from every angle if you offer lighting it needs ti not be uncontrolled spin and puke lights, proper attire, quality presentation with, the knowledge of how to work with computer programs and the associated hardware and not rely on others to fix them when there is an issue

What are you talking about? I said it the way I meant it. Today the way a lot of DJs do things Today makes it look so easy when it's not as easy as it looks.

 

[tunes4046]

What are you talking about? I said it the way I meant it. Today the way a lot of DJs do things Today makes it look so easy when it's not as easy as it looks.

Yea it’s not like anyone can roll into the senior center with one speaker and play old club music easily

 

[MIXMASTERMACHOM]

Yea it’s not like anyone can roll into the senior center with one speaker and play old club music easily

There you go again assume what I do there! When I play for the seniors in Montclair, NJ I mostly play Oldies But Goodies, classic soul. Not much house music or Disco. A lot of those people who are there are older than me. So I'm not looking for that crowd to do a whole lot of dancing. How I judge if I'm doing a good job is when I see some of them shaking their head or tapping their feet. I will be there Monday God willing. Monday is my 67th birthday. Please do me and yourself a favor. Stop assuming things that this is who I am. Sometimes you're right and a lot of times you're wrong.

 

[DJ Ricky B]

Everybody has their bottom lines.

I'm not leaving my driveway to go DJ anything for $300 today. I'm keeping my time to myself. Now does it cost me $600 per gig in expenses? No, That is a big stretch. While I have not figured out my current expenses, I remember posting on here a few years ago that my per event costs were running roughly $240 per event (I think it was $228 one year and $240 or so the next) and I believe that is when I was spending money on advertising, and more on EZ Pass tolls. I also incurred more parking fees back then. I am lucking out in recent years and have not had to pay for parking often at all compared to my past.

I am tired after working all week at the full time job, and then doing 2 events yesterday, and today. Between the 2 events I'm earning over $3,000. I do less events in 2024/2025 compared to the past, so let's just say that my per event cost is $400 on the high end and this is just throwing a number out there. So I profited $2,200 this weekend. It was worth it for me to be tired tonight, with my feet sore and achy, and my shoulders achy and time spent away from home for that $2,200. It would not be worth it for me to allocate my time and body to go facilitate a $300 event. I'd rather make zero.

I'm probably in better financial shape staying home than doing an event at net zero profit. Plus what if something happens while traveling to our from that event? What if I hit a deer? What if someone hits and runs my car? What if the tire blows or my car breaks downand I am spending money on a tow and repairs on my car now because I chose to go and do a net zero event? I can hear it now, my wife calling me stupid for bothering with a $300 DJ job, and I gotta listen to that too! No Thanks! Don't need to deal with that! I could have saved myself money and heart ache by staying home and relaxing. Instead I had to be a dumb ass and go do a $300 event in 2025 and lost money by making a dumb decision! The juice isn't worth the squeeze my friends. If it's not advantageous enough in compensation to reasonably peak your interests to agree to do the job, then the best course of action is to turn it down, let it go, and make no money instead.

By the way, Brian posted a response video to those of you who gave him grief about that first video...

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXUYL3ANvto

 

[Proformance]

What's the point?

He's not happy with customers who limit their spending, and less happy with DJs that have modest pricing.
He's made choices. Customers have made choices, and other DJs have made choices. Styles, trends. and the economy make choices too.
We can make better choices to achieve the outcomes we want.

Personally, I would not spend $11,000 on DJ lighting. It's far too easy to copy or mimic and that makes it a tough sell because it's over-done, and most DJs are all copying the same look. Battery operated lights have a life expectancy that's in a direct race with the financing plan. Deploying lights as a means of creating demand doesn't really work because the novelty response to "seeing" has no direct correlation to actual "wanting."

Frankly, I do a lot of work with lighting. But it's not "fixtures" that get me hired. The inventory is irrelevant - it's other skills and technical abilities that get me the work. Rigging, electrics, and knowing WHICH fixtures to select for a given job is what creates demand.

That same principal applies to DJ work - because there are plenty of ways to add music to an event - but, qualified professionals with real people skills and event planning experience are harder to find than someone with a DJ controller and a trunk full of battery powered up lights.

How do we avoid this rising tide of assimilation? We learn new skills - we move up the beach to higher ground of expanded competency. The plain fact of the matter is - if we STOP and rest at the point of "being a DJ" then we are limiting our potential to less than 1/10th of the available events market and sharing it with every other DJ enthusiast - professional or not. Erosion is guaranteed, the water rises. Keep moving higher.

 

[cyberphox]

Brian is a solo op a good DJ but also good at click baiting for his social media

This. end of story - starting to think some of these "DJs" make more money from social media/Youtube/ etc than actually DJing for clients

 

[tunes4046]

This. end of story - starting to think some of these "DJs" make more money from social media/Youtube/ etc than actually DJing for clients

Many do

 

[Albatross]

How I price my time versus what this really costs me are very different.

My actual costs for an event like this are pretty limited... gas and a small amount of consumables (batteries, tape, the cost of having a shirt pressed or possibly my suit cleaned). Unlike Taso, I wouldn't pay an assistant for a small gig like this. Even being generous, I'd suspect my actual costs are $50 or less.

But that still doesn't mean I would do it for $300.

I have a set menu for wedding pricing so that it's simpler. But when I'm pricing gigs that aren't weddings, I tend to try to base my prices on two factors:

1) What would it cost to rent this equipment?
2) What is my time worth?

I've found most rental houses will charge 5-10% of the price of the piece to rent for a day. So if I'm bringing out $5,000 worth of stuff that is required for the event, I think $250-$500 is a good starting spot. If it requires more gear, logistics, etc. I'd price up for that.

For pricing my time, I can use what a club gig without gear pays as a benchmark. I was getting $500 per night when I was a resident DJ, and that was to walk in with my laptop and headphones, plug in a play. No lifting any speakers, etc. But it did involve driving into the city, parking and a bit of a hassle. I've done gigs closer to home for $325 to $400 for a night. Those are about 4-5 hour long gigs. If you include the travel time that means I'm earning $65-$72 per hour to DJ essentially with no gear.

If I'm using that formula, and I can do the gig with a very basic set up and it'll take me 8 hours of total time, I should be pricing around $770. I'd probably quote it at $750 or $795 to keep the number a bit prettier. Or if the gig sounded like I wouldn't enjoy it, I might price it at the higher end of the range just to make sure the time ends up being worth it for me.

 

[Proformance]

I have a set menu for wedding pricing so that it's simpler. But when I'm pricing gigs that aren't weddings, I tend to try to base my prices on two factors:

1) What would it cost to rent this equipment?
2) What is my time worth?

Neither of those produces the real market value for the type of work being solicited.

First, what you pay to buy gear is irrelevant to the request being made. There is no demand to be state of the art or have extended technical capabilities. I rented gear to DJs and multi-ops successfully (and profitably) for decades. Very few of these renters need or want anything that we would call state of the art. In fact, if you polled the majority of members even here on this site you'd find that most are probably using gear discontinued by manufacturers, or even brands that are no longer made, and that parallels a skill set that would be underutilized by the current state of the art tools. Even the "video podcaster" that ignited this thread poses in front of vinyl records - a clear indication that moving forward is not his strong suit. Presently, the most widely used piece of DJ gear in the consumer & prosumer markets is probably a tablet.

Gear is relevant only to the health of our ability to finance it and leverage that available work to which it can be applied. Carpenters don't itemize charges for hammers, saws, and screwdrivers. The tools are a sunk cost and necessary to the job. I wouldn't hire a carpenter who isn't fully equipped unless it was in a factory or maintenance facility where the tools are already in stock for that role. Likewise, I'm already fully equipped to DJ at any price, therefore I can afford to make the best deal for both of us; client and myself. I have no need to publish a price or draw a line in the sand. Tell me what you need and I'll tell you what will move me to do it. That answer may be different every time.

As for the value of our time, that is variable and it goes askew anywhere the person in question earns a higher salary in a full time career than they could ever earn from their DJ skills or Emcee ability. The two employment considerations are not equivalent, and no more sensible than deciding if you should take a part time job at the local auto body shop or serving tables as a waiter. Not every event requires the DJ to be a college graduate with executive level people skills. Sometimes, it's just a party and anyone who could pass as a character in "That 70's Show" is enough to fit the bill.

 

[DJ Ricky B]

This. end of story - starting to think some of these "DJs" make more money from social media/Youtube/ etc than actually DJing for clients

I believe in one video about a year ago he mentioned earning less money from his youtube account these days. He doesn't mention sponsors as much, so his sponsership money is probably very low or nothing this year, BUT here is a rough estimate of what his channel brings in according to views4you.com.

Brian S Redd​

Total subscribers

67,000
Est. YouTube partner earnings (monthly)

$2,055
CPM: $11.04
Est. Sponsorships price (each video)

$670
CPM: $11.04
Total views
38,897,073
Channel's Creation Date
22 June 2006

So he breaks about $24,000 per year from his Youtube account, but I assume he is earning less than that in 2025 looking at the lower views he has been receiving over the last 12 months, and he likely made more money on Youtube in previous years. You might be right because he posted about doing maybe 12 or 13 events last year. Maybe there were some events he did that he never mentioned on his channel, but I don't think he is working a ton of events these days. I know I'm not working a lot of events either compared to my past so it is reasonable to believe he is earning less than 24K per year actually deejaying events today, and might be earning more with his Youtube channel. With that said, he has made videos talking about how he and his wife have to budget tight for groceries, and his vehicles have cost a lot to maintain in recent years so I don't think he is rolling in the dough by any means.