Do you regularly participate in industry related educational seminars or conventions?

[DJ Ricky B]

I know all of us regulars have been around a long time. Do you still participate in any Mobile DJ or Industry related Webinars, Seminars, or Expos in recent years including the present?

I was invited to a Zola Webinar on tips and tricks for booking customers. I signed up because I realized I have not devoted any time recently to education/learning. If anything, I figure I can perhaps gain some previously unknown knowledge, or perhaps learn a new trick. The webinar is being held by a Makeup Artists, and Event Coordinator, so not a DJ. I think it's good to learn and see the perspective of how other vendors might handle sales with their customers too. It's only a 1 hour webinar that will likely only be about 45 minutes so it's not like a huge undertaking to devote some time to this.

I haven't done much with education and learning since Covid. I think I need to be more active, and if anything renew my brain and get a refresher!

I don't know if I will have any PTO left in August, BUT I really do want to head down to the DJ Expo even for just a day and walk around. Maybe it will be good for a refresher as well. So I am trying to plan a day trip down to the Expo.

What about you all? Anybody devoting time to this this year, and moving forward, or do you feel there is no need for it any more?

 

[Jeff Romard]

I love learning I always want to learn new things. I do a lot of stuff online although the majority doesn't pertain to the DJ business. I have my client base and at my age growing it seems redundant. My Daughters will take over in the next 10 years with the base I have and grow it from there

I have never attended a DJ convention but I would love to someday. I would probably skip the seminars it would be more to meet people that I have met online or to see the gear.

 

[tunes4046]

I know all of us regulars have been around a long time. Do you still participate in any Mobile DJ or Industry related Webinars, Seminars, or Expos in recent years including the present?

I was invited to a Zola Webinar on tips and tricks for booking customers. I signed up because I realized I have not devoted any time recently to education/learning. If anything, I figure I can perhaps gain some previously unknown knowledge, or perhaps learn a new trick. The webinar is being held by a Makeup Artists, and Event Coordinator, so not a DJ. I think it's good to learn and see the perspective of how other vendors might handle sales with their customers too. It's only a 1 hour webinar that will likely only be about 45 minutes so it's not like a huge undertaking to devote some time to this.

I haven't done much with education and learning since Covid. I think I need to be more active, and if anything renew my brain and get a refresher!

I don't know if I will have any PTO left in August, BUT I really do want to head down to the DJ Expo even for just a day and walk around. Maybe it will be good for a refresher as well. So I am trying to plan a day trip down to the Expo.

What about you all? Anybody devoting time to this this year, and moving forward, or do you feel there is no need for it any more?

With the creation of zoom and other ways to learn without spending hundreds if not thousands of dollars on in necessary travel, I see no reason to attend in person any longer

 

[DJ Ricky B]

With the creation of zoom and other ways to learn without spending hundreds if not thousands of dollars on in necessary travel, I see no reason to attend in person any longer

Don't care to meet others these days? Perhaps share a meal? What about hands on checking out products, and seeing them in action in person?

Or is all of that in terms of your DJ Career in your past and can only be seen in the rear view mirror at this point?

 

[DJ Ricky B]

I love learning I always want to learn new things. I do a lot of stuff online although the majority doesn't pertain to the DJ business. I have my client base and at my age growing it seems redundant. My Daughters will take over in the next 10 years with the base I have and grow it from there

I have never attended a DJ convention but I would love to someday. I would probably skip the seminars it would be more to meet people that I have met online or to see the gear.

I think it would be cool if we could all manage to meet up at the DJ Expo one time. I believe budget constraints and timing will always be an issue for putting something like that together at this point, but it would be cool.

I want to go to the DJ Expo this year because it's a big 35th year, and I believe that the Expo likely doesn't have too many years left before it has it's final year. However, After coming back from vacation in late July, I won't have any time left at work to really make the trip down there. The only way it's in the cards this year is if I choose to call out, lose hours at work and take a point. Also, I don't currently have any DJ jobs in August so I'm shooting a hole in my wallet by going to the expo and missing a day at work.

 

[tunes4046]

Don't care to meet others these days? Perhaps share a meal? What about hands on checking out products, and seeing them in action in person?

Or is all of that in terms of your DJ Career in your past and can only be seen in the rear view mirror at this point?

I’m kind of over hearing DJ’s talk about their glory days days or bragging about their last gig in person,
With Amazon I can order any new gear I want and if I don’t like it it’s very easy to just ship it back, plus there is very little really new product being released any longer
I have many friends and family much more local to me that allow me plenty of social stimulation

I prefer to use the dollars I would spend on such a trip to go somewhere I might enjoy more

 

[Jeff Romard]

I think it would be cool if we could all manage to meet up at the DJ Expo one time. I believe budget constraints and timing will always be an issue for putting something like that together at this point, but it would be cool.

It would be cool to all meet up

I also feel that a lot of the experts at these things don't have the real world expertise that is in this group. There are a couple that haven't played a gig since Bush was President

 

[tunes4046]

It would be cool to all meet up

I also feel that a lot of the experts at these things don't have the real world expertise that is in this group. There are a couple that haven't played a gig since Bush was President

Agreed I would go to a meet up of this group but the Speakers at most conventions are of the those that can do those that can’t teach variety meaning that they are so distant current reality that they really don’t know what they are speaking about

 

[logisticalstyles]

This year I went to NAMM for the first time. My access badges were given to me from Betopper lights. I did a few product reviews for them so they offered to have me as a guest. I had to pay for my flight out there but it was worth it to meet a lot of DJ in person that I only see online. I got to check out the new gear and get some interviews in with some manufacturers. It was a great trip and I plan on going back next year. I learned a lot and got some great networking opportunities.

 

[sonic-vision]

My access badges were given to me from Betopper lights

Cool , Been looking at the four movers for less than $900.00.

 

[sawdust123]

I used to attend ~10 trade shows a year (AES, NAMM, NAB, CES, ALMA (now ALTI), T.H.E Show, RMAF, InfoComm, CanJam, CEDIA, et al). I have given talks or participated on panel sessions at most of them. I have been on the organizing committee of several AES shows and a few NAMM shows too. I particularly like the networking aspect of shows. I have been to five or six DJ shows. I spoke at a few MBLV shows and a DJ Expo.

I found MBLV very helpful early in my DJing adventure. I was mostly ignorant of how the industry worked. Interacting with others gave me plenty of ideas on how to improve myself. These days, much of my self-improvement is done through reading, particularly business books. Even if I mostly disagree with the author, I find myself thinking more on the topic and how my situation differs from that of the author's. My work also offers several management classes. I also teach a lot of classes which are mostly geared on technical selling skills.

 

[NickNZ]

Can't believe the same attitudes argue to defend the same sort of head-in-the-sand mentality that was around 20+ years ago.

There are NO industry get-togethers in New Zealand.

So I travel to the USA.

Admittedly, it's getting harder to find material on stage that really "pops" for me the older I get. But what someone taught me waaaay back in 2002 just before I attended my first ever show (Mobile Beat at the Trop, LV) was it's not just the show line-up you're there for. It's the hallway networking.

The things you can learn in casual random just passing by meet-ups in the hallway, the elevator lobby, the on-property Starbucks, small group get-togethers - they don't put that in the brochure.

I've been to Think Tank, Mobile Beat, MEX, ARMDJS and Wedding MBA in the USA.

Sure, there are plenty of glory days stories. Plenty of exaggeration. But also plenty of chances to find something new, ESPECIALLY if we've done it a long time.

Of course, there will always be those who insist they can't learn anything new, or insist that the guys that haven't done a real gig for years are out of touch and can't teach anything new. As one kinda industry famous speaker/coach/former DJ that hasn't done a real gig in 20 years says: "if you insist".

For me personally, getting in amongst other people and hearing their stories is what helps me learn.

 

[MIXMASTERMACHOM]

I used to make NJDJN meetings every month. They met on Tuesday evening in Edison, NJ. I heard they are no longer having the meetings. Is this true?