School & Teen Events Prom price?

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Ask that the kids give you a playlist/requests 2 weeks before the prom - an urban school it's not hard to figure out what tehy want to hear - but a large rural school may want a lot more country, may not want much hip hop..or maybe they want a lot of it?

I've done dances for school that border eachother and there is a huge difference in what they want to hear.

If you don't have what they want - you're gonna be in big trouble. the kids WILL get in your face, as will the staff/chaperones.

You make some very valid points. The school is one of the smaller schools in our district and is in a small rural area that has a heavy agricultural influence (They have one of the larger FFA groups in the area). If I remember correctly, this particular school does a "red carpet" entrance for thier prom, and last year several of the couples were dropped off at the top of the red carpet by large tractors! Lol

I will get more details from the asst. Principal that contacted me. I work with her husband so she saw where I had posted on Facebook, asking friends and families opinions in a name for my business. That was why she originally asked me to begin with. I will ask her about theme and expected attendance and maybe go walk through the cafeteria one day this week and get a feeling for the size of the room.

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Tim, even though you said that renting was cost prohibitive, since you are very new at this, maybe you should view it not as a money maker but as a prime opportunity to market yourself to what will obviously be future brides.
Spend a bit on renting decent gear and lights, and find ways to promote yourself to the crowd.
Since it's not a wedding, I think it might be a good opportunity for you to promote yourself while making the kids think they are part of the event. I'm thinking snapchat geofilters, facebook or whatever. You have an opportunity to really engage the kids here all the while promoting your service to future B&G. :)
 
Also, do you know any other dj's in your area?
It wouldn't hurt to ask for their help as well.
If you know another dj that has the gear to do the job then it might even be worth your while to employ them and their gear even if it will cost you money. At your stage in the game, the expertise acquired from someone more knowledgeable than yourself could be invaluable for the event while also providing future networking opportunities.
If you plan to be in the game long term, eventually you may need someone to help you down the road if you get more events like this or have an emergency and need someone to cover for you.
 
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Last prom I did had 80 kids TOTAL at it. That would have been total overkill. DId a dance for them also - in the lobby of the gym...I don't think all that gear would even fit in that space! LOL

There's no such thing as overkill ;)
 
Whats up everybody? I've got an update on this thread for y'all. So I wound up passing on the gig I started this thread about because I was concerned about not being able to meet their needs. At the time, I hadn't even purchased or received all of my gear yet. Well the Asst. Principal that contacted me originally, reached out to me again a few days ago. I relayed my concerns about my set up not being powerful enough for the size of the room/event and she agreed to let me bring my gear out and give them a sound test. I decided to load up the whole shebang and carried the gigbar2 and mini kintas along with me. I met with the Asst. Principal and the teacher that is the Prom Coordinator and found out that they would only need me for inside the actual event as they had sound covered for the "red carpet" introductions. I also got to see the cafeteria where the event is being held and set up my gear. Once I was set up and started playing music, I found that my setup was more than capable of filling the space with sound. The folks from the school were thoroughly impressed with my set up and even told me that it sounded/looked better than the DJ that they used last year! lol

Sooooo, to sum all that up, I have officially booked my first paying gig!!!! I am just a wee bit pleased with myself! Now I just have to start working on building a playlist and fine tuning my MC skills! Also the school will be providing me with a list of requested music supplied by the kids a few weeks prior to the event so that will help.
 
Congrats :) - just remember, bodies absorb sound - so there may be a significant difference in an empty space with reflective surfaces vs that same space with people.

In addition, make sure whatever music is requested, is the clean version - and you could take it to the next level and watch out for content. It can be a difficult line to walk trying to keep the kids happy and keeping the school happy. They may be counting on you, the professional, to screen the lists and music. Alternatively, you could try to throw the ball in their court and ask them to approve the list - but then it could become a contest because you're supposed to be the professional.

Take a look at another similar thread - Fascinating Prom Reqeusts
 
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I'm late to this thread, but the other consideration is to partner with another DJ that has equipment you don't.

I have a lot of gear, but my gear is focused on the wedding market. Small, elegant, great sound... but not built for 500 kids jumping up and down like crazy.

I could have tried to buy a bunch of extra stuff for this gig, but it would have been a big investment. And more importantly, I'm not really targeting this market. I'm happy to do them when they come along, but I don't want to be in the big production business.

So instead I contacted another operator locally that I trust. I built a package with them to do sound and lights. I'll still DJ personally. It should ROCK.

You shouldn't feel limited by only the equipment you own. It's better to bring in the big guns to "Do it right" than to limp through it as a one man band.