Weddings We are no longer the only option...duh!

[dunlopj]

Since many thread here are about pricing, here's where I feel it all boils down....

Years ago - like maybe as late as 15 years ago - aside from bands, we as DJ's were pretty much the only option when it came to music at most events.

Nowadays, everyone has other options and methods to consider thanks to technology.

So while price will be first and foremost in many clients' eyes, it really comes down to convincing them that we who are currently working in this industry are a better option.

How you do that is the million dollar question. And technology has changed that too.

Welcome to the new age, the new world...although it's been developing over the past 12 years or so.

 

[Jeff Romard]

DIY has always been there it's just more prominent these days. When you make it easy people will try it bottom line. I remember back in the late 80s or early 90s getting a call on a Saturday night the guy on the other end was offering me $100 to setup his gear. It was a DIY wedding he was the brides cousin. He had some rental gear and a dual cassette deck with about 100 mixed tapes he just couldn't figure out how to make sound. I took his money on the way to my gig I don't know how it went but I'm sure he got along fine

I don't really try to talk them out of it I do tell them it would be handy if they had someone able to MC and operate the equipment for the evening and that it could work out or maybe not....If they are cutting this corner they probably aren't calling me in the first place

 

[DJ Ricky B]

At some point the Type writer sales person had to start selling something else to continue earning money selling something.

There is still money to be made as a Mobile DJ. However, the sky is not the limit...There are certainly maximum income levels placed on us, and it's tougher to reach those levels compared to 10 - 20 years ago. The night club and bar scene isn't around 5-6 days a week 50 weeks a year like it was in the 80s and 90s. People (and corporations and businesses) don't throw parties and hire a DJ as often as they did in the 90s/early 2000s. We have maybe 45 Saturdays, and some sundays and Fridays to work with to book events. It's only going to be a full time thing for a very small number of us moving forward. And it's less than desirable compared to lots of other stuff out there. However, generally, most of us enjoy being DJs which is opposite of most people out there who hate or dislike their jobs. It's just a fact that if you expect to always earn $25,000 - $60,000, or more a year as a Mobile DJ, don't get your hopes up. In the future, it might be real, real hard to take home even $25,000 in this business after expenses.

According to payscale.com, most professional DJs who stay in for more than 5 years, get out of the business after the 20 year mark. ...That seems about right. I'm noticing many DJs retiring last few years, and most been in the business about 20 to 25 years.

Will the Mobile DJ Industry exist like it does today another 10 or 15 years down the road for us younger DJs who are in it for the long run? That is the question. I do think we are on the verge of seeing a mas exodus of older DJs retire from gigging between now and the next 5 years. That could bring up demand for us DJs who stick around...or technology could just continue to erode the amount of work available to us moving forward.

Jeff, I noticed you are out of Sydney, NS. Population of around 32,000. I am curious, how far do you typically drive for events. Or do you stay fairly local up there?

 

[Proformance]

We were never the only other option. There were always a variety of options. Many of those other options have improved substantially in the last decade providing some really fantastic benefits and possibilities at a very affordable cost. DJs have become more costly with out any similar corresponding comparative improvement.

 

[rickryan.com]

It your sales pitch is focused strictly on music, I think you're making a big mistake. People are terrified of speaking in a public situation, and especially at weddings. An ipod will never be able to handle introductions, make announcements, etc. Besides, it has a stigma of cheap written all over it. Part of the allure of throwing one of these events is having everyone be impressed with how elaborate of an event you created.

 

[ittigger]

DJs have become more costly with out any similar corresponding comparative improvement.

Along those lines, vehicles (and the unions that make them) have become more costly with not alot of a improvement. Your McD's and BK entry level positions are also more costly with no improvement. This isn't just a DJ issue.

 

[Proformance]

It your sales pitch is focused strictly on music, I think you're making a big mistake. People are terrified of speaking in a public situation, and especially at weddings. An ipod will never be able to handle introductions, make announcements, etc. Besides, it has a stigma of cheap written all over it. Part of the allure of throwing one of these events is having everyone be impressed with how elaborate of an event you created.

Well, yeah. You have to sell talent and craft. However, the more educated and professional your clientele the less likely there is to be any gap between their ability and your own with regard to emcee duties. What sets us apart is the preparation. The bride, planner, and DJ are typically the most informed people in the room about the plan hence, the DJ is usually tapped to emcee. However, combine an iPod with a prepared client and family/friends of the class mentioned and the DJ/emcee may no longer be necessary to have an elaborate creation. That is where the value of disc-jockeys takes the biggest hit. If your clients are smart enough and inclined enough to do it themselves, and simultaneously not wealthy enough to just make everything work for hire - then the value of a DJ is harder to justify.

A wedding is a prime victim since it is all adults, generally a well understood itinerary, and can move along nicely on it's own momentum. Bar Mitzvah - or anything involving a crowd of kids - well, that will always need hired help! There's nothing like the prospect of entertaining 80 young teens and preteens to open someone's wallet. Kids = money. Whether it's Chuck-E-Cheese or an over-the top Quinceanara people are always looking for a way to deal with the kids.

I've also been working in a lot of modern spaces where the installed sound, lights, and video are arena/theater class and easily blow away anything a DJ would bring in. My getting hired essentially comes down to the complexity of choreography and needing someone with skills. Gear counts for so little, so often now. I think to survive going forward it will be necessary to imagine how you will work when most of your gear is completely unnecessary, and to create a viable value proposition for that role.

 

[Jeff Romard]

Jeff, I noticed you are out of Sydney, NS. Population of around 32,000. I am curious, how far do you typically drive for events. Or do you stay fairly local up there?

Hey Ricky Sydney is part of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality which is made up of 8 former municipal units the total population would be around 100,000. I do a fair bit of work in Sydney itself (I actually live outside the city kind of in the woods) but it's not uncommon to drive 20 miles one way. Quite frequently I travel to the other counties on the island sometimes 100 miles or more. The longest one I have this year is about 150 miles away. I have another one the next night in that direction so I will stay overnight at the resort I'm playing the second night. I do charge for travel right now it's $1.00/mile return I'm thinking of raising that a bit

As you probably seen the median income here is just $41,000 and the economy is horrible...been so for years and there is as a guess about 100 DJ's here

 

[DJ Ricky B]

Interesting. Yeah, you certainly service a market with a more sparse population. However, if there are only "100 DJs" in the entire area, it's likely that less than 50 of them are professionals that actively book themselves on a regular basis. 50 or so DJs for 100,000 population could be favorable for keeping the work coming in. You really are way north though. I'm assuming the wedding season really doesn't start until mid or late May up there, and ends a bit earlier, maybe in September, or early October?

Is it rare to do a November, December, or April wedding up there?

 

[Jeff Romard]

Interesting. Yeah, you certainly service a market with a more sparse population. However, if there are only "100 DJs" in the entire area, it's likely that less than 50 of them are professionals that actively book themselves on a regular basis. 50 or so DJs for 100,000 population could be favorable for keeping the work coming in. You really are way north though. I'm assuming the wedding season really doesn't start until mid or late May up there, and ends a bit earlier, maybe in September, or early October?

Is it rare to do a November, December, or April wedding up there?

Actually I'm doing one next weekend and I have 2 booked for December but generally speaking it's April to November

Not including the ones that work with me there would be 10 or less in this area I would book to do an event but there are so many that book on price alone that it thins the work pretty good. I have no complaints even with taking a couple of prime weekends off I did 53 last year personally and probably 35-or 40 more between the other DJ's I work with but I have been around a long time and have a very high referral rate. About 85% of my gigs are referral.

There was one year I did 79 by myself and another 50 or so between the other DJ's a few years before that were all in the 60's. After the year i did 79 I decided to slow down a bit I could feel the burnout happening

 

[MIXMASTERMACHOM]

The secret trick is to keep up with modern technology. As much as I'm not a big fan of it I've learned to embrace it. I learned to communicate the way a potential client wants to. Some like to text. Some do emails and some not many like to talk on the phone. Social media is a big thing these days. I know people like my girlfriend and my best friends wife who are addicted to Facebbok. I tell them if Facebook went away they would commit suicide. That's how much of an addiction they have for Facebook. I was lying in bed and she tried to show me something on Facebook. I was ready to go to sleep. I couldn't give a damn about the latest post on Facebook. I only have several Facebook pages because of the business. If it wasn't for that I wouldn't bother with it. I see way too many stupid things people put on Facebook. Videos of people fighting and acting crazy. Just too much stupid stuff for me.

 

[Jeff Romard]

Social media can be your best friend if you use it correctly

 

[B-Sharp]

I only have several Facebook pages because of the business.

Please share them.