For the curious minds: I found myself trying to explain these facts more than once to my customers, so lets see if you can benefit from this.
Before anything, lets break-down a DJ’s schedule.
- We all spend 2 to 5Hrs every day replying to emails, phone calls, repairing gear and vehicle (costly) and meeting with customers. Even though is real work, this time is not accounted for.
- One event for a DJ means: ½ to 1 Hr to load the vehicle, 1 to 2 Hrs commute to venue, 1Hr early arrival just in case something happens, ½ to 2 Hrs setup, 4 to 6Hrs play time, ½ to 1Hr teardown, 1 to 2Hrs commute to home, ½ Hr to unload vehicle. So adding up, one event takes him from 9 to 16Hrs non-stop work
That being said, there are 3 main groups of DJs, listed here:
1- The beginner. He doesn’t have much (if any) experience and he’s desperate to get it. So he won’t mind working for next-to-nothing as long as he’s building his “resume”. Pros: he’ll do anything and everything to please you at a ridiculous low price. Cons: he may choke at the slightest issue, probably he won’t have a large music database and may ask you to provide a detailed list of music you want (or even to bring your own music) and his equipment (or lack of) is unreliable and low quality (plus it may look bad and sound poorly).
2- The seasoned. He has experience and runs smoothly, making your event a success for sure (he’s confident, comfortable and he has fun). Pros: He spent a significant amount of money to acquire a reliable and good-looking-top-notch setup. He’ll have any music you want, he’ll even take songs requests on the spot. He’ll help you with planning and will run the event. Cons: He is more expensive than DJ-1 and harder to book on short notices (he fills his calendar months ahead of time).
3- The corporate. This is a bigger group of people, most of the time with many DJs. Pros: They should be well trained DJs and should have all necessary gear and backups provided by the corporation, your event should be a success. Cons: Since you’ll have to pay for the (contracted) DJ and the rest of the corporate people, their prices may be prohibitively expensive (you’ll pay for many salaries, big marketing and lots of gear).
So who should you hire for your event? Well, here:
- If you’re thinking about having a boom-box for your event to save money, then go with DJ-1. He’ll charge you from $100 to $200 (from $6/Hr to $12/Hr before tax, or from $5,200 to $12,000 a year before tax).
- If you don’t want to take any chances, want guaranteed professionalism, reliability and quality, lights + music and maybe Karaoke and are willing to spend the time searching for a good DJ, go with DJ-2. He’ll charge you from $300 to $600 (18.75/Hr to 37.5/Hr before tax, or $15,600 to $40,000 a year before tax)
- If you want peace of mind and over-all minimal effort finding a good DJ go with DJ-3. They’ll charge you from $800 to $5,000 ($80/Hr to 300/Hr before tax, or $83,000 to $500,000 a year before tax)
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This is a comment by a fellow DJ on this post:
Yes, this is true. I think Pablo just hit the nail on the head. However there may be a fourth DJ out there as well. They may look like the corporate, charge like the seasoned (at the high end) but outsource the dj work and pay type one rates (at the low end). It is important to know who your dj will actually be when you contract with a company to avoid having that company outsources to a beginner (type 1).
djdfw.com
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Regardless of whom you hire, you are looking for VALUE not PRICING. So there, hope you enjoyed reading through ;-)
Cheers
DJ Pablo
(214) 701 2354
Mobile.DJ.Pablo@gmail.com
www.nativaproductions.com
If you're on facebook see pictures here: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?id=1027218284&pid=30104446#/album.php?aid=2011958&id=1027218284&ref=mf
PS
If you are a Type1 DJ and feel offended, please don't.
This is not a hate note! Just informative. Yes I was a beginner at one point but I never claimed to be a professional then ;-) (I stated the lack of experience and that I was above average too, and charged next to nothing)
I just believe that there is a market for all of us, it's just the customer needs to be aware of their options and choose wisely that's all.]]>
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