Amazing DJs Vs Amazing Business People

Don't sweat it.

What most mobile DJs really want is: to captain their own ship - with whatever skills they posses or CHOOSE to apply.

Certainly there will be egos. But another explanation for resistance is simply comfort level. Constant improvement and advancement either creatively, vocationally, or logistically, may not be what large numbers of casual and part time DJs are seeking. It's a side hustle for a lot of people and by definition a side job is not a thing we allow to define us.

For those full time - it may be a life balance they achieve rather than the business that is their primary directive. Personally, I loved being available to work from home and be there to raise my 5 kids. I made a great income, did lots of interesting work, made great connections, and will be able to continue in the event and AV fields long into what would otherwise be retirement.

There are better DJs than me, there are better business managers than me. But I am in fact - ME and as such stay true to myself. No regrets,

An interesting note about the video - is all those records behind him. It's a revealing backdrop because from a business perspective they are worthless and would have been disposed of a long time ago. The space they occupy is better used for new modern business concerns. (Storage always comes at great cost - monetary or lost opportunity,)

Yet, that's clearly not the thing that's most important to him. The records are all carefully stored in protective vinyl sleeves. He's nostalgic and it's clearly the experiences he's had that mean the most to him, not the next business bench mark.

There's nothing at all wrong with that.
We only need to be vigilant about living in the present so that we can enjoy our nostalgia without getting lost in it.

No argument from me.
I am a horrible at the busines end.

(but I am okay with that)

Proformance said:

An interesting note about the video - is all those records behind him. It's a revealing backdrop because from a business perspective they are worthless and would have been disposed of a long time ago. The space they occupy is better used for new modern business concerns. (Storage always comes at great cost - monetary or lost opportunity,)

Yet, that's clearly not the thing that's most important to him. The records are all carefully stored in protective vinyl sleeves. He's nostalgic and it's clearly the experiences he's had that mean the most to him, not the next business bench mark.

There's nothing at all wrong with that.
We only need to be vigilant about living in the present so that we can enjoy our nostalgia without getting lost in it.

Click to expand...

Proformance said:

An interesting note about the video - is all those records behind him. It's a revealing backdrop because from a business perspective they are worthless and would have been disposed of a long time ago. The space they occupy is better used for new modern business concerns. (Storage always comes at great cost - monetary or lost opportunity,)

Yet, that's clearly not the thing that's most important to him. The records are all carefully stored in protective vinyl sleeves. He's nostalgic and it's clearly the experiences he's had that mean the most to him, not the next business bench mark.

There's nothing at all wrong with that.
We only need to be vigilant about living in the present so that we can enjoy our nostalgia without getting lost in it.

Click to expand...

Bob let me say I disagree with you saying those records are worthless. There are people who do buy records. I see signs that state that. That's a hell of a collection. He probably is not looking to sell them and keeping them for sentimental reasons. That's a gigantic collection. I had at one time 22 crate of records. It took me 13 years to build that collection. So I know it took years for him to get that big a collection.

My friend that still DJs has records that he doesn't take out the house to do an event. He still plays those records on turntables. He still has a pair of Technic 1200's. He's a computer DJ today and still has a record collection.

Don't misunderstand me. I get that we're into a digital world today and yet some still have records or in my case I still have CDs that I bought that I don't use for business, just for personal pleasure.

Vinyl was worth something 30 years ago. Back then I was selling y albums for $5 and 12” for $3. Hell, I used that money to pay for CDs. I walked every used CD shop in lower & midtown Manhattan buying up CDs. 10 years later I was barely able to get $1 per 12” from mostly collectors who spend a ton of time going thru my library. Now I’d be lucky to to get that. But really what in the world are you going to do vinyl beside look at it? I still have my whole CD collections buried somewhere, along with my music video collect on VHS & DVD. There is no way in the world I’d be using them or even playing them at home for any reason. Although my son did grab a few records and play them on a record player he got as a gift. That lasted 2 weeks, and boy on that record player they sounded like crap.

I have a friend who lined the walls of his man cave with album covers. He tossed the actual albums but put the covers using little plastic 90 degree spacers / holders on all corners of each cover (nothing sticky on any cover) THEN covered all the walls with plexiglass to keep them protected.

The monetary value of vinyl is defined by two things:

The content of the recording. By this time, nearly every recording and remix of a work has been digitally remastered by someone and found it's way onto the internet, This essentially eliminates any monetary value associated with the technical value of the recording itself. Rare 12" pool versions or radio edits that were once unattainable are easily found today.

The artistic, cultural, or iconic value of the jacket's artwork. The real value in old records today is the jacket - not the disc. The marketing of records is a kind of social documentation of our history and society. For example, "Mr Postman" as an album released by the Marvelettes has an unusually high value if in prime condition - not for the recording, rather for it's first album cover. At the time it was released record executives feared that images of black singers on a pop album cover would inhibit sales among white teen buyers, and so they insisted that the cover display only comic artwork of a postman and mailbox rather than photos of the singers themselves. That's a striking departure from say, and artist like Nat King Cole who was perceived as singing a more 'socially appropriate' genre. It's a classic documentation of how race defined business and advertising of the time.

I had no qualms about the jettison of my vinyl. I was all about getting the job done in the most efficient and effective way possible. I found a way to get 500 CDs to fit in a single rack drawer well before the vinyl "viewpack" came along - and of course, the mp3 makes even CDs a foolish thing to hold onto today.

MIXMASTERMACHOM said:

Bob let me say I disagree with you saying those records are worthless. There are people who do buy records. I see signs that state that. That's a hell of a collection. He probably is not looking to sell them and keeping them for sentimental reasons. That's a gigantic collection. I had at one time 22 crate of records. It took me 13 years to build that collection. So I know it took years for him to get that big a collection.

Click to expand...

You are describing 'comfort' not worth. That is a non-monetary value and since the video speaks to business or talent - the value of the records is $0.00 or perhaps even negative in terms of opportunity cost.

Personally, DJing was never a hobby for me. Moving on from one format to the next is a simple productivity issue, so I can do it without any emotional loss. I won't be doing this long enough to justify full reliance on the cloud, but that too, is the next generation and it will resolve once and for all the issue of copyrights contained in the physical product.