How about just being the MC

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tunes4046

tunes4046

DJ Extraordinaire
ODJT Supporter
Jul 24, 2008
5,284
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Fennimore Wi
So, I've had two phone calls this year from people who have seen me at other events asking me just to MC their wedding, the have hired another DJ company for far less than what charge, what percentage of your normal rate would you charge just to be the MC, my thought was to be there through all of the formal events, and be able to leave by between 8 and 10 pm. no gear except my wireless mic as I don't trust anyone elses gear. my DJ rates start at around $1000 I was thinking this should be a $500 deal for me.
 
Fair price.
 
rickryan.com said:
I wouldn't do it. I'd quote my regular rate and let them go elsewhere.
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My thought was that this was a high enough price, either I wouldn't get the gig or they would just book my DJ service, I suspect they DJ's that were booked were in the sub $500 range. I can honestly say I wouldn't be too upset about an easy $500 for a few hours of mic work with minimal gear and an early bedtime
 
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My basic DJ/MC package is much cheaper than yours, I offer 100.00 off, if I am just the DJ and they provide their own MC/Planner for all the formal stuff. I offer the system at half my rate if they want to I-Pod their wedding (still including a wireless mic). You bring up a good question as I have never been asked to just MC the event. I guess I would probably be like you and do it for half the normal rate.

I want to reiterate, that 90% of my weddings are at a venue a mile from my house, with no smoking or drinking at the venue and the weddings are really nice, but everything from ceremony to end of music runs 3-4 hours, usually 3 hours.
 
ittigger said:
Important factor, cheap dj usually = cheap or non professional gear. Cheap gear = bad sound. Bad sound is bad even with a good MC.
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I agree although I have found that even with the worst gear with my little bit of knowledge, gain structure, not over driving, I can make almost any system sound much better. and bonus for the DJ, I charge them nothing for my expertise.
 
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True .. but should you be schooling someone at your expense? Schooling someone who wants to learn is one thing. Schooling someone because you cost too much is another.
 
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Depending on the time of year I would do it but for very close to my regular rate. In the busy season I wouldn't even consider it. In this area the MC is usually a family member up until the dance starts they then pass it over to the DJ

oldschooldj said:
I want to reiterate, that 90% of my weddings are at a venue a mile from my house, with no smoking or drinking at the venue and the weddings are really nice, but everything from ceremony to end of music runs 3-4 hours, usually 3 hours.
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I understand where you are coming from Ray and i respect your position but in my area if I imposed those rules I would literally never play. In 30+ years I've seen one wedding with no drinking....well no bar open there was a few snuck in a pint


ittigger said:
True .. but should you be schooling someone at your expense? Schooling someone who wants to learn is one thing. Schooling someone because you cost too much is another.
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And it's a whole other thing schooling someone who doesn't want to be schooled.
 
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Jeff,

I don't impose the no drinking part, it is the rule of the venue. The owners are an older religious couple, who have never drank in their life. They are the nicest people you could ever meet and a joy to work with. They like me because I keep the music extremely clean and we keep the volume under control. That is why I picked it up as the prime vendor. The wedding couples who spend 5K-10K for this venue know the rules and are usually Christian couples with the same values as the owners, that is why they book the venue.

I like the venue because, even though the gigs are $350.00 to $750.00, according to what package they pick, it is a mile from the house, only requires a very small set up and only last a few hours. If it took a lot of equipment, was a long drive, and required 8-10 hours of my time to complete all the task for the gigs, then I would be at $1,200.00-$1,700.00 like may others, but I am working 1/2 to 1/3 of what you guys are at these gigs.
 
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ittigger said:
Important factor, cheap dj usually = cheap or non professional gear. Cheap gear = bad sound. Bad sound is bad even with a good MC.
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My thoughts, too. Even with the best gear in town, a BAD DJ who plays all the wrong songs, will make you look BAD as well. (no matter how good YOU are)
 
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oldschooldj said:
Jeff,

I don't impose the no drinking part, it is the rule of the venue. The owners are an older religious couple, who have never drank in their life. They are the nicest people you could ever meet and a joy to work with. They like me because I keep the music extremely clean and we keep the volume under control. That is why I picked it up as the prime vendor. The wedding couples who spend 5K-10K for this venue know the rules and are usually Christian couples with the same values as the owners, that is why they book the venue.

I like the venue because, even though the gigs are $350.00 to $750.00, according to what package they pick, it is a mile from the house, only requires a very small set up and only last a few hours. If it took a lot of equipment, was a long drive, and required 8-10 hours of my time to complete all the task for the gigs, then I would be at $1,200.00-$1,700.00 like may others, but I am working 1/2 to 1/3 of what you guys are at these gigs.
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Thanks Ray. I misunderstood I thought it was you that didn't accept gigs where there was alcohol or tobacco. It sounds like you have a pretty good deal going there
 
Valarie is spot on. I've done a few events(non wedding) were I was the MC with no equipment of my own besides my mic.

As jeff mentioned, if it's a peak booking day, I'd be reluctant to go less than my normal rate.

I did a 3 hr MC job at a fundraiser last year. It was a Friday. 7-10. They had the music taken care of by the hall. They saved about 30% off what I'd charge them for sound, music, and djing.

Odds are if they are doing it to save money and need to hire 2 companies, it's not going to work.
 
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It seems to me that unless the day is prime and you would book anyway, the amount of work to emcee would probably be less than 1/3 the total overall effort (not just day of) to pull off a wedding. Getting 70%+ is great, but the risk is low, prep work minimal and I wouldn't have an issue with anyone accepting 50%.
 
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steve149 said:
It seems to me that unless the day is prime and you would book anyway, the amount of work to emcee would probably be less than 1/3 the total overall effort (not just day of) to pull off a wedding. Getting 70%+ is great, but the risk is low, prep work minimal and I wouldn't have an issue with anyone accepting 50%.
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For me the issue with working for less than 70% lies in potential lost income on the date. If I later had the opportunity to book my own show and make more money plus be in better control, I'd sure rather be there. I might be more inclined to throw out 50% if it was a short notice open day as then I'd consider it a bonus to add in the pay rather than opportunity lost on something bigger.
 
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tunes4046 said:
the have hired another DJ company for far less than what charge,
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And that tells the whole story right there.


There are professional MC's out there who work with DJ's and event producers all the time.

The difference is that it's usually at an additional cost to what a professsional event production company would charge to do the event in the first place. If they really liked you then they would have hired you in the first place to do both.
Obviously they are trying to skimp and have hired a bottom feeder DJ but want you to be "the face" of the event.

I don't know what you would regularly charge to do the gig as both MC/DJ but I can't imagine them saving that much if anything at all if you charge accordingly (no less than $500 imo).

They want you without having to pay for you. The customer values you, but doesn't place any actual value on the DJ service itself.

The problem I have with these type of gigs is unless I know exactly who I am working with (and trust completely), if the DJ is unprofessional and screws things up, then they can still make me look bad to any potential future clients.

Call me a control freak if you like, but I would rather be hired for the whole thing and in control of the event, and if the MC and event planning duties were that extensive, then I would sub out the DJ/Production portion if necessary to someone I know and trust, than the other way around.

I would however have no problems doing something similar as to what Scott Hanna mentioned if the hall was providing the sound system and music as long as I still had control of the equipment.
 
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