Would you consider doing this wedding?

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Hey mix, next time make sure to type after the quotes lol. The moving heads I use are the elation platinum spot 5r's...they were a little under $2k each when I bought them... they are no longer for sale new, and have the platinum spot led II as its replacement. The LED are only $1600 each, but are missing a few features that the 5r's had. Useless without proper dmx programming btw.
 
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Taso you said something interesting. You said those were 2 of my favorite venues. I only worked in Snuffy's once for my oldest niece wedding, I have played at Galloping Hill Inn a few times. Both to me are nice places. They certainly aren't holes in the walls places.

I have been to places that I would not like to work again. Either the load in and out were super tough, the staff not very friendly or they had a bunch of restrictions that the DJ had to go by. Such as the venue controlling the level of the volume the DJ could play at. I feel that is short changing the client and the crowd coming there to have a good time.
 
MIXMASTERMACHOM said:
Taso you said something interesting. You said those were 2 of my favorite venues. I only worked in Snuffy's once for my oldest niece wedding, I have played at Galloping Hill Inn a few times. Both to me are nice places. They certainly aren't holes in the walls places.

I have been to places that I would not like to work again. Either the load in and out were super tough, the staff not very friendly or they had a bunch of restrictions that the DJ had to go by. Such as the venue controlling the level of the volume the DJ could play at. I feel that is short changing the client and the crowd coming there to have a good time.
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Look im not trying to make this an im better than you type of thing... as we are talking primarily about venues. The venues you mentioned avg around $50-$75 a plate per person. The places I typically perform at in NJ are between $150-$300 a plate per person... the food alone for the events I do can easily pass $50k. This is not a small difference... its a huge difference and perhaps something you haven't experienced yet to know why I speak so lowly of the places you mentioned. PS... You've never seen a difficult load in until you've been to Manhattan for an event in building hundreds of ft high with one service elevator for the entire building.
 
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djtaso said:
Look im not trying to make this an im better than you type of thing... as we are talking primarily about venues. The venues you mentioned avg around $50-$75 a plate per person. The places I typically perform at in NJ are between $150-$300 a plate per person... the food alone for the events I do can easily pass $50k.
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I find this very interesting and it may well relate to the market differences in the price of DJ's also. Around these parts the high end venues are between $30 and $45 per plate. Most community halls either have their own catering or outside caterers are hired and it's $15-$25 per plate depending on what you want.
 
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Jeff Romard said:
I find this very interesting and it may well relate to the market differences in the price of DJ's also. Around these parts the high end venues are between $30 and $45 per plate. Most community halls either have their own catering or outside caterers are hired and it's $15-$25 per plate depending on what you want.
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It does go hand in hand. When a client spends $50k on a venue... a $3k dj kinda makes sense... if they go to Mix's venue of choice where the same guest count only costs $10k... a $3k dj is crazy to them. This applies to the rest of the country too. In Philly, I have yet to find a venue that charges more than $180 a plate, and in NYC i know of 2 where it can go up to $500 a plate. A lot of it has to do with the amount of wealth in the area, the cost of operating a business (NYC rent and Philly rent are on two different levels), and the cost of living in the area.

What doesn't change though from one area to the next... people's desire for something better. Every area has a "high end". The numbers may be different... but it exists. Everyone has an appreciation for the nicer things in life. Some can make it happen financially, some simply can't. Whose gonna bring the nicer things to that area is the challenge few are willing to take.

While I like to attract the clients in the nice venues... theres also another category I like to attract. The "my entertainment matters" category and I'm gonna do my best to get the best I can. Some are willing to go cheap on other areas, but when it comes to the dj they'll spend a lot... and I want to to be a top choice of theirs. Some are willing to spend more on the photographer, or go over the top on flowers. The barn I did was similar to that. No frills on anything else but when it came to the dj... here's what the review I just got today said: "I knew I wanted him as our DJ and I wouldn't have had it any other way!" Those clients sometimes are more appreciative of what I offer than the clients that go all out on every aspect of the wedding simply because they can.
 
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It's interesting that different areas have different financial limitations. I don't know much about the costs for venues in my area but I estimate $100 a plate to be the highest I've seen for food. Higher end venues in my area are Country Clubs, Yacht Clubs and a few hotels.
 
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First Taso thanks for that great informative post. Also thanks for telling us you turned to a full time DJ. You and Bob Carpenter have the same thing in common. You must get paid at least a certain amount of money or have a hard time sleeping and eating.

In other words you need to make a certain amount of money or you can't survive. Even if you have a client you would like to help out, you can't unless they meet a certain price point.

Someone made a post about saying they saw him at work once and said he doesn't do anything that another can't do. That p****d me the @#%# off! The reason being that last time I checked his starting price was $1,550. How many on here can say that? I remember he made a thread about almost getting a client to agree to pay his company 9k. He also showed a picture of his office. His office alone blew me away. His office looked better than a some DJ setups.

He also told the story of a lady coming in looking for him to DJ her wedding. She didn't have the money to pay him. She then went to ask how much would he charge to rent her some gear. He already knew she didn't have that kind of money to spend on renting his gear. He simply let her down gently.

I know it had to take a lot of courage to pull the trigger and become a full time DJ. Not to mention proper planning and research. Besides having the confidence you could pull it off. Keep up the great work.

One other thing that Bob mentioned is that there are times when he worries about getting bookings. But just because of that he doesn't panic and lower his prices.. Either you pay what he wants or you go shopping elsewhere.
 
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MIXMASTERMACHOM said:
First Taso thanks for that great informative post. Also thanks for telling us you turned to a full time DJ. You and Bob Carpenter have the same thing in common. You must get paid at least a certain amount of money or have a hard time sleeping and eating.

In other words you need to make a certain amount of money or you can't survive. Even if you have a client you would like to help out, you can't unless they meet a certain price point.

Someone made a post about saying they saw him at work once and said he doesn't do anything that another can't do. That pissed me the fuck off! The reason being that last time I checked his starting price was $1,550. How many on here can say that? I remember he made a thread about almost getting a client to agree to pay his company 9k. He also showed a picture of his office. His office alone blew me away. His office looked better than a some DJ setups.

He also told the story of a lady coming in looking for him to DJ her wedding. She didn't have the money to pay him. She then went to ask how much would he charge to rent her some gear. He already knew she didn't have that kind of money to spend on renting his gear. He simply let her down gently.

I know it had to take a lot of courage to pull the trigger and become a full time DJ. Not to mention proper planning and research. Besides having the confidence you could pull it off. Keep up the great work.

One other thing that Bob mentioned is that there are times when he worries about getting bookings. But just because of that he doesn't panic and lower his prices.. Either you pay what he wants or you go shopping elsewhere.
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I've been full time for 5 years now (I guess you just caught on now lol).. Bob way longer. I don't think we demand a certain price just because we'll have a hard time sleeping, but because we also believe we're worth more than what most charge. Could I charge $500 less and do 10-20 more events a year?... perhaps... but thats not good business sense if I don't have to do that. FYI... im pretty sure bobs starting price is closer to $2000. The issue is that dj's are some of the worst business owners ever. They may be good at playing music... but knowing how to market, price effectively, reach out to new markets, evolving, branding, etc... they're clueless on. This is why not all club dj's can be wedding dj's and vice versa... they each have two different approaches to be successful at their particular industry.

Just cause that one guy thought Bob didn't do anything special, doesn't mean they know anything about what bob, or any other dj who charges a lot, does. Most don't see the countless hours of planning and customer service I or others provide with their clients. They also don't realize the effort we put into attracting these clients that are willing to pay more for a dj to get a certain level of quality and experience. A lot of it is also motivation... to charge top tier prices you have to want to work harder than everyone else. I am doing this all day from the moment I wake up till I sleep. Researching trends, communicating with clients within minutes or hours, planning my events, coming up with new ideas, analayzing my numbers and setting goals.
 
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djtaso said:
I've been full time for 5 years now (I guess you just caught on now lol).. Bob way longer. I don't think we demand a certain price just because we'll have a hard time sleeping, but because we also believe we're worth more than what most charge. Could I charge $500 less and do 10-20 more events a year?... perhaps... but thats not good business sense if I don't have to do that. FYI... im pretty sure bobs starting price is closer to $2000. The issue is that dj's are some of the worst business owners ever. They may be good at playing music... but knowing how to market, price effectively, reach out to new markets, evolving, branding, etc... they're clueless on. This is why not all club dj's can be wedding dj's and vice versa... they each have two different approaches to be successful at their particular industry.

Just cause that one guy thought Bob didn't do anything special, doesn't mean they know anything about what bob, or any other dj who charges a lot, does. Most don't see the countless hours of planning and customer service I or others provide with their clients. They also don't realize the effort we put into attracting these clients that are willing to pay more for a dj to get a certain level of quality and experience. A lot of it is also motivation... to charge top tier prices you have to want to work harder than everyone else. I am doing this all day from the moment I wake up till I sleep. Researching trends, communicating with clients within minutes or hours, planning my events, coming up with new ideas, analayzing my numbers and setting goals.
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You might be right about Bob's starting price today. I just know that was a few years ago. My point was that even at that price some wish that either was their top price or could get that at least once. I have no shame in saying this, I'm one of them. My big point was that you like Bob must make a certain amount of money to stay at this full time.

My partner mentioned buying a Bluetooth speaker to use for clients wanting to pay $150. I quickly talked him out of doing it. My thinking is if that's all they want to pay a DJ to do an event for them they can keep looking. I'm not interested in working for such cliants today. This makes my 30th year as a DJ and looking to move on up and not stay stagnated. There are enough DJs out there that will do an event for $150.
 
There's a difference Mix. People are paying his asking prices because he's in demand - not because that's a price he pulled out of his hat. If you don't have customers that think you're worth it - they won't buy it, no matter the price. What's the point of being in business if you charge $1500 for an event but have no customers?

Did you see what Taso said regarding being able to charge those fee's:
djtaso said:
... to charge top tier prices you have to want to work harder than everyone else. I am doing this all day from the moment I wake up till I sleep. Researching trends, communicating with clients within minutes or hours, planning my events, coming up with new ideas, analayzing my numbers and setting goals.
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MIXMASTERMACHOM said:
First Taso thanks for that great informative post. Also thanks for telling us you turned to a full time DJ. You and Bob Carpenter have the same thing in common. You must get paid at least a certain amount of money or have a hard time sleeping and eating.

In other words you need to make a certain amount of money or you can't survive. Even if you have a client you would like to help out, you can't unless they meet a certain price point.

Someone made a post about saying they saw him at work once and said he doesn't do anything that another can't do. That p****d me the @#%# off! The reason being that last time I checked his starting price was $1,550. How many on here can say that? I remember he made a thread about almost getting a client to agree to pay his company 9k. He also showed a picture of his office. His office alone blew me away. His office looked better than a some DJ setups.

He also told the story of a lady coming in looking for him to DJ her wedding. She didn't have the money to pay him. She then went to ask how much would he charge to rent her some gear. He already knew she didn't have that kind of money to spend on renting his gear. He simply let her down gently.

I know it had to take a lot of courage to pull the trigger and become a full time DJ. Not to mention proper planning and research. Besides having the confidence you could pull it off. Keep up the great work.

One other thing that Bob mentioned is that there are times when he worries about getting bookings. But just because of that he doesn't panic and lower his prices.. Either you pay what he wants or you go shopping elsewhere.
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Normally I do this by PM but that avenue doesn't work apparently so Mix this is your last waning on language
 
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MIXMASTERMACHOM said:
What about others on here using such language as well?
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Any time it's happened they have been edited and warned...This is 6 or 7 times now I've cleaned up yours
 
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djtaso said:
I am doing this all day from the moment I wake up till I sleep. Researching trends, communicating with clients within minutes or hours, planning my events, coming up with new ideas, analayzing my numbers and setting goals.
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Taso, believe me...it shows! And I'm sure I speak for the lot of us...we appreciate not only you sense of style and commitment, but also the fact that you allow us to tag along for the ride.

To me, watching your recaps are a Monday morning highlight! So please (like you need to be told) keep up the great work!
 
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This thread is a perfect example of why we need to stop playing the "how much do you charge" game.
There are WAY too many variables to judge all of us on the same scale.

As for the OP, I would probably admit to the client that I did not know the music well enough to do it justice...
but I would be more than willing to work with them to make them happy.
I also would NOT worry about their request that the music not be too loud.
Personally, I did not interpret that as the client wanting low volume. (that's silly, why pay someone to play music no one can hear?)
I'm pretty sure they just don't want people's ears to bleed. ( "I was at a wedding recently and the DJ was so loud...")
As for TIME, that's another local variable.
Around my hometown, 99% of the venues sell a 5-hour package. (1 hour cocktails, 1 hour dinner, 3 hours dancing)
Of course, that does not include clients who have their ceremony at the venue. (and there are a LOT of those)
I sometimes book gigs that last 6 or 7 hours at the same rate as 5 hours.

As for Taso.....
knock it off...you're making us look bad! :sick:
 
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