[Dixielandjazz] DJ Getting What Musicians Always Get

Sat Apr 26 14:23:40 PDT 2008

what do you want to bet that the hotels will charge them for that 
eventually ----------

One of the reasons people hire bands as well as DJ's is to have a PA 
available and to MC various events during the wedding and to more or less 
play what they want at a given time.  The problem with an Ipod is that you 
would have to work it yourself or have someone sit there and watch that.

I'm pretty sure this will kill the low end wedding reception for even the 
DJ's but the higher end weddings and dances won't want to do all that.  At 
least I don't think so.

DJ's are getting pretty pricy here.  As I pointed out sometime earlier my 
wife's brother paid $650 (3 hrs) for a DJ for his wedding reception.  A 
couple of days ago I was booking my Duo for a picnic and I was trying to get 
an extra $50 out of the client for the extra PA needed.  The lady didn't 
know if she could swing the $50 because she had hired a DJ for the day 
before for $50 more than I was asking!  We got the extra $50.

People like to watch other people play music, make the fingers wiggle and 
interact with them so there will always be a place for real people but that 
market is still shrinking while the population is getting larger and a whole 
lot more price conscious.  Now that gas is going up again it will even be 
more difficult to make a buck in the music business.

My guys are starting to ask for gas money for gigs that never paid gas money 
before.  I have gigs booked that really didn't take that into consideration 
when they were booked.  I think what's going to happen is that there will be 
a reaction against hiring music or still want to pay the same amount as 
always.  It was tough enough to get money out of them before and it's going 
to get much more difficult I think in the near future.
Larry
STL
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Mumford" <john at jazzbanjo.com>
To: "Larry Walton" <larrys.bands at charter.net>
Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Friday, April 25, 2008 2:02 PM
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] DJ Getting What Musicians Always Get

>I read where hotels are now offering a plug in for ipods so wedding
> receptions no longer need a DJ. The wedding party just loads the songs
> they want on their ipod, take it to the wedding and one of the quests
> acts as the MC. The music is played through the hotels sound system. The
> DJs are being phased out due to technology as well.
>
> John
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: dixielandjazz-bounces at ml.islandnet.com
> [mailto:dixielandjazz-bounces at ml.islandnet.com] On Behalf Of Robert S.
> Ringwald
> Sent: Friday, April 25, 2008 9:27 AM
> To: john at jazzbanjo.com
> Cc: Dixieland Jazz Mailing List
> Subject: [Dixielandjazz] DJ Getting What Musicians Always Get
>
> Answer to lady budgeting $250 for entertainment for her wedding.
>
>
> (snip)
> best of craigslist
> re: DJ for my July wedding (You're kidding, right?)
> Reply to: see below
> Date: 2008-04-24, 5:04PM PDT
> 1) You shouldn't really ask people to respond with their "experience"
> since
> no self-respecting
> professional will do a 6hr wedding for the compensation listed. What you
> want to
> pay is about half of what a quality service would charge for a 4 hour
> package! So
> no, you don't even have the right to ask about "experience" at all.
> You're
> not wanting
> to hire an experienced professional, so you shouldnt expect someone
> experienced at
> all!
> 2) A dj would not be able to "throw in another gig after yours" just
> because
> yours
> ends at 5. Look at your wedding. Its 6 hrs. long! Even assuming a 4hr.
> reception
> in the evening, the dj would not have time to pack up, get to the next
> wedding and
> set up. A wedding is an ALL-DAY JOB for a dj... not just "4 or 5 hrs of
> playing music."
> 3) We don't WANT "fun" and "free food..." We're not there to party with
> you
> and your
> friends... We don't want charity, and don't need our intelligence
> insulted
> by your
> trying to convince us that you will be somehow "doing us a favor" by
> letting
> us go
> through your buffet line. ALL we want is to be PAID FAIRLY for
> professional
> services
> that we deliver.
> 4) Between meetings, paperwork, planning and preparation, loading and
> unloading time,
> drive time, setup and teardown, your "simple little wedding on a budget"
> (yeah right....
> a wedding at AHCC is NOT a "wedding on a budget!") is a 10-12 hour
> ordeal AT
> LEAST!
> Based on the $250 you are offering, the hourly rate breaks down to right
> around $20/hr.
> And thats supposed to cover not ONLY the dj's time, but the usage of
> their
> equipment,
> music, transportation etc...? Not even CLOSE!!! A senior cashier at
> Safeway
> takes
> home more per hour than your dj would here.
> BOTTOM LINE: These "offers" by people with no understanding or
> appreciation
> of what
> a professional entertainment service provides are insulting.
> YOUR BEST SOLUTION: Save your entertainment "budget" and load your
> "non-offensive"
> preselected music list onto an iPod and then you will be getting more
> along
> the lines
> of what you were willing to "pay" for, which isn't much at all.
> (snip)
>
>
>
>
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