Mobile DJ & Karaoke

paulwf

Hi Mark that's a very interesting insight into the industry, it's always nice to learn what makes other businesses tick. Your organisation appears to be raising standards which is good to see, something most industries could benefit from.

I must admit you completely lost me with the maths! Sorry

One thing I would say is you figures appear to be for a very professional setup and presumably charging towards the higher end? Most weddings I've been to have a very generic setlist, I bet there is a lot that have half a dozen setlists depending on the average age of the guests and hardly need to do any extra work. 50 hours a week, 15 hours a gig, reserve DJ's, £5K rigs, backup satnavs etc surely doesn't describe your average wedding DJ?

Or maybe I've just gone to lots of cheap weddings

NADJ

paulwf wrote: »

Hi Mark that's a very interesting insight into the industry, it's always nice to learn what makes other businesses tick. Your organisation appears to be raising standards which is good to see, something most industries could benefit from.

I must admit you completely lost me with the maths! Sorry

One thing I would say is you figures appear to be for a very professional setup and presumably charging towards the higher end? Most weddings I've been to have a very generic setlist, I bet there is a lot that have half a dozen setlists depending on the average age of the guests and hardly need to do any extra work. 50 hours a week, 15 hours a gig, reserve DJ's, £5K rigs, backup satnavs etc surely doesn't describe your average wedding DJ?

Or maybe I've just gone to lots of cheap weddings

Most professional DJs I know will have the type of cover I laid out in an earlier post with the better DJs covering the wedding market. Prices do not go up just because it is a wedding but many DJs will have specialist rigs just for that market pushing the price closer to four figures for an all day event.

To put this in perspective a decent moving head (disco light) will set you back around about 1k and you would need at least 4 plus a specialist controller or dedicated laptop to run them. I would estimate that the 5k figure you mentioned would buy quite a basic rig which would be suitable for a small event of about 120 heads.

Music and playlists are a different ball game; I personally try to avoid them and recommend that the client supply a small list of must plays and equally as important must not plays. This gives the DJ a good insight to their taste and an experienced DJ will be able to build from that and keep the floor full. I will admit to having a spreadsheet grouping genres, decades and specialist music styles but that has been built over years and is a priceless point of reference.

15 Hours a gig is quite common and generically breaks down like this for an 8.00pm – 12.00am cover:

Pre Event

1 x hour correspondence/quotations
2 x hours planning and playlists
3 x hours site visit and consultation

The Event

0.5 x hour loading
2 x hours total travel time
1 x hour unloading and installing
4 x hours for the gig
1 x hour taking down and loading
0.5 x hour unloading

It’s very common for a DJ to be asked to cover ceremony music, background music for the wedding banquet and PA for speeches adding about 6 hours to the event.

Ignoring price, if you are looking to hire a DJ here are some basic question you should ask:

01: PAT - Does the DJ have tested equipment?
02: PLI - Ensure the DJ has adequate insurance?
03: ProDub - Required if they play from a digital source and have format shifted.
04: Do they offer confirmations and agreements?
05: Are they experience in the field you are booking?
06: Is the equipment of a professional standard?
07: Check for specialist music selections for your event.
08: Dress code - Are they able to cater for black tie events?
09: CRB Certificate - Have they been vetted to work with children?
10: Do they have a backup DJ?
11: Do they take requests?
12: Will they play the music at a reasonable volume?
13: Can they be contacted during office hours?
14: Professional memberships?

Savvy_Sue

Hi NADJ, did you see the PM (Personal Message) I sent you? If not, click on the link for User CP which is just above the first post in this thread.

Paul_Smith_(NI)

The NADJ Secretary has made a lot of valid points however to go back to the original poster, who is obviously just starting out, his overheads will not be quite as high those mentioned - although they would still be significant.

In fact I would say that Mad4x4 is in a similar position to the vast majority of DJs in the Country - working full time at another job and DJing at the weekend primarily for the enjoyment and making a few pounds as well.

That said - It is important to register this business with HMRC before they find out about you 1st and then submit accounts at the end of each tax year (self-assessment).

Everything you purchase which is exclusively for your DJ Business is tax deductable (although for larger capital items you may not be able to off-set all of this in the 1st year of purchase). Then you have things that are partly for business and partly for private use - in these cases the best way is to keep a record of usage and then make sure that the business side is included in your deductions.

Personally (& I'm a full-time DJ and have similar overheads to the other professionals mentioned) I have an agreement with the tax office for a set percentage of those items which are part business/part private to be allowed as tax deductable however, in order to achieve those rates, I used detailed records from my earlier years to prove % usage - without these the tax man wouldn't have been as generous

As this is a money saving forum, and as the topic starter is not yet in the league of charging £450 per booking then overheads need to be kept down as much as possible whilst still giving a great service. Making some profit from each booking will allow you to re-invest the money especially in the early years - professional equipment isn't cheap and, rather than sell off the old gear to help pay for new, it's worth while holding onto as back-up.

Someone also mentioned PAT & PLI - well these are both available at cheaper prices if you shop around. The Alliance of Mobile & Party DJs - AMPdj (which I am involved in) offers £10 million PLI as part of membership for £49. In addition you will receive client enquiries for your area and we're working on some great discount deals too (we've only been established for 6 months and already our membership exceeds 300 which gives us some good bargaining leverage). We also offer marketing advice and tips to help you with your business and we're available to give you assistance by email or phone too.
Continued success :T

nitarm

:T:jHi people.They say that Disco dj work is better word of mouth !
Then why don't i get a gig everyweek?
I'm always being told that i'm a good dj at the discos i do do,and to be honest its not just the money i do it for....i love making peoples events something to remember and love fullfilling peoples song requests too and also i love a good challenge to get a certain song.
I'm always happy and smiling when i dj.
Theres nothing worse than getting a dj who never smiles especially when he is ask for a song request,some dj are really miserable.


oh well,better go now.
If anyone out there has got any tips for getting a gig everyweek,please let me know.
i did try advertising once but thats expensive.

bye for now people.

Nigel........
Essex.......UK.

Mahmood_Reza

Advertising takes many forms, from people who have used your services and would be happy to recommend you (from verbal to posters up at work for example), basic websites where you can add testimomials, pictures of events, guestbooks etc, appraoaching pubs and hotels - think about your potential audience and engage with them.

Paul_Smith_(NI)

nitarm wrote: »

If anyone out there has got any tips for getting a gig everyweek,please let me know.
i did try advertising once but thats expensive.

There are many ways you can get the message out about your DJ service without it costing too much.

Business cards are always handy, a website doesn't have to be expensive but can bring in lots of enquiries and of course let everyone you make contact with know about your service.

We publish a regular free newsletter which provides (amongst other things) marketing tips. You can read all the back issues and subscribe, if you wish, to future ones at mobiledj.info.

Good luck

Mustbeananswer??

Try the Mobile Disco Directory Forum......kindred spirits.....all your questions will be answered.