The DJ office phone rings first thing Monday morning. “Hi, how much are your DJs?” How many times has a telephone conversation started with only those words from a potential client? I’m certain that all DJ companies in America have experienced a tenacious caller who plans to contact every DJ in their local yellow pages (or likewise online) asking that same question with only one goal in mind: finding the DJ with the lowest price. I wonder if their experience in life thus far has taught them that the cheapest is usually the best?
Let’s examine the basic difference in DJs. In general, we can categorize DJs at 3 different levels, none of which are exact definitions, but more based on typical traits:
Type 1) Pro DJ. This is a full-time professional DJ whose entire income and sole livelihood is derived from working as a DJ. Pro DJs usually have excellent promotional material, a website, years worth of references, a great reputation that can be verified by other vendors like photographers and hall managers, liability and equipment insurance, a state of the art DJ system, extensive, comprehensive music libraries and a complete back-up system. Pro DJs are often members of a national DJ organization like the “American Disc Jockey Association” (ADJA) or “National Association of Mobile Entertainers” (N.A.M.E.). Pro DJs are usually very good at what they do both onstage (performance skills) and off (business sense and networking skills), because they couldn’t survive full-time as a DJ otherwise. Do you think a full-time Pro DJ will take your function seriously and strive to give you the very best DJ service possible? Do you think they will be (or should be) the cheapest?
Type 2) Part-time or Semi-Pro DJ. This next level of DJ usually has a “daytime job” as a main source of income, but still provides quality entertainment services to DJ clients. Promo and references are possible, but may not always be to the same caliber as a Pro DJ’s. Many part-time DJs have a website or work for a larger DJ company. Some part-timers have back-up gear and some also have insurance. They too, take your function seriously, but have a day job to fall back on if they aren’t out performing every weekend all year round. Prices quoted by part-time/semi-pro DJs tend to vary, but are often no different than prices quoted by full-time Pro DJs because they hear what pro DJs are charging. Do you think they should charge the same prices? Do you think the services and results will be identical?
Type 3) DJ Wannabes (or “Instant DJs”) are part-time DJs who have a “daytime job” as their main source of income and usually become DJs because it seems like a fun second job for extra cash (“hey, I could do that”). They often start out by purchasing an inexpensive or used DJ system or even by using their home stereo equipment, then printing up some DJ business cards and quoting low discount prices to get bookings. No website, promo or references to speak of. An Instant DJ rarely has any liability insurance or proper back-up gear in case of any equipment malfunctions. Some we’ve seen didn’t even have a microphone with them or charge extra to bring a cordless mic! Their music collections are also suspect, and vary greatly being influenced and limited by their age, level of musical knowledge and personal tastes; a toss of the dice at best. Do you think a “DJ Wannabe” will do as good a job as either of the other types of DJs would? Do you think the cheapest DJ will be the best value? Overall, DJ Wannabes hurt the legitimate DJ industry, because the overall DJ pool is being watered down and their lowball pricing creates confusion.
Why isn’t it widely understood that there is a very good chance that the DJs with the lowest prices are those who are not very good DJs and thus, charge the cheapest rate because there is not very much demand for their services. DJ Wannabes rarely receive an incoming call from anyone who has already seen them perform or has hired them in the past. They exist on unsuspecting new clients like the ones above, who call every DJ in the book until they find the cheapest price. I find it sad that DJ Wannabes are basically given equal status to professional DJs by customers making simple price comparison calls. Even sadder, “Instant DJs” are out working functions while talented Pro and Semi-Pro DJs sit home because they quoted $50 more to a client selecting a DJ based on price alone and assuming that “a DJ is a DJ” and all DJs basically provide the same service. They are not considering that another $50 would mean better sounding equipment and emergency back-up, far more music on hand, years of DJ performance experience and a professional stage presence. All that should cost them more because it will benefit their function tremendously! Instead, they sometimes wind up with a guy in a tee shirt guzzling beers and trying to pick up women while a song ends and another one hasn’t even been selected yet. How much time do you think that DJ spent helping to plan the event with them, to ensure its success? But hey, they “saved” $50!
You usually get what you pay for… and sadly, sometimes you get what you deserve when you cut corners foolishly, especially when it comes to DJ entertainment at an important function.
I have a silly fantasy about all DJs eventually being licensed like plumbers and electricians are. Legitimate professional DJs could proudly list their “Master DJ License # 36548974” in all their ads, showing the world that they have passed a grueling 4 hour state licensing exam containing hundreds of questions covering music from big band to hip hop. Obscure song title, lyrics and artist identification questions, equipment troubleshooting proficiency, performance technique essays, business ethics and inter-personal relationship skills (i.e.: how would you deal with a drunken heckler).
Until such licenses exist, anyone can claim to be a DJ. As you thumb through the phone book, remember that anyone can take out a listing under the “disc jockeys” heading. Anyone can buy a cheap (or expensive) DJ System. I knew a Semi-Pro DJ who, more than once, has voluntarily loaned his entire 10,000 song music library hard drive to casual business acquaintances to copy onto their own hard drives. Great…. break the copyright laws and also help to flood the already overcrowded DJ market with more inexperienced Instant DJ Wannabes! They can also quote any “bottom feeder” rate they want to, while promising a level of DJ professionalism they cannot possibly deliver.
An argument could be made that everyone planning a function has a budget, and not everyone can afford the best, so a DJ Wannabe is a valid option. I would like to offer a valid reason why “bargain shopping” isn’t even necessary when searching for DJ entertainment. All functions have some idea of a total budget: a limit of funds which must include all expenses (the hall, the food, the decorations, centerpieces, limo photographer, video, florist etc and of course, the entertainment). A percentage of the total budget goes toward each expense, so it is entirely possible to keep within a pre-set total budget limit and still have great entertainment if you prioritize the budget right. It is easy to justify allotting a higher percentage of that total budget to great entertainment once you prioritize which component/expense is most important to the overall success of the function. Of course… it’s the entertainment!
No matter how much is spent on anything else, the entire function will bomb if the DJ entertainment is severely inadequate and the guests leave early. At some point, while a DJ Wannabe is packing up to leave early with your payment already tucked away in his pocket, glance over at that melting ice sculpture, the uneaten goodies on the sweet table and the fancy floral centerpieces left behind. I wonder what the results would have been (without ever increasing the pre-set budget limit) if a portion of the money used on less-vital expenditures had been used toward better entertainment for that once-in-a-lifetime event?
Copyright © 2006 Michael Edwards |
