Hiring a Disc Jockey (DJ) should be really easy. After all they just set up a boom box for four hours and play music, right? Oh, if only it were that simple. Planning the entertainment for your special event is every bit as important as the food, beverages, and decorations. Many event planners, corporate planners, and brides will tell you that your entertainment is 80% of the success of your event.
Before you begin asking how much a DJ should cost, ask yourself how important the entertainment is to your event. In order to do that you need to put your dreams, ideas, and concepts on paper. What is your total budget? Will this be a full-scale gala or a simple backyard event? A wedding ceremony and reception at one location or will your guests travel between locations? Who is paying the bills and how much input do they want? Will you be orchestrating the event while it is happening? Or do you actually want to relax and enjoy everything without thinking about how your guests are going to know who goes through the buffet line first?
Do you want a DJ who will stay in the background playing music, a disc jockey to act as your emcee, or someone to step forward and be the life of the party? Do you want a formal emcee or someone who can tell jokes? How active do you want your guests to be? Enjoying the music while chatting with each other? Dancing? Playing games? Being a part of the entertainment?
Do you want a light show? Bubbles? Fog? Party favors or props? Dancers or dance instructors? All lighting is a form of mood enhancement. It can be something simple like color washes on the walls to help with the theme or to highlight a special area. You can go all out by having a nightclub atmosphere with flashing lights, lasers, and fireworks.
Okay, now you have an idea of the type of event you want. Do you have the money to make your ideas reality? Don't be surprised if the quality entertainment you want is more expensive than you had expected. Try to think of this by another perspective. Let's say that the total number of people attending your event (be sure to count yourself) is 100. If you were to take them all to a movie as the entertainment for your event you would be spending $7.00 per person or a total of $700.00. For your $700.00 your guests will be entertained for 90 minutes to two hours. If you want entertainment for four hours you would need to spend $1400.00. For that same $1400.00, or less, you could get a wonderful DJ who will customize the music for your event.
Q. What is the first question I should ask when trying to locate a DJ?
A. Are you available on my date?
Q. I see some DJ companies advertise they are professional full service DJs, not part-timers who work another full-time job. How important is this?
A. The implication in this type of advertising is that somehow you will get an inferior quality DJ for your event if you hire someone who is not a full-time DJ. Very few DJs actually spin music 40 hours per week so this is a moot point. A full service DJ company often has an owner that works full-time promoting the business, answering phones, and then DJing on Friday and Saturday nights. Or they may have an office person or sales person who takes your calls and answers your questions. What is really important is how well the company responds to your needs. How quickly do they return your calls? Are you speaking with a sales person or the actual DJ who will be doing your event? Do you feel comfortable with them?
Q. One company suggests that my DJ be licensed by ASCAP. What is that and why should I care?
A. ASCAP, as well as BMI and SEASAC are professional organizations that license the use of music so that songwriters, singers, and band members get paid for their efforts through royalties. They most often license hotels, restaurants and other entities that play music on a regular basis. They also provide what is known as a "concert" license for the playing of music during special events such as holiday parties, festivals, and other public performances. At this time they do not require a license for private events such as birthdays or weddings. As a side note: if you hire a DJ who downloads his/her music illegally you run the risk of having the RIAA confiscating all the DJ's music leaving you with no tunes for your special day. This is a very small risk but it does exist.
Q. Some DJ companies promote that they have certified DJs. What does that mean?
A. It usually means that they have an in-house training program the DJ has completed. The owner then "certifies" them. At present there is no national organization that certifies DJs nor to my knowledge is there a college that offers a Bachelors Degree in Mobile Disc Jockeying. When you see advertising of this type, get specifics as to what is meant by certification. Many excellent DJs continuously work to improve their knowledge and skills but they are not certified.
Q. Should my DJ be a member of ADJA, whatever that is?
A. There are several DJ organizations of which the ADJA (American Disc Jockey Association) is the most well known. Others are the CDJA and NAME. All of them work to improve the professionalism of the disc jockey. Local chapters often have educational programs that members must attend on a regular basis. These are excellent organizations. The caveat: Is the DJ company the member or is your actual DJ a member? A word to the wise, some disc jockeys pay their dues not because they want to improve their skills and knowledge; but, because they want the cachet of legitimacy that membership implies. These types will also join chambers of commerce for the same reason. That said, the majority of association members truly do want to provide you with the best service possible and a wonderful experience. Go with your gut on this.
Q. Why does a good DJ cost so much?
A. The cost of buying music, maintaining an office with a telephone, liability insurance, continuous training and upgrading of his/her skills, replacing old equipment, paying income taxes; the list goes on. A professional DJ is also a business with expenses like any other business. They work hard to earn a living and know how valuable a dollar is. That is why a professional is always looking for ways to save you money by keeping costs down. They do that by purchasing music through special DJ Music Services and buying professional grade equipment so it doesn't break down during the middle of your event. A professional also charges a fee that if high enough so they can afford to stay in business. An important thing if you want some assurance that your DJ will still be around the day of your wedding. Price is not the only factor to consider. You must also look at value. A lower priced DJ is not necessarily a good value if the DJ is not experienced in weddings or doesn't have the ability to work effectively with your other vendors, especially the facility.
Q. I don't want the DJ to start playing until the dancing starts but my DJ is insisting he be set up before any of my guests arrive. Why?
A. This is really to your advantage because it makes you look good. Imagine you are spending the evening at a supper club or dinner theatre. There are only two ways to enter the building, through the kitchen or through the front door. If the entertainers enter through the kitchen they will be disrupting the cooking staff and most likely will have to move equipment through the middle of you and other guests thus inconveniencing all of you. If they come in through the front door they will still probably have to weave equipment in between you and other guests. Now what if you are really lucky and the stage has its own entrance, you are in fat city, right? Sorry, the entertainers still have to set up the equipment, a noisy process, and then do a sound check, an even louder process. As you can imagine this is can be quite disruptive and irritating to you and your guests.
Q. Why can't the DJ set up his equipment early and then leave like a band does?
A. This has a three-part answer.
1. It is very difficult for an unscrupulous person to pick up a drum kit or guitar and walk out of a building without looking suspicious. It is far easier for someone passing by an empty room to help themselves to a couple of CDs or a laptop and walk out with no one ever noticing. Can you afford to replace that music and more importantly, how upset will you be if it had your first dance song on it?
2. Imagine one of your guests is an audiophile and interested in how the DJ's equipment is set up. He walks over and starts touching things. Something gets broken or he trips over a cord he didn't see. Now you have a liability problem!
3. Finally, a reputable DJ will have insurance that specifies the DJ or a member of his staff must attend the equipment at all times.
More Questions to think about when hiring your entertainment...
- Do you smoke or drink alcohol while working?
- What do you usually wear?
- Will you guarantee to be at my reception?
- Do you have a contract?
- What is the initial payment you require?
- How/when is the balance to be paid?
- Do you take credit cards?
- Do you charge for travel?
- Do you bring any sort of lighting if I want it?
- How soon before my reception will you need to start setting up?
- What is your policy regarding volume control of the music?
- How much wedding experience will my entertainer have? (Note: Not the entertainment company, but the actual DJ/band/soloist doing your wedding. Some companies have been in business for years but could have hired a new guy off the street with no experience doing weddings.)
- Do you carry backup equipment?
- Do you carry liability insurance?
- Do you have a wireless microphone for our toasts?
- Am I required to feed you/the entertainer(s)?
- Can I meet/talk to the person who would be my DJ/band leader/soloist before I make a decision to use your services?
- Do you have a website I can visit?
- Do you have a music list I can look at?
- Can I select some songs?
- Am I required to tip the DJ?
- What do you see as your role in my wedding reception?
*AFTER THE VOWS...
72% of all brides say they would have spent more time choosing their reception entertainment. Almost 100% say they would have spent more of their budget on the entertainment. During wedding planning, Brides say their highest priority is their attire, followed by the reception site and caterer - reception entertainment is among the least of their priorities. Within one week after their reception, 78% of Brides say they would have made the entertainment their highest priority!
When asked 81% of guests say the thing they remember most about a wedding is the entertainment. 65% of all couples that chose a band to entertain at their wedding, said, if they had it to do over again, they would have chosen a disc jockey.
*These statistics were published in St. Louis Bride & Groom Magazine in 2003. Sources include: Simmons, 2001; USA Today, 2002; National Bridal Service, 2001; The Knot, 2002; Brides Magazine, 2001.
