Just because you have 15 years experience as a mobile disc jockey, does not give you the right to say that you are a professional. Exactly what did those 15 years consist of? 4 years doing jr. high dances and an occasional anniversary party? Maybe 3 years in a smoke filled small corner bar? What about those years in the bowling alley every Wednesday night? Come on, do you really think that counts as experience towards running a wedding? Most wedding disc jockeys have no formal training. Most haven’t even attended a national disc jockey seminar (there are nearly a dozen each year) nor do they read the national disc jockey publications on a consistent basis. So, what exactly is professional about them? Most wedding disc jockeys are disc jockeys on the side of a full-time career. Is their mind really on you and your wedding or on when their next vacation is from their day job?
Not a month goes by where some local disc jockey contacts us looking to have their company join our organization or simply call looking for a job. You may ask yourself, why are there not more companys within the DJ Network or more disc jockeys involved in each of our individual companies. The reality is – our standards are too high.
I remember back to the last DJ who called me looking for a job. He sent me a quick bio and some photos from one of his recent weddings. What did I see? He was using inferior entry-level equipment. His backup was a CD Walkman? Is anyone even old enough to know what those are? His speakers were set on the ground and in front of his DJ gear. He had a 2’ high sign with his company name on it.
What’s wrong with this? His gear was about 15 years out of date. He clearly had not reinvested in his gear. His speaker placement was inadequate to properly fill a room nor get clear vocals and announcements to all the guests. If his CD player had stopped functioning, the best he could have done was put in a mix CD and let it play through the portable CD player. Advertising your company with a 2’ high sign at someone’s wedding is in poor taste.
To top it off, he was poorly groomed and wore an outdated tuxedo style. Our response to him was “Invest about $10,000 in new gear and proper backup gear, go get some training and call us in a year or two”. This was the minimum that he should have done to even be considered to come into our organization FOR MORE BASIC TRAINING.
Not all wedding disc jockeys are equal and unfortunately choosing a DJ based solely on their years in the business is not always the best indicator. How can you tell if they are a true professional entertainer? Ask another wedding vendor. Do they run their business AS A BUSINESS or just as an after thought. It’s easy to tell the difference. Check out their website (does it actually have information or is it just fluff?). View videos or audio samples of their work. Compare their literature – does it look professionally done? Do they even have literature? Do they have a printed price sheet or do they just quote your event out of their head? (A recent survey showed less than 10% of DJs in the area have a printed price list and most didn’t even have printed literature available to mail to clients) Ask them if they are certified by an independent organization such as “The DJ Network.” Think carefully if your DJ is not certified. Look for proof of their professionalism. If they talk a good talk, make sure they walk the walk as well.
Rob has been a professional mobile DJ since 1983, performing at hundreds of events each year including weddings, corporate events and school functions.
