Making a 5 minute megamix for a wedding

[Pazz]

Hi fellow dj buddies. I not been on any forums for a while but thought of you recently when I got an unusual request for a wedding disco this July. I know you have all been very helpful in the past and that's the reason I have come back!

My clients have requested that their first dance starts with Westlife "The Way You Look Tonight" but only lasts for a minute or so then they would like me to add a scratching sound as if the dj has messed up! Then following straight on from that they would like C&C Factory "Everybody Dance" followed by approx another 8 songs where they can do specific dance routines to. They gave me a link to something similar on YOuTube which they said is what they are trying to create YouTube - Surprise wedding first dance by Clay Family! U GOTTA C IT!!!

My question is does anyone know of any basic software/freeware that I could use to create the above in an approx 5minute megamix as they would like me to send them a CD for them to practice their moves and for me to then play this on the night. Can anyone suggest something basic (and hopefully free) I could use to do this without it taking an eternity?

Thanks
Craig

[Jiggles]

Try: http://audacity.sourceforge.net/


Is that the Bose L1s i can see :D

[Tom]

I think these kind of first dances are really good.

I plan to do one with my other half. Well I want to but she dont. lol

[DazzyD]

Definitely Audacity, as Callum suggested. This is the easiest program to use for editing audio.

Also, one of the Nero suites had a wave editor included in it which was pretty good for this sort of thing as you could load each track individually and cut in and out of the tracks to make up your mix. I made a few wedding mixes this way including the one for my brothers wedding (Leann Rimes - "How Do I Live" cutting in to "Amazed" by Lonestar - turned out to be a really good mix!).

[SilverlineDiscos]

I have used Acoustica Mixcraft in the past. Last time I used the demo it allowed me to export to MP3.

http://www.acoustica.com/mixcraft/download.htm

[Mark Wild]

To get something like this sounding good might take alot of time, essentially your producing the music for thier first dance. Do you charge extra for this?

[DazzyD]

Depends how comfortable you are with editing audio as to how long it would take.

And I would be cautious about charging extra as, strictly speaking, to make the mix you're going to need to fork out for something like the SG6 license from MCPS (actually I don't think the SG6 covers making mixes but I'm not sure which license does). The few times I've done mixes for gigs I've included them as part of the package.

[Mark Wild]

I'm quite slick with Cool Edit Pro (Adobe Audition) but would still take quite a while to put a decent sounding mix together that I was happy with. Isn't including them in the package the same as charging for them? Depends at what point they ask I suppose.

[DazzyD]

I'd forgotten about Cool Edit Pro. I haven't used that one for years!

Whether you charge separately for doing the mix or include it in the overall package you're still not meant to edit songs to make the mix. However, I think the authorities would be more inclined to turn a blind eye if you're not making money directly from the mix. For example, if you charge £30 for making the track then you have made £30 directly from that track. If you include it in the package you've made money from it but indirectly along with another 60-100 or so tracks. That's my method of thinking, anyway!

[womble]

Can be done in GarageBand also...

[wensleydale]

tell them its a little 2007 and they'd be best sticking to mariah carey or something similar.

[SilverlineDiscos]

tell them its a little 2007 and they'd be best sticking to mariah carey or something similar.
Why do that and why '2007'?

This is not a dig or a rant but if the client wants something like that, then hopefully that's what the client will get. It's not up to you to decide what they want at their wedding :)

[Corabar Steve]

It is a bit been there, done that, got the t shirt, eaten the pie though isn't it?

I bet they think they're being original.

[SilverlineDiscos]

It is a bit been there, done that, got the t shirt, eaten the pie though isn't it?

I bet they think they're being original.
Read the OP mate :)


My clients have requested that their first dance starts with Westlife "The Way You Look Tonight" but only lasts for a minute or so then they would like me to add a scratching sound as if the dj has messed up! Then following straight on from that they would like C&C Factory "Everybody Dance" followed by approx another 8 songs where they can do specific dance routines to. They gave me a link to something similar on YOuTube which they said is what they are trying to create

[Corabar Steve]

And?????

They still probably don't realise how many people have done it before them.

It's not as if they regualrly read DJ forums & see all the countless examples of such posted up mate.

[SilverlineDiscos]

I meant that Pazz had said that the client had given him a link to that video on Youtube which means that they know that others have done it before too.

I didn't mean that they read on DJ forums ect :)

[Corabar Steve]

I meant that Pazz had said that the client had given him a link to that video on Youtube which means that they know that others have done it before too.

I didn't mean that they read on DJ forums ect :)


They still probably don't realise how many people have done it before them.

Being the key part of my post.

[JTRS]

Is this legal to do?

I thought copyright laws prohibited this?

JTRS

[Shakermaker Promotions]

I've done this a number of times and if it's what they want then fair enough but it's all been done before hasn't it.

If you don't specifically charge for doing that bit and 'lose' it in the overall price then I can't see a problem.

[Corabar Steve]

Is this legal to do?

I thought copyright laws prohibited this?

JTRS
If you do it live, with cue points set to the relevant points on the tracks concerned then there's no problem.

Recording it for playback would bring various licences into play.

[BeerFunk]

If you do it live, with cue points set to the relevant points on the tracks concerned then there's no problem.

Recording it for playback would bring various licences into play.I pointed this out on a thread in the past, also asking why no-one questioned the practice of re-recording music for playback without a licence. It's just as illegal as downloading from Limewire etc, but obviously not viewed as such by most

[James]

You could say the same for youtube, there's so much copyright infringement on there.

I'm guilty of it myself, by putting together the 80's 90 quizes etc. but that's just for a bit of fun, and i won't be making any money from it, although it's still illegal, and i suppose i shouldn't be doing it.

The same applies to filming a video of a client's wedding & uploading it to youtube or your own website, if you done it legaly, you'd have to mute the music that would be playing in the background

Technicaly you can't even lend a cd to a friend, but we've all done it at some point

There's a difference between stealing music for personal gain, like illegal downloading, copied cd's etc. and using snippets of music for a customers wedding.

There has to be a line drawn somewhere though i think, personaly, putting together a megamix from various different tracks, i don't have a problem with it, some people may have.

People stealing music for personal gain on the other hand, is wrong, and i do have a problem with it

maybe common sense should prevail?

[BeerFunk]

maybe common sense should prevail?Maybe, but then the law isn't there for you to pick and choose, to follow as you wish. A prime example discussed over and over here is the Produb licence, most would agree with it's purpose, but not the application.

[SilverlineDiscos]

They still probably don't realise how many people have done it before them.
I'm not picking here but that's not what you posted ;) :D

[Corabar Steve]

It is actually. Word for word, hence your ability to use it in a quote. :sj:

[SilverlineDiscos]

Fair enough :)

[wensleydale]

Why do that and why '2007'?

This is not a dig or a rant but if the client wants something like that, then hopefully that's what the client will get. It's not up to you to decide what they want at their wedding :)

because it is a little 2007.
the customer is always right, but sometimes they are wrong.

[Pazz]

Thanks for all your replies on this. I have had a look at your suggestions and decided to go for 'Direct WAV & MP3 Splitter and Joiner" programs. I managed to download a 30 day trial for these and they have helped me create the megamix my clients were wamting albeit after they decided they wanted to leave leave 2 tracks out after I had sent them the CDR! I said I would re-do though and they are happy to pay an extra cost for my efforts on this (which I will be including as part of the total cost for the disco). I recommend the packages I have used but beware there are a couple of editing bugs with the demo version (if anyone tries them out!)

Thanks again and I hope that their 1st dances go well on the night! Will keep you posted :)

[DiscoPromotions]

Mixmesiter studio/fusion as you can beat match etc...