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Thread: Playlists

  1. #1

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    Default Playlists

    So, on Monday, I was been asked to cover a 90th birthday party this coming Saturday that I know the venue has known about for at least a month. No problem says I, after rearrangingh my whole weekend (well, taht's what I've told them).

    A note on the booking form said that they wanted vintage / jazz music and gave a list of artistes such as Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Acker Bilk, Matt Monroe, Herb Alpert and his "Tywana (sic) Brass".

    Not too much of a problem, though I wish I'd heard a few days earlier as I was with my 83 year old mum and would have raided her CD collection.

    Then, yesterday I get an e-mail from the venue with an attachment from the client with three playlists, entitled "Welcome", "Dinner" and "After Dinner", then a remark saying "contemporary disco music later on".

    On looking into this, the play lists are actually Spotify lists which, I assume I am expected to log into and play.

    First thing is that I don't have the log in or password to open the lists, so I can't even tell what music is on each one.

    Second, there is no way that I am going to attach to Spotify and simply allow that to play all of the music for the first part of the evening.

    I've contacted the venue and their client to tell them this and await their response. If they end up with an iPad all night, that's their choice, but I'm not going to do it. If they give me a list of tracks, then I'll do my best at this short notice to obtain anything I don't already have (but at what cost)?

    Given the music genre, I don't really know why they are having a disco, but as they are, and its monet in my pocket, I shall endeavour to do my best. I'm not just being an illegal jukebox though.

  2. #2
    Ezekiel 25:17 funkymook's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mattydj50 View Post
    So, on Monday, I was been asked to cover a 90th birthday party this coming Saturday that I know the venue has known about for at least a month. No problem says I, after rearrangingh my whole weekend (well, taht's what I've told them).

    A note on the booking form said that they wanted vintage / jazz music and gave a list of artistes such as Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Acker Bilk, Matt Monroe, Herb Alpert and his "Tywana (sic) Brass".

    Not too much of a problem, though I wish I'd heard a few days earlier as I was with my 83 year old mum and would have raided her CD collection.

    Then, yesterday I get an e-mail from the venue with an attachment from the client with three playlists, entitled "Welcome", "Dinner" and "After Dinner", then a remark saying "contemporary disco music later on".

    On looking into this, the play lists are actually Spotify lists which, I assume I am expected to log into and play.

    First thing is that I don't have the log in or password to open the lists, so I can't even tell what music is on each one.

    Second, there is no way that I am going to attach to Spotify and simply allow that to play all of the music for the first part of the evening.

    I've contacted the venue and their client to tell them this and await their response. If they end up with an iPad all night, that's their choice, but I'm not going to do it. If they give me a list of tracks, then I'll do my best at this short notice to obtain anything I don't already have (but at what cost)?

    Given the music genre, I don't really know why they are having a disco, but as they are, and its monet in my pocket, I shall endeavour to do my best. I'm not just being an illegal jukebox though.
    I’ve had clients send me Spotify lists before, they didn’t expect me to play from Spotify, it’s just a much quicker method of sending a playlist than writing them all down....so just treat it like any other list of tunes.

  3. #3

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    I deal with lots of people who use Spotify.

    They simply use it to create a 'playlist' ie, a list of music for you.

    I then arrange everything in Virtual DJ.

    They just find it easier to use Spotify than write down all the songs on a Word doc

    As for your question, why have they got a DJ - well you've got the equipment to make it happen! It's far less hassle to book a DJ to play music than try to hire in an outside PA system and for them to arrange the music themselves.

    So if you can play their music, they'll be very happy clients

  4. #4
    Imagine's Avatar
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    If you've got the music - it actually sounds like it could be a good gig with a lot of happy people listening to music they actually enjoy

    I did a sequence dancing event last year (not my thing at all), but with guidance from the customer managed to pull it off perfectly and in that case, it was a guaranteed floor-filler for the night, and none of the usual drunken abuse either

  5. #5

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    I've been completely & utterly playlisted more than once - and it's not necessarily a bad thing in my experience, so long as the list isn't completely self-indulgent - I always try to point out why even predetermining timeslots isn't a great idea & that determining the running order won't work under most circumstances (e.g. between 6 & 7 we'll have 60s, from 7-8 70s, 8-9, 90s... ). They usually listen. I've not (yet) had a case where a list hasn't worked apart from one where even the playing order was predetermined (and I had no means of communicating with the customer). Good customer service (IMHO) isn't just blindly doing what the customer asks for - it should be about advising them too.

    Somebody I know uses the analogy of a car dealer who on meeting a customer looking for a small car ends up relentlessly trying to flog them a V12 Range Rover - that's the DJ who won't accept playlists or requests.. good analogy right? Ah yes, til you consider this: the customer went to the dealer looking for a 500cc engined car which will comfortably tow their 30ft caravan. (The DJ's customer who thinks that a list of chin-stroking too-cool-for-school-indie music is guaranteed to make their party a success people talk about for years to come).

    Personally I HATE spotify playlists. Even moreso when the customer only sends me screenshots of them. Fair play if using Spotify makes administering a list easier for them, and they make the list available for you to view - fine.

    I sometimes question though whether the customer has spent a little too much time thinking about the music for a party. It probably takes the best part of a few days to type up a 5 hour list.

    What I would do is as others have said - view the list, use it to guide you arranging tracks in whatever playout system you use & away you go. And even if it does end up with you plugging their iThing into your PA & just letting it go out, why would you care it's not legal for 'commercial' use? Is a private party of their family & friends not fair use, from their standpoint? That's one for another day I think.

  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by funkymook View Post
    I’ve had clients send me Spotify lists before, they didn’t expect me to play from Spotify, it’s just a much quicker method of sending a playlist than writing them all down....so just treat it like any other list of tunes.
    I used to encourage Spotify Playlists as they are great for the customer with the ability to save their playlist on-the-go with ease.

    I always got them to share it with me to make it easier, but even with a screenshot you can search for their name and download the list to your device. (Legal bit - you can't however play the songs via Spotify as it is not for commercial use).
    Semi-Retired Multi Award Winning DJ

    www.ultimateweddingdj.co.uk

  7. #7

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    Bah to screenshots every time! The last ones I had were taken from a desktop machine & were an absolute PIG to view.

  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by ppentertainments View Post
    (Legal bit - you can't however play the songs via Spotify as it is not for commercial use).
    Ah, but apparently, that IS what they are expecting me to do.

  9. #9

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    You are able to share a Spotify playlist for public viewing.

    They can also make it a collab so you can add, re-arrange and remove songs.
    Nathan.

  10. #10
    Dinosaur Excalibur's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by funkymook View Post
    ...so just treat it like any other list of tunes.
    Quote Originally Posted by rth_discos View Post
    So if you can play their music, they'll be very happy clients
    Quote Originally Posted by Nakatomi View Post

    What I would do is as others have said - view the list,
    The only problem is.................................
    Quote Originally Posted by mattydj50 View Post

    First thing is that I don't have the log in or password to open the lists, so I can't even tell what music is on each one.
    Excalibur. Older than the average DJ.

    www.excaliburmobiledisco.co.uk

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