juke box needed

[A1DL]

Sorry but that is nonsense. Why does this give the industry a bad name?
What you are refering to is a style of music. I dont have a problem with that. I do however have a problem with specific tracks totalling 50+ tunes.
What skill or experience is needed to be a cd changer(as Wolfie puts it).
I,m going to tap into this hire a jukebox, sure there is a market for this now.
Or maybe i,ll hire the PC and speakers with amp.

Read the post again, Paul. You've missed the point.

The DJ's job is to play the tracks and style/s of music the customer has requested, NOT, I repeat NOT to decide that 99.8% of the music the customer has requested is inappropriate. It's not your party, it's the Customer's.

Why on earth is a request list of 50 or so tunes a problem? You can play 30 or more of them, and with a little imagination use your skill and experience to come up with other tracks that you know will work perfectly with the tracks the customer has selected.

Think CUSTOMER all the time.

Soundtracker has summed it up perfectly for me by saying

"Interesting that the people that are busy, don't mind playlists- I've taken stacks of bookings coz "the other guy wasn't interested in what we wanted."

[Corabar Steve]

Hear hear (or is it here here?)

The customer is always right (even when they're not) the guests are just bystanders :teeth:

[CRAZY K]

My experience as a part time DJ ( not doing it every week ) is as Wolfie and Steve say.

Using a playlist helps to give a structure to the evening so at least you have an idea of what people might like to hear, although I agree that doesnt mean all their friends and relatives will ! Also add in your own reading of the audience.

You can also use the playlist thing as a positive by linking tracks and mentioning the Bride, Birthday boy etc -- when its not going to clear the floor of course!

I wouldnt get too worried about the juke box image thing--if people REALLY want to go that route nowadays they can--the technolgy, equipment etc is there--maybe we have to persuade them that due to our entertainment skills hiring us is a better option, I dont see that as a problem.

From what I read on here there appears to be a lot of busy DJs around so I think its Jukboxes that have to worry--not DJs!


CRAZY K

[Wolfie]

I wouldnt get too worried about the juke box image thing--if people REALLY want to go that route nowadays they can--the technolgy, equipment etc is there--maybe we have to persuade them that due to our entertainment skills hiring us is a better option, I dont see that as a problem.

From what I read on here there appears to be a lot of busy DJs around so I think its Jukboxes that have to worry--not DJs!


CRAZY K

there was a thread about Ipod DJing.. this being that people are using Ipods instead of hiring DJ's - in effect doing away with DJ's, but the customer still has to hire the equipment & in many occasions it can be cheaper sometimes to just hire a complete disco & the services of the bloke at the controls. Websites with information such as this don't help.

Looking at the technology, as i stated the other week, yes a PC programme can emulate mixing, but it will never have the instinctive ability of a DJ or the music knowledge of anyone except the person programming the system.

I do think though a lot of these playlists come about from a lot of people reading the wedding sites & reading the advice which is often written by people who have no actual experience saying always give your DJ a playlist with all the songs you want. There are hundreds of these sites giving duff information to the public.

for example this kind of statement is probably the best kind of advice around.

Q - We would like a DJ for our wedding, however we are very particular about the music that is played. We've both been to many weddings where the DJ plays the types of songs you'd expect to hear at someones 21st (ie lots of cheesy songs thrown in for good measure!) and that is exactly what we don't want! On the other hand, we don't want to have to sit down with the DJ and choose each and every song. What is the usual procedure for music selection when choosing a DJ?

A - When booking a DJ for your wedding it is essential that the DJ or entertainment agency helps you personalise the music as much as possible. For a great start most DJ’s will have a generic song list that you can go through. This is ideal for listing the “cheesy songs” you don’t want. It is also ideal to help the DJ get an understanding of the music that you do enjoy. Another great way to personalise the music without choosing every song, is to choose particular music styles and genres for the various components of the evening. For example over dinner you may want Café Del Mar style or Jazz, then for dancing you may want Classic Hits/Retro, Pop/Top 40 or Latin. Ultimately a good DJ will be able to understand what atmosphere is desired by listening to what you do and don’t want played and also be able to “read the crowd” on the night.

As long as the DJ has a large collection of songs (at the event) and they are well organized, he can "punt" when your choice of music doesn't seem to be working. Your DJ must pay attention to the response of your guests and you must explain to him up front that he has the authority to adjust his play-list as necessary to keep the party going. Disc Jockeys and bands alike must have the authority to "throw away the song-list" when it "ain't" working. Your DJ must have more than just the top 200 popular party songs from a particular year at your reception. He must also be equipped with the greatest classics covering many generations of music. There can be a limitation even with a DJ if you didn't shop and plan wisely. Most professional disc jockeys will meet these requirements but it is always wise to discuss the issue of variety with them just to be sure they come equipped to handle almost any situation.

now that to me is what any site offering advice should be saying.

but then you may come across something like this which basically says to me pick a DJ because they are cheap & as an afterthought

If you have a limited budget, or have "overspent" in other areas, the obvious choice may be a disc jockey. This situation is quite common because most couples don't think of entertainment until all else has been planned. Yet almost everyone agrees that the entertainment will usually make or break the event. Choose wisely. If you can prioritize your budget accordingly, a professional quality band is almost always the better value, as proven by simple mathematics. If you are looking at a professional DJ for $800 (one person), then a 6-piece band (multiply $800 by 6) should logically be $4,800. But most professional bands quote a range of $600-$800 per musician, which can make the band as low as $3600 - less expensive per person than many disc jockeys.

Ask yourself this: The band has to pay for thousands of dollars of musical instruments, P.A., lighting, formal wear, etc., office expenses, technical personnel, and the musicians themselves, right? How professional can a band possibly be if they are willing to play at your reception for one-tenth of what the food is costing you? (so DJ kit is cheap & DJ's turn up naked do they)

[CRAZY K]

HMMM apart from Rock n Roll when did America come up with any good ideas?

CRAZY K