Disagreeing is fine, constant bickering wasn't.Originally Posted by rob1963
Disagreeing is fine, constant bickering wasn't.
Phew!Disagreeing is fine, constant bickering wasn't.
Oh, I really should read threads more thoroughly.
Certainly don't like the idea of canvasing people before hand. I always try and very politely steer people from playlisting either by themselves or by committee. Even if the client tells me that every guest is a mate and they are absolutely all into the same thing, I will suggest that it might be best to leave a little room for reacting. The idea of canvassing future guests either by web or by forms sent with invites is a layer of admin which I doubt would reap any real benefits. As Rob says I pretty sure its a bit of hassle for folk to log onto a website and post a request for a song to be played at a function.
I suppose its got merit as a gimmick, in that if you don't get much of a take up but it still portrays the company in a good light. However anytime I've played at a function where a) guests were asked to provide a request each the reaction was less than impressive b) the client wants the whole evening playlisted, Ive ended getting my ear bent guaranteed.
My view is always advise the customer with the benefit of your experience and then support their decision, what ever that might be. If in the end they want to playlist the whole night or ask everyone what they think, then so be it. I certainly wouldn't do it as a matter of policy, I just think its asking for trouble and anyway 90% of clients say that they are happy to leave it to the DJ. Really, I thought that was what we were for anyway.
Keith - Flex Discotheques
www.flexdisco.co.uk
How interesting!
One out of all the replies that has actually tried this and seen the benefit! Sorry Shaun, I guess you also come down on the "might give it a go" camp!
Before I get accused of not listening and taking notice, I guiess I need to point something out. The concept of guests making requests prior to the event and the concept and opinions on this was not the purpose of this thread. It's happened a couple of times this year (albeit via the bride and groom, but happened all the same). As Colin points out (and please note, as far as I can see, Colin is the only person who has tried this method), it DOES work very well. To be fair, sorting out the can play from the can't play is fine and hasn't caused me any headaches at all yet!
The research with brides is continuing to fall into the "our night, our choice" bracket. This goes hand in hand with the "we want our guests to dance" comments. I think it's worth noting that maybe 2 years ago, a lot of us were horrified with the thought of long playlist style requests. But a lot of us embrased the wedding market and moved with the times. Unfortunately, like it or not, this may be the next step in that particular road - I have just started using this concept in my sales pitch and to say it's going down a storm would be an understatement.
So please don't think I'm not listening, but the "guest request" is not really the issue, the issue is actually how to get them! I like the on-line idea (Marc, another one to add to the list when you work out a price for me!), but still considering the "post cards" idea!
We had this situation at one of our gigs on Saturday with a slight difference, the B&G asked their guests to give their top 3 favourite party tracks.
Having seen what came back I would say at least 25% was still unusable (at a mainstream party anyway, I suppose it depends on your idea of a good party) A fair percentage of it was duplicates (we were supplied with a photocopy of the slips), many just put anything by..... & some tried to fit in 4 or 5 as opposed to 3 (why not just ask the DJ on the night?).
I can see it working to an extent (as long as it was done like the above ie top 3 tracks & with the proviso that there was no guarantee that all the tracks would be played, so you could cherry pick the best / most appropriate tracks), I wouldn't want to do it too often myself.
I don't know how well this aspect of the gig went (it wasn't my gig) but the gig itself went well.
Steve
Mad, bad & dangerous to know
www.corabar.co.uk
Better to study for one hour with the wise, than to drink wine with the foolish.
The opinions of Corabar Steve are not necessarily those of Corabar Entertainment, or any of its subsidiaries
See, I'm not the only one!
This really boils down to the current wedding market concepts of the bride and groom getting what they want when they want it.
Whether you believe it's going to work or you like the idea, I think theis is just the next step in the direction wedding DJing is heading. As Steve says, it's quite easy to cherry pick what you want from the list, you may also be able to use this information at your pre-client appointment as a starting point for the evening. But more improtantly, whatever you actually do with the info, it's the perceved benefits that it gives which offer the value to the client I think.
That sai, I'm still curious to know the best way of working the requests - very much thinking pre-printed cards supplied to bride and groom, just not sure if they should come back to me directly or not
Whether you believe it's going to work or you like the idea, I think theis is just the next step in the direction wedding DJing is heading. As Steve says, it's quite easy to cherry pick what you want from the list, you may also be able to use this information at your pre-client appointment as a starting point for the evening. But more improtantly, whatever you actually do with the info, it's the perceved benefits that it gives which offer the value to the client I think
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Glad to see your reacting to market forces here--we had this conversation a couple of years ago as you know.
Its the reason my Website talks about " Your Choice " Discobecause ultimately thats what it is.
Id be lying if I said EVERY customer gives me a massive list to play--but most do and for those who say well heres 10 tracks we definitely want and you play what you think is best--at least they feel they have had the OPTION given to them.
I think people are still concerned the DJ may not play their music although things are changing especially with Wedding Planners insisiting on DJs with playlists
As for sending out cards im not sure--but theres only one way to find out!!!!!!
CRAZY K
Last edited by CRAZY K; 19-06-2007 at 08:58 AM.
As you well know Alan, it's taken me a little while to get my head around this and swallow my "DJ knows best" pride, but in the end, if you want the premium wedding market work (and based here on the lovely heritage coast there is plenty of it), then it's what the customer want all the way!Whether you believe it's going to work or you like the idea, I think theis is just the next step in the direction wedding DJing is heading. As Steve says, it's quite easy to cherry pick what you want from the list, you may also be able to use this information at your pre-client appointment as a starting point for the evening. But more improtantly, whatever you actually do with the info, it's the perceved benefits that it gives which offer the value to the client I think
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Glad to see your reacting to market forces here--we had this conversation a couple of yeras ago as you know.
Its the reason my Website talks about " Your Choice " Disco
Id be lying if I said EVERY customer gives me a massive list to play--but most do and for those who say well heres 10 tracks we definitely want and you play what you think is best--at least they feel they have had the OPTION given to them.
I think people are still concerned the DJ may not play their music although things are changing especially with Wedding Planners insisiting on DJs with playlists
CRAZY K
Please don't think I'm blinkered or arogant (have I spelt that right, sure it's not!), but what Alan is saying is fact, not simply opinion
I don't think this is a new concept. About 6 months ago I read about the idea of asking guests to suggest three songs that they like and it was suggested by other DJ's who were trying to steer brides to be away from having set playlists (I'm sure it was discussed on a wedding forum somewhere).
I can't see that it is a bad idea because from the feedback you get will give you a good idea of what type of music the guests like and the more prepared you are before the event the better. The previous idea I read about was that B & G asked on the invite for the suggestions when the invitees returned the RSVP. At least that would give the B & G to be the option of cherry picking the tracks they want and you could announce on the night that the B & G had prepared a list based on the replies which gets you off the hook for not playing something someone had requested.
The only down side I can see of producing a card to be returned directly is the additional cost of having the cards printed and the cost of postage. If you did go down the route of trying it then it might be an idea to set up a freepost account with Royal Mail so you only pay for the cards that are returned. If you get 70 replies, the postage plus printing costs is going to be around £20 which is roughly 10% of the charge for the disco. From a cost point of view, it may be better to get the card returned to the bride to be with the RSVP. Unless you made an additional charge for the service?
As a business promotion idea, its unlikely that anyone would keep a copy of the card to retain your details for future bookings unless you you had a tear off bit for them to keep and they could keep a part of the card. I suppose there is a good possibility that you will be targeting some others of the same age that will have weddings coming up.
Having an online option is an idea but I wonder how many invitees would bother to use it.
Personally I think it is a good idea. Any feedback that you can get from guests is like market research and listening to others can help improve what you do. At the end of the day it would be up to the B & G if it was done but the offer of additional services is what can set one business apart from another.
This was discussed here on the forum at length a while back. Although I welcome requests, I don't do set playlists. I often have Brides ask if I'll play from a strict playlist and my answer is always no!. I don't mind using the list as a guide, but I cannot give my best perfomance when all they want is a human jukebox.
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