juke box needed

[Thames Valley Discos]

I,m getting fed up with playlists that contain enough tunes to last 5 hours.
I might aswel buy a juke box set it up and go home. Its getting really boring! :mad:

[funkymike]

yes it is

[A1DL]

A lot of the time customers write down all the favourites they can think of, then get other family and friends to do likewise, with little regards to the amount of tracks listed in relation to the duration of the function.

We see that fairly often!

[Wolfie]

A lot of the time customers write down all the favourites they can think of, then get other family and friends to do likewise, with little regards to the amount of tracks listed in relation to the duration of the function.

We see that fairly often!
once you get rid of the crap they list. (Like 15 "wet wet wet" tracks & about 100 tracks you can't actually play because you can only play about an hours worth of slow stuff in a row), you can turn a long boring playlist into a working disco list, provided your customer understands that people get bored listening to stuff you'd see on "the best love song album in the world... ever" all night when they really want to dance on the tables & party.

[Thames Valley Discos]

try telling the bride her music is crap and will ruin the evening. On the bright side they have said in no particular order.. CHEERS!

[Wolfie]

try telling the bride her music is crap and will ruin the evening. On the bright side they have said in no particular order.. CHEERS!

this is why you should meet the happy couple to explain that in order for the night to go to plan, you can physically play around 12 tracks an hour & in a 5 hour show you will not get 500 tracks in (simple maths), so you have to select the best stuff to play the best from the list & still allow some spare time for requests on the night.

If you play all songs from the playlist without being able to ad-lib on a few of the choices & go from your experience, then it normally ends up with a series of "nobody enjoyed themselves, you didn't do what we asked" when it comes to paying you the money, yet any silly sod can do as they are told.

I've done these nights where you are told to play tracks from just the playlist & quite frankly it just makes you look stupid. people come up asking for requests, then you have to explain why you can't take requests, but it's not the person who wrote the list in the wrong, it's you that's in the wrong.

As far as I'm concerned now I don't take playlists... if i do I say pick 10-15 tracks tops that you really must have played & a list of songs you don't want played. it normally works better that way.

After all, it's their wedding, but it's only their first... to an experienced DJ it could be his 100th.... if you get what i mean.

You don't hire a builder to come & do up your house then stand there telling him how to do his job & saying you have 4 hours to strip & re-plaster all the walls in 9 rooms when you know it will probably take him all nearly day to do just one room.

[Have a disco]

I limit customers to 20 max in a night most of the time they are regulars always wanted. This is why I never list the tunes I have on my site absolute waste of time people are booking a disco which letter in the word disco do they not understand. Im not radio 1 nor do I carry there catalogue of top 100,000 tunes although I probably have it. considering I regularly carry 50,000 on average

It amazed me today when someone asked me for samples of my night (which part do they want me to send?????) no answers please????

Yes wolfie the net has gained me 2 enquiries this week strangely

[Corabar Steve]

As far as I'm concerned now I don't take playlists... if i do I say pick 10-15 tracks tops that you really must have played & a list of songs you don't want played. This may account for the fact that work is a bit thin on the ground for you at the moment.

Take a long play list, tell the punter that there is only enough time for a certain ammount of tracks in so many hours & that you will use your experience to cherry pick the ones that get the best reactions & sort out the order. From experience with our clients they appreciate the fact that you are trying to shape their function into something their guests will enjoy.


You don't hire a builder to come & do up your house then stand there telling him how to do his job & saying you have 4 hours to strip & re-plaster all the walls in 9 rooms No, but you do tell them what you want in the first place, I wouldn't trust anyone else's taste for any work I wanted done on my home, why would I want a DJ to "do their own thing" at my party?

[LastMinuteDJs.net]

Doing a series of gigs for a group of 18year olds at the moment and they are quite partial to the 100+ songs on a playlist idea. I have been VERY accomodating with them - probably too accomodating - but wont be making a habit of it. This crowd keep booking me tho so have to keep the status quo with them.

[Thames Valley Discos]

I’m just against these play lists. Yes maybe ask if I could include a few favourites, but don’t plan my night for me. The evening should be for all to enjoy. How can I play to the crowd when basically I could put the disco onto auto for four hours.
I’m seriously thinking of buying a juke box, hooking it up to my amp and let the client choose the order of music.
So as per original post JUKE BOX REQUIRED.

[Thames Valley Discos]

No, but you do tell them what you want in the first place, I wouldn't trust anyone else's taste for any work I wanted done on my home, why would I want a DJ to "do their own thing" at my party?

Yes but you dont tell the builder what materials to use.

[ian8limelight]

I remember one of the guys who did some work for me a few years ago having a prescripted 'Juke Box' list. Each song in order, and do not move away from the list !!!!!! And this was a christening.

Not for me. I will send a questionairre to the Bridge/Groom/Organiser, etc and ask which tracks they do/don't want; era's they do/don't want.

Had one back a couple of years ago - 15 pages (15 tracks per page) !!!!!! For four and a half hours at a wedding. I don't mind incorporating their requests from the questionnaire/on the night but it gives us the opportunity to 'question' if they "really want" a particular track.

[Wolfie]

I think a lot of it is down to the wedding sites giving punters duff information.

At the end of the day, no other industry would take kindly to having people waltzing over saying i want you to do this, like this. all you'd get told is, i don't tell you how to do your job, so pleas don't tell me how to do mine.

You don't go to the doctors, give him your diagnosis of what's wrong with you & then write the prescription out yourself. You would instead rely on his skills & years of experience & then rely on him to do what's going to be best for you, once you have told him the symptoms. The same applies for disco's. a punter books you & gives you a playlist but you know full well from your experience that playing Nirvana, Slayer & 50 cent isn't going to work at a family event where they have a crowd with the average age of 50+ & playing Val Doonican & Russell Watson isn't going to work at a 21st birthday.

I remember a few years back being booked to do a party for an 18th. Mummy & daddy were very insistant & when i set up they came over & said "we don't want no modern music, just 50's & 60's" & i got given a playlist yes you can guess what happened... half an hour later all the youngsters left in disgust & went clubbing while mum & dad were the only ones in the room dancing around having a wail of a time. As i'm sure you will agree, not a very good 18th for anyone.

I know it's a case of the punters are paying us for a service but that should be enough... remember we who use this this site are the experts in this job & have done countless events, so in hindsight what gives a member of the public with absolutely no experience or ability the right to tell you how to do your job properly & be able to tell you what an audience wants. We've all i'm sure encountered the "what you playing next, oh that's rubbish" punter who gets up & dances to all the rubbish & of course the person who comes along when everyone is on the dancefloor saying "what you playing this for, you can't dance to this", yet as DJ's we know that your night should be governed by the reaction on the dancefloor. if people like a song, they will dance, if they don't they will sit down & i'm sure 99.9% of people would know from experience what tracks to play that would empty or fill a dancefloor.

[Corabar Entertainment]

At the end of the day, it should ideally be a partnership between you and the punter: the punter dictating the entire night doesn't usually work, but they like to have some input (quite rightly so!).... no-one wants a DJ who says "I know better than you, so bog off!"

99.99% of the time, if you encourage some input from the client (ask what eras/genres they want, and what they don't want, and ask for some of their favourites).... that's what you get, and you can work around those: we have always found that if you explain to a customer WHY you would like to do things this way, they understand. Even with those who give long play-lists, we have found that they are happy for the DJ to use it more as a suggestion list and 'cherry-pick' (as Steve put it) the ones that the DJ thinks will work on the night.

Although we have had quite a few starting out with us saying that they want to give a full play list, we have found that it is a matter of trust (because of the DJ horror stories around), but as we build up a relationship with them in the run up to the event, they relax, realise that we know what we are doing, and give us more leeway: In fact, I don't think we have ever ended up with a complete set play-list by the time the night comes around!

[Wolfie]

Even with those who give long play-lists, we have found that they are happy for the DJ to use it more as a suggestion list and 'cherry-pick' (as Steve put it) the ones that the DJ thinks will work on the night.

i'm not denying that, but what i was trying to put across was there are always those who give you a 500 track playist (where 499 of them are just not appropriate) & expect every song to be played in 4 hours & don't seem to understand the basic fact it's not possible to play them all as well as the fact the tracks you can see from looking the tracks they have picked are just not suitable for that function so the night will be a disaster & when you try to tell them otherwise then start to rant giving it the "i'm ****ing paying you" routine

[Corabar Entertainment]

i'm not denying that, but what i was trying to put across was there are always those who give you a 500 track playist (where 499 of them are just not appropriate) & expect every song to be played in 4 hours & don't seem to understand the basic fact it's not possible to play them all as well as the fact the tracks you can see from looking the tracks they have picked are just not suitable for that function so the night will be a disaster & when you try to tell them otherwise then start to rant giving it the "i'm ****ing paying you" routine....and what I am saying is that we have never had that happen, as they seem to trust our judgement by the time the night arrives.

[Wolfie]

....and what I am saying is that we have never had that happen, as they seem to trust our judgement by the time the night arrives.

must be just a Northen thing then, because as soon as someone says can you play these tracks & gives me a notebook the size of the yellow pages I always get that sinking feelingm because you know it's always 50/50 whether they will understand it from your highly experienced point of view or whether they insist you understand it from their very inexperienced point of view why you can/can't/will/won't play these requests in the alloted time.

[A1DL]

i'm not denying that, but what i was trying to put across was there are always those who give you a 500 track playist (where 499 of them are just not appropriate) & expect every song to be played in 4 hours & don't seem to understand the basic fact it's not possible to play them all as well as the fact the tracks you can see from looking the tracks they have picked are just not suitable for that function so the night will be a disaster & when you try to tell them otherwise then start to rant giving it the "i'm ****ing paying you" routine

Wolfie, you are right in that some customers will provide a playlist that is simply far too long for the duration of the function. Usually, when politely explained to a customer that the average track is x minutes long and the function is y hours long, therefore unless the DJ were to play just 30 seconds of each track, the list is simply too long, most customers understand and are relaxed about the matter, saying they probably got a bit carried away.

However, where you are badly wrong is in suggesting that 99.8% of a customer's playlist is inappropriate! That is simply quite awful! If a customer provides a playlist that is too long for the duration of the function, most of the actual content of it will be appropriate - it's their function, and the music makes or breaks the party.

There's more to the job than just playing what you "know" works, many customers and their friends have particular music biases and preferences, eg: a rock crowd, a crowd of clubbers, or perhaps a group of friends who are into C&W & line dancing. DJs who "rubbish" customer playlists and think they can do their own thing give this industry a bad name, and are the kind of DJs we warn customers about.

[Paul James Promotions]

Keep the client happy, then worry about the rest...

[Flex]

I have only had the pleasure of being handed a set playlist once at a girls 18th. It was all good stuff but a lot of album tracks and ballads, I reckon she had just gone through her ipod and picked all her personal favorites. about an hour and a half into the set I could see a lot of bored looking faces staring back. To make maters worse the mother asked to make a little speech (where she gushed about how wonderful her little girl was) at the end she tearfully dedicated The Carpenters 'Close to You' which was a little creepy if you ask me. I struggled manfully on with the set list staring at an empty floor for most of the night until a boy and girl came up and announced that Jackie (birthday girl) had said it was alright if her and her shoe staring boyfriend used the PA do do a couple of numbers. At which point I caught sight of the guitar in drippy boyfriends hand. I let them plug a couple of mics in switched every thing else off and went to the bar. I have never left a gig feeling so utterly miserable. I have to be honest I would rather walk away from a job than have someone hire me on the basis of a set playlist. I have a deal of sympathy with the juke box point. I cant understand why anybody would hire a DJ expecting them to stand and be a very expensive cd multichanger. I will always welcome a list of 15 or so requests from the client and find out what the musical preferences are. If they want to have complete control of the music I may suggest that they might be better recording their music on disc or an MP3 player and I would be happy to provide the hire of a PA.

[Corabar Entertainment]

Just out of curiousity Flex, did you try to talk to the girl beforehand when you first got the request list and point out to her that a lot were 'slowies', or tracks that many of her guests wouldn't know, and that the result would probably be that it wouldn't be a very lively party as people would not be up dancing? If the response was "I don't care, it's my party" then it's their look-out!

The other thing we have found when receiving 'innappropriate' request lists, is that if you are positive when you speak to them - pointing out the GOOD bits of their list, and saying that this will cover approximately x hour(s) of the night, it helps.... rather than being negative and just saying what might not work - people can get a bit defensive then! :omg:

[Wolfie]

I have to be honest I would rather walk away from a job than have someone hire me on the basis of a set playlist. I have a deal of sympathy with the juke box point. I cant understand why anybody would hire a DJ expecting them to stand and be a very expensive cd multichanger. I will always welcome a list of 15 or so requests from the client and find out what the musical preferences are.

my point exactly.

I did a job once similar to that where a pile of CD's was given to me with the words "play them & nothing else". Despite numerous aunts & uncles complaining because they didn't want to listen to Destiny's Child & Jamelia all night as well as loads of glum faces (as you said staring at their feet most of the time). After a couple of hours one of the aunties came over & gave me a right earful I told her i sympathised with her thinking but i was told to play what i was playing & nothing else. She said "leave this to me", went over to the person who gave me the CD's, clobbered her with her handbag round the head a few times then came over & said "you play what you want & some party stuff, never mind what that lot say they want". the gloves were off, the party stuff went on & the floor was then full all night.... apart from one sulking person in the corner nursing a black eye.

[Corabar Entertainment]

I did a job once similar to that where a pile of CD's was given to me with the words "play them & nothing else". So did you not have any info before the night Wolfie?

[Wolfie]

So did you not have any info before the night Wolfie?

yes & no.. it was a guy i used to work for who passed that one to me, so all i got told was something like 21st birthday party, about 100 people & they want some RnB as well as the venue it was held at & what money to pick up from what person.

[LastMinuteDJs.net]

Just rememberer one where the guy wanted some obsucre indie tracks and had made 3 cds of his own. I agreed to play some of his stuff and was alternating between his cds and my choices until he came up after the first few songs and said no no no - i've put them on the cd in the order i want them. Just put a cd in and let it play through?

WTF? Why book a DJ if you just want your own cds to play - gaps between songs and all. Never been more bored in my life.

[Corabar Entertainment]

yes & no.. it was a guy i used to work for who passed that one to me, so all i got told was something like 21st birthday party, about 100 people & they want some RnB as well as the venue it was held at & what money to pick up from what person.
Always a problem when you are 'remote' from the punter!.... it can go round like Chinese Whispers!!!! (Another reason why I like the 'Questionnaire' approach - no argument about what was said / wanted...... mind you, I received a questionnaire back from a customer the other day, and although they gave us a very good report overall, they did make one comment in answer to whether or not their prior musical requests had been covered: they stated that Kelly Clarkson wasn't played. When I checked the request sheet, they hadn't requested it! :confused: )

The lack of info was one reason why we stopped covering gigs for a particular 'Agent' - not only did he not give us all of the information, but half the time the information was wrong!!! (Even gave us the wrong names of the Bride & Groom once!! :omg: :omg: )

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Well now, here's the thing.

I have started sending out request list forms, so the client can choose up to 20 of their favourite songs and have found this works well. I have explained to the customer that these are songs aimed at the dance floor and any other non-dancing type songs can be played early on or during the buffet break.

Once I recieve the lists back I ring the customer back to discuss the list with them therefore preventing any problems.

I have recently taken on a couple of wedding where the clients are really into their music and were very specific about their tastes. I only took this booking after long discussions about how they would see the wedding reception going and what they wanted.

What they did want was a DJ who would play their favourite music for them and a group of friends to listen to, and not necessarily dance to, all round about the same age, who would be in a smallish room with a bar. They don't want the traditional song for Auntie Vera and general cheese that we play, which is fine because this has been discussed at length and carefully planned.

Take every booking on it's own merit and make sure you and the client know exactly what is needed.

[Corabar Entertainment]

Well now, here's the thing.

I have started sending out request list forms, so the client can choose up to 20 of their favourite songs and have found this works well. I have explained to the customer that these are songs aimed at the dance floor and any other non-dancing type songs can be played early on or during the buffet break.

Once I recieve the lists back I ring the customer back to discuss the list with them therefore preventing any problems.

I have recently taken on a couple of wedding where the clients are really into their music and were very specific about their tastes. I only took this booking after long discussions about how they would see the wedding reception going and what they wanted.

What they did want was a DJ who would play their favourite music for them and a group of friends to listen to, and not necessarily dance to, all round about the same age, who would be in a smallish room with a bar. They don't want the traditional song for Auntie Vera and general cheese that we play, which is fine because this has been discussed at length and carefully planned.

Take every booking on it's own merit and make sure you and the client know exactly what is needed.Well put!

[soundtracker]

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." Without input from the B&G my wedding party last week would have been a complete flop- there's no way I would have picked the music to suit them- it was extremely alternative. But because we met, talked, and worked together, we ended up having a cracking night- yes a huge list won't all get played, but it gives you a great steer on where they're coming from. Anyway, keep refusing people, I don't mind taking the bookings off you! LOL

[theoloyla]

I have had gigs where I have been given a complete running list. I agree it can be a bit soul destroying. In these cases I make a point of announcing every 20 minutes or so "All the music we are playing tonight has been chosen by ....." It gets me off the hook and if the choices are not going down well the audience know it is not down to me. In some cases it has led to them relenting and asking me to ignore their list and play something more appropriate. I agree that a small list of favourites is very useful and that by discussion with the client before AND during the event most problems can be sorted out amicably.

[Have a disco]

please note, some of the disco sites I have looked at, with there playlists of all the tunes they have really don't help themselves to become targets. I do not dictate the nights entertainment nor do I let the customers whom book me do so either.. Weddings I will ask for a list of 20 tunes and they know I wont play all of them, but any other party this list drops to top 10 requested tunes of the hirer and a request of the genres they would prefer or not prefer.

This works in most cases, I have yet to fail with this formula

[Flex]

Just out of curiousity Flex, did you try to talk to the girl beforehand when you first got the request list and point out to her that a lot were 'slowies', or tracks that many of her guests wouldn't know, and that the result would probably be that it wouldn't be a very lively party as people would not be up dancing? If the response was "I don't care, it's my party" then it's their look-out!

The other thing we have found when receiving 'innappropriate' request lists, is that if you are positive when you speak to them - pointing out the GOOD bits of their list, and saying that this will cover approximately x hour(s) of the night, it helps.... rather than being negative and just saying what might not work - people can get a bit defensive then! :omg:

No I wasn't able to speak to her. At the time I was resident DJ in a pubs function room and half the time the manager would phone me up a couple of days before the booking (one of the reasons I went back to doing mobiles) most evenings I would wander in not knowing whether it was a 21st or a wake and there was no point asking the staff either.
I agree with everybody's point about consultation with clients. I don't agree with the point that trying to ensure the set list will be balanced enough that you have the flexibility to read the crowd and adjust to the floors reaction, is in some way 'unprofessional'. I agree that a DJ who wants to force his musical preferences on a private function shouldn't get booked but that's not what I'm talking about. If people feel that when they are booking a DJ they have to ensure that he or she plays only the music they themselves want then that can only demonstrate they have very little confidence in the company they are hiring, or they maybe should consider recording a mix tape and using that.
I of course recognise that the public will have heard about and experienced duff DJ's who will just turn up with a limited selection of music and proceed to drive everybody up the wall for the rest of the night. I have been at functions where the evening is falling on its arse (DJ maybe suited for a social club but has been booked for a student birthday party) Thinking that if you go up and ask for a few appropriate tunes (without the 'I'm a DJ you should put on...') you are amazed that they don't have it and in some cases have never heard of the song. These are the people who should be banned from even being allowed to flick through equipment catalogs.

As I said before I have only personally experienced this once before and I know how crap it can potentially be for the DJ and the guests. I have never had a problem when I have been able to discuss with the client what they want and how best you will be able to supply it. I have a wedding coming up where half the family is coming from France. The bride will supply a list of appropriate french songs. I will probably work out a set list on mixmeister prior to the evening just to see how it all hangs together.

However if anybody can tell me where to get one of those ' DO I LOOK LIKE A ****ING JUKEBOX! ' T shirts I would be obliged.
:)

[Thames Valley Discos]

However if anybody can tell me where to get one of those ' DO I LOOK LIKE A ****ING JUKEBOX! ' T shirts I would be obliged.
:)
I would also like a T shirt to go with the juke box i,m bidding on Ebay for!

[Corabar Steve]

Yes but you dont tell the builder what materials to use.
Nor would you tell the DJ, in this case the materials would be vinyl, CD or MP3. You would however tell your builder what style of door to hang etc, this would translate to telling the DJ what music you want.
If people feel that when they are booking a DJ they have to ensure that he or she plays only the music they themselves want then that can only demonstrate they have very little confidence in the company they are hiring, or they maybe should consider recording a mix tape and using that.But you don't want a DJ playing music that you don't like.

We did my friend's 40th last year. The function was attended only by friends, all of whom had similar music tastes as him (indie, alternaive, rock etc). He chose his favourites from the tracks he knew I had & I then whittled it down to the ones that would work the best & into an order that mixed together well. I did this in advance so I could also socialise as well as DJ.

If he'd booked some other company & not gone through the above process the night would have been no where near as enjoyable for everyone as it was ( especially if they'd started playing R&B etc...).
I have recently taken on a couple of wedding where the clients are really into their music and were very specific about their tastes. I only took this booking after long discussions about how they would see the wedding reception going and what they wanted.

What they did want was a DJ who would play their favourite music for them and a group of friends to listen to, and not necessarily dance to, all round about the same age, who would be in a smallish room with a bar. They don't want the traditional song for Auntie Vera and general cheese that we play, which is fine because this has been discussed at length and carefully planned.

Take every booking on it's own merit and make sure you and the client know exactly what is needed.See it does work :)
There's more to the job than just playing what you "know" works, many customers and their friends have particular music biases and preferences, eg: a rock crowd, a crowd of clubbers, or perhaps a group of friends who are into C&W & line dancing. DJs who "rubbish" customer playlists and think they can do their own thing give this industry a bad name, and are the kind of DJs we warn customers about.My point exactly
You don't go to the doctors, give him your diagnosis of what's wrong with you & then write the prescription out yourself. You would instead rely on his skills & years of experience & then rely on him to do what's going to be best for you, once you have told him the symptoms. The same applies for disco's. No, you've just changed your arguement to one that is impossible to juxtapose because the builder analogy didn't work , as I proved here
No, but you do tell them what you want in the first place, I wouldn't trust anyone else's taste for any work I wanted done on my home, why would I want a DJ to "do their own thing" at my party?

[Thames Valley Discos]

Well you might make the client happy with their music,but the other 100/200 potential customers will be thinking, "god that DJ plays some crap".
I just think a DJ should be a DJ, a juke box be a juke box. Looks like i,m still the highest bidder!

[Corabar Steve]

Well you might make the client happy with their music,but the other 100/200 potential customers will be thinking, "god that DJ plays some crap".Even when the dancefloor is full all night.

As has been said by all the people who don't have a problem with playlists, communicate with your client. They should have a fair idea of their friends & family's music tastes are, if you point out the really un-workable tracks they generally come around to your way of thinking. After all everyone wants their party to be a sucsess.

[Thames Valley Discos]

There's more to the job than just playing what you "know" works, many customers and their friends have particular music biases and preferences, eg: a rock crowd, a crowd of clubbers, or perhaps a group of friends who are into C&W & line dancing. DJs who "rubbish" customer playlists and think they can do their own thing give this industry a bad name, and are the kind of DJs we warn customers about.
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.

[Flex]

Hmm I think we might be arguing for the same point. Everybody agrees that getting close to the customer and ensuring that the night reflects the invited guests tastes is the most sensible and productive process. My impression is that on the whole it is rare for a customer to be so prescriptive and insist that the evening is play-listed down to the running order. However it does happen and no matter how persuasive you try to be that is what they want, fair enough, its their money and their evening. I'm not in any way advocating the 'DJ knows best approach' at all. I would be surprised that any mobile that took that attitude would get a lot of business, its just not good customer service. I think Wolfie's point has some merit though ( :omg: ), you (the DJ) is supposed to be the expert and in the same way as if you went to a financial consultant, you would expect sound advice however some people then choose not to take that advice and spend all their cash on a holiday bungalow in Grimsby (apologies to all from Grimsby but it aint called GRIMsby for nowt)

[KrazyKaz]

However if anybody can tell me where to get one of those ' DO I LOOK LIKE A ****ING JUKEBOX! ' T shirts I would be obliged.
:)

http;//www.wantedtshirts.co.uk

:omg:

[Wolfie]

Even when the dancefloor is full all night.

As has been said by all the people who don't have a problem with playlists, communicate with your client. They should have a fair idea of their friends & family's music tastes are, if you point out the really un-workable tracks they generally come around to your way of thinking. After all everyone wants their party to be a sucsess.

Agreed, in that situation then fair play.. for instance you are doing a wedding for a load of Goths & they have picked songs by Marilyn Manson, Siouxsie & the Banshees, The Cure & Ramstein & the rest of the crowd are Goths then fair play, but if it's a crowd full of Auntie Mable's & Uncle Bill then you jhave to rethink the entire stategy. You should always play to an audience as a whole, not just 1 or 2 individuals.



Sorry but that is nonsense. Why does this give the industry a bad name?

so if you play to an audience of 100 people & only one person enjoys themselves & the rest of the crowd go off grumbling every weekend, doesn't that get YOU a bad name as you may quickly get a repurtation not for playing music that people want, but for playimg music that people don't always want.


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

Agreed. but as i said, if it's for the right crowd then fair play... 60's tracks for a 60's theme night, rock tracks for a rock disco or bikers rally... perfectly fine.

As i said in my 1st reply usually many of these lists provided that i've seen are full of tracks you can't physically play... most common is when you get a list of 200+ love songs that you know that after 10 minutes of playing them, it makes people want to go out, get some rope & find a tree to hang themselves from as it doesn't exactly inspire people to have a good time & enjoy themselves... which is part of the service you provide - for people to enjoy themselves.

[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 (http://www.engadget.com/2005/09/21/who-wants-a-wedding-dj-when-youve-got-an-ipod/) 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