Are there regional price differences?

[dicky]

I mean in what you can earn for gigs

I've been told in Stoke where I happen to live you are lucky to get £120 for a night but going out a few miles to say Cheshire or Derbyshire you can double that - and head down south a bit further and you can reasonably expect to get 4x the fee. Certainly talking to local pubs/clubs the going rate seems to be around £120 but if you can build up something of a following you may get £140 or even £180 for a night.

Would anyone with experience be able to advise on this, and whether it is correct (or i am just being conned) and if so is it just something that is a paticular issue where I happen to live or is it replicated in other parts of the country?

Is it simply a matter of how much local competioin there is? Or are there other factors involved? I have no issue driving 40-50 miles to the next county - but why would they be willing to pay twice as much?

Rich

[yourdj]

"You can't get that rant ere" is what people will say.

I know loads of DJ's where i live charging £150 yet I charge £500 - £1,500.

Same up north although I do think it depends on the market and very local social economics.
I live next to a golf course and have not worked there at my full fee for 6 years.
5 miles down the road is a venue I work at all the time at my full rate.

its a toss up on showing your value and whether you have people who will pay it. On the whole I get the impression that southern / london areas get the best rates, but there are always people who will want the best and pay for it in any market. Even in Scotland!!

[Shakermaker Promotions]

"You can't get that RANT here" - Surely you mean rate Toby (I'm jesting.....lay off the sauce mate).

It's the age old thing where people in different parts of the country may earn less than others.
I am based in the South East (like Toby and a number of others) and yes, there are areas down here where it's pretty affluent and people have lots of money but just like anywhere else there are the tyre kickers and people looking for a bargain.

Also (I guess?) just like other regions around the country there are those that want quality.
If you do some pub work (like I do) then prices vary. I do 2 pubs once per month and I get above what the going rate is (I looked into prices).

I've never mentioned my prices on this site or my website and I won't do that now but my prices are above the average in my area and I don't provide an all day service (as yet). That's where you can boost your prices. I know that there are other suppliers in my area and the surround that are charging treble what I charge and they are getting plenty of work but it's generally for all day functions.

At the end of the day, charge what you think YOU are worth and for the service that you provide. There are customers out there that are looking for DJ's and suppliers and if 10 of them are all charging the same price, what makes any of them different from eachother? If you charge a higher price then you may get customers asking why you are charging that price and what do they get for their money. That gives you a chance to sell yourself to them.
That's what happened with me. A good friend of mine who was running his own business advised me a long time ago to up my price because he thought I was worth more. He said to me to quote the next enquiry I got a higher price than I normally would so I did. It didn't work. That particular customer was in the 'tyre kicker' category and looking for cheap and cheerful however the next customer went for it once I told them what they were getting for their money and I've kept it like that ever since.

Sorry to ramble. It's a learning curve.

[dicky]

Interesting replies though one seems to suggest it depends on where you are and the other it depends on how you market youself :confused:

I got the info from chatting to other DJs in our local disco shop over the last week or two.

One guy for example there and also runs mobile was telling me that he had just worked in London at the weekend at a private function in a well known venue and was booked at £700 (he was recommended to the client) for a four and half hour set but working locally he knows from experience he struggles to get £200 for similar work.

Having said that he did mention that working locally he would work say 6-7 hours including setup and travelling time but working down london you can add a lot more hours to that so the 'hourly rate' after deducting for fuel, costs, etc was not so different!

Still £700 no quibble, compared to £200 locally if you're lucky, seems a hell of a regional difference!! And this is for the same guy same setup so other factors such as quality of service/equipment appear to be taken into account.

I spoke to another DJ who is in Shropshire and says he gets good rates there. Shropshire is a kinda rural county bordering my own.

Rich

[Benny Smyth]

My advice would be to not worry too much what others are charging.

Maybe look at it like this - there's an Aldi everywhere, and there's a Waitrose everywhere. Fundamentally, they are the same but the prices and the quality you get are worlds apart. Regardless what part of the country they are in, both businesses are doing just fine in their market. You don't need to attract every customer to do well.

Just look at what you offer and how does it compare. Is it worth more or less? Then look at how much it would take for you to turn a profit and put bread on the table. :)

[Sapphire Disco]

My advice would be to not worry too much what others are charging.

Maybe look at it like this - there's an Aldi everywhere, and there's a Waitrose everywhere. Fundamentally, they are the same but the prices and the quality you get are worlds apart. Regardless what part of the country they are in, both businesses are doing just fine in their market. You don't need to attract every customer to do well.

Just look at what you offer and how does it compare. Is it worth more or less? Then look at how much it would take for you to turn a profit and put bread on the table. :)

Very good advice although there's not so much difference in the actual food of the above mentioned food retailers these days but the the whole presentation and customer experience are worlds apart.

[Vectis]

I think that on the whole the following two links confirm that "regional variation" is, by and large, bunkum. You can earn Waitrose money or Aldi money anywhere.

http://needadisco.com/recent-confirmations.php

http://needadisco.com/pending-negotiation.php


The proportion of "high paying" to "low paying" gigs is pretty constant across the country - but there are more events in larger towns and cities than out in the sticks. Therefore this can lead to a perception amongst 'townies' that there are more "low paying" gigs than "high paying" gigs. And that's true. But proportionally, country-wide there's little difference.

[dicky]

Hmm interesting reading because there is not a Waitrose store anywhere in the city of Stoke-on-Trent or in North Staffordshire either

http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/Waitrose-spurns-city-store-people-upmarket/story-12933021-detail/story.html

Apparently the area and residents are not considered to be upmarket enough :rolleyes:

We do have a plethora of Aldi and Lidl though

Rich

[DazzyD]

My advice would be to not worry too much what others are charging.

Maybe look at it like this - there's an Aldi everywhere, and there's a Waitrose everywhere. Fundamentally, they are the same but the prices and the quality you get are worlds apart. Regardless what part of the country they are in, both businesses are doing just fine in their market. You don't need to attract every customer to do well.

Just look at what you offer and how does it compare. Is it worth more or less? Then look at how much it would take for you to turn a profit and put bread on the table. :)

There are no Waitrose stores in my nearest 2 cities of Sunderland and Durham. Plenty of Aldi and Lidl stores, though. And more charity and "pound" shops than I can be bothered to count!


Hmm interesting reading because there is not a Waitrose store anywhere in the city of Stoke-on-Trent or in North Staffordshire either

http://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/Waitrose-spurns-city-store-people-upmarket/story-12933021-detail/story.html

Apparently the area and residents are not considered to be upmarket enough :rolleyes:

We do have a plethora of Aldi and Lidl though

Rich

Just saw your comment at the last minute! It's the same around here.

[dicky]

And what is the going rate for gigs around Sunderland Dazzy? Is there any correlation between that and the lack of a Waitrose lol

BTQ been up to Durham several times mate - great place IMHO. Well it was as a tourist anyway, but for locals seems to be some good pubs and clubs too

Rich
PS and pound shops are ten a penny round here :p

[Excalibur]

I think that on the whole the following two links confirm that "regional variation" is, by and large, bunkum. You can earn Waitrose money or Aldi money anywhere.
.

And the cavalry arrives. The voice of reason. Saves me having to take a large handful of dried frog pills, and offer my two pennorth. My usual whimsical and irreverent offerings have been conspicuous by their absence, since people will insist on taking them seriously. :confused:

To back up Martin's assertions, I've had enquiries wanting a wedding of six hours plus for £100, and I've taken bookings for a standard disco at over three times that rate, and both bookings have been within half a mile of each other.

I don't seem to be charging enough to work in Scunthorpe though. My heavily inflated quote for a wedding there was dismissed with a two word rejoinder. "Too cheap"! A 60th birthday there, with a very very healthy budget has been secured by someone else at a price " much higher " than the starting figure.

There's always a balance though, isn't there? Another one had the condition upfront " lowest quote gets the job " . Refreshingly honest, at least.

[DazzyD]

And what is the going rate for gigs around Sunderland Dazzy? Is there any correlation between that and the lack of a Waitrose lol

BTQ been up to Durham several times mate - great place IMHO. Well it was as a tourist anyway, but for locals seems to be some good pubs and clubs too

Rich
PS and pound shops are ten a penny round here :p

I don't do as much work as I used to or as I'd like to these days but I usually get booked for what I charge. I'm by no means expensive (in my opinion!) but I do still get people going "How much???" when I give them a price. I only do one-off events, mainly family parties such as weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, etc, along with some corporate stuff and I do get more than when I was doing residencies a couple of years ago.

I think the biggest hurdle to getting a decent fee is the reluctance to actually ask for it. (Some) People up here think clients won't pay the bigger sums so they don't ask. I know DJs who are going out for the same money they were getting 20 years ago simply because they are scared to ask for more. I know DJs very local to me who are still charging £80 for a full disco show. One such DJ actually offered me a gig for NYE, working for him, a few years ago for the enormous fee of £30!! When I told him I was already working that night, and told him how much I was being paid for that show, he said "well at least I'm not ripping people off!". :o With that mentality, it's no wonder some DJs don't get what they should be worth. And it's these DJs who make it more difficult for other DJs to get a decent fee because I'm sure we've all heard the phrases "How much for a disco? I've already been quoted £60" or "How much??? But the last DJ I booked only charged £30!".

Ultimately, it's all about marketing correctly to your target audience. There's plenty of advice on here - just use the search facility! ;)

[Jim - Scotland's Party DJ]

Aldi and Waitrose are selling a product (or products) whereas we're a service so it's a bit different.

I see it more like TGI Fridays compared to my favourite fancy steak place:

TGIs offer generally rubbish contrived service whilst trying to suggest that they have great service: "Hi I'm Dan, I'll be your waiter tonight."

Whereas the steak place very much provides a top notch service and you know they're doing all sorts to keep you sweet but doing it in such a way that you just have an excellent time without having your waiter try to be your pal or crack stupid jokes because his bosses have told him too.

That's my take on it anyway :D

[Brian A Crossland]

Simple answer: You price depends on who you market to.

[Pe7e]

Simple answer: You price depends on who you market to.

Absolutely, and the average pub landlord in a industrial area is not very likely to be paying a decent fee.

[funkymook]

Are there regional price differences or price differences in every region?

[dicky]

Now I have had a good think about this and done some research too

Though there are those who say that regional differences are mostly an urban myth or likewise I beg to differ until proved otherwise

For various reasons.

Given that info Vectis posted regards booking charges I find the following results for the city where I happen to live


£175 Birthday (16-21 years) Stoke on Trent (ST9)
£170 Birthday (16-21 years) Stoke on Trent (ST4)
£160 Birthday - Adult 30th Stoke on Trent (ST2)
£150 Birthday - Adult 60th Stoke-on-Trent (ST1)

As the recorded rates start at £1000 and end at £80 and the best recorded in Stoke was £175 isn't that telling me something?



On the comment about Waitrose - a supermarket that considers half of my county and my entire city 'not sufficiently upmarket' to even open a store

Oh and a bit of looking at a even a few well known 'fast food' providers' not a single outlet in this cityfor any of them. Now do all these businesses assumedly have marketing departments doing some proper research into the demographics... or is it just plain chance we ain't got any of these?


Nandos
Upper Crust
Pret A Manger

Oh and
H&M (a budget clothing brand!)
Desiguel - my missus moans about this as she always buys there stuff when out of the area - probably a good excuse we don't have one!
Any of the well known up market 'Designer' Fashion shops

Plus chatting to other DJs at the local disco shop (damn good shop actually so must be quite a few DJs round here)

I personally think this regional issue is real - but would be happy to be proved otherwise.


HOWEVER


I'm a glass half full sort of person, and there is one really good thing about my loaction - I am pretty much in the center of England and it's pretty easy to get to anywhere else!

No the cenrter of England is not London and/or the South east, you are in the bottom right hand corner :p The geographical centre of England is about 30 miles from me in Derbyshire. So this means that within an hour I can easily get to Manchester and all of Greater Manchester area, West Yorkshire, Sheffield. Nottingham/shire. Liecester/shire, Birmingham, Derby/shire and pretty much all of the West Midlands, Shrewsbury/Shropshire, Chester/Cheshire Liverpool/Merseyside and Lancashire

So I guess what I should be asking is how to market myself over the larger area in a cost effective and efficient way that generates business rather than bemoaning where I live and the fact you can't even get a posh sandwich round here )

Rich

[Vectis]

Given that info Vectis posted regards booking charges I find the following results for the city where I happen to live


£175 Birthday (16-21 years) Stoke on Trent (ST9)
£170 Birthday (16-21 years) Stoke on Trent (ST4)
£160 Birthday - Adult 30th Stoke on Trent (ST2)
£150 Birthday - Adult 60th Stoke-on-Trent (ST1)

As the recorded rates start at £1000 and end at £80 and the best recorded in Stoke was £175 isn't that telling me something?


Erm... I can see a £500 budget job in Stoke (OK, it's NYE) and several more £200+ currently under negotiation.

[ukpartydj]

I checked Poole and Bournemouth and the highest was £250 mostly under £200. I travel a lot for work so that makes sense to me however I know that hotels and venues around here pay more regularly, seems a bit sewn up which is a shame for me. Have been looking for a hotel to manage all their bookings like I know many do for couple of years. Probably need to try harder!

Saying that I've got £300+ a couple of times in Poole.

[yourdj]

I checked Poole and Bournemouth and the highest was £250 mostly under £200. I travel a lot for work so that makes sense to me however I know that hotels and venues around here pay more regularly, seems a bit sewn up which is a shame for me. Have been looking for a hotel to manage all their bookings like I know many do for couple of years. Probably need to try harder!

Saying that I've got £300+ a couple of times in Poole.

I definitely think there are interregional differences and not larger geographical differences.
I live right next to Bournemouth and Poole (as per the above) and don't even bother marketing there.
I have not worked there for years but it seems to be full of cheapskate DJ's used to the holiday town off season prices.

Having said that there are some nice venues very near to Bournemouth etc. That can command £500 + for the evening and £1000+ for the day.

On the other side you have Southampton, You would think this is prime top rate territory, but given that I am right up Google for this search term I never get any gigs in or around Southampton. I used to work here al the time when I was £250 (with crap SEO and site), but NEVER get anything now. Same goes for Portsmouth, I only get top end venues and house marquee events, although i am doing one at the explosion museum for £1,300 at the end of the month which is going to be great!!

In the middle is Winchester and more rural areas. Again I tend to only get decent venues and the Odd house party marquee gig.

The area I know the best if the New Forest in between and that is very venues specific. as per my other comment, i get dozens of all days and well paid evenings at certain venues and not a sausage (despite offering free meetings etc. and having a very good reputation) at other less expensive hotel. Having said that I had a meeting in a very tired venue with some pretty cash strapped clients and they want to spend up to £1000 as they feel on the day management is a necessity! I know they have only spent £4000 so its quite a responsibility! They also have 250 guests, like horses and celtic dancing, soI do think it may be a traveller wedding so my work will be cut out!! :)

All of the above is "probably" a combination of my marketing (may put certain people off), venues and a clients knowledge of what a DJ is and what they can do. Just a case of - do they want me / need me (or realise the importance of good entertainment) & can they afford me? I know I have probably priced myself out of lots of the work. if I reduced the evening rate to £300 then i could probably get 3 x more work and probably a larger income. I would have to reduce attention to detail to do this and it would knacker me out, so I am going to increase prices this year a bit by offering better marketed optional extras.

[Jim - Scotland's Party DJ]

I think some of us are looking at this the wrong way - it's as much to do with the amount of DJs around (and more importantly, what they're going out for) as it is a case of the customer choosing to pay £X.

Bear in mind EVERY customer is different - I have a gig on Friday where they quite rightly asked if I would lower my price as it was considerably (almost 100%) dearer than their budget and they eventually paid what I'd asked for after chatting to me and realising there was a reason I wasn't dealing with the same prices the folk around their budget were quoting.

On the other hand they could quite as easily have gone with a DJ within their budget. There are far too many variables in the booking process to be simplified to "If you live here you can charge this, if you live here you charge that"

I took a call the other week from someone who was adamant she wasn't paying more than £50 for a DJ, likewise you'll get people who are happy to spend over a grand on one...


And all of this is entirely pointless to debate - charge what you think you're worth and happy to go out for - if you don't get the amount of bookings you're expecting, alter one of three things: what you charge, the service you offer or your approach to advertising, job done.

[Benny Smyth]

I think some of us are looking at this the wrong way - it's as much to do with the amount of DJs around (and more importantly, what they're going out for) as it is a case of the customer choosing to pay £X.

Bear in mind EVERY customer is different - I have a gig on Friday where they quite rightly asked if I would lower my price as it was considerably (almost 100%) dearer than their budget and they eventually paid what I'd asked for after chatting to me and realising there was a reason I wasn't dealing with the same prices the folk around their budget were quoting.

On the other hand they could quite as easily have gone with a DJ within their budget. There are far too many variables in the booking process to be simplified to "If you live here you can charge this, if you live here you charge that"

I took a call the other week from someone who was adamant she wasn't paying more than £50 for a DJ, likewise you'll get people who are happy to spend over a grand on one...


And all of this is entirely pointless to debate - charge what you think you're worth and happy to go out for - if you don't get the amount of bookings you're expecting, alter one of three things: what you charge, the service you offer or your approach to advertising, job done.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_g20yHuXrw

[dicky]

And all of this is entirely pointless to debate - charge what you think you're worth and happy to go out for - if you don't get the amount of bookings you're expecting, alter one of three things: what you charge, the service you offer or your approach to advertising, job done.


But it is at least a fun debate :)

This comment I think is the most succinct I have read. That's pure marketting expressed in one sentence. Amen!

[dicky]

Hmm OK A bit of a positive this evening

I asked one of my pub customers (we supply AV equippment to this guy in two pubs) if I could set up the entire rig in one of his function rooms so we could test the entire setup in a live environment

After a few hiccups we got it all running - took me and a mate 2hrs to set it up as it was the first ime we have done it

The function room has a capacity of 250 and here are a couple videos of the rig running

First video came out pretty well - Second video taken from behind the decks so the sound is very muffled as the PA is in front of us but included it anyway

http://youtu.be/QtHSJfsALuo

http://youtu.be/5lbzTtjWkA0


Running 1750W true RMS per channel off two amps (if I dared turn it up) into 2x 18" bins and 2x dual 15" plus horn main cabs - but the camera does not pick it up that well - especially the 'rattle the optics' bass lines that I could feel in my bones

Couldn't quite get the lighting rig to quite work properly either - some problem with the DMX stopped some of the spots synching properly if you look to the top extreme left and right - but will sort it out as I had them working OK on the test bench last week.

Anyway general response from the pub owner was:


A: Holy f#ck!! Rich, that's not a mobile disco that is a club!

B. the full rig is too big for this venue (250 capacity)

B. I'll happily book you at £150 even for a cut down version

and C: if you are gonna run this full rig you need to be asking for at least twice as much as you are and in my opinion/expirience you will get it!


So anyway a couple of vids from today - will get my website runing soon

All in all a very promising day - but comments much appreciated as I wanna get this right. Maybe I went a bit OTT? This is a mix of stuff I scrounged of pubs/brewereis I dealt with for years and some new stuff. Cost to me so far just under £2K.

Now I need to earn some money back
dicky



dickysdisco.com and dickysdisco.co.uk

[funkymook]

Personally I think it's far too busy. And as an alternative view I was speaking to a well respected NS DJ a little while back who doesn't agree with any lighting at all as he never used it when he was playing in the 60's.

But if your client base want to 'see' why they're getting for their money then bung on as many lights as possible and spread your rig out to cover a large area and I'm sure they'll be happy.

[dicky]

Fair comment mate as when I was on the northern soul and emerging 'disco' scene back in the 70's some colour changing lights was about as much as you could get! Or maybe just a moirror ball.

Then I went to a club called Wigan Pier in an old warehouse with cut-out floors that had a DJ console in the shape of a giant frog 3 stories high with the DJS in he mouth and lasers in the eyes - first time i ever saw lasers ,and then i was hooked!!!

So yeah I do like flashing lights. Had all of them switched on in this video for dramatic effect -wouldn't intend to run a whole night like that though I do agree

Personally I think it also wants a 1ft x 6ft colour changing sound-to-light sign on the top section of the DJ console saying DickysDisco.com. And I am good with electronics so wouldn't be a big problem. But that is more lights. Hmmm

Rich

[funkymook]

It's another interesting discussion though - does the region have any influence on the size of the set-up and light-show the customers expect?

And with a 2 hour (ok that will get quicker but not by much) 2 man set-up/breakdown plus travel you're probably looking at 8-10 man hours before you've even played a tune, then a 5 hour gig and your close to 15 hours (more if you count your roadie/helper) then the fee divided between two people (or a percentage depending on the split) and all the other associated costs - in real terms it's not going to be much per hour for all that effort.

I'd also be tempted to look at starting a monthly NS/Soul night at that venue and take a split of the door....then keep the lighting simple for it.

KTF

[yourdj]

On this note - I have just had a booking form come through for a cheap village hall.
She was on quite on a budget and I did not expect her too book. Low an behold she has booked for 4 hours - with uplighting and TV screen for £700 (£495 without extras), which i think is a very reasonable fee. :)Goes to show you never know. :)


It's another interesting discussion though - does the region have any influence on the size of the set-up and light-show the customers expect?

And with a 2 hour (ok that will get quicker but not by much) 2 man set-up/breakdown plus travel you're probably looking at 8-10 man hours before you've even played a tune, then a 5 hour gig and your close to 15 hours (more if you count your roadie/helper) then the fee divided between two people (or a percentage depending on the split) and all the other associated costs - in real terms it's not going to be much per hour for all that effort.

I'd also be tempted to look at starting a monthly NS/Soul night at that venue and take a split of the door....then keep the lighting simple for it.

KTF

Totally :agree:

I would stick to mirror balls for norther soul and uplighting.
Don't know much about it but in all the videos I have seen it looked like dancehalls with next to know lighting.
Not knocking you, but it seems a lot of work, which might not be necessary?? Don't know the market, so i am probably wrong.

I know a lot of local DJ's that spend forever setting up gear they just don't need.
They end up with a complete mess that actually detracts from function (usually weddings).
It very easy to get into the "if I get one more light more people will dance" thought.
Often just a few decent very well DMX' dlights can do the job of 15 non DMX'd crap ones.

The best thing I did was position camera in the crowd and videoed myself.
i tend to position the lighting on the ceiling now rather than in peoples faces.
Even when i have done LED uplighting only. I felt naked but everyone still danced.

Iam getting married tomorrow with just that and a mirrorball - will be a good eye opener as i will be the client for once. :p


Personally I think it's far too busy.

Nice demo video though, its hard to explain lighting isn't it.. It looks like club in the the 80's, they tend to use less lighting these days. Just a few very good fixtures like martin macs. The video does not show a lot other than flashing lights and an empty dance floor. I would assume that they would ask for a cut down version in a pub. Maybe not for a northern soul event though??

I do think the average client wants someone normal and wants the reassurance that you are not Peter Kay. There are always clients that want banks of lighting too :) Never once (after thousands of meetings) been asked about it in depth, other than - do you supply dance floor lighting? I did a wedding for alighting engineer and all he asked was if the lights were DMX'd.

What would you charge for this out of interest as 2 hours is a very long time to set up what to me looks like a standard rig with lots lights.
As opposed to a starlit dancefloor quad trussing over the floor (with wireless uplighting round the room) and a dozen moving heads / wash lights, which would take the same time. Now that looks like a nightclub. :p I would want at least £1000 to set that up especially if it involved planning meetings and on the day management.

Like this (but with a starlit floor) - although i would add a decent booth, truss and heads/spherons, rather than flight cases.
Corporates and proms / posh 21st etc. would pay big money for that look!

16922

[dicky]

Yes lot's of interesting comments and I don't take them as critcism other than as the constructive variety

Firstly i am not just intending to do Northern Soul nights - it is a fact there is a lot of call for that genre of music in this area and it is music I love but suspect there is more money in events (weddings, birthday parties etc)

Unless -as the guy who owned this venue mentioned to me yesterday - the last time he had a DJ do a NS night there, the DJ organised the event and did the advertising. They charged £5 on the door and he got over 150 attendees.

The pub owner let the DJ have the proceeds from the door and was very happy with his take from ther bar. So he proposed already if I want to try that then go for it. I agree - but suggest give me a few months of live gigs to get back into the swing of things and get my face out there, then try something in the spring of next year.

When this was set up yesterday there was only me and a friend in the venue - it was not an event, we got use of the room for a few hours in the afternoon for free. This is the first time I saw the whole setup working together. There were some issues with DMX master/slave on the lights/lasers which do support it (most of them) and one thing I figured out is I need a few longer DMX leads as well as the ones i have. Possibly had issues with terminators as well. And I need a few spare power leads as well.

I wholeheartedly agree with the idea of having a fully DMXed rig running from a dedicated controller and also preprogrammed or choreographed sequences (scenes?) set to certain songs. As well as electronics engineer I also worked as a computer programmer for several years so am sure I have the ability to do this it's just a matter of generating the extra funds for some modern DMX scanners etc and taking the time to study and do this

The only lights which are not DMX capable are the 7 moonflowers and the double monflower/gobo/scanner thing in the middle of hte deck gantry and I was practically given these by a publican. Have them as owing me the nominal fee of £20 on my accounts as they came with a crown amp, 19" rack and various other stuff at a giveaway price. All the lights on the video are LED apart from three.

One thing I didn't have set up is my mirror ball - I do have one and some pinspots but don't yet have a suitable controller.

Anyway as I was saying this rig was too large for this venue - I need about 4.5m wide and about 2.5m deep to set up the deck gantry and the lighting gantry behind it. You will see I messed this up as well - didn't have the rear gantry centred on the front one as part of the bar was in the way! However as a trial setup I have to say, regardless of comments, I was very impressed with the result - downright chuffed to be honest and had a big grin all night. One other plus - girl who works on the bar took one look and asked to book me for her birthday party in February.

OK so the way I have all this designed means (I hope) that I can have a much smaller setup without the rear lighting gantry, and move some of the newer LED lighting to the front. I will be testing this next Thursday at my first live gig. I am doing this for another publican who has just opened a new pub in a converted Polish Community Centre. His function room is smaller and I have about 10ft of stage width I can use. The console and front gantry will fit across this. I don't know if i am doing the right thing but i offered to do this for free as I want to run at a live venue and as it is the first time with this setup it's possible something could go wrong. Is that sensible? It feels a good idea to me. He want a motown and soul night.

My first paying gig is the following friday - Northern Soul, Motown, Disco, 80s Rare Groove and a bit of newer dance stuff thrown in. I have a bit more room at that one to set up.

Oh prices - well as I was saying it seems around here publicans are used to paying around £100 to £120 though this guy yesterday offered to get me some work at £150 just using the smaller setup as he says it is worth at least that, which is the top end of what he usually pays.

This big rig I have put together - after yesterdays experiment into what is involved to set it up, I would imagine it would be great if set up in a large venue (village hall, community centre etc) - assuming folks like flashing lights lol - but takes too much space and setup time for most other purposes which pretty much means use for private functions only and I think at a guess the price would have to be around at least £300 - therefore I would try marketting at that price first and see how much work I can pick up. If there was a lot of demand I would be upping the price as I feel it is worth more. If I can't get demand at that sort of price it's too much effort to do it cheaper, or it's just not what folks want.

Oh my mate who was helping me - actually he wants to learn to DJ as well and asked if I could show him the ropes as he is thinking of setting up his own disco, so I have a willing helper right now though obviously I will see him right with some payment. He is more interested in doing 80's/90's nights and of course private functions as he ain't as old as me :p

I hope I have this about right. Loving this great forum by the way - what a friendly helpful bunch you are

cheers
Rich

[Jim - Scotland's Party DJ]

But it is at least a fun debate :)

This comment I think is the most succinct I have read. That's pure marketting expressed in one sentence. Amen!

:) It rings true all day long.

There's too many guys who stress and whinge about sids and DJs at the lower end of the market.

I doubt the CEO of Lamborgini losses much sleep over Ford's sales - look after your own garden before you worry about the state of your neighbour's that's what I say.:beer1:

[funkymook]

Firstly i am not just intending to do Northern Soul nights - it is a fact there is a lot of call for that genre of music in this area and it is music I love but suspect there is more money in events (weddings, birthday parties etc)



Yes there is - but that doesn't mean you can't combine the two, I mainly do weddings which want specific genres (including NS) and as such command a higher fee for being a specialist DJ (I very seldom do any mainstream/chart type bookings). My advice would be to concentrate on the music you love and market it to people who want it - that alone makes you stand out from all the other 'i play anything' DJ's.

[Excalibur]

He is more interested in doing 80's/90's nights and of course private functions as he ain't as old as me :p

That's the problem nowadays, too many children involved. ;)


I hope I have this about right. Loving this great forum by the way - what a friendly helpful bunch you are

cheers
Rich
Give it time, Son, ah say give it time. :eek:


all the other 'i play anything' DJ's.
Somebody called? :whistle:


You can tell I've run out of pills, can't you? :D:D:D

Dicky, you've set some hares running that have been around the track a time or two already, but I must echo our illustrious leader's view that we've had some excellent and informed debate, in this thread in particular. It's spurred me on to start a linked thread of my own, which is very close to the hearts of both myself and a well respected forum member a touch North of me. I'll set it off when the tablets take effect*.



* For anyone who doesn't get the reference, and perhaps our newer readers, no I'm not on tablets for my mental health. ( Although some might wish and believe that I should be :D:D )

Since my default setting is whimsy and jest, I pretend that like the Bursar in the wonderful Discworld novels, I need large doses of dried frog pills to indulge in meaningful conversations with the rest of the world.

[soundmaster mobile disco]

Not such a thing as an area fixed rate. We would all get into serious trouble from the authorities if we did that.!!!

I don't believe in the area average, its how you sell yourself to your client. Everyone will have a budget for every type of event

[yourdj]

:) It rings true all day long.

There's too many guys who stress and whinge about sids and DJs at the lower end of the market.

I doubt the CEO of Lamborgini losses much sleep over Ford's sales - look after your own garden before you worry about the state of your neighbour's that's what I say.:beer1:

:agree:

[DazzyD]

Not such a thing as an area fixed rate. We would all get into serious trouble from the authorities if we did that.!!!

I don't believe in the area average, its how you sell yourself to your client. Everyone will have a budget for every type of event

What authorities would that be??? IMO, one of the reasons we have so many variables in this industry is that there is no governing body. Everyone does things immensely differently because there is no set of standards to adhere to. The FSA, or whatever it is called now, doesn't have a role in our industry so I'm not sure who would regulate "price-fixing" amongst DJs. The Competition Commission, perhaps? If they are still around that is!!

[ppentertainments]

There are regional price variations for most money matters throughout the country – house prices, wages, standard of living, unemployment, cars purchased etc etc. so it makes sense that they must be regional price variations for services we hire, including DJs.

There is no fixed proof for anything to do with pricing so it is just based on opinion.

My opinion is that there are good prices and bad prices to be had everywhere – the difference is the amount of good/bad priced jobs in a particular reason, the amount of work effort and the distance required to travel needed to command those fees.

General DJ perception also has a great bearing on price. A few years ago speaking to local DJs it was difficult to get over £250 for a wedding locally – now there is a shortage of DJs week in week out, getting good money.

[theoloyla]

Short answer is that London and the South East are undeniably on average more prosperous and better off than the rest of the country.
BUT
In every area of the country there are big variations. Where I live in Kent it is relatively better off but even here there are pockets of poverty where many people are unemployed/disadvantaged/disabled etc etc. All the surveys show that the further you go from London the less disposable income people have but I am sure that there are people in Stoke who drive Mercedes and BMW's it is just that there are fewer per capita than there are in Knightsbridge. As a result there are more people who are less cash strapped when it comes to booking a disco for a wedding or a party; so you are more likely to be able to ask for a higher fee but lets be clear when it comes to Pubs and social clubs you are unlikely to be getting big money in them in any part of the UK.