Benny Smyth
29-07-2015, 09:21 AM
Just spinning off from the Playlist thread that Peter made.
Ok, here is the scenario: you're booked to perform at a wedding for a couple who are mid to late 20s. She likes listening to Capital Radio and particularly likes RnB. She especially likes what she would call 'Old Skool' RnB (late 90s, early 00s stuff from Usher, Fatman Scoop, Nelly etc.).
He, on the other hand, loves Dance music. So much so, they holiday every year to Ibiza and next year, they plan on going to Tomorrowland (it's a house music festival in Belgium, and is truly insane!). He really started listening to music during the late 90s when commercial trance became popular (ATB, Alice Deejay, Darude, Delerium etc.) and his love of house music built up from there.
They've briefly acknowledged that there are other guests at their wedding that may not appreciate their taste in music, but it's their big day, so stuff 'em, right?
So there you are. You've never met Nan before, but you're pretty sure that she won't like Jay Z's 99 Problems, nor is it likely that she'll be taking a roll in the snow to Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike's Ocarina. So how do YOU sell them the idea of incorporating for other people's taste whilst still making it their night?
I look at the evening entertainment the same way that I look at the entire day, and whilst there are hundreds of things that happen at every wedding, it's also different because the bride and groom have inserted their personalities into the day. So, for example, every bride has a wedding dress but every bride will pick a dress that expresses her as a person, be it strapless, lace, pink with yellow spots - whatever. Do people remember that it was a dress, or that particular dress?
Every wedding has a colour scheme, but the B&G will pick their colours, and not one that appears at all weddings. Flowers, bridesmaids and their dresses, groomsmen and their suits, table decorations, party favours - these all happen at all weddings, but it will be different each time. Again, people remember the detail of how it is different (groomsmen in converse, for example).
I sell the idea that the evening entertainment could be looked at in the same way. Not exactly the same songs, but if you doff the proverbial cap to 60s, Motown, 70s, Northern Soul, and anything else that's not what people remember. Nan, Grandad, Mom, Dad, Auntie, Uncle and many others may have fun dancing to The Beatles' I Saw Her Standing There but the memory most will take away will be the mini-Ibiza experience the DJ incorporated into the night, and the RnB set that made the bridal party do things that maybe shouldn't occur at a family occasion. You, as the DJ, insert the B&G's personalities into the night's festivities whilst keeping everyone else happy.
So how do you sell to your clients the idea of variety for their guests?
Ok, here is the scenario: you're booked to perform at a wedding for a couple who are mid to late 20s. She likes listening to Capital Radio and particularly likes RnB. She especially likes what she would call 'Old Skool' RnB (late 90s, early 00s stuff from Usher, Fatman Scoop, Nelly etc.).
He, on the other hand, loves Dance music. So much so, they holiday every year to Ibiza and next year, they plan on going to Tomorrowland (it's a house music festival in Belgium, and is truly insane!). He really started listening to music during the late 90s when commercial trance became popular (ATB, Alice Deejay, Darude, Delerium etc.) and his love of house music built up from there.
They've briefly acknowledged that there are other guests at their wedding that may not appreciate their taste in music, but it's their big day, so stuff 'em, right?
So there you are. You've never met Nan before, but you're pretty sure that she won't like Jay Z's 99 Problems, nor is it likely that she'll be taking a roll in the snow to Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike's Ocarina. So how do YOU sell them the idea of incorporating for other people's taste whilst still making it their night?
I look at the evening entertainment the same way that I look at the entire day, and whilst there are hundreds of things that happen at every wedding, it's also different because the bride and groom have inserted their personalities into the day. So, for example, every bride has a wedding dress but every bride will pick a dress that expresses her as a person, be it strapless, lace, pink with yellow spots - whatever. Do people remember that it was a dress, or that particular dress?
Every wedding has a colour scheme, but the B&G will pick their colours, and not one that appears at all weddings. Flowers, bridesmaids and their dresses, groomsmen and their suits, table decorations, party favours - these all happen at all weddings, but it will be different each time. Again, people remember the detail of how it is different (groomsmen in converse, for example).
I sell the idea that the evening entertainment could be looked at in the same way. Not exactly the same songs, but if you doff the proverbial cap to 60s, Motown, 70s, Northern Soul, and anything else that's not what people remember. Nan, Grandad, Mom, Dad, Auntie, Uncle and many others may have fun dancing to The Beatles' I Saw Her Standing There but the memory most will take away will be the mini-Ibiza experience the DJ incorporated into the night, and the RnB set that made the bridal party do things that maybe shouldn't occur at a family occasion. You, as the DJ, insert the B&G's personalities into the night's festivities whilst keeping everyone else happy.
So how do you sell to your clients the idea of variety for their guests?