Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors.
Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker.
Page 2 of 22 FirstFirst 123412 ... LastLast
Results 11 to 20 of 218

Thread: Post COVID - what's the future going to look like?

  1. #11
    Imagine's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Ely, Cambridgeshire
    Age
    53
    Posts
    2,450

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Nakatomi View Post
    I've run out of fight now. I gave myself a few years to push that old snowball up to the top of the hill & it just started picking up momentum last year. All this has punched the last of the fight out of me. This isn't so much a jacking it all in - more of a 'meh what's the point?'. Life is interesting enough for me without gigs & I've had fun learning that again.
    I truly feel your pain Justin. I've worked damned hard to get where I was, I invested tens of thousands in kit (which is now practically worthless but costing me money to store and insure) and I really can't see the light at the end of the tunnel.
    My own feelings are that it's going to be a very long time before we can get back to doing what we're good at and love. Mentally, 2020 has been an absolute shipwreck.

    Benny mentioned SEO and marketing in an earlier post. Yes, I've dropped the ball on that one. I'm now at position 36 in the UK on Google as opposed to around 4 before all of this kicked off. I'm at the position at the moment where I don't actually feel comfortable taking on bookings because I really don't know if they'll happen. What's the point?

    This year has been stressful. I've been lucky in that all but one wedding has moved to a date next year. Will those dates happen or will be be going through the same struggle next year to reschedule to 2022?

    I desperately want to fire up the kit again (as do several of my delivery colleagues). After all, one night of partying is equivalent to 1.5 weeks of very hard graft. Visiting my lockup once a week to check everything's OK is depressing to say the least. It's kind of weird seeing the PA which won't be blasting out anytime soon and rolling the barrels of the lighting which won't be blinding guests for a long time to come

  2. #12

    Join Date
    May 2011
    Location
    Chester-le-Street
    Posts
    4,292

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Imagine View Post
    I truly feel your pain Justin. I've worked damned hard to get where I was, I invested tens of thousands in kit (which is now practically worthless but costing me money to store and insure) and I really can't see the light at the end of the tunnel.
    My own feelings are that it's going to be a very long time before we can get back to doing what we're good at and love. Mentally, 2020 has been an absolute shipwreck.

    Benny mentioned SEO and marketing in an earlier post. Yes, I've dropped the ball on that one. I'm now at position 36 in the UK on Google as opposed to around 4 before all of this kicked off. I'm at the position at the moment where I don't actually feel comfortable taking on bookings because I really don't know if they'll happen. What's the point?

    This year has been stressful. I've been lucky in that all but one wedding has moved to a date next year. Will those dates happen or will be be going through the same struggle next year to reschedule to 2022?

    I desperately want to fire up the kit again (as do several of my delivery colleagues). After all, one night of partying is equivalent to 1.5 weeks of very hard graft. Visiting my lockup once a week to check everything's OK is depressing to say the least. It's kind of weird seeing the PA which won't be blasting out anytime soon and rolling the barrels of the lighting which won't be blinding guests for a long time to come
    I know where you are coming from - motivation is just non-esistant at the moment and the not having any idea even what year we can get back to normal just adds to the mental torture.

    I actually got my controller, speakers etc out and set them up to have a mess about with. I am not one for FB live etc, and had no intention of bringing anything out of storage, but just thought a mess about might help - and it has. Updated Virtual DJ, made a few mixes and edits which I will use when I do start up and even just playing some of my previous history lists has reminded me a little about why I do the job.

    Fingers crossed we will be allowed to do the job again before it is completely wiped out.
    Semi-Retired Multi Award Winning DJ

    www.ultimateweddingdj.co.uk

  3. #13

    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Location
    Reading, Berkshire
    Age
    40
    Posts
    1,439

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Imagine View Post
    I've worked damned hard to get where I was, I invested tens of thousands in kit (which is now practically worthless but costing me money to store and insure) and I really can't see the light at the end of the tunnel.
    My own feelings are that it's going to be a very long time before we can get back to doing what we're good at and love. Mentally, 2020 has been an absolute shipwreck.
    This is where I'm at.

    I've got kit sat in a unit that is costing me each month for that pleasure.

    I can't see things returning to how they were anytime soon - and we still don't know what weddings will look like in 2021. Even if we did fill our diaries now, there's no guarantee that those bookings will be going ahead.

    And venues were previously quite keen to have an 'in house DJ' that they paid £100 to and charged the client £500... venues will be keen for every penny, and 'quality' will be the first thing to go.

    Do I want to spend the time building it all back up again, in what was already a competitive industry?

    And actually, I'm enjoying not having a disrupted weekend...

  4. #14

    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Location
    Reading, Berkshire
    Age
    40
    Posts
    1,439

    Default

    Well Leicester is our first indication of the 'new normal'.

    Who fancies booking a lavish wedding when an entire town/city can be locked down 'just like that'.

    I think we have a sign of what the future will look like...

    This sort of uncertainty is going to be terrible for the economy.

  5. #15
    Imagine's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Ely, Cambridgeshire
    Age
    53
    Posts
    2,450

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by rth_discos View Post
    Well Leicester is our first indication of the 'new normal'.

    Who fancies booking a lavish wedding when an entire town/city can be locked down 'just like that'.

    I think we have a sign of what the future will look like...

    This sort of uncertainty is going to be terrible for the economy.
    Heard about that on the radio whilst out working tonight - that's actually quite scary.
    Luckily, East Anglia and particularly Cambridgeshire hasn't been too badly affected by the whole thing, and fingers crossed it doesn't blow up later on.

    I'm still thinking we're off the road until such time as a vaccine or at least a way of curing it is found unfortunately

  6. #16
    Dinosaur Excalibur's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    East Yorkshire
    Age
    68
    Posts
    26,833

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by rth_discos View Post
    Well Leicester is our first indication of the 'new normal'.

    Who fancies booking a lavish wedding when an entire town/city can be locked down 'just like that'.

    I think we have a sign of what the future will look like...

    This sort of uncertainty is going to be terrible for the economy.
    I think that's part of the issue. Built up areas. Centres of population. Those of us who live in the wilds may have an advantage here, if the virus hasn't got any flare ups nearby.

    Speaking with a respected colleague yesterday, he wondered if the first weddings we perform at may be where we modify our service somewhat. As opposed to turning up early, and doing ceremony music, background, speeches, and disco, we instead do the first three with a suitably sized rig, and then when we would crank it up for the disco, we pack it up and go home. Makes sense.
    Excalibur. Older than the average DJ.

    www.excaliburmobiledisco.co.uk

  7. #17

    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Bristol
    Age
    45
    Posts
    3,487

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Excalibur View Post
    Speaking with a respected colleague yesterday, he wondered if the first weddings we perform at may be where we modify our service somewhat. As opposed to turning up early, and doing ceremony music, background, speeches, and disco, we instead do the first three with a suitably sized rig, and then when we would crank it up for the disco, we pack it up and go home. Makes sense.
    Minimal music allowed for the ceremony, plus getting Brides to buy into the value of this part of the day has always been the hardest part to sell. There was a guy on the MDJN Facebook group last night who is boasting that he's "adapted to the situation" and is offering live streamed DJ sets for receptions for weddings and general parties. If he thinks that's going to get round the restrictions, then I don't think he's actually read the guidelines.

    I don't think the Leicester thing is as scary as it sounds. They're only delaying re-opening by 2 weeks to give the infection rates more time to drop, not moving backwards to a stricter lockdown (despite the usual sensationalism in the press). But it does give us a flavour of things to come and how rapidly decisions could be made and the potential impact (if I had a wedding for this coming weekend, a lockdown in Leicester could have an impact if the Groom's family came from that area).

    I wouldn't get too excited about being outside of densely populated areas Peter - Leicester is still arguing about where the boundary starts and finishes and there's a good chance that you'd get caught up in local lockdowns (or be affected if guests for your function come from a local built up area).

    The interesting development for me yesterday was the publication of the guidelines for weddings as they're much better written than the guidelines for pubs/restaurants and make it clear what parts of the guidelines are law and which bits are just guidelines. They also give detail about enforcement. In short, restrictions on gatherings are law, everything else is a guideline to be enforced by H&S, initially by providing "friendly guidance" to help venues become compliant, but with the threat of sizeable fines and jail time for anyone who persistently or intentionally breaks them. My understanding is that they have some powers to shut venues where there is immediate danger to the public, but otherwise enforcement is a slow and complicated process that sometimes takes years so there will be a lot of focus on providing guidance, rather than enforcement. This probably gives a bit of a glimpse of how far venues are likely to be able to bend the rules before someone shuts them down. I suspect it's quite a long way as long as they're being sensible, especially if certain practices become widespread (they'll become un-enforcable).

    Outside of weddings, I suspect venues won't take the risk for just an evening party. I personally think Pubs are in for a shock

    Julian

    [EDIT] Prom for 5th Sept just "confirmed they're going ahead". Bit optimistic.
    http://www.bristoldiscohire.co.uk - Quality Disco and Equipment hire for Bristol & Bath
    Weddings, Birthday Parties, Kids Parties, School Disco's and more
    https://julianburr.co.uk - Wedding, Family, Portrait and Product Photography

  8. #18
    Dinosaur Excalibur's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2006
    Location
    East Yorkshire
    Age
    68
    Posts
    26,833

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by DJ Jules View Post
    [EDIT] Prom for 5th Sept just "confirmed they're going ahead". Bit optimistic.
    And my biggest gig of the year for 18th September just cancelled.
    Excalibur. Older than the average DJ.

    www.excaliburmobiledisco.co.uk

  9. #19

    Join Date
    Feb 2015
    Location
    Reading, Berkshire
    Age
    40
    Posts
    1,439

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by DJ Jules View Post
    I don't think the Leicester thing is as scary as it sounds. They're only delaying re-opening by 2 weeks to give the infection rates more time to drop, not moving backwards to a stricter lockdown (despite the usual sensationalism in the press).
    They have very much gone backwards - non essential shops have had to close again.

    They are pretty close to what was the original lockdown situation, with only essential shops back open.

    And right now, we're well outside 'flu season'.

    If this is the situation in the summer, what does the traditional 'flu season' (winter) have in store for us?

  10. #20
    Imagine's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Ely, Cambridgeshire
    Age
    53
    Posts
    2,450

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by rth_discos View Post
    And right now, we're well outside 'flu season'.

    If this is the situation in the summer, what does the traditional 'flu season' (winter) have in store for us?
    Same thinking as me Gavin, and the reason I'm not looking at anything meaningful work-wise on the disco front until at least next Spring at the earliest.

    Remember, the lockdowns were purely to stop the pressure on the NHS and make sure they had the capacity to treat people if they needed it. Once flu season comes around again and things get a little busier.....

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •