Monday, July 1, 2013

Why the F* does it cost so much?? DJ edition! (Sponsored by Dart DJ)


We didn't hire a DJ for our wedding. We sort of recruited the best man (bad idea) to help with the music, but he was too busy doing best man things (I.E. having fun at the damn wedding) to pay much attention to the music.

Was the party still amazing? 

Yes.

Do I wish I hadn't spent 45 minutes fucking with the iTunes playlist in the middle of the reception? 

Yes.

If I had it to do over again, would I scrape up the money to hire a REAL DJ? 

Yeah, I might.

Here's Jesse from Dart DJ to tell you why the good ones cost so f*@%ing much:

My partner Michael and I started Dart with the goal of shaking up the typically safe (read: boring) world of wedding DJ's with our unique sound and style. We believe that creativity is essential, from the custom gear we use to the personal mixes, edits and playlists we make for our couples.

Much like our friend Beth at Whoa Nelly Catering, as DJ’s we are often asked, "Why the f* does it cost so much?"

Before we get into the nuts and bolts of why hiring a DJ—and specifically a good DJ—is expensive, we should start by saying that talent and reputation will always be the main factor when it comes to DJ pricing. You pay for what you get and if it's important to you that your wedding DJ is talented, engaging and professional, the price point will always be higher. While Dart itself is a relatively new company, both Michael and I have been making people dance for years at events, clubs and festivals around the world. We are always digging through vinyl looking for those timeless tracks that avoid cliche but are universal in their appeal. This process is something we love to do and a key part of what separates us from a DJ who downloads top 40 playlists and rehashes what Ryan Seacrest is playing on KIIS FM that morning. 

With that said, spend five minutes on Craigslist and you will find DJ’s who are way cheaper than us (charging anywhere from $400-$800). AVOID THESE DJ’s. After you see the amount of gear, time and energy that goes into each event we do, I hope you will see why these price points put you at risk of hiring someone flaky and unreliable for your wedding.


Taste

As I noted above, no amount of gear, cabling or time will ever perfectly explain the cost of a DJ (don’t hate us for it). The reality is that music is a crucial part of your wedding and to keep people dancing and keep their interest, we need to always be reading the crowd and making adjustments. People who are charging $400 are simply not doing this for a living. They may be selling life insurance during the week and trying to make a few extra bucks on the weekend—which is totally cool—but when it comes to really knowing your library of music and being able to make quick adjustments in a tasteful and stylish way, we feel that this is where devoting your full time and energy to the craft pays off. A few months ago, I came in contact with a wedding DJ to remain nameless. He told me he plays more or less the same songs at every wedding, explaining that these songs “work” and why mess with a good thing. Maybe you're cool settling for "good" (really, "OK" is probably more accurate), but Michael and I simply don't believe in that kind of platitude. You don't have to trade taste for dancing - you just have to work a little harder to find well produced songs that connect with people in a universal way. And that's what we're all about.


Gear

(Note: This gets really boring really fast, so feel free to skim!) Owning and maintaining top quality gear is not a cheap endeavor. Michael and I obsess over the gear and aesthetics of our company and we think that pays off both musically and visually on your wedding day. Our custom wood console, 900 mixer, technics turntables, mics, subs and brand new JBLs are expensive and would probably be in the $500-$750 range just for you to rent from a rental company on your wedding day. With that said, the truly hidden cost for DJs and gear is the cabling. Reliable cables are REALLY expensive and we need a lot of them! In addition, we need back ups of everything so that if something shorts out on the day we can quickly and seamlessly swap it out. We've thought through little details like that precisely so you never notice them and keep having a great day instead. 




Time and Prep

While rates are often negotiated based on how many hours you need us to actually DJ, the reality is that any wedding is going to take up our entire day and night. A short day will be around 10-12 hours while others, particularly with travel, can stretch to 19 hours (We actually did a 19-hour day last weekend!). While some of that has to do with our attention to detail (we typically set up 2-3 hrs before anyone arrives to make sure everything works perfectly), the reality is that DJing a wedding is much more involved than DJing a club. You can't just plug in your computer, play for two hours, and then leave. Then again, most people are assholes in clubs, slip you $20s to play shit songs you hate and/or spill their Red Bull vodkas on your backpack in the process. So ultimately you can see why we're much more interested in the more exacting, but more rewarding business of making you, your friends and family boogie down. 


DJs are often stereotyped as being lazy, apathetic, overpaid stoner kids. After DJing all over the world and for a long time in Los Angeles, I can tell you that this is pretty true! It’s true because switching between two songs is super easy if that is the height of your ambition for an event. The exceptions to this rule are the DJs who are talented mixers, that love what they do, and who want to push an event to engaging and exciting levels. Inevitably these are the people you want at your event and the ones who will command higher prices. 

A final tip for couples who are on a very tight budget: ask a friend (not a close friend) with solid DJ experience to DJ your wedding either as a favor or at a friend rate. That way you have at least seen the person spin and have an idea of what they will bring to the event. If you do not have a friend or a friend of a friend who is a good DJ, you may have to step up your budget and give us a call! We're pretty nice. 

[Editor's Note: If there is *no room* in your budget for a DJ, no way no how, Dart DJ has some pretty good mixes for the swiping. Don't tell Jesse I told you.]

13 comments:

  1. I was at a wedding the other weekend with THE WORST DJ I've ever had the pleasure of sitting through. He would not, stop talking. Every time there was a good dancing crowd going for 2 songs in a row, he'd decide it was time for a) a slow dance song not a sole in attendance had heard of or b) some structured event (during which he would not stop talking).

    After the "who's been married the longest" song (of which the entire point (other than boredom) is, aww long term partnership) he joked that a murder sentence was shorter than their marriage, so the husband could still "get out"--because domestic violence jokes are always funniest at a wedding! And then in the middle of the last song (which he also talked through the entire time) he accidentally played another song in the middle of it and could not figure out how to turn it off. Also, the man had never heard of a transition in his life.

    All of this is to say: If you can't afford a good dj, you're probably better off using an ipod. At least your ipod won't tell your grandpa to off your nana.

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    1. ah, but when you play the mp3s backward... #paulisdead

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  2. speaking of dj horror stories.. I went to a wedding where the couple had a friend dj and they played DISCO.. ALL NIGHT. ugh. could not read the room..

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  3. While I'm sure hiring a good DJ is totally worth the money if you actually have the money, there is a middle ground between great DJ and iPod. For my wedding, we hired a fairly middle-of-the-road DJ just for his equipment (which was good and well-organized, if not pretty). But we were very specific in our instructions to him, telling him what songs to play and in what order, asking him not to talk but just to make a couple of simple announcements, etc. It worked out perfectly because the dance floor was packed all night, and it was awesome because we liked every single song.

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  4. got to say also... trust your instincts. I had a DJ recommended by my caterer (who I like a lot). But I should have been more clued into the fact that being in a region of the US well known for its cheesy club scene, I needed to screen them more. I was like "oh, they are expensive and recommended, they must be good!" even though their sample DVD and website were super cheesy. They did get the sound right, but they got a lot of timing things off, had bad taste, played lots of stuff not on our list when our list would have been good in those moments, and their cables kept slipping. So money is not everything. Finding people who are good to work with is.

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    1. not that this comment is blatant griping about my own recent wedding or anything!

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  5. we pretty much had the same dj experience as you. it was the only part of the day that was stressful, and you better believe i'd throw down the extra money if i could go back in time.

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  6. I got so lucky with my DJ. I think listening audition tapes for bands and DJ's was the worst part of the wedding experience. It was so hard to find someone who wouldn't say "put your hands together for.." Anyway the day of the wedding we were taking photos in front of the venue and I see a gorgeous group of men. I thought they were my husband's friends, turns out they were the DJ's. Dressed better than some of the guests, professional, pitch perfect music. About $800. In Manhattan. Also had live music. That is a story for another day

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  7. what is the proper etiquette regarding songs the bride and groom like vs what the guests might like? I love all kinds of music (from Elvis, to MJ, indie rock to hip hop) but there are some songs I HATE, but that other people tend to love (and request). Is it ok to 'ban' some songs from being played, even though your guests might like them? Or is it better to play things your guests will love, since the party is about them too?

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    1. We had our DJ up in a loft area above our venue. It was actually her idea--she liked it because she had a clear view of the dance floor and who wasn't dancing, she/we liked it because it discouraged people from asking for requests because she wasn't easily accessible.
      It is also totally okay to ban a small number of songs (i.e. no Chris Brown or other notorious abusers) but you will enjoy your wedding more if there is a banging dance floor, so don't get too strict.

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    2. Jesse couldn't get past the captcha (yikes) but he asked me to post this response:

      Hello Anonymous, I agree with some of the points the other 'Anonymous' made above in terms of keeping your 'no play' list small and effective. I dont think you should ever allow a song you HATE to be played at your wedding. So if you hate Macklemore's 'Thrift Shop' but other people like it, I would say they could listen to it at their own wedding. With that said, it sounds like you like a wide variety of music which should make it easy for a DJ to find songs that speak to you and that your invitees will get down to. In fact, I think you could have a great dance party ONLY playing Elvis and MJ (I may be stealing this idea... :) )

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  8. My husband's father recently remarried and like some elderly uncle was the dj. Basically he showed up with a huge binder of CDs of oldies music and fiddled around with them all night. And I thought it was charming as hell. So cute and we all danced. So whatevs it worked.

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  9. I'm kind of on the fence about DJs. Honestly, I've been to several weddings with awful DJ's! At the most recent one, my best friend got married, and they played nothing but polka and a song about infidelity (which was a slow song that they ended the night with...) Although I don't want to keep one of my friends from joining the party, it seems easier to ask a friend to man the iPod than look for good DJs in my area. Guess I'm a little nervous...

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