A minimum standard or a voleentaire (sp) code of conduct that ALL mobile discos should adhere too?????

Your comments please

Yes there should!. Although:-

(1) How would you propose to"police" this?

(2) Everybody's (D.J's) opinions on the level of professionalism and guidelines set down on there would differ!. For instance somebody may say that one set guidelines are too strict, others may say not strict enough!. How would you find a happy medium??, since it would not be possible, to poll every D.J in the country and ask for their input, then it would not be fair to expect them to be forced to subscribe to something that they hadn't had the opportunity to comment on!.

I think, at best, you have the opportunity to introduce a voluntary code of practice. But in theory aren't you already doing that with membership to the TVDJA?.

Yep, Nobody said it would be easy.
It would have to be simple things, such as PAT & PLI. General appearance at family functions, not wearing trainers, tee shirts etc., and before you comment, Iam not into uniforms, but one of the biggest complaints from clients is Dress Code, followed by Hangers on, Volume, Smoke, Not useing the Microphone, and that old chestnut, not playing the right music, and not taking / playing requests etc etc etc.
You get the rough idea.
Did you see the watchdog programme a couple of years ago on discos, after that I'm surprised that people still book discos, it was rather scathing.
The quick fix would be for everybody to raise the standards in the public eye. But at the end of the day, things will probably be the same in 5, 10 or 15 years fom now. I am just a voice in the wilderness.

Further to the above and previous replies on suggestions...

Raising the profile......interesting.

PAT....PLI.......Breakdown cover......back-up system......minimum arrival time.......report on arrival......no girlfriends......no alcohol......suitable dresscode......minimum library of 10K songs....must have a mobile......references......ID......

Most professional DJ's and semi's already have all this - what's the problem in someone standing up and saying (biblical stuff here)

"Follow me, and we can all be rewarded!"

You can't teach a DJ how to DJ like yourself - it's an individual thing really, but the basic requirements could be like, say, in relation to a building trade, minimal requirements.

Must have this, must have that, suggest do like this.

Who is going to be brave and start a following?

absolutly DD, What I was suggesting is a "guide line", Nobody can DJ like me, several have tried and failed, it's personal thing. It's like drawing a line in the sand, this side you are classified (in the publics eye) as professional and competant, on the other side, well, you be the judge

I would love to see a minimum standard or a voluntary code of conduct, however the unfortunate part is that we can't force anything on anybody we can only guide DJ's in the right direction and hope that it works.

I'm all in favour of a proposed 'code of conduct' for mobile dj's, it would be hard to administer but perhaps this is an opportunity for someone.
A body like the TVDJA, welll respected with the manufacturers and other organisations, could go national.
I'm certain the reputable dj's/kj's here would support a venture like this, it could only lead to more business for us all.
It would need to get the major players in the hiring business, the hotel chains and the agencies signed up to accepting that the members of this organisation conform to certain standards.
I'm certain I could go on - is a pipedream, not really but a damm lot of hard work to put into practice.

Agreed, and for the majority it's not an issue. However we need more Links for the "Newbies" and those who may be interested in going 100% legit!. For instance i've just renewed my RAC cover @ £145 not knowing that the TVDJA had an offer on, if i'd have known this they would have had another member just based on the offer they were running :)



Absolutely!, - The links section is towards the bottom of the Forum, by the way ;)



No you can't, and no matter what the "code", it is important that everybody retains his or her individuality. Interesting to see how many cowboys are still in the building trade 'tho, their code has helped but not eliminated the problem on any grand scale.



Pass the buck to Mikeee - I like your style!. I believe that the TVDJA do accept members from outside of the actual Thames Valley Area :) so in certain respects they already accept nationals!

Yep, getting enquires from all over the UK.
At the moment the TVDJA is very geared around the monthly meetings, and this situation needs to be addressed and quickly, as new members from outside the area will find it almost impossible to get to them. I'm sure Mrs Chrissy, would be more than slightly upset if you said that you where coming all the way down to Reading for a 2 / 3 hour meeting.

QUOTE

I'm sure Mrs Chrissy, would be more than slightly upset if you said that you where coming all the way down to Reading for a 2 / 3 hour meeting.

"Mrs Chrissy" hasn't got her feet under the table yet, so there is still time...although maybe not much - Mikeee what do you charge for a Wedding these days! LOL

Would be better for us Notherners and may increase membership if you could move the odd meeting slightly north - maybe into the Midlands? - I used to be with the CADJ years ago, but don't even know if they still exist - their website hasn't updated for years!, and travelling to Birmingham (at least for me) isn't that big of a deal. Maybe you could look at somebody to run a Nothern arm of the TVDJA.

And NO - i've got far too much to do, not had a night off in months

Ah. Cadj, i've been approached by three Ex Cadj members looking to join us, it has also been put to me to contact all the other ex cadj members - i'm working on that one.

I still speak to Barry and Roger on the odd occasion.

Weddings - on four hours I charge in the region of £350, sometimes a little less sometimes a lit more, it really depends on the clients requirements. I think the average accross Surrey, Hants, Berks pans out at £275 / £295. The 21st century version of Dave Double Decks (without the mic) pan out at £225ish.

.... set your own standards...... high standards always ensure repeat bookings, recommendations and get you the sort of bookings you want at the sort of venues you like working in

u set an international standard, the DJs in the world would be in chaos....it would turn even more into a mainstream thing, like how skateboarding was for those with style and talent, but now is for anyone to follow Tony Hawk...Better to have a unique style then a copied one...

QUOTE (discodirect @ Apr 24 2003, 01:13 AM)

PAT....PLI.......Breakdown cover......back-up system......minimum arrival time.......report on arrival......no girlfriends......no alcohol......suitable dresscode......minimum library of 10K songs....must have a mobile......references......ID......

Its fine saying all of this but if you actually think about it with theses rules there would be a shortage of dj's.

Dj's dont start off with 10k of songs. When starting out they dont tend to have oodles of money.

And looking at the rest money comes to mind starting djs have a shortage of money and so if they need to follow this they will have to be millionares to start.

You partly right, there wouldn't be a shortage, the professionals would get more work, and the guys that don't give a **** and only want to take the money would (hopefully) disappear.

A business starting up has to have a certain amount of capital, for equipment, advertising etc, if they didn't they would be bust inside a year.

Oh, i booked the disco 6 months ago, now I've been told he's gone out of business, so, why am i not surprised.

....it does not cost a fortunate to pat your equipment - if you have a mate with a meter and you are a "competent" person (which is the standard set by health and safety in order to carry out PATs) you can do it yourself - as long as you know how to wire a plug you should be competent enough! I used to pay £4 per item when it came out but very quickly realised what was actually involved in this testing - knew even I, a mere girly, could test my own stuff, record the results on a form and get one of those lovely green and white stickers, date it and plonk it on after testing. Voila!

QUOTE

Oh, i booked the disco 6 months ago, now I've been told he's gone out of business, so, why am i not surprised.

Actually most business advisors would tell you that it wouldn't be unusual for any new business NOT to show a profit for at least the first 12 months - certainly I found that.

This is one of the reasons why most people start up a new business along with their full time employment, in order to gauge the interest before going into it full time - certainly this is a good idea because if it does all come crashing down around you, at least you are still earning a living.

My advice - Get advice, Work out your budget & living expenses and then set yourself a target and business plan for the next 12 months. If you have equaled or bettered your plan after that period and you are still in business, then and only then is the time to consider going into it full time.

Once again I feel this is an Old chestnut, but surely if your good enough you won't have to worry because people will want to book you.

I have when working at gig worn every style of clothes, and yes I have worn Jeans & T Shirts. It depend on the function.

on to mic technique I always talk to the client to find out what style of DJ they want, a chatty one or someone who is going to play the music and keep quiet, just as many punters complain about DJ's talking too much as they do about DJ's not talking.

and also the same about music.

at the end of the day there are 100's of differant styles of DJ's for 100's of differant styles of party.

A good example is when I worked at Buckingham Palace, I turned up thinking it would be bow ties & dinner jackets, but NO, they asked me specifically not to wear them, I asked them what they'd prefer as I always take 3 styles of dress, formal, smart & smart casual, I wore jeans & a shirt. I have now done 15 bookings there.

An agent initially woul flip his lid if their DJ dressed that way at such a prestigious venue.

Also its strangely a cash gig

The Millenium with the Daily Express
At the NEC
Now Buckingham Palace

You old name dropper Ian. NO Chris not RESENTFUL just plain JEALOUS as *&*£

I don't worry, I'm alright.
It's the rest, the up-and-coming, professional to be, that due to inexperience are being dragged down, and quiting before there time

QUOTE (DJTREV @ May 1 2003, 09:40 PM)

The Millenium with the Daily Express At the NEC Now Buckingham Palace You old name dropper Ian. NO Chris not RESENTFUL just plain JEALOUS as *&*£

NEC & Buck house were me, Millenium no.

Millenium was me LOL and outside under their open sided dome thingy by Blackfriars Bridge it was chuffing cold at New Year!!!!