i recently recieved this enquiry.

i have removed the venue, but if you got this enquiry what would you do?

i'll give you 24 hours then i tell you what i did......

function_type: Wedding
date: 24th February 2007
start: 7.00pm
finish: 12.00am
number_of_guests: 120
location: A Local Hotel
special_requests: I would like to be able to request all the tracks played
they_founds_us_at: google

Ermmm.... quote them a price?

quote them a price to install sound light and an ipod

If they had given a contact number then I would phone them - if not I would send them a reply asking either for a number of for them to phone me. At this stage I wouldn't give a price because I'm not sure that I would want the job.

Did one like this last weekend, every song, and the order they wanted. They paid me so I work for them, none of this 'I'm a artist, and know my crowd' crap, as long as they pay me I work for them, I do what they want. End of story.

Good call! As long as your being payed, whats the problem? Easy money if you ask me! Just don't forget to take a newspaper or crossword book

I would explain that although it is their function, not everyone would enjoy their taste in music, if for instance the B & G met at a biker convention !!!

Agree with ads .
Alicat - not everone enjoys what a dj plays either !

Then there's a fair chance that a lot of their friends are bikers too, anyway you'd be suprised at some of the music played at Bike Rallies. We don't all only like Heavy Metal.

That coment is a bit off hand, a bit like saying all gays like Village People.

I agree with the first part of the sentance, although they are likely to have a rough idea of their friends & family's music tastes are, it is their party at the end of the day

Easy night if you ask me, the client calls the shots as this is what they are paying for isnt it?

Why not get yourself a laptop and programme there tunes in the order they want them and just let it run.....

I agree with ADS.

Easy night - I have one of these in December where they have specified NO REQUESTS from audience..

It's their night - They get what they want. If no one dances, then they may change their mind if that's what they want to do - if not, it's what they, the hirers and payers want...

And as long as they wake up the next day happy, thats what matters to me.....

i have one on friday and have just received a playlist of over 140 tracks for a 18th, having a look through it its all stuff i have but its not really disco stuff.... might have to put a few of my own in their somewhere........

Don't they??

Easy night Tone... and its only till 12.. By the time the guests have arrived and the buffet is done, you`ll only end up doing 2 hrs at the most. Good idea to load the tracks into a laptop and leave it to it..

Good luck.

Do you do gigs for a wage or to satisfy your artistic flair?

Me, take the money. Pride don't pay the mortgage.

I agree with ADS if they pay their employing me to do a job to thier liking, hence I'll play what they want. In conjunction with the poll, 'As requested', if they supply the playlist and it all bombs, your off the hook, just make sure that everyone knows that all thhe music played was selected by the organisers.

Don't quite agree with the simplicity of letting everyone know that the music choice wasn't yours.
A. It's not that simple
B. People won't believe you (and it's your disco with it's name up in lights (so to speak))


Given a listing beforehand (it'd have to be, really), give it a quick scan. If you're comfortable - no problems, if not then you've two choices:

1. Ignore the request that the list is the 'bible', and adjust accordingly
2. Have a serious, but polite chat with the people concerned, explaining why you believe that their choices are wrong, and make a good case for some changes.

As to point 2, I think most people will realise 'the error of their ways'

Or be offended/unhappy that you are unable to supply the service THEY require and possibly take their business elsewhere and tell all and sundry that XYZ disco's are too far up their own a:cense:e.

Ok a bit extreme maybe but music is a personal choice , that's why there are so many differing genre's now, so perhaps not call their choice "wrong".

I heard a new take on this the other day, sounded like a great idea. Put together a quote for the hire of a PA, including some production time to prepare the music on a sequential playback system. Then on the day, set up the gear, press the play button, go away, come back at the end of the night, collect the gear. That way, you get your usual fee, and none of the blame for when the music played does not satisfy the punters.

You're right, and I probably would use the term unsuitable (at least for a whole shows worth).

And yes, music is a personal choice/opinion, but (by and large) a disco offers (by and large again) certain genres of music for certain situations, whether its 10 hours of Floyd to an acid party, Disney songs to a 6 yo birthday or Hora to a Jewish wedding!

None of the above are mutually exclusive, and who knows, and even (perhaps even: especially) someone off their head would appreciate a touch of the Jungle Books!

There still has to be room for the 'professional judgement' of the DJ, otherwise you might as well hook your IPod up to a small PA and jiggle with the light switch!

It's unwise to generalise if you get this sort of enquiry.

I've done a wedding where all tracks were specified by the B & G, were all soul and house and their guests were all fans of the same type of music. Great night.

I've done a birthday where everything was indie - some the client's choice, some mine. Another great night.

I've done weddings with lists containing more tracks than it was possible to play in the time. In some cases I've cherrypicked and mixed in my own choice and had a good night. In others I've had complaints from the clients and been asked to stick to the list. Lack of flexibility meant not such a good night!

It's only sensible to point out that sticking to a pre-planned list for the evening is not a good idea but he who pays the piper calls the tune so if you want the money....................................

Yep, sounds to me like they want equipment hire, i'd go that route if it was me.

I know plenty of people who really don't like 'discos' but its actually a cheap way of getting sound and lighting, delivered and set up without having to get your hands dirty if the time/situation doesn't allow it.

In those cases they invariably wouldn't want the whole 'name in lights' branding either, they simply want the music they desire.

I don't like the idea of playlists, but if presented in such a non-flexible way as this, I think I'd do the job.

I'd consider editing up the tracks to overlap in a suitable way on the computer, burn to CD-R and play them like albums. Not legal to do this at the moment, but it would allow you to do the 'presentation' of the music, such as it is, at home.

You would have to stay with the gear though, to fend off disgruntled members of the audience and to twiddle knobs if needed.

PC DJing would be a winner here.

so what did i do?

well... firstly no contact number was given, so i emailed saying would like to quote for your wedding but firstly i would like to know if i'm the right dj for you so could you share your ideas for your night.

reply "I just want people to enjoy themselves by having a variety of music but don't want any 70's medley like Carwash etc as played in dodgy nightclubs! I would also like to be able to request some tracks and want people to have a dance...
Can you help?"

ok clients doesn't want to playlist the whole night. I replied asking had she had any bad experiences of djs. she then told me she went to a wedding earlier this year and "the Peter Kay type dj didnt pay any attention to the my friend(the bride) he seemed to just want to drink and play what he liked".

I once again replied with how i could make her night special with her input. It now turns out she only wants about 10 songs specifically.

the reply "You seem to be just what we are looking for and your price is right too! So how do we proceed now."

contract has now been sent.

now the fee......

in my local market every man and his dog is a dj, with djs avaible from £80 and the "professional" rate is £120 to £150 ish.

so how much is the right price????

well the contract has gone out with the agreed fee of just a couple of £ short of £300....

all because i took a little bit of time to find out what the client actually wanted. The work is out there so do a bit of extra work. Thats from an enquiry were i did what most of you did and say full playlist oh no......


so was on a bit of a high, then i got this email from a past customer



Hi Tony,
We just wanted to say a massive thank-you for being the DJ at our Wedding.
You were absolutely brillant and the music was exactly what we asked for. We couldn't have asked for a more professional DJ and you set the mood perfectly so everyone had a fantastic time!
Thanks once again and best of luck for the future.
Best wishes,
Ruth and Adrian

its been a good week so far.

Perfect example.
Ive got 3 bookings on Sunday evening...

1) Rock City (various unsigned bands)... PA hire (im on this job)
2) Disco/ Karaoke night... my collegue is taking this one
3) Engagement party, 5 pages of requested tracks. Am setting gear up, and leaving my cousin there with a case of CD's and my laptop with the requested tracks, listed out on a playlist! Job done!

That is excately what I did a couple of Saturday's ago, they provided the music, I pumped it into the laptop, set it up, and disappeared to the hotel reception with another laptop and WiFi, surfed the new all night, whilst doing some paperwork, went back into the room at 12 and packed up. Everybody thanked me for doing a great job. !

Perfect representation of fullfilling the job you were asked to do, and the client being pleased with it.

If you pay a builder to lay your patio, in a certain way, you don't expect them to change how you want it, just because they think it looks better. Your not paying them for their personal opinion. Your paying them to do the job you asked them to do!

Lazy git!

Well done on how you handled the situation.

I always when faced with this type of thing just say i will happily play what they want as they are paying me. but i would not be able to Guarantee the guest will dance. this normally make the list less rigid and normally let me take a bit more control over the music.

but again well done. you delt with it well!

I've had 3 pages of songs for a 40th in Dec with hi-lighted must plays on about a 1/3.
I went thru the lists & spotted some cracking tracks I'd forgotten I had & some really
cool tunes from 70s/80s. I like playlists as it gives you the idea of how the punter wants
the evening to go & you can build on that. My best nights have always been ones with
playlists.

p.s. Is it just me, or does everyone find it difficult to start a non-specific type night? : :