This is nice and simple, but not designed to be a free for all "I'm charging more than you, therefore I must be better than you debate". Looking at the ongoing poll regarding fee's it seems that the majority of members are charging within the £100 - £150 scale, which has it happens also fits in with the 4 counties which I currently cover!.

However, with more than several members charging well over £200 per night, and hence this poll.

Do you believe in a one national fee scale which everybody (d.J) would subscribe to, in order to prevent undercutting, and give the customer a better deal, and the D.J a fair fee for a fair service!.

This way we wouldn't have two professional D.J's wanting to charge £200 in one area, but go out of business because two 16 year olds are charging £30 a night!!.

So the Poll.....would you support a national based subscribed fee structure?. No trick question, and just a yes / no answer!

I'm sure you know which one I voted for
I dont have nuffin to add Mr Mo said it all wait till Mikee see's this!

Hmm twelve votes and only the original post, and two replies (well, 3 now, with this one).

I voted no.

Aside from the logistics of non-national fee structure supporting DJ's, nipping in and ignoring all the rules by undercutting, theres the practicalities.

Its the variables that make it awkward...for example: Heres a quick list (and by no means complete) of things which I would consider to be "fee-adjusting" scenarios.

*) Length of gig (more than 6 hours)
*) End time (4am???? = +++£££)
*) Large venue (I'm gonna have to hire more speakers)
*) Large venue/awkward access (I'm gonna have to hire more roadies)
*) Distance from me(fuel+time+maybe reserve driver)
*) Outdoor(Generator???, Tent???)
*) Customer special requests... (You want HOW MANY radio mics running simultaneously..?? ? ? )

Now, if all of the above were simply a case of £10 each, for any which applied, then YES the pricing structure might just be simple enough for the average punter to understand, without being so confused that they just end up running off to hide behind the nearest rose bush.

And what about the basic price...for say...1 x DJ for 6 hours, with a basic light show, a medium lightshow, or a super duper lightshow... Also, whats considered a basic lightshow in some parts of the UK, might be considered a medium lightshow in other localities...(EG: Add up the number of Radio Shack stickers...)

I wonder what rating the Brides own choice of DJ who the waitresses at one of my regular hotels were telling me about would have got. He was using a laptop, an amp, two small speakers and 3 floor mounted moonflowers (which stayed on all night). Wait for it...the PC program that he was running...Plain old Windows Media player...he talked over the gaps between songs... these are the sorts of "DJ's" (cough) who must load up (half) their car boots with their gear at the end of a night, and then switch on their "TAXI" sign...

Difficult one this one!

I agree with comments already said...!

But look at it another way!

How many enquiries have you had over the years where the 'punter' is ALARMED when you give a quote!

My brother hired a DJ on Saturday (I and my friends was already booked) for my nephews 21st, the fee quoted was £ 130.00.

I said I would 'pop' in to say hello before and after my gig. Well, I did, and I was quite impressed with the 'set-up' - 2 x EVs, Light screens, 4 scanners on 4 light stands dotted around the garden.
4 upright 'flame fx' dotted......1 large flame fx, UV Cannon above the Screens and the old rope light!!!!
I asked how it went music wise - fine I was told. Good Dj and played what the young crowd wanted!!!!
At night, outdoors and under a Full Moon - it actually looked quite good!
But even MY BROTHER, who I might add is a little out of touch I thinks, had quotes for £320+ for a 4.5 hour gig in Bexley, Kent!
I did ask if the DJ had public liability - unsure. Was he independant? Full time? No, AGENCY DJ covering Kent, SE London and Surrey.
Was my brother told who he would get - no. How much was the deposit then?
£ 50.00.
So the DJ probably earnt a basic £80.00 without tips. The luck of the draw, eh?

What I would like to see is an acreditation that DJ's can aquire to prove competance, experience and professionalism!!!!!
(it ain't gonna 'appen!!!!!!!!!!!)

By the way, what is the going rate?!!!
If we presume a building trade 'rate' varies from as low as £50+ per day, what would the 'national' rate start from???!

Voted NO, only because 'You're having a laugh' wasn't an option.
PAT testing in London is going to cost more than PAT in Torquay so London DJ's have bigger overheads to start with, also if some DJ's knew they were going to get £x per night why bothered to buy new gear, I could (but wouldn't) turn up with an Argos home mix set at £99 and get paid the same as the guy in the next room who has the latest Denon CD players (although I think you may need only one CD player as you can mix with two CD's and only one Denon CD 5000NX I think Gary may have mentioned it )and all the latest lighting effects. Although if you did go down the first route most of us here would have enough kit to do three gigs per night...................

Cassettes don't jump.

I voted no, Eskie covered most of the points.

why should some guy who has just started out get paid the same as someone who has 20 years experiance.

secondly it would be illegal, as it would, I'm sure constitute a restraint of trade.

Danny, if you book a DJ through an agency & the DJ has no public liability insurance, then the agencies insurance will cover any problems as a "master servant" relationship exists between the DJ and the Agency

Agree with the London boys in that they are able to charge higher rates because of the populus and location , however would question some comments regarding the cost of living. Yes property is high and so is parking in central London, but it is also high in Manchester and most of the other major city centres in the UK. We have plent yof open space here in Norfolk but you still have to pay to use the car park! Also these wonderful things call supermarkets are spread all over the country and the price of bread in Norwich is the same as the London boroughs. We have a lot of ex-Londoners who live in our fair part of the world and most of them complain that the cost of living is higher here than in the 'smoke'. I'm not disagreeing that you can and should charge what is the going rate but I'm afraid the cost of living argument doesn't wear with me.

I'll go and have a lie down now ....

BTW:- Macclesfield in Cheshire is stated at having the biggest rise in the cost of property within the UK. Macclesfield is only 7 miles from me .


So far, the votes have panned out exactly how I expected them to but I'm also going to run a poll to see how many D.J's actually run a roadshow as their main (Full Time) source of income.

My point, was that the differences between the North and South prices for D.J's are huge. We are not talking a few £££'s here but in some cases £100's!, for a nights work. Should this happen in an industry with a union, then there would be uproar amongst it's membership - another thought to ponder should any form of DJ's Union see the light of day.

It's a common topic here that people are fed up with the cowboys coming along and charging £30 for a nights work, by suggesting a subscribed, standardised price across the board, this would somewhat eliminate this element since undercharging is the only way in which the cowboys actually get the work!. If we all charged the same (or similar) then it would be down to the D.J to actually win the work on merit and experience rather than price!. Most clients are willing to "risk" a D.J purely on the fact that he may be some £70 cheaper than the next guy (or gal), in a similar way to which you shop around for car servicing or a plumber .

Over the weekend, I've actually taken the step of ringing around a few D.J's in a 50 mile radius of Congleton. The Booking was for a 21st Birthday on a Saturday Night 7.30pm - 12.00. The prices varied from £45 - £190!. Now for a client this is a big variation, and temptation to go with the £45 quote. I don't know the Guy, so I can't comment, but I would assume that at £45 a gig he's not running 100% legit!.

Now, had every quote been within £140 - £150 then the £45 quote should have sounded alarm bells to any potential client! as in " I wonder why he is that much cheaper?". However at the moment with several D.J's charging £60 and £80 for instance then the variation between the cheapest £45 quote and £60 or even £80 is not that big.

Had every D.J have quoted me £140, then (as a client) I may have taken the time to question them in more detail and been more selective in choosing a D.J, rather than purely going for THE cheapest without bothering to ask any further questions!. Also interestingly, the 2 fictitious dates I gave for my enquiry in 2004 were both already fully booked with the £45 guy - proving that people must be booking him well in advance.

One bedroom very small cottage in our village is for sale at £160,000, most houses are £250,000 plus, upto £1,500,000 (not mine though!) so the cost of living HAS to be greater in different parts of the country, to buy a house here means about £1,000 per month mortgage, Council tax is higher (£120 per month I pay)
BUT the average cost of a disco is only £100- £120 so work that out. I have to put up with high price of living whilst charging low prices. No wonder I have no hair.

House Prices:- 5 Years ago a 3 Bedroom Semi-Detached house locally was £44,000 they are now going for £130,000+ Maybe not as big a jump as in the South but not a bad investment for anybody who buys and sells property for a living!.

You could turn the house price factor around and argue that if the mortgage is cheaper then they have more disposable income to spend on their disco. House prices here (NI) are some of the cheapest in the UK, although we are catching up, and yet the average cost of a quality disco is £250-£300 with some charging £500+. Of course like everywhere else there are those who will go out for £80 a night but they operate for a different market ie for people who just want a cheap disco & don't give a damn what it looks/sounds like.

In response to prior comments, I agree fully with Chris's comments on the difference in the North/South divide although, it may be more appropriate for the South to read the Home Counties and London.

I reiterate my comments with regards to the fact that it is to your credit that the London based dj's are able to get favourable prices for their work, I only wished we all could.

The easy answer to hike our prices up just would not work. People may be able to afford to pay the higher rate, the fact of the matter is quite simply that they will not pay.

A problem with those of us outside the HC & L area is that wages are considerably lower for our customers, therefore they will in many cases look to save on a functions cost by hiring a cheaper disco, or one at which they are happy to pay the rate quoted.

With regards to Eskies comments on 'house prices' the 2 bedroom Town House in and around Norwich is going for £110K - £130K, the average starting wage for an adult at Norwich Union Insurance £15K.

I know it's not the straight yes or no answers CP was lookin for - but what a good platform for an information share:

In the area I live (Between Chelmsford, Colchester, Danbury and Braintree, Essex) a typical ex-local authority 3 bed semi will set you back between £110k and £130k - depending on the improvements.

A cheap loaf of bread starts as low as 0.15p - to around 0.84p
Diesel is currently between 0.76p - 0.78p (but has been up to 0.84p per ltr)
The local BP garage do an Indian meal for 2 from £ 5.99p, where as Tesco charge £ 7.99p for similar. Now that's weird!!

McDonalds, Newspapers and the TV license might be the same Nationally - but back on the mentioned subject of fuel (diesel) I am sick to death of the different prices from area to area.

I thought that London would be expensive for fuel - well, on the A12, A127 and A13 London Bound corridors - diesel can range 3p - 4p cheaper than my local garages. I'm all for a national price on that to start with!!!!!

What makes us unique in performance factors and entertainment value is our uniqueness - and first and foremost, I think, we should all be proud of whatever we charge.
I charge what I feel reflects my ability, experience, and, what I need to cover costs, as well as trying to be competitive.
The public don't always understand what goes into DJ'ing - the storage of gear, the maintenance, the loading and unloading, the travelling, the setting up, the performance and the disassembly, the packing down, the peoples skills and customer relations........on and on and on!

We have to wear many hats in whatever we do.....mine is the Mad Hatters

Would said wait till mikeee see's this...........

OK I've only scan read the posts. I can tell you there is almost a "National" average fee now, having spoken to a lot of DJ's from all over the UK at PLASA, I can safely say the average is.......£250....... Liverpool, Grimsby, Brighton, Wales, west country etc.

And talking of Averages....

Of the people spoken too.....

Years running a disco 7.25

Age of DJ 28

Fee for 4 hours £250

Years in the Biz 6.5 from start to finish

About 35% of DJ's had run a disco before and had now restarted.

Not bad for 4 days work, sorry 3.5 days, I lost half a day following Paula around PLASA

On the house front, a report on Radio 4 the other week said that prices in the "north" will be within £20K of the "south" in a couple of years. A lot of people in Exec jobs in London now travel in daily from "Up North".

The only person haveing probs with house prices is ME. We want to move from a 30's semi to a detached, pref with double garage. The cheapest means I have to take out £150K mortgage, Do i really need this, do I have a choice, and will the moon turn blue on Thursday...........

Spin & Mike

I'm in a similar position, I have lived in my present house for 8 years now, and Sharon & I felt it was time we moved onwards & Upwards.

We live in a 4 bed semi in a fairy quiet part of town, the house is valued between £200-210k, we fancied either a 4/5 bed detached with double garage, or a 3 bed with some land, we would have had to increase our mortgage by £100k to do so, although like Mike it is affordable, do I need the agravation & stress of the added expence.

answer no, we stayed put

Just a couple of points on what has been said so far

Spin,

Thank you for mentioning Norfolk as a place to buy, you'd be most welcome here.
Regretfully you'd have to make a 200 mile round journey to the gigs to get your current rates.

Mikee,

I'm really amazed at a £250 average nationally. How many people were in the survey ? I know that the concensus of opinion is that not many people do respond to surveys, perhaps we could run one on this forum and really ask those mobile djs to state what there going rate is.. that just said I think I will do it .

Finally folks once you leave the bright lights of London you will not want to go back, which is why so many of your fellow 'southerners' move here for their retirment years.

Spinko

Just a point to add more fuel (hee hee ha ha)......

For the DJ's that have a set price, fixed price structure, do any of you get enquiries from area's around your location / cover area that YOU KNOW would either be TOO HIGH to be accepted?

In other words, a district or part of 'town' that the 'client' would not be able to afford your fee because it simply falls into a 'demographic' pot hole?

Local authorities are well known for 'keeping together' a certain, shall I dare call it, 'class' of people? Or an area that is simply boardering a slightly 'better-off' district?

I'm not in any way patronising or demeaning these 'people', but speaking from experience, I know that as soon as the client starts to give details of their location or the venue location (if I've worked there in the past) as soon as I mention the fee, the answer is usually "no sorry, that's too high!"

Now take an area like Lakenheath that is in Suffolk on the Norfolk borders, approx 15 - 20 miles from Cambridge.
The 'going rate' for a mobile Disco is between £130 - £175.
Mildenhall (about 5-7 miles away) is approx £100 - £150.
Ely, around 10-15 miles from Lakenheath, is £150+.

Hern Bay, Kent, the approximate fee for a Disco is around £175+ for a Wedding.
9 miles away, Canterbury is around £200+, Rochester (about 30 odd miles) is around £150+.

Now include the 'undercutters', the 'agencies', the 'semi-pros' and 'pros'......what an interesting combination to take into consideration when being competitive!!!!!!

Would Fatboy Slim or Moyles have to do the gig for the same price as a 14 year old doing his first gig ?

I've heard Karen is very big in the peaks.

Speaking as an "ex-londoner" I moved to the new forest last year and bought a far bigger house for a lot less money. When I moved I researched the area as to what other djs were charging, and the average fee is well below what I charge for outer london gigs. Why? I still pay the same price down here for a loaf of bread, I still pay the same for petrol, cds etc etc etc - so whilst the cost of an average home is less, the cost of living down here is totally comparable with london living.
A national set fee is a highly debatable matter - Some people are happy to do their weekly shop at Kwiksave and others still prefer to shop at waitrose - the price difference is huge! Its not what the DJ is prepared to charge - it is what the customer is prepared to pay! I think most outer london djs set their charges on what everyone else is charging, so the simple answer would be for them all to talk to each other, agree on a new pricing system and provided that nobody decided to undercut one another, then they could be charging in-line with what many london djs are charging - £100 is a big difference when phoning round for djs - but if we all decided to quote the same then the customer WOULD pay the fee! There has never been a hard and fast "law" as to what or what not should be charged, so the provincial djs only have themselves to blame! Sounds like a great opportunity for any forum members to recruit new members and get things sorted!

Hmmmm thought it was quiet................... but then she's back!!!!!!!

sorry i missed you at PLASA dear X

spin

sorry I missed you too sin... hope mrs sin is well

I got to meet Karen....abeit only for 5 mins


But never mind the Doctor says the counselling should work after a few months!

It was the best 5 minutes of the weekend though

Aaaaaah!! By the way, with Andy getting big fees now he can buy ALL the rounds at plasa next year!!

The first point I thought I'd make is that whenever a topic comes up regarding charges the viewing figures increase considerably showing it is a subject we all like to read/talk about. This reminds me of a gig I did last year where I went to introduce myself to another DJ also gigging at the same venue. After the customary hand shake his first words were 'How much are you charging?' - Yes I'm fine thanks!

DJ Spinko suggests runing a poll on charges - well Chris did one a few months back and if I knew how to do it you'd have a 'click here' but instead you'll have to use the search facilty until another helpfull member fills in the blank for me.

Now back to the fee structure question - I voted 'No' because it would just not be feasible. Look at any other service business and there are variations in price. Let's take hotel accomodation as an example. First you have your B&Bs up to 5 Star hotels. The cost of a comparable room varies from area to area and of course the 5 Star hotel charges about 4- 8 times the cost of a B&B. The point is that the 2 extremes and all in between are catering for different markets and clientelle. Personnally I don't think that the top hotels worry too much about the price of B&Bs but look closer at their own comparable competition.

Well it's also the same for discos - identify your market niche and price to suit, taking into account experience, equipment and competition in your particular niche area plus making a return on your investment and a decent profit. If you want more bookings & your niche area is saturated then you could also consider moving up or down the ladder with a price structure to suit (I could start 3 & 4 Star Discos )

To conclude I don't consider the newbie charging £50 - £80 a night as a threat to my business but give him/her a few years and if he's still around and 'wised-up' then yes he might be. I think the problem is in customer education so that they know what they're getting for their money but that's another subject.......

Found this, I think it was CP's SECOND Ever post !!

Chris_Pointon Posted on: Jan 21 2003, 07:35 PM

Replies: 4
Views: 204 Hi Paul, welcome to Mobile D.J Chat . Firstly prices for Disco's vary just like everything else, Property, Taxi fares, even the good old pint . A lot depends on your actual area, although from talking to other D.J's there does seem to be the old "North / South" Divide. Mainly the price that D.J's charge appears to be more expensive in the South, than say in Scotland or the North East.

Don't quote me on this - But I do have colleagues in the Essex Area who charge £250 a night, then again I know of D.J's in the Lake District who charge only £80 a night. I believe that you could also expect to pay around £300+ a night for an Established D.J in London - Maybe even more.

Other factors to take into account are your local area. Are you close to a large town or City Centre?, since demand (and prices) in a larger populated area for D.J's on a Friday or Saturday is likely to be higher in an Urban area than in a rural area. Then again if you are the only D.J for 30 Miles then you could possibly charge £££'s for those young farmers Gigs!.

Of course, whatever you decide to charge also depends on your ability as a D.J, the type of show that you are offering and whether you also offer Karaoke or not?. Other things to factor in, are the type of function that you have to do, how long it will take you to travel there, How long it will take you to set up and pack away (i.e do you have to lug your gear up 3 flights of stairs!!). The length of the function, and if you are in the middle of a city centre - your car / van parking fees

A good way to find out what is being charged locally is to enquire as a potential customer to one of your established competitors!!! (This is done in any business so don't feel too guilty! ). Call a few of them asking for a price on a wedding, 21st etc for say 8pm - 12. take all of the prices and find the average price.

I advise all people starting up from scratch to charge slightly below that charged by your lowest priced competitor. But don't undersell yourself either since your customer will be suspicious if you are £50 below everybody else!!!. Fix a fair price for your area, and offer a fair and reliable service and your bookings should roll in.

It is always a good idea to offer potential "Regular" customers - such as your local Pub, Hotel, Function room etc a good discount on frequent work or block bookings - as much as 25% lower than your standard price if the work is weekly or if they are loyal and pass business to your roadshow only. Pub work - i.e 7 - 11 is always the more competitive area of D.J'ing and you may have to go in with a very low quote to compete. Although an advantage of this work is that it's open to the public (getting more bookings from punters for Weddings etc) and often booked during the week - which still frees up your Friday / Saturdays for your more lucrative Function room bookings!. Decide if taking Pub work locally is worth it - but don't run it at a loss!.

If you choose agency work then the agent usually sets the price then pays you - less his 10 - 25% commission. If you do choose agency work then ask around first for a reputable one!. Many are set up as fly by night operations which get the D.J to do all of the work then disappear with all of the fee . I stopped taking this work because of too many cowboys, but decide for yourself and ALWAYS make sure you get a written contract even if it's only for one booking!!.

Some good tips on finding regular contract work are by approaching:- Football / Cricket Clubs, Council Run Town / Village Halls, Leisure Centres, Hotels with function suites, Conference Centres, Universities, Organisations (Drama Groups, Young Farmers, Student Union, Working Mens clubs etc). Remember to offer these a discount on regular bookings since many hotels etc will charge a fee for the hire of the room plus a fee for the disco and if you offer a discount to them then they are likely to maximise THEIR profit just for booking YOU.

So the easiest way to find out prices is to contact a few local competitors (Yellow pages is useful ) .

If you need any more advice then please post your questions. Good Luck with your venture.

BTW: £300 would be around average for my area on New Years Eve (Cheshire Area). A lot would also depend on how late the booking is made , I often get calls on 30th December for People who have left booking a D.J too late or have been let down by other D.J's and are in a panic, you could be justified in charging over the odds for this service, but it is personal choice!. maybe other D.J's could post their policy and charges for New Years Eve?.

Chris

Somethings never change, discussions on money being one of them !!

maybe i am being a bit naive here...and i do understand what is being said here...and i would not be the one who would be charging £50 for a night, as I too need to start making a living out of this (or at least re-couping the dosh I have forked out on my, at the moment, rather modest equipment) but surely if someone feels he/she can charged a meagre amount, then that is up to them.

Class will normally shine through in the end,and if these guys who are undercutting in such a way,I would say it would be them in the end who would suffer (in that they need to work three times as hard to make the same money)

I understand that its a pain (and more) for those who are in the business, but customers will always see that as healthy competition.

As I say, I new to this game, and maybe I am being rather naive

i dont think this would work
there are to many cowboys undercutting everyone else
i go out for about 100 to 150 a night depening where it is
sometimes its higher if i have to travel further

Nice to see some of the old threads getting ressurected, however as stated before in this business you are only worth what somebody is willing to pay!!

Yes there is a massive difference between north and south but that is the way things are. Am I going to charge less than £300 for a Sat wedding through this year........ NO WAY because that (and more) is what the customer is willing to pay!!

Spin

I voted no too. I see the logic behind a "National" fee structure but I can't see it working; simple supply & demand economics and human nature means for a variety of reasons, they'll always be someone who's able to go out for a pittance per night.

I go to reasonably great lengths to try to explain to punters that generally you get what you pay for in the entertainment industry but it's not always the case; I used to know a chap who was a single guy in his 50's who would work for next to nothing as he just liked the company when doing a disco ! He was a very professional and experienced DJ but would undercut almost everyone else !

I just think I'm onto a winner if people just stop and listen to an explanation of why my fees may be higher than others...........

Regards to all

Ian Stuart

I think the way it should be going is a National Minimum wage, Um, sounds familiar.

If you sit down and work out what it really costs to run a disco - Equipment, CD's, Advertising, Vehicle, Telephone, replacement lamps, Printing etc, etc, etc. Of course there are those that have a death wish with the Inland Revenue. And those who earn so much from their "day job" that they don't notice £5K disappearing from there bank accounts.

There is no easy answer to this - unfortunatly.

Regarding the national minimum wage; a comedian the other day made a gag about how parking meters in Soho in London cost about £1 for every 10 minutes, so anyone working in a burger bar such as McDonalds looking out of the window will see traffic meters earning more money per hour than they do

I know...why dont we just tell people that the disco will cost them the current market value of their house, divided by 1000.

hahaha..coz living in Keighley i would get bugger all

I dont think a national pay structure would ever work.... would all djs no matter how good or bad they are get the same fee?

Mikeee mentioned a National minimum wage... would it be per hour, or per gig!

Hi Kass & Dan, If you set it at "£50" per hour thats "£200" for the average 4hr gig, then the better you are or have more to offer the price goes up accordingly.

who would decided on who is how good? I like the idea but I really dont see it working. What criteria would there be? How many cds a dj has, how much equipment, ability on the mic... how many booking completed the previous year? It would be everso hard,