Hi im just doing this poll because of a couple of gigs latally mucking me arount with payment, i always get paid in the end, im thinking you will all say before a gig which is what i am going to try to do from now on after some great advivce from kazz. also have any of you had no payers and what have you done about it!

I always get paid at the end, but saying that, all (well 99%) of my gigs are regular weekly ones.

A bit of both really, (well it was)
Any new ones payment before hand, the regulars that you see week in week out at the end and the only time I get paid the day after is for the caravan park but I'm usually on site anyway on the ocassions I've left straight after then I receive the money at some time during the night.

I wouldnt tolerate non payers at all!
I'd be going home with something or they'd be going home with out something

Hi
Mostly with private clients we take an up front non returnable deposit and advance balance payment 14 days prior to the gig or cash/bankers order at the start of the gig.
Most of my private clients are at hotels weddings etc and they prefer to pay in advance anyway to save messing with loads of cah on the night and they expect this as most hotels adopt this system.
If we are doing corporate gigs for hotels themselves or companies usually invoice them and they settle in 30 days
Those that try to extend the 30 days are not given the option a second time. Some try for 90 days which can mean work at Christmas get paid at Easter
We tell those to Off and go elsewhere in short jerks...
Regular trusted private clients are sometimes cash on the night on arrival., .
The danger with this is I have known a couple of my gigs where my fees get put over the bar for the organisers drinks and they then try to get me to invoice them.
A well know firm of accountants caught me on this one night and it took me 6 weeks to get my fees.

my regular hotel work pay me within 7 days. if i'm doing a private booking i'll take a deposit in advance but i have found that in Blackpool and surrounding area i get paid at the end of the night, however if i'm working East Lancashire/Yorkshire they tend to pay as i'm setting up.

It varies for me also..

I like to get paid at the start of the night... Infact it says so in my t &c's.. Most people dont though and pay at the end of the night...

I REALLY hate the gigs where you have to ask for the money When they make you feel like an inconvenience, even though you have entertained them all night... the ers...

I do a regular hotel gig as well who I get paid for at the next gig... So if I do one this weekend, I get the cheque next time I am there... Not all bad apart from did one wednesday and aint back until the 15th Nov... Bugger

Mainly at the end of the night


but we are gonna start putting on our sheets, to pay at the beginning, cos, like someone said, its horrible having to actually ask them whose paying.

We did an 18th once, and they nearly left without paying, we asked and they were like er...."whose paying for the DJ" and it was all confusing, and we almost didnt get paid, but luckily we did, otherwise we'd of sued.lol

At present always at the end and never had a problem. But listening to some ogf your comments I may start asking for it at the start of the night 'cos why wait untill I do have a problem

I reach a compromise with my clients, and get paid at the start of the Evening, but AFTER the gear has been set up, since it would take me around 45 minutes to "do a runner" after being paid, and I think somebody might notice if I tried it

I insist on this, and it is enforced in my T&C's of booking, regardless of the gear already being set up, no fee, then no music. After all it is far easier for them to do a disappearing act without paying, than for me to disappear without working!.

The only exceptions to this are regular bookings where account facilities are set up, usually 30 days and paid by direct debit, but this is a very rare occurance these days often the landlord / managers will pay by cash / cheque and get a receipt for each booking.

This year I changed my policy on payment and now receive the majority 14 days before the event. The main reason for doing this was I got fed up chasing after the one with the cash on the night. Most were no problem but there were those that like to give you the run-around.

There are some that I get paid for after the event but only if I trust them ie regular clients. The problem with entertainment is that if you don't get paid you can't take it back and resorting to legal mesures is, as Chris has mentioned, a long, slow and expensive business.

When I started out I did some work for an agency. At the start it was always cash on the night but then I did one where they were going to pay me after the event (within 7 days they said). 6 weeks on I was still phoning for the money & got excuse after excuse so I went and sat in their office and complained loudly until they paid up - needless to say I don't accept work from them now unless it is payment up front.

I've been self employed for 15 years now and have only ever had one bad debt. This would've been two but I finally received payment on friday for work I did for a major hotel chain in March this year - no names but everyone has heard of them. What forced the issue was I refused to drop everything to help them out when they were desperate last week giving the slow payment as my reason. It could've gone the other way but I had to do something. I think some of these corporate entities believe we are so desperate for their custom that we don't mind not getting paid occasionally - well I am not one of them.

PaulS

Is it just me? I never have a problem getting paid!

I mostly get my client begging to pay me at the beginning of the gig... but I say No! I then say for them to pay me at the end when they are happy with the job that I have done... if they are not happy then I dont want paying. I state that should they not be happy then they MUST ensure they tell me before the end because I then have the chance to rectify things - but if they leave it til the end to tell me they are not happy then I dont have the opportunity to do anything about it and will expect payment!

This really does work...... I have never not been paid - it also gives the client the confidence that you are going to do your absolute best to give them a good party. This is not something I would recommend to anybody who has not been dj-ing for very long however. I have the confidence to read the crowd, know how and when to change music and keep everyone happy.

Having said the above - last minute parties I would never offer this guarantee..... as Kev found to his cost!.... I am alway a little suspicious when a last minute gig comes in.... and ensure I am paid before I do anything... even unloading.... I have turned up so obviously intend to do the gig - so if the client if intent on paying you, then they will have no worries about handing over the readies before you unload.

I always ask for payment on the night. If its at the start or the end I suppose its up to whos paying but ive never had a problem getting money from customers. Suppose being resident at a hotel I can get their details if I need them

Just this year Ive started introducing £50 non-ref. deposit. Used to work totally on trust basis which has never caused a problem but got more and more people wanting to pay a deposit...just to confirm things in their mind i guess!

May start asking at start of a night but most work / services is paid for after what you are paying for has been delivered...

Steve

Thankfully, I now invoice the client (hotel) monthly, and receive a cheque back within 3 or 4 days.

Near the beginning of my DJ'ing career, I did get one punter at a village hall 18th party who said he wasnt going to pay as he felt that the volume wasnt lound enough (several young people had asked for it to be turned up, but the old fougies were asking for it to be turned down). Funnily enough, the birthday boy didnt ask me once during the night for any volume changes either way.

I stood my ground, and showed him the photocopy of the signed contract etc..etc..

Next, I moved my car so close to the double fire exit, that the fire exit doors couldnt be closed, and reminded him that the security deposit on the hall was forfeit if the hall was not vacated by X:time, and pointed out that the security deposit was considerably more than the balance for my services. Which would he rather loose?

He then handed over the sealed envelope with "Disco" written on it, with the correct cash inside.

Yeah some people WILL try that sort of thing...remember when I first started djing, asking for money at the end of an evening, you on your own surrounded by many drunk guests wasn't the best set up you could wish for!

Luckily now Ive managed to secure a much nicer residency from when I first started working in nearly any city centre hotel round here; 4 star country house place....99.9% always spot on bride and groom, family and guests who you never have any trouble or 'stories' when getting paid.

Bet a few on here have heard a variety 'sorry we can't pay you this evening excuses'!

Steve

I went to a friends christening today, at which they had a disco (I didn't do it cos I very rarely do christenings, kids parties etc. Not my cup of tea at all!).
The dj started at 5.30 and 2 hours later one of his decks packed up. There was a period of silence for a few minutes (he hadn't brought any spare decks with him) and then eventually he played a track. He was unable to repair the faulty deck and so played pre-mixed compilation albums so that there wouldn't be any gaps between tracks. This obviously meant that
A) he wasn't selecting appropriate music for the function, and
B) he was basically doing sod-all for much of the night.

My mates wife Sam came upto me (at around 8.30) and asked for my opinion of whether she should should pay the DJ the full amount. She told me he was charging £45 per hour which totalled £225 for the 5 hours he was booked. She reasoned that he should receive full pay for the first 2 hours as he was playing normally then, but for the remaining hours she thought he should get about half the fee, meaning paying him around £150
I replied that if it had of happened to me I would not expect to receive the full amount and I would have made an offer to the client, and would be happy to have received £150.
In the meantime her husband (my mate, Ray) who was pretty pi$$ed by now, went upto to chat with the DJ. The dj asked for his money. Ray asked the dj did he expect the full amount and the dj replied that he'd knock 1 hour off so would charge £180, so Ray agreed on that price but bear in mind that Ray was far from coherent at this stage.
Sam had no idea that Ray was going upto the dj and was not happy that he'd agreed that price and felt that he should get no more than £150 and asked me just as I was leaving whether I thought she could go up and tell the dj that £180 was not acceptable. I told her that I thought she was right and to talk to the dj.

I have no idea of what the final outcome was as I had to leave at that stage but Sam is gonna call me tomorrow to let me know.

Just wondered what others on here would have done if you had been the dj in the above scenario?

I dont think that I've ever been in a situation of only having 2 decks. I wont say how many tracks I can cue up at a time now, it'll scare the technophobes.

However, IF I was the DJ with two decks, and one broke down, I would explain the situation to the audience, and IF I couldnt hardwire/work around it, then I would still select the tunes that I felt were right for the crowd at the various times of the evening, but would have to voice-over the gaps. Certainly wouldnt use compilation albums.

As for payment, I wouldn't give a £ per hour discount etc...I would offer a percentage discount BEFORE the host could even suggest his/her own idea of a discount.

I agree with Gary...

I always take backup amps, mixer etc but not CD players.. But then I always take my minidisk player (and quite a few minidisks) with me for this reason.

I also use the Denon DND9000 which allows 2 tracks to be played per drive so should never have the problem....

If, however, it ever did - I would immediately speak to the person that booked me and offer the discount before they could mention it (after checking that the deck was defo down!) - That way you can apologise and tell them what you are prepared to do about it - Showing that you are professional even though your equipment may have let you down....

I would also never play mixes.... You're a DJ, we speak on microphones all the time so as long as the audience knew what had happened, you can laugh and joke with them about it and build a different kind of rapport - complete personality rather than part personality & part music like usual.......

No, these guys seemed scared of the mic and hardly used it all night, even when they had to change the cd on the 1 cd player that was working. There was sometimes a silence for 20 or so seconds, but they still never used the mic!
I do realise that the vast majority of DJ's on here will probably bring some sort of back-up equipment to get them out of a nightmare scenario like the one described above, so the question isn't do you have back-up equipment, it's simply how would you respond to the client? would you be pro-active or reactive?

Must admit if this happened to me i would be working twice as hard and would have given a discount aswell,my mic probably would have melted!
As far as payment is concerned, Mobiles=on the night cash,one club nightly in advance and another club once a month via bank transfer on an agreed date.

what a horrible situation - unfortunately as your mate (p@ssed or not) had agreed to a slightly reduced price I doubt very much whether these guys would give any more money off - an agreement is an agreement.

Obviously these fellas weren't professionals - most of what we would have done has been covered - yes I would have made sure spares were carried and failing that, made a quick call to a mate or a local disco hire shop and paid for hire and delivery to the gig - its not anybody elses problem but our own and we are the ones who have to fix it.

If nothing could have been done, I personally would have gone to the client, explained the problem, and guaranteed that although I was only working off one cd player, I would not let it become a problem and hope that their enjoyment of the evening would not be tarnished by this technical fault! At the end of the evening I would ask the client if they were happy - if they see that the problem with only having one deck had affected the party atmosphere I would ask them what they thought would be a fair discount.

If you are open and honest with your client - having told them about the fault and that you believed that it would not seriously affect the party, then I am sure most of us would still pick up the full fee...... I bet we would also choose discs where there was three or four tunes that we could run back to back with a quick flick between tracks - then a talky bit, then the same again.... but this once again shows the difference between the professionals and the cowboys!

in other words... esk was having a few! bless him!

One thing Eskie has bought up, which I find unbelievable, is that some djs still put their speakers on the floor.... not up on stands! Why oh why oh why! (not talking stacks here - but usual wedding type speakers)

For smaller gigs I still put my speakers on the floor since even with the most careful dj's and the most expensive stands accidents still do happen, and where there are drunks and trouble can break out, not to mention an over enthusiastic Macerena! the speakers are usually the first things to go over. Not a pleasant thought, 25 or 30kg of speaker toppling upon your audiences head regardless of whose fault it was it only takes a few seconds for accidents to happen and that is exactly what a stand with an heavy object is especially when placed at the same level as the audience and right next to a dancefloor.

For larger gigs, I use the relatively solid base (40kg) of a subwoofer and place the full range cabs on poles coming from the bass bins, much more stable

As for the problem mentioned above, there is really no reason for this to ever happen, and so no reason to worry about how to get around it. I followed some advice that Chris P gave, and bought a Personal CD Player with shock memory - (£15 from E-Bay) as a back up, not perfect but it gets you out of the brown sticky stuff. A few months on it paid off, I got a CD stuck in one of Trays of my Dual Player and had to use this unit for a few hours. I was glad I bought it, and non of the audience were any the wiser so no refunds and no panic.

With regards to the original thread, most of my gigs are at the golf clubwhere I get paid at the end of the evening by the golf club if the client hasn't paid me. They put it on their bill.
Most of the rest of the gigs, I get deposits, we all do this now don't we ... and I try to encourage them, especially when i speak to them before the event to confirm all of the details, to pay me at the beginnning of the event.

The offshoot that is being talked about, if there was a serious failure with my equipment, I would certainly be pro-active, this form of approach will always work and need not be used in just panic/breakdown cases. But it is a classic case for those of us on the forum to remember to have our equipment serviced, maintained and carry suitable spares or have access to them.

I would offer the punter a discount.

I know i am tempting fate here... but after 13 years, I have never had my speakers knocked over... and I couldnt tell you how many 000s of discos I have done !

Kaz, You must have the D.J version of a guardian angel watching over you . I actively persuade newbies from buying speaker stands even if it means losing the sale of an additional item since I agree with part of what McCardle has posted.

I must admit that it has only happened once, quite a while ago whilst doing a Disco at a Rugby Club (Go Figure ) where something like this happened, and I actually had to claim over £1000 from my Equipment insurers for damage when a crowd of drunken revellers fell backwards into my gear during Madness "Baggy Trousers" (Although I don't hold Madness personally responsible!). Yes, for me the night ended there, there was not reimbursement for the damage, and there was no warning or any way it could have been avoided. Rowdy crowds occur from time to time especially over the silly season, office parties, copious drinks and a few days holiday etc and I'm very thankful that my speakers were not on stands that night, otherwise the outcome may have been very different - or at least certainly more expensive.

Many D.J's choose a goalpost stand for the same reason - namely they don't want their expensive lighting effects balanced on top of a single tripod - yet they run the gauntlet with their speakers at every gig. Obviously the consequences of some Kid colliding with your stand whilst playing "Slide along the floor" at a Wedding, or that drunken conga which got out of control is enough to cause the stand to overbalance, and no matter how good the stand, it's still top heavy and the law of gravity will prevail......

Our contract states payment after equipment is set-up and satisfactory sound check.

My Gold and Silver wedding packages are paid two weeks before the event.

We have recently added the option of payment by credit card / switch and many clients offer to pay in full at the time of booking.

As for speakers on poles, with or without bass bins...........I have the option to go with any combination depending on the venue.One good piece of kit to enhance bass from a single speaker on a pole is a sonic maximiser such as those made by BBE. A 1 U unit that produces an amazing sound improvement.

When it comes to working in a tent I opt for my favorite Peavey DJ4s cbs. Two 15" and a horn in a cab 48" tall. Sits on the ground yet still has enough "Lift" to sound good with a full dance floor. I can also set up my lighting poles behind them which protects them from the maddening crowd

I would have give a sizable discount, even just charged expenses & probably sent the client some flowers the next day as an apology.

problems do happen it's how you deal with them that matters.

Hiya, I've just got back from a local school gig!

They've asked me to be 'resident dj'! so i get a regular gig there (about 1ce a month)! yay!

They've decided to kinda split the school in half and do 1 disco for the tinyz and 1 4 the older 1z thus extending my work time from 2 hrs to 3 hrs!. so im earning a definite 90 squid every month from there!!!

Not bad for me (15 yr old)

WKD Im on a high at the mo!!!

L8erz

Joe

4got 2 add that i got paid after the gig. lol

Which is fine with the kids 1z cos' ur not gonna get people getting P****d and spending all their dosh at the bar and not being able to pay you.

Whenever I work for another disco they always ask me to collect the money before i start. jst theyre policy.
i havnt really got a fixed thing it duznt rly matter to me and it the moment I'm not going to get any problems with being paid with my current target audience (school discos, kids parties, public events. etc)

Au revoir!

L8erz

Joe

Umm, only £225 for 5 hours, I would have only turned up with one turn table for that price, whats the problem?????????????????

You get what you pay for...........

The plumber turning up and saying that he didn't have the right tool for that particular job, not coming back for over a week and charging for it. The current market place is going mad, and thats accross the board, regardless of industry.
Charging a lower price to get the job because they are scared of not working, then only doing a half hearted job on the day, because the money isn't really enough. Not what I would consider to be professional.

Are we missing the warning signs............Go figure

I'm catching up with old posts- about 800 to go!!!!!!

I get paid the balance at the beginning of the evening, after I set up the gear.

Reason being, I refuse to chase after people who are saying goodbye to friends and relatives, and, I feel awful having to interupt to ask for my service money.

Any miss-understandings can be sorted out at the beginning of the night - like the agreed cash payment, not a cheque, or, it happens, the money left at home by mistake, or, the father has the money in an envelope, but he's gone home - can you come back tomorrow?

I've only collected 'on night' payments at the beginning of a gig for the last 7 years, but when I first started work in the clubs, I was paid at the end of the night, the same for Mobile and public venue gigs.

I don't think there is a right or correct way of payment times- just what one feels is most comfortable for them, and of course, causes the least hassel and embarresment.

Some good threads here!!! Two at the last count!

For regular gigs, pubs etc I get paid at the end of the night, it helps them bank less cash!

For private clients, a small non refundable deposit a few weeks in advance and full payment in cash before the gig.

I used to take payment after, but had an occasion when the client in a beered up way "sorry mate, hic, i've haven't enough cash! cheque ok" Well I should have used it to wipe my Took me a few weeks to get my money!

Touch wood 've never had a CD breakdown, I have a spare portable + laptop just in case. I've had a failure with a speaker, it was a small pair for a childs birthday just got them (worked when I tested them????) and one would not work. A few minutes work with a soldering iron and the broken Xover was sorted.

Had an amp failure, had my ugly "Realistic"a spare one with me, no-one noticed.

I would certainly talk to the client if I had a serious problem with my gear that affected my performance and discuss a refund to them if required.

one of my first bookings paid by cheque and it bounced(yes i was a bit nieve then lol)
with the exeption of three or four regulars who pay after i wont even start to set up until the cash is in my hot sweaty hands.i do exept cheques but they must clear before the event.all explained in my t&c and they sign at the bottom.

Just needed to add an experience here. For weddings payment will be require in full BEFORE the gig. Too much hassle chasing people for money only to find they have drunk it!

Cheezy
Nightsounds

well as most of my work is at my residency i either get paid when the clients book the room, or on the night depending on there preference as i think this is good customer service giving them there choice when cash is more covienient to them being flush!

although at my residency we always keep a phone number and address of the client so if we come across a chancer client we can always claim a payment if they fancy a boycot.

p.s. in the time i have dj,ed in my life i have only come across a single clint who tried bunking of the booking of payment for me

I take a deposit of nearly 30% at the time I take the booking (no function is confirmed with me until I have a signed entertainment agreement and deposit) and the balance is due either in cash on the night, or by 1 week before the event by cheque or credit card.

Some of my clients (around 10%) prefer to pay 100% up front. I'm fine with that too.

14 days before the event, cash or cheque

Trust nobody

Only exections are the hotel, who I invoice.

At the end. Or the begining.

Ste

I always have my money before I start, it saves on the problems when drunk people forget to pay you and go home or spend the cash on beer...

if paying by cheque its two weeks in advance....

To be fair with weddings, remembering to pay the DJ on the day is one less thing the couple can do without.

Also I don't like chasing, repeadily asking for money.

With weddings many couples have a dedicated wedding bank account, so payment up front is not a problem.

Cheezy
Nightsounds

use to get paid at the end but had a few probs like the person who booked you has gone or s**t i thought i'd paid you i've spent the money and so on.

so now i get set up put on a mix to start and then find out who and how i'm getting paid and then ask for payment.

i have arrived, set up gear and playing so i have honoured my obligation by turning up and playing.

on a few occaisions not been paid at start and there had been a fight or power failure or no one turned up so very nearly got refused payment so NO MORE!!!

I know it's an old thread that has had a few more votes recently so I have added mine.
Other.
I take 25% to confirm the booking and the remainder either 14 days in advance for a cheque or before I start on the day.
Never had any problems getting paid.

Jim

14 days in advance or cash on arrival. You don't want bounced cheques or problems at the end of the night finding people