Danno13

Exactly, it's so people don't have to search themselves, they'll be emailed various quotes and then can make their decision based on those emails and possibly by researching further by visiting that persons website, or calling them. Price isn't always the only factor. Since I topped up my first £10 in months, I've taken one booking for £450 and still have £5.50 left, as nothing in my coverage area has come up for ages

I was just about the to post the same. If Lee convinced the client he offers a service that's worth double and they have the budget, then they may well book him!

It's always a rubbish month - I'd love to go on holiday for the whole of November, if it wasn't for the fact I need to be around to take bookings for Xmas and next year, as it tends to be between now and Feb that everything comes in! I have all the Saturdays booked, but I'll still probably make a loss I reckon. Must remember to save more over Wedding season next year!

I've worked with one once, she was very good.. not controlling, but organised and helped the night (and presumably the day, but I wasn't there then!) flow well. (She also had a good looking daughter who kept me company during the early evening boring time ) I'm currently working with a Wedding planner who's interested the Uplighting and Starcloth services I also offer, with two clients wanting these next year. So, they're also good in that respect too, once you've shown what you can do, they'll do all the selling for you and bring in the bookings!

£2-300 isn't that unrealistic as a budget, compared to what some people deem a worthy amount for entertainment. You obviously had taken travel into account when quoting, if you had been local you may have fitted into her budget and I'm sure there are many good DJs locally who do. The other problem is that if you include "extras" for free, you're always going to get people coming back saying they don't want them, either because they genuinely have no interest in them, or they want to save money. It's far better to just offer them as add-ons for an additional fee, in my humble opinion.

Deltec CX1s?

Surely that depends on the crowd? Tell that to the tens of thousands that flock to Ibiza etc. every year... smile icon I've just seen this enquiry, same old problem that happens alot on GoodParty though - they've asked for both DJ & band in the same enquiry, with a high budget, so you'd have to pay £3 to then be told they've found a band.. or that they're budget was some silly low figure if "it's only a DJ".

Denon X500 has one if you can stretch the budget a little.

It's on NOW 37.

Couldn't drink even if I wanted to, since I almost always work alone and so I drive. The exception is NYE where for the past two years I've played at the same place, where a friend of mine works and lives round the corner and I stay at his. The restaurant don't mind since officially I finish at 2am (and am paid till then), but its always gone on later! I wouldn't feel right drinking at someone's wedding, though I do partake in a shandy or two.

Mike has no involvement with the association you are hinting at. Nor has said association had any involvement in this current campaign. Just to make sure no members are mislead by the above comments smile icon

It is for me, I don't let the venue dictate terms to me, they're treated like any other customer. They have contracts for each date (althouh I produce one contract with a list of dates to make things easier). Pay a booking fee and then the balance 14 days before, cancellation clauses etc. are all the same as customers booking direct.

I'm pretty sure radio stations have to have the SG6 licence, and have done for years. Thankfully we don't have to go to the hassle and expense of one of those for our use of dubbed material.

I thought her last track "Knockdown" was great and would be big, but it didn't chart at all!

S Club 7 - Reach is also a good one, and you can then mix nicely into Mambo No 5... obviously needs to be a bit of a cheesy crowd though..

Man I Feel like a woman, 9 to 5, or Livin' Da Vida Loca.

Nope.... comission is expressed as a percentage of what you take home. So if its £130 to the DJ and £90 commission, £90 is approx. 70% of £130.

Dancing Queen without a doubt, I can't remember the last time I was asked for I will survive and I rarely play it.

I know what the DJs I use are happy to earn for an evening and speak to them regularly, so I know if things change or if they're having a quiet month and might work for a bit less (which means I charge the client less and perhaps stand more chance of getting the gig, not pocket the difference!) I then add my part on top, which is generally somewhere between 10-20%, this means there should never be a situation where they ask for more, and is the correct way that agencies should work (fairly sure its in the BERR guidlines somewhere).

It's your perogative, but I would have asked the agent for more money if I knew he was making that much on top. If more decent DJs did so, he'd be forced to up his rates, or face complaints about the lesser quality DJs he'd be putting in, instead. :) Well that depends on your outgoings, I worked out recently that it costs me, on average, £280 a week (before Tax and NI) to run the business, so say I did 3 gigs in that week, that particular gig would net me £37, so about £8 an hour if you include travelling, setup etc. Surely any DJ is worth more than that?? Anyway, I didn

And your happy to work knowing he's taking a 70% comission?? I know where I'd have told the agent to stick his gigs... The above example isn't one of a downturn, it's a greedy agent! If he wants to raise his prices, he should look at tapping into better markets and keeping the same level of work, not getting less work and ripping off his DJs to compensate!

It would be an advantage to have an active crossover, as the amps will perform better when working with a narrower band of frequencies, as will the speakers. If you change the wiring in the bass bins, so that the input bypasses the passive crossover then you'll also get more from the bins as the internal crossover won't be using up amp power.

I had "No stopping us" by him as a First Dance this year too, must be a popular artist in some circles.

Funnily enough I have a gig tommorow night (tonight) too. I've also had one Wedding and a School Prom on Tuesdays over the summer.

My base rate is for 5 hours (so would cover 6pm -11pm), and then I'd add an additional £30 to extend the start to 5pm. So it would come in at around £355, though It would be a bit of a travel for me, and you can generally get better rates the closer you get to London, so I'd push for £400. Depends what you normally charge though, I wouldn't add any extra due to being last minute.