Andy Westcott

"let the music do the talking..." Now that's another cliche I dislike intensely! Mic work? Not absolutely necessary, and the days of trying to embarrass dancers onto the floor are well and truly over - thank goodess. The 'gift of the gab' is not a required skill. I doubt the majority of people want to hear a gobby DJ - far better to have someone occasionally intoduce a change of genre rather than trying to be funny. However, if you are able to build up a rapport with certain members it can help break any ice which may be there, and I'd recommend this if the opportunity pr

Yearly for me - I review my pricing in April. Bookings taken now, for example, for a date later in 2009 will be priced at today's prices, so the pricing structure applies for bookings at the time they are confirmed, not necessarily for the time of the performance. An exception would be an event booked 2 or 3 years ahead (hasn't happened yet) where I would estimate the price increase.

No. I set my prices for a reason, and don't drop to match another quote.

I operate at the lower end of the pricing range, and if the client indicated that such a huge budget was available I'd feel they were looking for someting more than I offer. But, if after discussions the client was happy with what I was able to provide, then my price would not change simply because more money was availabe - I have a fairly rigid pricing formula which works fairly well for me; Hiking the price simply because I could smell money is unethical. (Unethical - my word for today!)

Regarding the initial scenario, I would feel obliged to continue. If no payment is forthcoing there's always the legal route, but if you abandoned the gig I'm not sure how that would stand regarding a claim. I state that I expect payment at the start of the event and in most cases that's the way it works, although on occasions people do forget and pay at the end. So far, no trouble - at least not in recent years since using a booking agreement.

Assuming I wanted the work, I'd offer to do it for the price I'd have normally calculated. I certainly wouldn't expect do it for the other DJs price and doubt I'd discover what that was anyhow, and feel it unethical to charge extra.

I would make sure I was made aware of the mark-up before accepting the booking, and in this instance would probably have declined - it would depend on my current rate of work. The problem I'd have is that I set my price pretty much on what I offer, and I would feel that once the hotel had added such a surcharge the client would not be getting a disco or DJ befitting the price. If I were to compare two discos, one at £150 and another at £250, I would expect there to be a world of difference.

I don't have a laser and have no immediate plans to get one. Therefore, I'd decline the booking - it would bother me somewhat that a client was being selective about a disco purely because of laser show availability. There other features to consider, after all...

Any chance of a detailed photo of the 'burnt' bits? Some crossovers use high power resistors and these can run quite hot if the cabs are being fed a fair bit of power - this heat will be conducted down the leads and can discolour the board, making it look burnt when in fact nothing's wrong. But if modifying the cabinet be careful if it's a ported design, because changing the driver can detune the system making it sound 'orrible. Tweeter-wise, look at the recommended crossover frequency and buy a crossover designed for that, and the power levels you intend running it at. Building a

I would send a receipt for a deposit (or whatever you wish to call it), but don't usually issue a receipt for cash paid on the night - I don't think people generally expect it anyhow. The exception is if working for an organisation or committee, when a receipt of some sort can then be kept for their accounts. Depends on the type of clientelle I suppose.

Oh you definitely need overhead projectors as well as light screens - as said the dancers (if you are lucky enough to get that many) block the front lights. Best of both worlds I reckon, if you have the room to transport it all.

I've done 2 engagement parties in the last month. People still have them, it seems...

If only I lived closer I'd be up for this.

I think the previous comment about the importance of the event sums it up. If I'm booked to do a 13th or 16th party, I go in excited and ready to go - these evenings are generally predictable and Mean lots of energy, from the crowd and the music. But a posh-ish wedding? Far more care is required in handling the audience and the clients, and this can generate anxiety. At least, until things get going. Maybe it's ultimately about what you are comfortable with?

I've seen some of these LED light screens, and wasn't impressed - at all. Maybe the pattern that had been programmed in was at fault, but to my mind there is way too much sudden flashing - the transition between on & off states happens too fast for visual comfort. You may have seen LED traffic lights, or LED car indicator lights - the same 'suddenness' applies to them too. As for broken lamp filaments, fit a ballast resistance appropriate for the lamp wattage and their life will be extended a heck of a lot - I've been running a total of 60 lamps (not all on together!) for months now

No, but then a lot of my venues tend to be pub function rooms or village halls, where no-one really cares.

New one on me - presumably didn't get a lot of radio play. Don't go a bundle on it, even the piano break is bland, but thanks for bringing it to our attention! :Thumbup:

I get a little nervous on the approach to the venue, and as the clients arrive, but once I've made the obligatory welcome speech things generally sort themselves out. I find the more frequent the gigs, the better I feel, but if there's been a gap of a few weeks, back it all comes!

I can't accommodate her requirements, so would decline this one. I know a dodgy DJ in Ipplepen who may do this on the cheap... :)

I use light screens, but they may be inappropriate in some 'posher' settings - I ensure the client knows what I use just in case they suffer from 'screen phobia'. Fortunately the type of gig I go for generally works well with screens, and they are a definite benefit during the daylight hours of a Summer evening, and especially at kids' parties - they just seem to love the colours! I find starcloths rather bland looking, but then I did most of my growing up during the 70s - maybe this has rubbed off a little...

There was one?? Blimey.

What I'm moaning about is the fact that I now wish to purchase tracks via legal download sites. I don't have the facility to play mp3 format, therefore would have to burn these tracks to CD. Someone somewhere has decided to introduce a 'licence' for doing this. Now - I have estimated that the amount of tracks I would purchase in a year would be way under 200, but let's use that figure anyhow. 'They' are expecting me to pay £250 for the honour of burning less than 200 tracks to CD - don't you think that's a little excessive?? Incidentally, buying the original CD singles is not re

Dan and the rest of you, thanks for the replies, and thanks for taking the initiative of contacting these people. Reverandfunk, I'll try not to lose too much sleep over this, but whilst I'm feeling a little angry, I'll relate that I was pondering over purchasing new music via downloads rather than compilation CD, but reckon I'd buy perhaps 200 tracks over the course of a year. £250 for this is a hideouls amount of money - more than doubling the cost of the music. Oh well - that's another topic...

OK, so what about the guy who chooses to perform 6 gigs a year? They are out there. He may be a top class DJ, just not wishing to do gigs every weekend. Such a licence would push him out completely, and there's a good chance that such a licence, if very expensive, would push me out also. There's no need or justification for a DJ licence - money for nothing.

I noticed that the reference page for MCPS/PRS made available for checking if a certain DJ has the ProDub licence doesn't make it very clear that this licence is NOT required by those using original CDs. Link: http://www.mcps-prs-alliance.co.uk/musicfo...produbcust.aspx Although they do mention it is for those who have copied their music onto different formats, I feel they have an obligation to make it extremely clear that someone using original CDs DOES NOT REQUIRE IT. Despite the communications by various people concerning this, no real effort has been made to make this poin