Paul The Party DJ

The Travelodge Sale started this morning CLICK HERE perfect for BPM and any other shows / bookings where you need an overnight. I just got two nights at the Castle Bromwich Travelodge where we stayed last year (it's a few miles away from the NEC and it has a Carvery on site) for a total of £23.50 including credit card charge. Cheers, Paul ;o)

Sorry - as I believe the young people say - my bad (12/12.5%)

I wish my agent only took 12% and could get me £400 bookings! 80% of the time I take direct bookings, I only work through the agent when it's a block booking - that's club work or a DeVere that books exclusively through him. Are there agents that only charge 12%?

The important thing is to keep it as confidential between you and the venue whatever the agreement is. There is a venue local to me that charges £400 for their "house DJ" - they give the DJ £260. Now that's what I call wrong!

This is a really difficult area. I'd be happy to give a venue £50 for a £400 booking IF they were getting me regular work (maybe at least one a month). I work for an agent occasionally - he takes 17% and he doesn't get me particularly well priced work. At the end of the day it's personal choice, if it's a venue you want to work at then finding a win-win resolution is the only thing that matters. Good luck with it.

Most of my bookings come from my Wedding marketing - I get mailing lists from two sources and I write to them. This works especially well if I have a Wedding Fair coming up and I invite them to "come and say hello". The other source that brings me lots of bookings is networking with other DJ's. Cheers, Paul ;o)

I was very involved in the record collector market for a while - I had stalls at many of the major record fairs for 4 or 5 years. I'd avoid dealers at all costs, they will give you a fraction of the value because they want to make a profit. Spinner is right, Ebay is your friend - it's certainly the place to start. The Record Collector magazine and their guide is a very useful resource. It's unlikely that you are sat on a Gold Mine, but one record in that collection may be worth more than all the others put together. Music has never been easier to buy, good luck.

Great news - congratulations! Glass raised, CHEERS!

When I came back two years ago I did NYE for a friends village club at a ridiculously low £100 just to get a run out, and as a favour to him. Last year I did a Whitbreads pub for £450 - I didn't really enjoy the night although the punters and staff seemed to, and it took about six weeks to get the cheque. This year I haven't taken a booking yet - I know lots of DJ's haven't - if I get an enquiry I like then I'll take it. I used to have NYE bookings that would rebook at the end of the gig for the next year - and they'd done the paperwork by the end of January! Those were the

I'm using an agent now for the first time in 30 years! At the moment in my area it's difficult to get into some hotels and venues except through an Agency. I'd suggest calling a few and see if they're interested in you. They may well be desperate to cover nights you are free in the festive period - if you help them out it could put you in good stead for next year. It's all about personal relationships - if you like them and they like you it can be good. Yes, they are going to take a percentage - but I know of hotels charging £400 for their "in-house DJ" who they are only paying

I use all LED and a laser. I have a Revo 3, a Messenger, a Starball, an InvincibLED, Stairville Par 56 for uplighting, and an Equinox Sigma laser. Everything is DMX'd so the circles created by the Revo don't look as dotty as some shows. We have scenes using the red and/or green settings to work with the laser etc. I'm thinking of changing it somewhen (well that's what we all do isn't it?) but I'm fairly happy. Of course the output and design will improve but I think some of the new stuff is too powerful - there was an area of BPM at the NEC that has some cans that were just too bri

Hi Chris, welcome. I'm another older DJ who joined a while back - this is a great place to meet new friends and gain valuable help. The Search button is very useful. Cheers, Paul ;o)

Hi Steve Welcome back to the wonderful world of DJ'ing and this excellent forum. I got back into the business about 2 years ago and I'm loving it even more. This site is a great place to find help and make friends. The Search facility is very useful - but beware you could lose days reading all the information that's available. Cheers, Paul ;o)

It's not as busy as I'd like - never is really. October has been terrible, thank goodness BPM gave me lots to think about. November has been fairly well booked for a few months now, still space for one or two more. December one Wedding and 6 party nights at my local Devere - not too bad but I was hoping for more. Still no NYE booking - I wanted £500, or close to it, at a venue I wanted to do - I took £400 at a pub last year and it was the biggest anti-climax of a night I'd done in years. 2011 ... May looks good, everything else is work in progress! Cheers, Paul ;o)

That's a really good list from Rob. I'd start with Edwin Starr - Stop Her On Sight, and then Dobie Gray - Out On The Floor. If they work any of the others on that list will probably be fine - if they don't, go for some early Motown - maybe Tears Of A Clown. Good luck - it'll be fine. Cheers, paul

This is a topic I've been meaning to look at for some time. I know Alex and have seen him present the package. I've just had a good look at the video he mentions in post no. 4 - it's very informative, he's does a good job explaining the basics. If you are interested in a system watching the video will be well worth your while. Cheers, Paul

I think you hit the nail on the head when you said you didn't get to do your pre-event meeting. I offer a no-obligation free first meeting at the end of which I've secured their booking and have a feel for what they want. I then schedule a second meeting for between 2 and 4 weeks before the event. By then we have built a relationship, we both understand what is required and how we are going to achieve it - if I feel their suggestions are not going to give them a great party I tell them what I'd like to change - then it's their choice. It's all about the relationship - turning them into

Discounting is always a difficult decision - for me how far in advance and how desirable the date was. If I liked the venue and the client I would have gone with it, if the date was a long way in advance and likely to get booked anyway I probably would have declined the booking. Cheers, Paul

If I get this problem I always try and get the client to clarify where they would like me to draw the cheese line - the joy of a face to face planning meeting. According to my 20 year old daughter most of the clubs in town still feature Saturday Night, Build Me Up Buttercup, Walking On Sunshine, Cha Cha Slide, Livin' On A Prayer, The One & Only, and many more in cheesy party sets - I'm not saying these are all cheese - but they are played in a cheesy way. As others have said, if in doubt draw the line at action songs. If someone asks for a track you aren't sure about try and chec

Surely the Elton John would work as the penultimate or final dance - everyone make a circle around the Bride & Groom - hands in the air - epic!

I thought the same about the laser. I always try to make sure mine is pointing at the ceiling - I don't think it would harm anyone but I'd rather not be bothered by a punter/jobsworth moaning about it. The rig looks very compact, a little bit busy but you have enough effects to get some variation if you wanted. How did it go? How many guests - did you go compact because it was a small room? Cheers, Paul

Having done the radio show video a while back, I've been trying my hand at a few gig logs lately. Here's my first attempt. My original idea was to try and show future clients that we don't just turn up and play for a bit and make loads of money for very little effort. Let me know what you think, but please be gentle with me! Cheers, Paul

I always put cards on my subs for people. At some events I put them on the tables but only if the client suggests it. I used to have a back-drop but not now.

Sounds like a testing time - well done, you passed! Why do some people have to screw life up for other people? The world is changing and we have to live with that, but I despair when I read posts of people treating DJ's badly. All we want to do is give everyone a good time! Again well done for getting the job done and thanks for posting - next time I have a "difficult" day I'll remember it doesn't just happen to me.

I always take bottled water because trying to get served at the bar during most gigs is a nightmare when you're on your own. I do, however, always try and get to the bar and buy one large soft drink at the start of the evening and have a chat with the staff.