Cost Of A Dj

[motherwell 0]

at work the other day one of my colleagues asked me how much i take for a function. dj or karaoke. i told her anything from £150 and she asked how much i get for my residency which is £140. she had a hairy fit and said she would pay no more than £70. i tried to explain how much i had spent on gear in the last year and how id improved my kit to get a better price but she could not see it. The embarrasing thing is that sitting in earshot was another colleague who gets married next year who id given a quote of £200 for her wedding. he was happy with that price and I have invited her along to see me at my residency. She obviously knows how much it costs for a decent DJ. I've posted on the forum elsewhere how my laptop has packed in and if its unfixable it will need a few £70 gigs just to pay that off and I may have lost my software on it as well.

[Andy Westcott 0]

Quote:

"she would pay no more than £70"

 

That's her choice - let her stick with it. No point in trying to explain to these people why you can't work for that kind of money; You are in business, she's not and presumably never will be.

 

It would be interesting to see what a £70 disco is like, although I have experienced a £50 one... (After seeing it I wouldn't have booked then for free, let alone pay.)

 

I would expect the DJ to not be registered for NI & tax, and to have a load of illegally copied music, probably at an atrocious quality.

[EdBray 0]

I would just say something like "extremely good luck in finding a DJ for that price, and I hope he turns out to ba all that you want".

 

I do not try to defend my pricing structure from anyone, and neither should you. If you feel you are worth what you are charging then all well and good, but if you are not getting any gigs because you are charging too much, then you either have to charge less or change your target market.

 

As for the fact your laptop has packed in, it is unfortunate, but these things happen, and is another good reason that you should charge the corrct amount.

 

When you break down your outgoings (PAT, PLI, Insurance, Vehicle Costs, Music, proportion of equipment costs etc) divided by the number of bookings you get a year, that will give you your break even figure (never reached mine yet) and then you add on what you actually expect to make as a profit on top.

 

Anyone who can be fully legitimised (PAT & PLI, Tax Liable, keep up to date with legal music etc) and make a reasonable profit whilst doing gigs for £70, then please, tell us all your secret.

[Jimbo55 0]

£70...mmm

 

6 hrs for the gig, Say 7-11 plus 2hr travelling, setup and take down. Tax and national insurance PLI, PAT and wear and tear on equipment. Travelling costs. Leaves about £30 that it would cost ME to put the gig on an that is at an absolute minimum and does include the cost of a roadie.

Edited December 21, 2007 by Jimbo55

[C.S 0]

I have a policy that has worked over the years and that is i quote a price and if the customer tries to discuss the price then i say sorry i am not the right dj for your party and i refuse the gig. thats it ! Try asking the woman how much she would take for 5 hours work !

[milhouse 0]

It is unfortunate that some people are motivated by price rather than quality.

 

Often (especially in the bar industry) a client has to view the difference for themselves between a £70 and a £150 DJ for them to understand. It will take them a long time, after reviewing takings and customer retention for them to actually go with the £150 DJ.

 

What people don't realise is the skill that is involved - and that you aren't just picking random songs and pressing play on a CD player. A decent DJ charging a fair amount will be able to read a crowd, have an extensive original music collection, decent gear, and will not be avoiding tax.

Edited December 21, 2007 by JonWhittaker

[Ste Owens 0]

Ive seen a 50 quid DJ before let me tell you his gear;

 

Laptop, Peavey 200w at 8 ohms (100w at 4 per side), VERY small skytec speakers, Soundlab vasto, light sequencer.

 

Not the best of setups, I mean give the lad his due he was trying to make a bit of money but for people like that they need to go away get better gear and start again, or get practise because he cut a lot of songs short. Someone said about reading the crowd, the majority of people in the bar was 30 - 50 and he was playing rap and commercial. A lot of people dont appreciate us reading the crowd.

 

Ste

[Jimbo55 0]

£70...mmm

 

6 hrs for the gig, Say 7-11 plus 2hr travelling, setup and take down. Tax and national insurance PLI, PAT and wear and tear on equipment. Travelling costs. Leaves about £30 that it would cost ME to put the gig on an that is at an absolute minimum and does include the cost of a roadie.

 

Should read does Not include the price of a roadie

 

[aaadisco 0]

I guess this woman drives a £200 banger, eats KFC when she goes out and buys all her clothes from charity shops and if / when she gets married she will do a drive through elvis wedding for $300 as life is all about the cheapest option?

 

In my opinion it is about explaining the value that the person would get in booking you.

 

You get what you pay for in life. I have often said to potential customers, look - I won't be the cheapest quote you get but I have loads of experience doing 60th birthdays (for example), PLI and PAT to put your mind at rest, a large collection of music and great equipment that will ensure you have a good night.

 

It is a case of selling the benefits of the experience that you will be delivering but bear in mind some people will just call round to get the cheapest quote regardless and then wonder why they had a crap night.

 

Don't worry about these people, spend some time brushing up on your sales skills as the more confident you sound on the phone or when you are talking to these people, the more you will sell your worth.

 

I Dj part time and sell IT software solutions for my day job so I've benefited from loads of sales training in the past. The company I work for tends to be at the top end with pricing so I often find my self having to make sure the customer understands all the extra benefits they would get by paying the extra money. Once they understand the value they would will get then this goes a long way to overcoming the cost objective.

 

So I just apply the same thoughts when selling my services as a DJ

 

Just my thoughts, hope I haven't bored you with the waffle :-)

 

[deejaymitch 0]

Great points made, totally agree with all of them (especially around legality of the cheap DJs). If someone told me they wouldn't pay more than £70 for a DJ, I'd politely ask them never to invite me to any function they had organised.

[Paul Smith 0]

I suppose there are 2 ways to deal with this type of potential client:

1. Wish them good luck with their search for a £70 DJ and hope they have a great function
2. Explain the difference between a £70 DJ and one who charges a lot more and sell your service

I think in this case I would opt for No 1 as there is too big a gulf between what she wants to pay and what I would quote - sometimes you have to be realistic, there are jobs that are not worth pursuing.

 

[wizard 0]

I went to a party a few years back where they had a £50 Dj........ the organiser was perfectly happy with the guy,

 

he played loud music. ( sounded awful but hey.. they didnt know the difference) he had flashing coloured lights ( but hey they didnt know what DMX was ...and didnt care)

 

He probably had illegal music, no PLI or PAT ........the customer didnt give a toss... they got a cheap party.

 

Basically a great party was had by all...... with the exception of me...who thought the guy was Cr+p.

 

Their will always be the £50 customers... that is why their is the £50 Dj's

 

Nothing has or will ever change despite any legislation which may come along.

Edited December 22, 2007 by wizard

[spinner 0]

sometimes you have to be realistic, there are jobs that are not worth pursuing.

 

 

Precisely.

[andyw 0]

the problem is not everyone can afford to pay£200 -£300 for a party and sometimes they have to cut corners,thats why when they book a cheap disco it is normally in the back room of a pub or village hall,where it will cost them another £50 for the room and another £70 for food.which we mean there party will cost less altogether than hiring most dj's on this forum.are the dj's who are doing it cheap putting anyone on here out of work?no because you put £200 for the dj on top of the price they are paying and there is no party because they can not afford it.now just because a dj goe's out cheap don't mean he hasn't got pli or pat tested equipment or has got all illegal music either,he could be inexpirienced and has to start somewhere or doing as a hobby.

 

 

 

[Andy Westcott 0]

I have to agree with that.

 

My prices may look 'cowboyish' to some on here, but that's all I can get for the type of gig I persue & prefer.

 

As with the discussion on the prices of childrens' parties elsewhere on this forum, if everyone charged premium rates there would be an awful lot of working class parties that just wouldn't go ahead.

 

I know of a case like this fairly recently - a work colleague booked me for her daughter's party and then cancelled due to the daughter's bad behaviour, by way of punishment.

 

No problem for me - I subsequently filled the slot.

 

Some time later, the lady concerned relented, and decided her daughter's party could go ahead after all, but unfortunately I was no longer available.

 

She asked around, and the best quote she could get was £150 and so decided to abandon the idea of the party - this being my exact point.

 

As it happens, she did eventually manage to get another DJ in at what she considered a decent price.

 

OK, £50 or £75 as in the earlier examples does seem a bit low, and it is difficult to understand how they can be operating a legitimate business at those prices, but there will always be a need for DJs at realistic prices.

 

[brianmole 0]

.....and said she would pay no more than £70

Good for her. Moving on...

[Dream Catchers 0]

Just because somebody is going out for £70 it doesn't automatically make them tax dodgers or illegal.

 

Jim

[C.S 0]

no but it does mean they are running at a loss after tax,insurance,music,petrol,equipment etc are paid for.

[llcooljoe 0]

As you know I'm very new to all this, I haven't got the expertise or equipment that any of you have, but I still try to do the most professional job I can with what I know and the equipment I have. Today I had a recommendation that has lead me to a booking at the hotel that recommended me. It's for an 18th birthday party from 7.30 until 12.00. I quoted 150 quid, and she immediately said yes. Even though I haven't got all the stuff you guys have, I honestly think I'm worth that much. My partner went to get their hair cut today. They were there for under an hour and was charged 40 quid, plus a tip. That kind of puts our prices in perspective I think.

Edited December 22, 2007 by llcooljoe

[Swingcats 0]

JUst had my car welded at £50/hour, It will take two discos to pay for that at £150. I will not go below £150.

[mikeee 0]

if you wonder what the price should be, visit the Office of National Statistics. Average wages (please note the word AVERAGE), in 1971 the av. wage was £28.00 and in 2000 it was £419.00 (btw, I've taken off the pennies). Now this is average for a PAYE job, now work out what a company owner would get paid. I've said this in the past and I'll say it again now, this information is your wake up call, what is a concern is, so many DJ's are in such a deep sleep, they didn't here it and the business advantage has past them by. WAKE UP guys.

And just to add a bit more fuel since 04/05 most things have over doubled in price - have your charges???

Other than petrol, has anyone boycotted the humble loaf of bread which has gone from 44p to £1.12p in two years, I could go on, but.........., well go and check for yourselves.

[spinner 0]

if you wonder what the price should be, visit the Office of National Statistics. Average wages (please note the word AVERAGE), in 1971 the av. wage was £28.00 and in 2000 it was £419.00 (btw, I've taken off the pennies). Now this is average for a PAYE job, now work out what a company owner would get paid. I've said this in the past and I'll say it again now, this information is your wake up call, what is a concern is, so many DJ's are in such a deep sleep, they didn't here it and the business advantage has past them by. WAKE UP guys.

And just to add a bit more fuel since 04/05 most things have over doubled in price - have your charges???

Other than petrol, has anyone boycotted the humble loaf of bread which has gone from 44p to £1.12p in two years, I could go on, but.........., well go and check for yourselves.

 

 

Good points here. I did some checking on prices recently and worked out the increases needed to keep up with (official) inflation over the past 10 years. My rates have kept pace.

 

However the official figures are lower than the real figures so I've put a bit more on to take that into account.

[Spear 0]

I don't know if anyone else here finds this but if I don't keep putting my prices up £20-£30yr min then people stop booking me, I guess because they think I'm not charging enough therefore I must be rubbish.

 

I suppose it's the same with clothes where people either buy the "best" - read expensive or the cheapest they can get.

 

If people want a cheap disco from me then I tell them it comes a a price in terms of the equipment I will supply, they usually then go with a standard set-up which I prefer as otherwise people may get the wrong idea of the service I can provide, even then I would never go out for less than £120 even for a 2hr gig

[spinner 0]

Some clients are reassured by a higher price and put off by a lower one.

 

A point worth remembering.

[mikeee 0]

....and there are people that want "cheap" disco's, and beat them around the ears with a wet haddock, threaten not to pay them or trash their kit.

 

Are "Disco's" still the budget option to live music????

 

If Yes, it's only going to get worse, as members of the MU can confirm (subtle dig)