Ugh 6 events... is that ever or just as a wedding DJ? Either way it takes a lot of time to figure it out. Weddings kick non wedding DJ’s asses, that’s a know fact. It’s a legit skill that has to be crafted. This is why I always tell people to not over charge for their services at first.

When you say mentored by a DJ what does that mean? Did you go to lots of weddings with him?

Yeah, 6 weddings total. I did over 20 weddings with the mentor, who's been supportive. Just trying to find out what the secret is in putting together fluid playlists that bring the fun, and energy I've seen at his events - to mine.

I definitely don't charge a lot (nor do I feel that I'm worth that) - kinda feeling a little down trodden at this point. But, I want to improve, I want to build on my brand - which is affordable, personable, and professional.

Now I have had weddings where everything went well, but just seems recently with the last 2 sunday daytime receptions, its been pretty defeating of starting well, but then the crowd fizzles. Maybe it is the time of day, but its hard not to take it personally and do self reflection (is this the right thing for me).

Thanks for asking, looking for more insight.

With my vast wealth of knowledge in this subject amassed from years and years of DJ’ing every type of event and party based on your questions my professional input and thoughts are for you to close up shop. Quit while your ahead, sell your equipment and start working towards a real lucrative career. Trust me, its not worth hauling all that crap around- having to store it, having to constantly download new music and constantly having to market yourself for the poverty stricken wage you will get. Zero benefits, zero retirement, 50% taxes its literally no joke. Only a very small percentage of DJ’s actually make it, and trust me its not going to be you. And your buddy that’s all booked with his gigs, trust me he is not happy wasting every single weekend of his life playing some really gut wrenching pop music to imbeciles.

If you do however decide to continue down this abysmal path of DJ’ing Weddings and what not keep in mind that YOU are the DJ. YOU make the music decisions, and sometimes (if not every single time) there are going to be some people that don’t like the music you are playing. Or maybe its too loud. Or maybe they don’t like your lighting, or the speaker location. People all have different opinions and remember they are wrong and you are right. This isn’t one of those digs where :”the customer is always right”- trust me they are always wrong. Best way to deal clients when they come to me and complain is by stating the obvious and subtly telling them to F off, I have used these lines with impeccable results: “ I’m already setup and you don’t have time to find another DJ- deal with it” . “I’m the professional, stop worrying and kindly exit the DJ booth I am working here and you are distracting me”. “Sorry we do not take requests”. Also if someone want to get on the mic tell them “No, my microphone is broken”.

Take it from me kid, quit now.

Blessings,

TFBN

DJ Rodney Lee - I've been in the mobile DJ biz for over 25 years. Lots of fun, but there can be some headaches. The best thing to do with your music selection is put together short, 3-4 song mini-mixes. Cha Cha Slide goes well with... (figure this part on your own). These 10-15 minute mixes will ease some of the anxiety of "what to play next". You'll already have the next 3 songs lined up.

Also, make a crate of strictly "Wedding Music". You can organize your entire library any way you want, but this will help you separate those select songs that you'd typically play at a wedding. And get a good handle on your slow songs. Label them as such. You'll have an easier time finding the perfect slow song when drunk uncle Charlie wants to dance with his wife half way through the night.

Daytime weddings are not a recipe for dancing period. Your average wedding guest needs two hours of drinking to be able to cut loose. They need the lighting to be right... Not really anything to worry about on your end. Now if your night time weddings have the same problem it might be time to re-evaluate your approach as to how you prepare and organize your music as well as mix, if you are mixing.

About 25 yrs in the mobile biz, now only take personal referral business. I think you are on a great path. The best thing you can do is study what others are doing. The formula is pretty established for doing weddings with slight variation for your particular style and the needs of the client/crowd. Once you understand the parts, you just have to string them together fluidly.
Keep at it!

It's basically about expanding your music knowledge. Generally weddings are heavy in
disco, funk, some rock and popular country hits (some cheesy stuff). Find out what these songs are. Currents, just stick to whats popular and don't go for underground stuff. Close out with songs people can sing to. This is a safe formula. The tough part of all this though is picking the right song to play at the right time. Look at your crowd, that's what will dictate your playlist. Also KNOW WHAT THE BRIDE/GROOM WANTS. ( they have their Play and Do Not Playlist)

Also generally there's a lot of program to get through. ie speeches, performances, 1st dances. That cuts into dance time so you might have more than enough music to get you through.
Good Luck,


Lastly make sure your equipment is working properly ie mics, lights, speakers etc. You can have a great music set but ruin a wedding if your equipment is working.

*isn't working

Some really good sound advice here.

Also worth noting is the area you are DJ'ing in, some places just "have more fun" than others. its best to go off of the compliments you get (or do not get) at the end of the night. If you did a good job, people will take cards and tell you that you did well, regardless of how well YOU felt you did. As DJ's we have pretty skewed ideas of what is fun and what is not.

I used to have the same problem as you, i felt like my events trailed off. But always remember, not everyone is going to stay for the whole thing, so naturally throughout the event, you are going to have less and less people.

I always try to make the first 45 minutes as exciting as possible. Dont fall into the trap of "saving great songs for the end", many guests will leave and never get to hear them. If you kill (in the good way) the first 45 minutes, the odds are most people will have heard you at your best. And you already win them over for the rest of the event.

You seem to be at one of the points where the way youre going to get better is through experience. Stick to it, youll get it down.

Yup wedding dancing is the opposite of regular gigs. start with what works best, don't save best for last or try to start slow. Play "Superstition" in the first few songs.

This is not the 90s anymore my dude, DJ's have already over-saturated the culture with their cookie cutter sets and over repetitive playlists. DJ skill has declined dramatically over the years so nobody will respect you, even if you're talented however to be honest... having to ask others what they think YOU should play on a forum is a huge red flag. The chances of you actually making a living off DJ money is slim to shit unless you want to live in a busted up 1BR apartment, smoking low grade weed, eating bananas and bootleg captain crunch from aldi every night for dinner. The pay sucks, not even bar or club owners will care if you suck... they only care about your followers and how many of those low lives you can drag into the venue on a Tuesday night to buy beer.

Go back to school dude, save your money and become an IT professional in AWS or Azure. Hell, get a certification while you're at it. Then and ONLY then (if you're actually any good by then) you can think about DJ'ing on the side (but only because you enjoy DJ'ing) but even then you'd be lucky to make any money doing so.

Trust me on this, don't let down your parents and friends.

lol

^^ Hey, what's wrong with bootleg Captain Crunch from Aldi? ^^

Amen, best believe that any and all of the "Full Time" DJ hobo's on these forums are some brokey mc brokersons. Def not keeping up with the Jones's anytime soon. If you are cool driving around in a busted ass Geo Metro belching excessive black and blue smoke while contacting clients via your metro PCS cell phone go for it.

Don't disappoint your friends and family, the entire industry is a sham.

Dman it looks like there are some bitter never was has beens with plenty to say about something they don’t do for a living. I’m sure their positive outlook served them well when they were trying to make it as DJs. But I will say IT is the perfect place for folks consumed by negativity and antisocial tendencies so at least they are giving honest advice.

+1 its very difficult to make a decent living off of djing the economy, the clients, undercutting djs and tbh most of the wedding djs i know make the good money from upsale of lighting glow sticks nimus machines etc which you do not own. Mybest advice is just do regular parties you are still very new and dont know how to read a crowd this is something that will not take long to learn. You have to rememeber a wedding is a very important event for people. Your rep is on the line as a dj if you mess up a wedding and youll feel bad about it. Your new so your stil trying to build your rep and weddings are not the place to dit. I totally get where your coming from and your thtough process about weddings earning you more cash but your not at that point yet. Not even skill wise but sound system wise as well. However if you ever need anything feel free to send me and pm

Not true our whole world know revolves around technology thus being in demand thus getting a guaranteed job and a guaranteed standard of living as long as you are good at what you do. if you're a real dj you don't do it for the money you do it because you love it. The money is a bonus for doing what you love. But don't be that guy who undercuts and takes away from the hard working dj who deserves it more than you just to get the job. just my 2 cents. I would rather have a degree and a good salary job vs a full time undercutting dj. Just saying be real lol its this kids future.

"DMAN" someone must be a miserable career "DJ". In all honesty, outside of a hobby DJ'ing is a pathetic career, and those that you see that are running a mediocre "DJ Biz" surely don't have a 5 bedroom home in the Oakland Hills, a brand new matte wrapped top tier Tesla Model X on custom Forgiato's, or a fancy new iPhone xs.

Keep your petty DJ Business, i'll continue to climb the ladder at my white collar highly paid executive position you peon.

Rage on rich guy! Grrrrrr. Or is it not ok to mock the mentality handicapped? 🤔

no cap little man "no cap"

You’re like a day time soap opera, “lives of the sad and lonely” 😂

That's what I was going to suggest. Try and think 3 or 5 tunes ahead. Mixing and all is great but at a wedding it's not necessary for every song like a Bar or club- it is a balance of programming and keeping the crowd engaged.

You can also solicit requests if you get stuck and build the sets around the requests BUT it can be a flood gate. They may want the SONG RIGHT NOW, PLAY IT NEXT, etc...