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ARTICLES>
Hiring A Bar Mitzvah DJ: A Penny Here, Many A Penny To Hear
Feel like you're caught between the dog and the fire hydrant? The bad news--you're putty in the hands of a DJ. You don't know what questions to ask and wouldn't even know a right from wrong answer. The good news--I'm aware of your deepest concerns and your fondest dreams. After performing at well over 1000 Mitzvahs, take advantage of my experience. (And experiences!)
These two will make you shudder:
Several years ago, I had a wonderful conversation with a father in the process of hiring a DJ for his daughter's wedding. He ultimately chose to contract with an agency. He went for the "deal," booking a DJ at half my rate. Several months later he called me back and asked if I remembered him. I did. He mentioned the agency he had used, and why, and then asked whether I thought he could or should sue them! Needless to say, I was taken aback and inquired as to what had happened. His DJ never showed up. There was NO entertainment at the wedding reception. When confronted by a distraught father on the phone the next morning, the agency's eventual response was an invitation: "We'll see you in court if you want to file suit for a few hundred bucks." Isn't that staggering?
On another occasion at a New Years Eve party for 400 revelers at a rec hall, the party organizers were waiting outside in 20-degree weather and literally cheered and applauded when I pulled into the lot! When I asked them why they were so excited and dealing with the wind chill, they told me that the "best price" Disc Jockey they had hired the year before, never showed up. This was for hundreds of paying guests on New Years Eve! Imagine that one.
If your heart just skipped a beat, the no-show nightmare won't be your bad dream if you take the following information to heart.
I've been in this business since the dawn of civilization. I have back-up equipment and back-up DJs on call in the event of an emergency. (Be SURE that your DJ does, as well!) Don't put yourself in a position where a DJ can wreak havoc on your party. Certainly, every family has different tastes as well as different budget constraints. Some will shop at Neiman-Marcus, some shop at Sears and others love their Wal-Mart. Some people insist on filet mignon, others are content with a hamburger. Buy "burgers at Wal-Mart" if that's what your budget allows. Just don't scavenge for table scraps in their dumpster. (How's that for an analogy?)
When figuring costs, remember--you pay a caterer by "the head." But a DJ should give the same performance, for the same fee, for a party of 25 or 250. Or 2,500 for that matter. (A Radio DJ doesn't play "better" tunes if he has an audience of 25,000!) So compared to food expenses, even a higher priced entertainer may be a great buy.
Think about this: your Veggie Platter could cost more than your DJ! An ice sculpture (which, by the way, often isn't hand sculpted at all...it's likely a mold) could cost more than your DJ! IT'S WATER!! At a sizable affair, what's added for waiter gratuities & tax (caterer's term: "plus-plus") could cost more than your DJ! Add invitations, Synagogue fees, food, hall, new clothes, photography (it never ends). DJs usually represent from 5%-15% of total party expenses but are COMPLETELY responsible for a party's success! (Or failure.)
So give your affair a haircut: Just use fewer flowers or balloons in the centerpieces. Cut back on the egg rolls and hot dogs in-a-blanket! If you have 150 guests and manage to reduce just $1.50 per head off your food budget, that $225 applied to a better DJ can make a significant difference. Offer beer and wine instead of hard liquor. Save $4.00 per head (at least), put that additional $600 towards a superb DJ and your affair will soar!
Appropriate intelligently. Guests won't remember hors d'oeuvres they nibbled during cocktail hour, but memories of an otherwise distinctive occasion can be absolutely ruined by an ineffectual DJ. Borrow a little from here and put it over there. You'll ultimately spend the exact same amount of money, but you'll be able to throw "A Filet Mignon Party on a Neiman-Marcus grill!
Time is money. Usually. Factor in your initial and every subsequent phone consultation (2.5 hours), a face-to-face meeting (1.5 hours), pre-event Candlelighting production (.5 hour), drive time (1 hour), Favor/Subcontractor prep (.5 hour) and equipment set-up & dismantling (2 hours). These (roughly) 8 hours will be (or certainly should be) complimentary, but are a DJ's time spent, nonetheless. Allowing for that, your true hourly fee is substantially reduced.
It's difficult to pinpoint standard DJ fees for you, since there are none! The range is set by market toleration and DJ experience. The differences are considerable. I recently attended a national Mobile DJ seminar where a company primarily servicing an affluent community in a major market was asking for suggestions on what to add to justify adjusting their high-end package from $6000 to $7000! Shocked? They work every weekend. They include everything from three video screens to six dancers to valet parking! DJs with experience in a small market (or DJs just getting started in business in that same city) may struggle with stiff competition for 10% of that fee for the same type of job!
WARNING: If his fee is in the $50-$75/hour range he'll be new to the profession. MY ADVICE: PASS! Cheap is expensive. You may save a few bucks, but it will cost you in the intangibles and presentation. Big time. Your affair may be held in a gorgeous banquet facility or in your club basement. It's irrelevant. The DJ doesn't care. His needs: a table and a wall socket. What's important is his experience. The fee will correlate.
Did you know that the #1 anxiety on earth is glossophobia...fear of public speaking/stage fright? Fewer people are fearful of dying! It's true. It would be more desirable for many people to be in the casket than delivering the eulogy! And did you know that some DJ's just crank out the tunes (segue music) but never talk? You do now. Some don't even come to jobs with a microphone. It's a hackneyed expression but so true: you get what you pay for.
Joe Pachino has been a Radio & Mobile DJ in Baltimore since 1974 and is the author of "DJ's Secrets Revealed! How To Select (And Get The Most Out Of) Your Bar or Bat Mitzvah DJ" c 2001, 2007 EMI.
It's overloaded with constructive, organized and valuable tip$ for parents. Full of useful fact following useful fact preceding useful fact. (Plus, an occasional opinion!)
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