DJ biz needs a kick in the butt!

Am I the only one who’s starting to think the mobile DJ industry is getting stagnant?  We keep hearing from the same industry “notables” (read: cronies)  talk about the same old issues.

We are constantly hearing:

“How do we squeeze more money out of brides and make them realize that we are more important than the cheese platter.”

“Who’s got the better, more powerful, lighter weight most snappy looking sound system”

“What’s your favorite beat matched song set”

“Why doesn’t the DJ industry get any respect”

“WHAT!  You don’t have up-lighting”

“How do we put an end to ‘bottom feeders?’”

PLEASE!

Chat forums, seminar speakers, trade articles, blogs.  Same-O. Same-O.

Why aren’t we reaching out to experts outside our incestuous industry and learning new perspectives, new skills and creating new paradigms.  Or even reaching out to a new set of solid pros within our industry who can shed  new light and share new ideas.  It seems like the same dozen guys names resurface at every turn.

How about a well spoken party planner or wedding consultant explaining why a cheese platter gets more attention than the DJ.

How about a “landing page” expert with the nuts and bolts on how to create a powerful sales page for the internet.

How about an outside business or marketing consultant with tips on running a small business.

An ad-agency guy with insight on creating a unique positioning statement

Lets hear from some new fresh faces that can provide new fresh insight and bring some new fresh growth ideas to an industry that is getting bogged down in “more of the same”.    

There are some great young entrepreneurs out there that I am sure are willing to share their expertise.  (David Siteman Garland, Derek Sivers, Shama Kabani, Michael Stelzner the list is endless.)  That’s how we can breath some fresh air into this incredible industry we all love.

700 New mobile DJ competitors on the street?

It was a blood bath at Clear Channel radio stations across the country yesterday.  Mostly in smaller markets.  Some are speculating around 700 radio guys were cut loose.  700 hungry unemployed DJs.  Chances are,  many of them will be bridging the gap by bringing the mobile system out of moth balls and jumping in the wedding show with a crisp new business card.

On days like this, you should sit back and be thankful that you chose to be a self employed DJ and have taken ownership of your personal destiny and won’t  fall prey to business decisions by mammoth corporations  with a new “restructuring” idea.

Work hard, perform well and serve your clients.   It won’t matter how many new competitors you have…..you’ll do just fine.  It may be that one day, not too far down the road, the only real DJ jobs available will be at clubs, or mobile.  The days of the local radio DJ  seem to be numbered.

What’s the most annoying song?

As a DJ you listen to them all.  You get requests from young and old, hip and not, drunk and sober and from every race, creed and economic background.  You’ve got to have a personal list of songs that most annoy you.  You know the ones.  They send a chill up your spine when requested, yet as a dutiful professional you try to find a way to work them in.  I’d love to know your most annoying songs maybe we can build our own list like the one just release from Rolling Stone Magazine.  From their listener poll, here are the Top 20 that drive Rolling Stones readers to their Ipod for refuge.

1. Black Eyed Peas, “My Humps”
2. Los Del Rio, “Macarena”
3. Baha Men, “Who Let The Dogs Out”
4. Celine Dion, “My Heart Will Go On”
5. Nickelback, “Photograph”
6. Lou Bega, “Mambo No. 5″
7. James Blunt, “You’re Beautiful”
8. Spice Girls, “Wannabe”
9. Sisqo, “The Thong Song”
10. Cher, “Believe”
11. Aqua, “Barbie Girl”
12. Chumbawumba, “Tub Thumper”
13. Rednex, “Cotton-Eyed Joe”
14. Eiffel 65, “Blue”
15. Crash Test Dummies, “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm”
16. Meatloaf, “I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That)”
17. ‘NSYNC, “Bye, Bye, Bye”
18. Ricky Martin, “Livin’ La Vida Loca”
19. Semisonic, “Closing Time”
20. Wham!, “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go”

What are your Top “Most Annoying songs”?

When will an “APP” replace the DJ ?

If all you bring to the party is a sound system and music library, your days might be numbered.  If you are tracking the advancement of DJ APPs it’s gotta scare you a little.  Any 15 year old kid now has access to instant music, and instant mixing technology.  The price of self powered speakers is coming down…. and bingo, another “DJ” is on the street competing against you.  You can either say what I hear DJs say over and over again…”Yes, but we are professional, and have years of experience and are DJ association member,and have a business license and carry insurance. ”   All sounds good, but, guess what?  The graphics industry, the newspaper industry, the printing industry and the travel agency business “professionals” all said the same things right up to the time their industry was turned upside down by technology.   Lest you think I am writing the epitaph for the Mobile DJ industry…you are dead wrong.  What I am saying, is, that if you want to survive in the DJ business you need to recognize there is an important paradigm shift taking place.

The DJ is not simply a jockey of discs (MP3s),  he is the party host.  Microphone work, crowd engagement, games, group dances, massaging the crowd,  quick wit, and party psychology are the new skill sets necessary to survive long term as a DJ.  Maybe it’s time to change the name from DJ to  ”MPH” :  MUSICAL PARTY HOST.

The latest DJ App introduction:  

Frantically filling your calendar

Posting on your latest blog? Following up on leads?  Sending out flyers?  Printing business cards? Creating AdWords ads?  Facebooking your friends, and tweeting?

…it can keep a guy frantically busy.  Then a dose of the real reality:

The marketing magic of pictures

If you get Mobile Beat Magazine, you’ll see an article I wrote on page 50 of the September issue.  I am a huge fan of using pictures to market DJ services.  Here is that article in it’s entirety for my blog readers.

                                                    MOBILE BEAT
-September 2011

When you think about it, it’s is all about the visual.  Even as we talk or write the listener’s ear is turning your words into a visual.  Making text come to life visually in their mind.  How that visual ends up looking to the listener is subject to your verbal description and their perceptions based on their own life experiences.

Of course if you provide the visual it leaves less room for listener/reader  interpretation…and makes the communication all the more clear.  It also requires less verbiage or text, because as the old phrase goes, …”a picture is worth a thousand….”.    So, for the sake of clarity, and brevity your marketing should be loaded with visuals.

Gathering images should be an on-going and never ending project.  Technology has made the process simple and economical.  Digital photography is a marketing guy’s best friend.  Taking massive pictures costs you nothing.  No film, no processing.  Old school mentality dictated that you search for the perfect photo opp before you snap.  Now though: snap, snap snap. The only cost to you is the time it takes to edit your photos to find the jewels.  If you take a hundred pictures in a night, chances are good you will get 10 or 12 absolute winners. I suggest you discard anything marginal and keep only those that  are great and usable.  You can clutter and confuse by loading your computer up with marginal shots.  Tag your photos with date, event, and image content. So that you can find them again when it is time to use them.

I recommend you make picture taking a company priority.  The camera should be as important  as your speakers to take along to the gig.  If you have multiple DJs make sure that your company policy includes taking pictures.  Provide a bonus for the the best picture of the month.  Make it clear what you are looking for:  Pictures of crowd participation, and happy party guests.  Have a roadie or student helper take pictures of the DJ in action.    As company owner, I make it a priority to drop by and observe company events, and use it as an opportunity to get pictures of our guys in action.

Words of caution.  When taking pictures, especially of minors, it is sometimes a sensitive issue.  Sometimes administrators, faculty or parents are overly concerned about pictures being taken of their students and posted on the internet without their permission.  To help pave the way, I suggest putting a line in your dance contract that says, unless otherwise requested, pictures may be taken at their event for the purpose of marketing.  It is also wise to make a disclaimer at the event that pictures taken during the event are for the sole purpose of on-going marketing.   Don’t make a huge deal out of it to avoid causing concern where there is none and raising red flags unnecessarily.  If there are objections or specific school policies in place restricting pictures than by all means honor them.  It’s a shame, but in this day of privacy and perverts, picture taking can be an issue.  If pictures of the crowd are restricted, take the opportunity to get pictures of you in action, your gear, and lights by turning the camera over to a friend, parent or faculty member.

Now that you have a ton of pictures…what next?  Use them everywhere.  Keep updated shots on your web site, your blog, your e mail marketing,  and on your direct mail pieces.   Put them up on your flickr account, post the great ones on your Facebook page, tweet them.  Pictures are your best way to get noticed by search engines, and are always a welcome treat for your friends and followers on line.  Even if someone is too busy to read a post, they may take a moment to check out a picture.

And now here is my favorite use of pictures: producing them in a fast paced slide show set to music.   It can be done in a variety of ways using readily available tools both on Mac’s and PCs.   But wait. There is a quicker and better way.  There is an amazing on-line tool called Animoto  (www.animoto.com).  If you have not discovered this yet, you are in for a treat.  It allows you to load your best pictures, add text between the shots, and select music that they provide (royalty free) or use your own audio track.  You can highlight certain pictures, select the show speed ( fast, medium or slow) and then click a button.   Within 5 or 10 minutes you will be notified that your slide show is ready.  Animoto has magically created a fast paced, slickly produced video, ready to be shared, embedded on your web site or published on YouTube.  Amazing.  If you didn’t like that particular editing of your pictures.  Click again, and they return it to you with a whole new edit job.  You can check it out and do as many 30 second videos as you’d like at no charge.  You’ll likely find that 30 seconds isn’t long enough to tell the story but if you buy the full length version of the program it is only $30 per year (with Animoto branding) or the Pro version without Animoto Branding is $249 per year.

Just think of the applications.  You can create mini promos for your company’s various products.   Create a promo video for weddings, another one for school dances, another for Sweet 16s.  Then post them on YouTube, feature them on a landing page or web site or send the link to prospective clients.  You can also use these amazing little videos as a follow up or thank you to clients.  Instead of a thank you note….send them a video of their wedding set to their first dance song. Or after the Prom shoot a recap video to the class president.  I guarantee it will go viral at that school.  On top of all that, video posts on YouTube and elsewhere are search engine magnets.

If you are interested in on-going coaching or consulting for your growing DJ business I can provide one-on-one help at a modest hourly rate to work hand in hand with you to kick start your business.  If you are a DJ looking for management and booking assistance, we also have tools in place to  represent a small number of dedicated DJs as their talent agent.  Connect with me directly at any time.  800 954 3535.  or Ric@RadioParties.com

Austrian DJ attempts world record

Another Austrian makes a splash in California.  Step aside Arnold, Rene Brunner  (DJDC) is coming to town.  Internationally known for his club mixes, DJDC will flaunt his stuff at the prestigious Yost Theatre in Santa Ana California this Sunday Oct 2.  I spent some time with him on the phone as he prepares mentally and physically for a week long marathon.  If you want to check in to see if he is still standing, the event will be live on the internet at www.worldrecorddj.com all week long.   Click here for the interview on DJ HOT TALK.

JB the DJ – Bieber should stick to singing

It was called a train wreck.  Justin Bieber as DJ.  You can witness as he crashed and burned at Selina Gomez’s tour after party.  Click on the video and enjoy.

When in doubt, be a DJ

And you wonder why there is so much competition out there?  And why the value of your service is understated?

Ask Paris Hilton.  It’s fun, feeds your ego, doesn’t cost much to do it, and really, what does it take to “play the hits”.  Paris has decided that  becoming a DJ Deva is her new career path after her pop album a couple years back, tanked, on take off.  In her never dieing attempt to be “famous, for being famous ” she is reportedly training to be a house DJ under the tutelage of of A-list DJs,  Afrojack and Deadmau5.

Will Paris’s entry into the DJ world affect you.  No, not likely.  But the Paris Hilton mentality: “When in doubt, be a DJ” does affect you every day.  That is why the kid with the big sound system becomes a DJ, or the music nerd from high school hangs out his DJ shingle…It’s fun, feeds their ego and doesn’t cost much.

How is hiring a DJ different than any other vendor?

One of my favorite marketers, writers, and bloggers is Seth Goden.  He has written many of the best marketing books.  I think of him as more of a deep thinker, philosophical marketer.    He just wrote a blog that really makes incredible sense to our world,  the DJ community.    I am going to repost it here, and urge you to subscribe to this guy’s blog for more enlightened discussion about marketing.

Talent and vendors “You may be purchasing services from people with magical talents (artists) and it’s a mistake to confuse them with vendors. As we get more and more service oriented, it’s an easy mistake to make. You’re busy buying cleaning services or consulting or design, and sometimes the person you’re working with is a vendor, and sometimes they’re not–they’re an artist, “the talent.” A vendor is someone who exists to sell you something. It doesn’t always matter to the vendor what’s being sold, as long as it’s being sold and paid for. The quality of what’s being delivered is rarely impacted by the method of transaction. The turnips will still show up, the house will still get painted. You can send an RFP to a vendor, bid it out, get the lowest price, sign the contract and if you write the contract properly, will get what you ordered. The quality of the work you get from the talent changes based on how you work with her. That’s the key economic argument for the distinction: if you treat an artist like a vendor, you’ll often get mediocre results in return. On the other hand, if you treat a vendor like an artist, you’ll waste time and money. Vendors happily sit in the anonymous cubes at Walmart’s headquarters, waiting for the buyer to show up and dicker with them. They willingly fill out the paperwork and spend hours discussing terms and conditions. The vendor is agnostic about what’s being sold, and is focused on volume, or at least consistency. While the talent is also getting paid (to be in your movie, to do consulting, to coach you), she is not a vendor. She’s not playing by the same rules and is not motivated in the same way. A key element of the distinction is that in addition to the varying output potential, vendors are easier to replace than talent is. Target understood this when they reached out to Michael Graves to design a line of goods that sold hundreds of millions of dollars worth of items. When I interviewed Michael a few years ago, he had nothing but great things to say about the way Target invited him in and gave him the ability to do his work. Threadless embraces this when they treat the designers of their t-shirts in a non-corporate way. Etsy is built on this single truth. Most industry is built on vendor relationships, and vendors expect (and sometimes value) the impersonal nature of their relationships. This scales… until you lump in the talent. Should you treat vendors with respect? No doubt about it. Human beings do their best work when they’re treated fairly and with enthusiasm. But when the provider is also digging deep to put something on the table that you can’t possibly write a spec for, you’re going to have to respond in kind.”

Don’t let yourself be treated like a vender.  You are talent, and you should  expect to be treated like it.