by Stu Ritchie

Created on: January 15, 2007   Last Updated: May 09, 2007

I don't honestly know why, but I feel an urge to write this article.

When you go out to a Wedding, Birthday, Club, Pub or other celebration, you will no doubt be confronted by a strange man/woman, no I am not talking about an ex you haven't seen for years, or even the mother-in-law of your best mate, i'm talking about the DJ or Disc Jockey, usually situated at one end of the room, hidden behind tables, lights, speakers and other unfamiliar DJ type equipment, he can seem quite a daunting person, surrounded by an almost fortress type set-up.

Well, on most occasions, that person stood behind the vast array of electrical plugs is no more than a genuine guy/girl earning money providing entertainment tailored to your needs.

Let's, just for a moment, take you back to when you booked your DJ, ask yourself;

1. How did you find your DJ?
2. Recommendation or Yellow Pages hunt for a random person advertising a "Mobile Disco"?
3. or did you use an agency?

On most bookings you look for a person quoting the cheapest price for providing you
with a "Mobile Disco" or "Karaoke/Disco"! Now the previous comment is not meant to offend, it is a fact of life, we will all look for the cheapest price, that is how society works, that's why you choose to shop at Asda instead of your local Corner Shop!

But, if you had 30,000 to spend on a car, would you spend it on a Kia Picanto or a BMW, Audi or Mercedes?

Well, in the DJ business, it is actually not far different, you want a DJ who will entertain, who will have the music at a respectable level, but not blowing your brains out, you want lights, but not so bright they blind you, you want a DJ who can build an atmosphere, but not fill the room with so much smoke you can't see your Sister-in-law (Ok! that might not be so much of a problem!)

Think to yourself, if a DJ can afford to drive 30 miles to your chosen venue, spend 1hr setting his "Fortress" up, Play music of your choice all evening and then spend another 1hr packing all the gear back up, to then drive 30 miles home again and all for 80, where is the money your paying them going, it can't be on the equipment, a single bulb for one of the Lights can cost up to 25, each CD costs 1.99 or more, even MP3 dowloads cost 0.79 or more again, plus the BPI now charge 250 a year just to use MP3 files for DJ/Entainment purposes.

But, more to the point of this article, when a DJ is stood in his "Fortress" he is usually thinking about the people in the room, looking at peoples reaction to the songs he is playing,

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