How do you justify charging so much more for a party? I know that it is a one time job but maybe if we charged a more resonable price we could book more.

I'm doing a luau for the friend of the club owner today at the club rate but I get to eat and drink and MC the wet "T" shirt contest (hopefully worth the price of admission)

Private Party = Invitation entry, You don't know who will show up; reduced 'public' exposure; The person/group that booked you, in all likelyhood, will want more control of the show...Father of the Bride pulls rank and get's cousin Joe into the rotation every 3 songs, ("'cause he almost went to nashville , ya know")

As far as music, can you buy DJ CD's with mixes of music or do you just buy regular CD's (I like the collections you see on TV)

You can get premixed/dance mix CD's for DJ work. There is even a subscription service that will send you the TOP 20 dance tracks every month, and at least one company has a DJ startup library (sorta like the 'Foundations'). If you can't find what you need, eMail me and I'll search my contacts from here.

Dj's like me are wedding experts, i have been doing them for 10 years and have over $100,000 invested between my three systems.
we only use the best equipment and have the best selection of music in our area. We would never work a wedding for less than $500, but a grad party or something like that i'll charge around $250-300.

I did a company Luau over the weekend and for most of the night I just played background music (nobody danced and no wet "T" shirt contest like I was promised)
They just did karaoke the last hour or so and only a couple of people sang.
If I had one of those carousel players I could have just hit random play and snuck off to the hot tub.

So I guess my query is more for company picnics and Christmas parties.

I have tried to keep my system very portable
I don't have subs or a huge amp but I have a very nice clean sound and my Peavey 358's
have a solid base but I can't "thump" like someone with subs.

If I don't bring the tv and song books to just play music and not sing it's one trip on the cart and I can unload and start playing in 15 min.
Thats why it is hard for me to justify 75 to 100 bucks an hour for a nonwedding event,50 to 60 seems more fair.

A question for Maxx: you have just played for my sons grad nite and you charged us $250
now my daughter is getting married this fall, how do you explain twice the cost for what I (someone not in the KJ/DJ biz) percieve as the same service.

I'm sure you have to deal with this all the time esp when cousin Jimmy brought his stereo and his CD's to someone's neice's wedding and charged 75 bucks.

I ask only to be enlightened not to question.

Get your foot on the floor and it will probably open one more door, maybe more.

the time-frame they wanted for our karaoke segment was from 8:30pm-11:00pm. afterwards, a hypnotist would take over for an hour, then another dj/live band would perform from midnight until 4:00am.

we were ready to begin at 8:30, but the grad ceremony lasted much longer than the parents thought it would. thus, the kids didn't arrive until 9:45pm. we played some dance music for them as they descended to the buffet table. while eating, they were just content to dance.

an hour later at 10:45pm, the kids were ready to start singing, but the parents wanted to stick with the original schedule. so, we announced to the kids that the hypnotist was coming up in 10 minutes and that we will play dance music till then.

we never got to do any karaoke at all, and we weren't originally asked (or expected) to do any dance/dj work, but we still got paid our $300.00 for barely an hour's work.

Weddings, are alot more work. First of all, you have to get to know the families, and the couple, and their musical preferences. This requires your time up front way before the wedding. You must learn to pronounce every weird name in the wedding party correctly. You need to not only provide music, but in most cases, you are the master of ceremonies at the reception as well, keeping the flow going for the traditional reception. In most cases, you will need formal wear, which is a cost. In certain cases, you may even need to purchase special one time music that you will never use again. If you take all this into consideration, you cn easily seem how easy it is to justify 600 or more for a 5 hour reception.

Thats what I was looking for from Maxx.
For someone planning a wedding you go to the videographer they show you how they can make your wedding look like a hollywood production and you get to keep the tape.
The photographer shows you pictures of how they can capture special moments and you get to keep the pictures.
When it comes to the reception, the perception
is that you (or me) are just playing music and anybody can do that.

I am trying to learn from the best (you guys)
so I ask what appear to be dumb questions but it keeps me from making dumb mistakes.

Hey if you don't like the video guy can you turn him in for recording the bride&groom singing endless love off your SC disc and not paying fees for copyrights?

People pay BIG dollars for these, but sometimes try to beat the entertainer out of the money. A resume of past gigs with contacts is helpful (most computer programs have one to create like MS Works. Keep it simple to the point.

Basic Fees:
$500 minimum up to 3 hours
$ 50 set up/break down fee/local travel
1/2 Deposit Required(nonrefundable-few exceptions)

WHY does the entertainer deserve their fee?

In my case here is what they get.

I have a large library, provide expert sound.

I work with the bridal party discussing what they want and cues as to when (down to the music, songs they want and when).

They want to know that their special day has the utmost professional to care for their every need on this their SPECIAL day. Provide a CDR of snippets of your sound, a brochure with pictures (software available at any computer store), and you business card.

I also don't want my feelings on values to adversly affect any one else, there a couple of guys here in my town that are on this board that we haven't heard from yet. I don't want to be the a**hole charging 100 bucks for a party when they have been getting 300 and screw it up for everyone.

RC: for charities depending how you keep your books, invoice them for the maximum tou charge and show your discount as a donation if they are a legit charity you can deduct he donation.

All that being said, the above is NO reason to offer cut rate prices. That is the easiest way to go out of business. Alot of people who are new to the business forget the hidden costs associated with doing private gigs... For example... How long does it take you to get your equipment in your vehicle and transport it to your location (round trip)? What about the gas? What about the wear and tear on the vehicle? All these are examples of costs you may not have considered. But subtract them, as well as the obvious costs, from your $100 price, and you may not have alot left.