We have all seen it, the DJ touting his services for $150 for 4 hours… Whats the difference you might ask??
As a service professional I understand the DJ industry, I understand it because I live it every day. I have a wealth of knowledge and research daily to make Dj Alexis the best company possible. That is me.
I can not fly a plane or perform open heart surgery nor can I teach a class on american History. I am a professional in the DJ industry. When clients call us I understand that they know nothing about the DJ industry other then we play music and we have loud speakers, and why should they? That is why they hire professionals for their events so they can trust us to do our job and do it right.
Here is the problem. People assume all DJs are the same and they put their trust in DJs that lack professionalism, quality equipment, customer service and above all experience. They say you must do something at least 1000 times to be a professional. Would you want a DJ at your wedding with 5 gig experience or 50 gig experience? Which DJ do you feel would do a better job? Obviously the one with 50 gigs under his belt. Now, what if you had the choice between a DJ that has performed at 50 events or 500 events? Obviously you would choose the one with 500! Experience is everything.
What do you get from a $150 4 hour DJ?
honestly? Not much… Quality equipment, music, training, insurance, travel, TAXs, etc all costs money.
What would you expect? In my experience I have worked with many different DJs including professionals and amateurs. Trust me. There is a difference.
With the low budget DJ you will get poor quality equipment, a rats nest of cables, stolen music, microphone timidness (yes, A LOT of djs are petrified to speak on the microphone) poor customer service (if any) no contract, no guarantee, and if something bigger or better comes up… trust me, they will take it and leave you in the dust.
My cousin is going to DJ my wedding….
Dont get me wrong, family is great. But would you also let your cousin fly a jumbo jet because he fly one on the computer? no… With any celebration a lot of time, money, and effort go into making each event a success. Though the food will be great, the flowers will be beautiful, and the venue staff will be awesome, people will leave your celebration with one thing on their mind, Did we have fun. Im sure your cousin will play a few great songs but I wouldnt chance the most celebration you have ever planned on someone just trying to help. Invite your cousin, get a professional DJ, and so noones feelings get hurt simply say “Cousin, this is a great time for you to learn”
Why do some DJs charge $1,500-$2,500 for a wedding reception? Is it worth it?
Well, that depends if you have the disposable cash or not. If you are like most southern californians you look for the best bang for your buck. Some DJs charge insane amounts for mediocre service… Why? Tremendous overhead, greed, insane marketing budgets (because client recommendations arent enough)and strategy. People have been consitioned to think “The more money I spend the better service I will get” This is far from the truth. In my opinion you should never feel had or taken advantage of, so interview multiple DJs, shop around for the best VALUE… dont go with the cheapest, and dont trust companies that charge high amounts as a strategy. If anything, ASK “Why is your price so high/low” and see what they say!
“We DJ 1 million events per year, therefore we are the best and demand lots of $$$”
Really? I dont agree with this… Though we are a professional service and this is our Job we never lose sight of the fact that each client is unique and has individual needs. Below is an actual conversation with a few owners of DJ companies in southern california during lunch a few months ago:
Question: How many events do you do per year?
DJ #1 “We perform at 4,000 events per year…”
Dj #2 “We DJ 2,500 events per year!”
DJ #3 (proudly) “We have over 1200 clients!…”
My responce: ” As many as we can do well…, whether it be 500-1000 as long as we provide quality than we have done our job”
It was pretty quiet after my response… 
Well, until next time, thanks for reading and remember:
Make it a good party or not, the choice is yours!
Alexis Dj