Disc Jockey News NOVEMBER 2017 • Issue #150
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PAGE 2 • Disc Jockey News • NOVEMBER 2017
Lessons From Colin Hay’s Show By Mike Walter
I saw Colin Hay last month and thoroughly enjoyed the show. If you don’t recognize the name, Hay was the lead singer for the band Men at Work that had such eighties hits as “Who Can It Be Now?” and “Down Under.” This was a oneman show, and Hay not only sang some great acoustic versions of his songs, along with some great covers (Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” and The Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun” just to name a few). He also told a few stories in between and showed off his dry Australian humor. I not only had a great time but as I often do I took some lessons home with me and I’d like to share them here. Hay had already referenced that, nowadays, he was just a working musician and far from the pop icon he’d been
three decades ago. Then at one point, he was tuning his guitar between songs and he said he used to have a technician who brought him “finely tuned guitars” between each song. After the perfect comedic pause, he then added: “that’s the first thing to go.” That line got one of the biggest laughs of the night, but it also hit home for me because I am in the middle of figuring out what things must go here at Elite. Our company is still strong, don’t get me wrong, but I’d like us to be even more profitable than we are, so I’ve begun looking at every expense with a questioning eye. So, I’ve cut a few things, helped make Elite a little leaner and more profitable and set us up for an even more successful 2018. Which is where this article turns its focus to you, dear reader; when was the last time you did this? If it’s been a while, it’s long overdue. And not just for our businesses but for our households too. I think everyone should look at their last three months of credit card statements and question every charge. Do you need that big of a cable bill? Why are you paying for the gym membership you never go to? Etc. etc. When I was trimming the fat here at Elite (and
Tune In and Tune-Up By Tamara Sims
It is hard to believe that peak engagement season is upon us. When I think of engagement season, I think of cold weather, warm, cozy sweaters and the annoying commercials for “pumpkin spice” flavored everything. But as I write this article on my patio wearing a sundress in midOctober in Chicago on a beautiful 70-degree day, it is understandable why I am not quite ready for engagement season to begin. According to WedInsights, the largest number of engagements occur between December 1 and New Year’s Day which means we have a lot of work to do to sharpen our sales skills and tune up our website. But where do I start? If you are an advertiser with WeddingWire, I highly recommend viewing the many webinars they offer. I just watched Alan Berg’s “Engagement Season Tune Up” webinar, and there are so many things we may overlook while we are in the thick of our busy wedding seasons: updating website photos, showcasing reviews and constantly keeping content current and relevant. We only have one chance to make a great first impression, and that usually starts with our website. Brides want to picture themselves on their wedding day. Do your photos convey your brand? Are your photos from recent weddings? Are people having fun in your photographs? Brides are not going to feel warm and fuzzy viewing photographs of your awesome JBL speakers. Sorry friends, but it’s true. You, you, you! When was the last
time you read the text on your website out loud? Increase the “you’s” and decrease the “we’s” is another great tip from Alan. Engage with your audience and make them feel like you are speaking directly to them. Brides want to feel connected to your brand and want to know what you are going to do to make their day special. My next takeaway from the webinar may seem controversial since being a lady, I do not like to use the “P” word, but I feel it is my journalistic duty to discuss this topic. Ok… here it goes… the word is Pricing. To include or not to include on your website has sparked debates for years in our DJ community. It may be as polarizing as choosing chocolate or vanilla ice cream. Perhaps like me, you are more of a
at home), I kept using the word “essential.” “Is this expense essential?” I’d ask myself. If so, it stayed. But if not I found a way to reduce it or eliminate it. Another story Colin Hay told had to do with a big soccer match that was being played in Australia. He received a request to sing “Down Under” before the match because they needed an Australian icon to sing an iconic Australian song. But when he was told how much the gig paid he replied, “that’s not very iconic.” Again, the line got a great laugh, but the further point for me was that sometimes, we all have to walk away from a booking. And the price may be the only reason. We all know our value and what we bring to an event, and hopefully, that’s what we’ve used to set our price. So as much as a client may flatter you and tell you how important you are to their wedding or Mitzvah, or whatever party they are planning; if they aren’t willing to pay your fee that’s reason enough to walk away. Hopefully, Hay got a more “iconic” fee for his performance, because his song is that iconic. I think if you ask anyone to name a song about Australia they’d probably answer “Down Under” before anything else. I mean, heck, Men At Work taught the world what a vegemite sandwich was. This brings me to my final lesson from the Colin Hay show. As he fin-
ished his story about the soccer match, he said he was leaving the pitch that day, and someone asked him, “do you ever get sick of singing that one?” He replied, “heck no,” (he didn’t use “heck, “ but I’ve cleaned his response up for this fine, upstanding publication) did you see how happy it made everyone?” We all should all feel that way about the music we play! I don’t ever get sick of playing any song at my events. Even the overplayed ones like “We Are Family” or “Celebration.” Sure I wouldn’t listen to them on my own time, but at my parties, I don’t even really hear the song. I’m too busy, as Hay said, watching how happy they make everyone. When my dance floor is packed, and people are singing along or moving in unison to a line dance, I couldn’t care less how many times I’ve heard the song before. It’s all about the joy it brings to others at that moment. I see too many DJs talking about how they hate playing a song or even refuse to play something that they’re sick of hearing. Not me. I don’t let my taste enter the equation, and I focus more on what the crowd will love. Mike Walter is the owner of Elite Entertainment of New Jersey and a nationally recognized expert in the area of multisystem company development and staff training. You can contact Mike at mikewalter@discjockeynews.com.
“twisty cone” type (half chocolate/half vanilla). And if that is the case, Alan highly encourages you at the very least to include a price range on your website. 88% of brides polled want to see pricing. “Not telling is NOT an option” according to Berg. If you are confident in the level of service you provide, you should not be afraid of the prices you charge. And with exceeding, confidence and exceptional service comes 5-star reviews. Post your reviews everywhere! It is ok to brag. You and your team have worked hard to earn those stellar reviews so why not show them off. Are you a new or smaller company? No problem. Keep asking your past clients to post reviews so they can help your business. Believe me, if they loved your company they will be more than happy to shout from the rooftops how wonderful you are. Just ask Mike Wal-
ter who has over 1500 positive reviews on WeddingWire! Show off your most recent reviews on the prominent pages on your website and always keep your reviews current. Commit to making one change before engagement season, and you will be off to a great year of bookings. Please feel free to share your comments with me at: tamarasims@discjockeynews.com or tamara@something2dance2.com Tamara is the Director of Sales and Marketing for Something 2 Dance 2 DJ Entertainment in Schaumburg, IL, which she proudly owns along with her husband Jay Sims. She has over 20 years experience in the wedding industry and loves creating wonderful wedding memories for her brides and grooms.
NOVEMBER 2017 In This Issue: Page 2: Mike Walter Page 2: Tamara Sims Page 4: Mitch Taylor Page 4: Brian S. Redd Page 5: Justin Miller Page 6: Peter Merry Page 7: Jason Spencer
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Disc Jockey News • NOVEMBER 2017 • Page 3
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PAGE 4 • Disc Jockey News • NOVEMBER 2017
The S3 Strategy By Mitch Taylor
This is the formula for success in business and life. It’s my combined take of two different concepts that I’ve learned over the years; one that was graciously given to me by a past client of mine and one that I learned from the book “The Closers” by Ben Gay III. The two concepts are “Sum Tertius” from the Closers book and “Work With Not For,” which comes from an interview I did with Breeze and Patrick, past clients of Taylored Weddings. The S3 Strategy is Success is in Serv-
ing, not Selling. The amount of money in your bank account is directly proportional to the amount of value that you bring to the table for somebody else. Believe it or not, many people don’t define success by strictly monetary ways. They define it by how many people they helped to get better. That’s the way to a positive life full of connections. If you don’t like the number in your bank account, then your job is to find more ways to help more people. So, the key question is how can you help people? That’s Serve, and we’ll explore that first. To serve people is to help people. People always say to me ‘I don’t know where to start to help people. I don’t know what to do’. I want you to think about that and then really think about who you want to serve? Who are the people you WANT to work with, not for? Get specific here, not generic. Google them. Google who they are. Google where they work. Google where
Why Put Me There? By Brian S. Redd
How important is the DJ’s set up location in a wedding floor plan? To me, it’s always seemed pretty obvious. At the very least, we should be right next to the dance floor, facing the majority of the audience. It’s even better
when there is a dance floor between the DJ and the seating area. Why? On the most basic level, it’s an audio issue. Forget about music for a minute. Think about toasts and speeches. Handing a microphone to an amateur has its own set of challenges. Combine that with aiming a set of speakers, with a dispersion of roughly of 60 degrees, anywhere other than at the audience, and it can be difficult to hear what anyone is saying. If this is done in an acoustically challenging space, it’s even worse. Pro audio speakers just aren’t designed for near-field listening. When people are sitting right in front of your system, this can be a painful experience. This can be
they live. Find out what their social media channels are. Google is your friend. Now, look at what their challenges are. What are they struggling with? As a small business entrepreneur, I’m sure you wear a couple of different hats. Your potential client has similar struggles. They are busy just like you and I. Too busy to do the work. Empathize with them. You must make it easy for them to do business with you. That’s the serve part of the equation. If you have expertise in that area, then you can help that ideal client of yours. You become a resource; you become someone of value to them. Let’s look at the NOT selling aspect. Do you like to be sold? Nah, I didn’t think so. How would you rather be treated? You want to be helped; you want information shared with you, you don’t want to make a mistake, you want better than what you have in life. What can make your client’s life better? What do you know that they don’t? Recently I saw an opportunity to help fellow DJs with their sales process by offering my full sales process for sale on my web-
site. I went back through, tweaked some things, had my amazing and my Microsoft Office Queen wife Michelle set things up for me to begin to offer it to others. The difference in what I did vs. what others do is I saw an opportunity. I wanted to help. I heard too many DJs complaining of a lack of process, or not getting return phone calls and emails. So, I shared a solution, one that worked for me. Others bought it and had been singing its praises. That makes me feel good, and gives me SUCCESS because I served someone, I didn’t sell them. How can you serve your clients better and have more success without feeling like you are selling to them? The steps are outlined above. Put the S3 Strategy to work for you. Mitch Taylor is an 18 year veteran of the mobile disc jockey industry, starting out on the cruise ships of Carnival Cruise Lines. He is a member of the American Disc Jockey Association. Mitch owns and operates Taylored Entertainment in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and can be reached at 906.786.6967 or via email at mitchtaylor@discjockeynews.com.
especially challenging during dinner. Say there are tables in front of you that will be cleared before the dancing starts. Anyone sitting there will get such an earful that it’s going to be painful. If you turn the volume down, no one any further than say, 15 feet away will be able to hear much of anything. Imagine this same issue all night long as a result of poor floor planning. Thoughtful DJ floorplanning has many other advantages, like esthetics. Most of us have designed our systems to look best from the front. What’s going on behind that façade isn’t always pretty. Most of our lighting systems have also been designed to be the most effective in a forward facing position as well. There’s also that sense of connection to the audience. Just like when you greet someone, you don’t do this with your back turned to them. No, you face them, look
them in the eye and say hello in a pleasant tone. There are some banquet facilities and wedding coordinators that understand all of this. Then, there are those that don’t. Banquet facilities, for instance, sometimes only concern themselves with what they do, which is food & beverage. This means catering ends up with the easiest access to the buffet table and the food prep area. Wedding coordinators often like to allocate that prime real estate in a room to things like the cake table, or a particular decoration they want to use as a focal point. The truth is, I can’t blame them. They are just trying to do that particular part of the job they were hired to do best. So, what can we do? We can jump in & demand they change everything, work Brian S Redd continued on page 5
Why Your Really Went Into Business By Justin Miller, Profit 911 Consulting I am going to put a crazy statement out there that may surprise you and sound harsh at first. What we want as business owners don’t necessarily line up with what our customers want. What I mean by that is most of us got into business for ourselves for one of two reasons. Either A) earning potential: we wanted to make more than we could work for someone else. Or B) freedom: Freedom of time or freedom of place. Those are the main reasons people are self-employed (and also because we are a little crazy). What do we want as business owners? Maybe the most common dream is working from a laptop on the beach. You see it all the time. It’s unrealistic, the sun glares on the laptop, but it represents something. It represents freedom and all the things that come along with it. Now the problem is, your customer probably doesn’t care about helping you to work while sitting on the beach. What they want is to feel special. They want to feel like they’re the only one you’re working with and that their event is the most important thing to you… ALL THE TIME. It’s what you’re completely, 100% focused on. And that’s a problem. We have that disconnect. We have to figure out how to work with that. Now you might be thinking, but this is the event business. I know I have to work events. I know I have to work long and weird hours. This business is different! I believe this to be a complete lie. I am
writing a document called the Wedding Business Manifesto right now that dispels these myths and lays out how I really feel about this industry, warts and all. Now back to the problems of your special customers. An even bigger problem is your customer changes. They’re not static, and their demands continue to change as well. So, the customer demands change. Their expectations for you change. What they want changes, and that makes our life even more complicated. So, here’s the problem. When the customer continues to change, and we have to treat them different and uniquely, we get chaos. Complete chaos and complexity. It’s very difficult to organize. And therefore, we end up with dropped leads, people not up-sold that could be up-sold, and lost opportunities. We get things that sat longer than they should have, and the opportunity weakened. You have a choice of either simplifying your business processes (and staying small) or embracing the complexity. I think for your survival it is imperative to choose to conquer the complexity. It is what will allow you to set yourself apart in a cluttered world of competition and market saturation. When you can manage complex marketing systems, you can win more sales. You have more data than any of your competitors, and you can stay on top of trends with solid numbers instead of using your gut and guessing. Here’s the bottom line though; the more data we have, the more power we have. And the more power we have that we can harness, the more profit we get. We’re used to living in the land of big data, and we interact with data every day. The large companies are using it on us, and we’re used to them following us around the internet. You look at something on Amazon; it follows you for two weeks afterward until you buy it. That’s big data, and that’s
Disc Jockey News • NOVEMBER 2017 • Page 5 behavior based marketing. That is just one limited to any one group. It’s all business. of about a dozen technologies you should We have more information at our fingerbe using to build your business. It’s also tips than ever before, and we have less the type of thing that fascinates me, and and fewer people using it to accomplish the thing that I spend hours every day put- the goals and dreams that caused them to ting in place for your fellow vendors and start their own business in the first place. I urge you to start paying attention. competitors. Here’s the good and the bad in a nut- Start learning. Start implementing. The shell. The good. We have more capability same things that got you to where you are right now and complex functions than at today are not the things that will get you any time in history. Bar none. And more to the next step. Stop believing what you by the day. It’s crazy how many things are hear other “successful DJs” preach unless coming on the market right now, specifi- it can be backed up with data. Stay aligned cally for digital marketing. The bad is that with getting where you want to be and find we have more capability now and func- the people that can help you get there. I tions than any time in history, and it cre- believe that all other things being the ates a mess for us as business owners. We same, the company with better marketing get information overload, everyone has will win the customer every time. Being an opinion on what we should be doing. the better marketer is a moving and everThere are eight thousand different ways to evolving target, and it is up to you to either accomplish something, and we don’t want stay on top of it or hire those that can do it to make the wrong decision, so we get for you. This is what will help you achieve analysis paralysis. We’re scared to do any- what you initially set out to do. You can reach Justin at: justinmiller@ thing. We don’t want to make the wrong decision, so we don’t move. We just keep discjockeynews.com. For more DJ busiresearching, and we never actually do ness tools, tactics, and training from Jusanything. This is a huge problem. It’s not tin visit http://www.profit911.biz/just4djs Brian S Redd continued from page 4 around us, and give us that prime room real estate we need… which usually doesn’t go over very well. Keep in mind that they have a job, too. Yes, we have the client’s best interest in mind, but we may be working with these wedding professionals again sometime in the future. You might say to yourself, yeah, but once they see how effective our ideas are, they’ll understand why we made them do it that way. The thing is, they might not see it at all. Catering will pretty much either be gone after dinner or busy in the prep area getting snacks ready. The wedding planner often bails after dinner. The bar may too busy with they are doing to analyze whatever else is going on in the room. Besides, THIS is how we always do it. Who is this DJ to come in here to tell us what’s
what? My advice, this month, is to make an effort to offer more than a vague explanation as to why you need the space you are asking for. The more everyone understands effective DJ floor placement, the easier you are going to make it for the next guy. Screw the next guy, you say? What if you end up being the next guy? Be the hero & who knows? Maybe these wedding professionals will refer you to a future client or two. Practice & Enjoy Brian S Redd is a Mobile/Club DJ in Milwaukee WI, DJ Youtuber and an official “American DJ” Artist/ You can reach Brian at: brianredd@discjockeynews. com/
PAGE 6 • Disc Jockey News • NOVEMBER 2017
Take Pride As A Member Of The Wedding And DJ Industries By Ron Ruth
I arrived in Las Vegas extremely early on the morning of Sunday, October 1, 2017, to attend the Wedding MBA Conference. Because Vegas is in a time zone that is 2-hours behind Kansas City, I was exhausted as evening fell and went to bed early. Hours later I woke up and looked at my phone to see what time it was. In the process, I saw message after message asking if I was OK. Confused by the concern I jumped to my newsfeed and was surprised and disheartened to see the story of the senseless mass shooting that had taken place at the concert grounds near the Mandalay Bay Hotel just a few hours earlier. At 4:00 a.m. on Monday morning, October 2nd, I was glued to the TV as authorities and reporters were trying to convey the story of what is now known to be the worst mass shooting in American history, with information that was also still in a state of chaos and confusion. Although the incident happened some distance from the hotel where I was staying next to the Las Vegas Convention Center, I worried about the wellbeing of some of my wedding pro friends. A good many had told me earlier in the day on Sunday that they were spending their first evening in Vegas out on the town. Fortunately, over the next couple of hours, I learned that they were all safe. There was still something very surreal about being in reasonable proximity to the place where 58 concert goers were killed, and over 500 were wounded by a lone sniper on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay. About 8:00 a.m. the Wedding MBA producers posted a brief note on their Facebook page that expressed remorse over the news of the tragedy, but also confirmed that the conference would start that afternoon as planned.
Over 2,000 Wedding Professionals arrived at the LV Convention Center deeply aware of what had taken place the previous evening. And, because the wedding industry is one that typically celebrates love and happiness, the first day of the conference was filled with outpourings of kindness and compassion to the residents of Las Vegas who were most affected by the shooting. In short, many of the wedding pros in attendance reached out to help in what the local NBC news station called---” a search for normalcy.” The first step in that search can be found on the Wedding MBA Facebook group page in the following post, dated October 4th, from Sarah Campbell, owner of Intrigue Design & Decor in Annapolis, MD. Sarah writes, “Monday, my heart was full as I watched what seemed like over 100 attendees get up and leave the opening session in the floral room. What would normally have felt like a failure, instead inspired and encouraged us all? These designers got up and walked around the convention center to the location where the families of the victims were being sent, doing what we as designers do best. Working under the direction of Sue Davis of Fresh Designs Florist they created this heartwarming floral installation.”
On Tuesday evening of the conference, both The Knot and WeddingWire were scheduled to host their very popular, much anticipated annual parties at separate locations. New York DJ, Brian Buonassissi, of BBoy Productions was scheduled to perform at The Knot party. Jason Jani of New Jersey’s SCE Event Group was the DJ set to headline the WeddingWire party. But, because The Knot party was set to take place at Mandalay Bay, they canceled the event. In an email sent to the Wedding MBA attendees late Tuesday morning, though, it was announced that both The Knot and WeddingWire parties would be combined into one in support of a noble cause. WeddingWire’s senior event manager, Casie Bizuwork, wrote in part: “In the spirit of unity, we have partnered with The Knot to turn our scheduled parties into one joint fundraiser in support of the Las Vegas victims and community. Suggested donations of $10 will benefit the Las Vegas Victim’s Fund, organized by the Clark County Sheriff and Clark County Commission Chair. The Knot and WeddingWire will also donate $10 ($5 each) for each person who attends our joint event this evening. We hope you will join us to connect with drinks and music after
The flowers were donated by Mayesh Wholesale Florist, a global company with a warehouse in Las Vegas. You can see the Las Vegas NBC news story about the florists here: https://tinyurl.com/DJN-WeddingMBA There is also a short video on the Wedding Market Facebook page: https://tinyurl.com/ DJN-WeddingMBA-Floral
an emotional few days. Love, positivity, and community make us stronger!” The amount of money raised through the party-goers’ generosity is unknown, but The Knot & WeddingWire are said to have donated well over $20,000 to the Las Vegas Victim’s Fund. On both Monday and Tuesday, I also
know that several attendees took time out from the conference to answer the call for blood donations. Who knows what other acts of generosity other Wedding MBA attendees quietly engaged in, without fanfare and without anyone even knowing? I originally planned to write this story as a demonstration of what it means to have principles and purpose that guide our businesses. To be committed to always doing what is in the best interest of others and to be steadfast in making a positive difference in the lives of everyone we meet. But, as I’ve sat on this story for a couple of days, I’ll save that lesson for another day. Instead, I’d like to state how proud I am to be a member of the wedding industry. What happened in Vegas was most certainly a tragedy, but I am extremely heartened by the level of empathy demonstrated by so many wedding professionals visiting from every corner of the nation who had no ties to the city, other than attending a conference. Even though most of their contributions remain anonymous, the impact of their unselfish acts will always be remembered by those who benefited most. My pride also extends to the DJ industry and my friend and publisher, John Young. As fellow DJN writer, Michael Lenstra wrote about in detail last month; John produced a DJNTV “telethon” over Labor Day weekend to raise money for the residents of Houston, TX, who had been severely impacted by Hurricane Harvey. In a matter of just a few days, John collected over one hundred pieces of merchandise, donations from a number of vendors that cater to the DJ community. Those items became part of a silent auction in which John hoped to raise about $5000. The DJ response, however, was overwhelming and the bidding by DJNTV viewers tripled John’s expectations. By the time the telethon came to a close, DJNTV had raised more than $15,000 in contributions. Amazing! There are times when it’s easy to get caught up in our day-to-day problems, ignoring the suffering of others---especially if Ron Ruth Continued On Page 7
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Stop Competing and Start Collaborating By Jason Spencer
Part of being a successful business owner means that you are likely collaborating and learning from your competitors on some level. The problem arises when you, as a small business owner in the entertainment arena, get caught thinking that it is you vs. your competitors or maybe you vs. the world. That level of competitive thinking causes isolation. And if you are a single-operator without employees it can lead to worse things, such as lack of growth, lack of ideas, and even depression. Too often, business owners in any industry – especially creative ones – will hold back or downright lie when talking with competitors. The truth is that we learn from and do the best work when our ideas are shaped by those inside our industry. Competition is not a bad thing. Personally, I want to improve and adapt my business continuously. The other entertainment businesses that surround me are the driving force that allows me to do just that. I believe that when we solely see other companies just as competition to our own, we miss the chance to learn from each other and experience growth together through collaboration. A few years back, I had the honor of delivering a presentation to DJ Think Tank. For the uninitiated, DJ Think Tank is a group of entrepreneurial entertainment business owners who believe collaboration and learning from each other makes all of its’ members better. On a basic level, they
Disc Jockey News • NOVEMBER 2017 • Page 7
are all competitors. Most serve the same or This guiding principle isn’t limited to multiple niches (weddings, corporate, etc.) DJ Think Tank. Consider local chapters of and maybe even in neighboring markets. It ADJA, NACE, or other networking organicould be very easy for them to close them- zations to be similar. It doesn’t cost you a selves off from one another. But again, col- fortune to collaborate with and learn from laboration is the belief that makes an organi- your competition. In fact, it might be costzation like DJ Think Tank so powerful. ing you more if you’re not doing it at all. While I’m not an official member their I recently was in a conversation with group, the knowledge and time I shared with Justin Prahar of Sounds To Go, a mobile DJ them are invaluable. They invited me to stay company here in my local market of Sacduring the remaining morning sessions they ramento, California. We are very similar had planned, meaning I also got to experi- in our service offerings, and we are both ence presentations as a learner. Some of owner-operated. In a competition focused their members I already knew, while with mindset, Justin could have easily held all others it was our first time meeting. Two of his cards close to his chest, resulting in years later, I still have regular phone calls a truth-stretching and superficial conversawith many of those partnerships formed that tion about how great we’re doing as the year day. If we’re in the same town, we’ll meet up comes to a close. But there’s no point to that and bounce ideas off each other. discussion. And that’s the point. The belief of learnInstead, with collaboration mindsets ing from our peers, our teams, and our cli- turned on, we spent nearly four hours learnents is a bold one. The ability to enter a ing from each other, having conversations room, drop your pants and get naked (figu- ranging from pricing to sales to local venratively) in front of trusted competitors is ues. We discussed and examined different what makes them better at every aspect of ways that we’ve been reaching potential running their entertainment company. They leads, either with high success or lackluster do not “tell others” what to do. Instead, they results. recognize the individuality of each business I took away far more than I ever exand only seek to enhance the learning of oth- pected from that conversation with Justin; ers in the room. insights on his onboarding process for new They do not talk down to others’ ideas, wedding clients, to how he handles his difand they do not agree with mediocrity under the guise that change is hard. Every per- Ron Ruth Continued From Page 6 son in that room seeks to become better at that suffering is happening in a place far away what they do, and the number one focus is from our own or in a community where we to make each one better at leading their own have no vested interest. I’m so happy, though, that the industries I belong to---my wedding business. In essence, DJ Think Tank is a group of and DJ families---remain at the ready to help disruptive DJ business owners who want to whenever help is needed. To the members of collaborate with each other and by doing both industries, I say “Job well done!” You so, make all of their companies stronger to- should all be very proud of each other. I know gether. They are learners and will always be I am. On a personal note, special thanks to my changing and growing because they are con- good friend, Peter Merry, for covering for me stantly in the process of learning. as a guest writer in last month’s Disc Jockey
ferent approach to a Yelp lead vs. email vs. handling a phone inquiry. I wouldn’t have gained anything except lost time if either of us had entered that conversation with a competition focused mindset. Being the dominant player in the room will never win you any points. Collaboration with your “competitors” is a beautiful thing. Through a collaboration focused mindset, your business becomes better, and your relationships with your peers will move from combative to supportive. Cooperative collaboration means that you no longer are fighting for business from your competitors. Instead, you’ll look for ways to learn from each other and be a better entertainment company for all of your clients. How is your business collaborating with your competitors? Are you finding ways to move from competition to collaborations in your company? I’m curious, so shoot me an email and let me know. Perhaps we can even start collaborating and learning together. Jason Spencer is a Certified Profit First Professional and founder of Profithood Academy. He has over 20 years of wedding and event industry experience and is the owner of Spencer Weddings and Entertainment in Northern California. He can be reached at 916-264-9777 or by email at jasonspencer@discjockeynews.com. News while I was on vacation. Ron Ruth has been on the front lines of weddings celebrations for over 25 years as a Disc Jockey and certified, Wedding Entertainment Director®. He’s a well-known speaker and workshop facilitator in the DJ and wedding industries, a client experience designer and coach and a self-described Disney “Geek.” Get Ron’s FREE e-book, “The Client Experience Demystified” at RonRuth. com. You can reach Ron at 816-224-4487 or RonRuth@DiscJockeyNews.com
PAGE 8 • Disc Jockey News • NOVEMBER 2017
The Photobooth Section You Can Teach An Old Dog New Tricks By Alan Berg
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I’m just getting back from another successful Wedding MBA conference, and I was reflecting on the many, many conversations I had with wedding pros, like you. A common theme was that it would be so much easier if brides and grooms would just get on the phone with you. Many wedding pros were reminiscing about the days when your phones were ringing off the hook with inquiring couples – and that’s when I popped your nostalgia bubble. In the digitally connected world we live in, while there is an occasional phone inquiry, most of your initial contact comes via email, text or a contact form. Don’t be in a rush to change the format The mistake that I see so many of you making is to try to change from a digital conversation to a phone call or appointment, too quickly. Had they wanted to talk on the phone, they would have called you (or asked you to call them in their message). Had they wanted to schedule an appointment (whether in person, on the phone or virtually),
they would have asked for one. I’m not saying you shouldn’t try to schedule a phone call or meeting, just don’t do it too quickly. Let the conversation continue Their inquiry was a strong buying signal. After all (as many of you have heard me say from the stage, on a webinar, or in my articles) many buying signals had happened before you got the inquiry. In their search for ‘someone’ who performs your service or has your product, there were many steps that led them to you. When you get that inquiry, they’re starting a conversation. It’s your job to continue that conversation to gain their trust. Bob Burg (no relation) said that we buy from “people that [we] know, like and trust.” They’ll know you, like you and trust you more if you continue the conversation using their preferred format – which is how they reached out to you (email, text, LiveChat, etc.). Does that mean you shouldn’t try to call them? When you get an inquiry that includes a phone number, shouldn’t you try to call them? I’m not opposed to you trying to call; I just don’t expect them to answer – especially if it’s during work hours. Many people screen their calls, and I’ve noticed that calls to my cell phone don’t always show the caller-ID, even when they call from a landline. If you do decide to call them, here Alan Berg Continued On Page 9
Disc Jockey News • NOVEMBER 2017 • Page 9
Alan Berg Continued From Page 8 are a few things to keep in mind: Be prepared to leave a 10-second (or shorter) message Sound upbeat and excited to talk to them Pay attention and speak clearly Tell them that you’re sending them an email now – and then do so Leave your number, and repeat it, slowly Call from a number they can call you back on Don’t expect them to call you back No matter how compelling your voice message, don’t expect them to call you back. As I said earlier, had they wanted to talk on the phone, they would have called you. So, don’t sit by the phone waiting for their call; send them a short email, as you indicated you would on your message. The key is to
The Photobooth Section to their answers (“I love that venue, we work there all the time, great choice!” or “Great news, that’s a very popular time of year, but your date is still available!”) Are you answering the specific questions they’ve asked, or are you copying and pasting a generic reply? When you’re the customer, you want a real person to reply, not a computer or cannedreply. If you want a reply, ask a question My friend Alan Katz, from Great Officiants in Southern California, once told me that his people always end each email with a question. It’s such a simple concept. If you want them to reply, don’t end the conversation with a period or exclamation point; however, don’t ask them five questions. If you were on the phone with them or had them in your office, you’d ask one question and wait for
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an answer. Also, don’t bury your question by asking it, in the beginning, followed by another sentence or paragraph. We all tend to skim before we read. So, if you want them to see your question, put it at the end – preferably as its own, one sentence paragraph. Are old dogs, and puppies teachable? I’ve taught many experienced wedding pros to shorten their emails, be conversational, not to rush for the phone call, and end with a question. Some are old dogs, but I’ve also seen the same challenges with millennials. Most of us were taught to write differently than we speak. You need to break that habit and learn to have a real conversation, regardless of the format. It will take some focus to break old habits, but the ROI is worth the effort. Alan Berg has been called “North America’s Leading Expert and Speaker on the Business of Weddings and Events”. Find out more about his speaking, website reviews, consulting, books, DVDs and audio presentations at http:// www.AlanBerg.com - email or call Alan,
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PAGE 10 • Disc Jockey News • NOVEMBER 2017
My Influences, My Music By Joe Bunn
I don’t want to pat myself on the back, but I kind of started a movement. Ok, well technically only a couple of people did it, so maybe “movement” isn’t the right word. Anyway, a couple of months ago I had an idea to create my version of “Storytellers.” If you aren’t familiar, “Storytellers” was a show on VH1 in which bands would sit down and play a small show, but in between songs they would tell a story about how the song came about. As a DJ that secretly always wanted to be a rock star, I took the concept and made it my own. I told the stories (in two volumes) about how music influenced me, growing up to present day. By the way, if you want to check them out, they are both at Mixcloud.com/bunndjco. In any case, when I asked John Young, the editor of this fine newspaper, to help me think of a topic for this month he said, “You should write about the first songs and artists that were big influences on you as a kid that inspired your love of music.” Challenge accepted. If you listened to my version of “Storytellers,” then you might know I’m a big Motown fan. No, I’m not that old. I didn’t grow up in the 60s (actually I was born in 1971). However, my parents loved this music - Marvin Gaye, Jackson 5, The Temptations along with so many others. These were the songs that I always heard being played on vinyl in our house. In the car, it would be whatever was on the radio during the 70s - from disco, to what I now
call “Yacht Rock” (find the mix my dude Randy B. made on Mixcloud if you’re not familiar with those super-smooth songs of the 70s). I started out doing teen clubs when I was just a 13-year-old kid. Girls on one side of the room, boys on the other. I think I was hired to play two hours but only had like 25 songs on 45s. I just didn’t ever seem to do that math right and “back in my day” there was no internet, clouds, iTunes, etc. If you didn’t have the record, you didn’t have it. I remember I would stretch my set time by playing “Stairway to Heaven” (clocking in around 8 minutes) a couple of times as a slow jam! That would have been the early 80s when bands like Bowie, Kajagoogoo and Culture Club were all over FM radio - but later in the 80s as rap started to come into its own, that’s when I knew I could take my love of music and make a job out of it. Those beats and songs like “Bust a Move” (1989) are what made me feel like dancing! I parlayed my teen club career into becoming the go-to frat party DJ at UNCChapel Hill. The late nights were my specialty. I would start at 2 am and play until around 6 am, crash for a few hours and then go to class. Somehow, I graduated in four years; I’m still not sure how. While in college, I used to make these bootleg mix CDs and actually get them duplicated, shrink wrapped, with cover art - the whole nine yards! They even sold them in stores! Illegal much? As I look back at those DJ Joe Bunn Greatest Spins CDs I’m kind of amazed. The songs vary from stuff like “Play that Funky Music” and “December 1963” to “Baby Got Back.” Genre-wise, they were all over the place…and not even mixed! It was literally just tracks like a KTel collection or “That’s What I Call Music” CD! Oh man, the good old days before everyone in the room was a DJ and overanalyzed every mix you made. I miss those
times. Anyway, coming out of college, I moved more into the bar and club scene in Wilmington, NC and then eventually Raleigh, NC where I reside now. Through those years (2000-2010), I would play whatever was hot at the time. I can’t say that anything really “influenced” me other than the stuff Puff Daddy was doing. It was a great time for sampling, let’s just leave it at that. It was more just about getting butts on the dance floor. Eventually, I retired from the club game once I started not having fun at them anymore (and when my kids entered the picture). Today I’m all about using technology to discover new music. If you aren’t a Spotify
user, shame on you. If you haven’t realized it, streaming is the now and the future of entertainment. Spotify is amazing at analyzing the stuff I listen to and not only curating “Daily Mix” playlists but also suggesting other bands and songs I might like. And you know what? Most of the time they nail it. Get yourself a pro account today! And send me some great albums I might like! I’m always on the hunt for new music, not only to spin but just to enjoy. Joe Bunn is the owner of Bunn DJ Company in Raleigh, NC. He is available for consulting and speaking engagements. His DVD “Marketing the Music” is now available at www.djjoebunn.com. Contact him at joebunn@discjockeynews.com.
Commitments Go Straight To The Heart By Brian Kelm
When you commit to something or someone it is a big deal! You are giving your word to take action. As a society, nobody commits to anything anymore, and their word means less and less. Don’t let this be you in any part of your life personally or professionally no matter what. Never commit to anything or anyone that you have no intention of fulfilling anywhere in your life. Let alone a customer who is putting their hard earned money, likability, and trust in you to deliver the performance and service that you gave your word to and hold yourself accountable to providing. As soon as you possibly can, remove blame and excuses from your vocabulary and life. Become ONLY a person and entertain-
ment professional that when you commit, it goes deep in your heart and is more powerful than a promise to fulfill. When you do this, it will go to your soul, and you will do what it takes to fulfill upon what you committed to whether it be – share ideas, give somebody a call for an event or grind out an extra hour of rehearsing for a customer! We know what we need to do we just don’t do it. Do it anyway, and when you complete the task, you can check it off your list and move on! Commitments go deep! What commitments are you making right now to yourself, wife, partner, kids, business, community, health, and life? Who is holding you accountable? Brian Kelm, CWEP, CGWP, WED Guild is a 20+ year wedding entertainment and planning professional that has been all over the United States. Based in Wisconsin. Serving Anywhere. He can be reached at briankelm@discjockeynews.com
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The Way I See It: Who’s In?
Disc Jockey News • NOVEMBER 2017 • Page 11
By Michael J. Lenstra
My wife and I became empty nesters a couple of months ago. In August our oldest daughter headed off for her third year of college, and just days later our youngest daughter joined her at the same school. After a couple of weeks of adjusting to the transformation of not having the hustle and bustle of kids’ activities, keeping our eye on the school calendar to see what was coming up next and an eerily quiet house, we adjusted to our new normal. It’s almost like the first year of marriage again. One thing that has caught me off guard has been the absence of not knowing what is currently in or trending like I did when children were under our roof. For years now we knew what the popular toys would be at Christmas time. We knew when Lizzie McGuire, High School Musical or Hannah Montana – and more recently – Stranger Things were the hit TV shows for the ‘tweeners. Of course, we also were kept in the loop with current music. That, like the larger pile of laundry that accumulated every day, has disappeared now. For those of you that have children at home, do not underestimate the value they bring to you as far as keeping you up-to-date on what currently is trending. More than once in 2017 I have found myself at events saying “what,” “huh?” or “is that the name of the group or the song?” when I get requests from those typical 12 to 20-year-olds. I then, of course, think to myself ‘where do they hear this stuff?’ CHARTS? WHAT CHARTS? There was a time, like let’s say from
the 70s to the 90s, where your local top 40 station was all you needed to tune into to keep up with the latest music and be prepared to slip those biggest hits into your music program at your next Saturday night wedding. There were exceptions of course: songs such as Greased Lightning, What I Like About You or, more recently, The Cha Cha Slide, never made it into the Top 40 pop charts, yet were floor packers at parties. For the most part though, listening to Casey Kasem and the weekly American Top 40 a couple of times a month was enough to keep you abreast of what was sure to be requested at your upcoming events. Those days have disappeared like an evening sunset. Nowadays there are music downloads, streaming sites, internet radio and YouTube videos. The obvious answer, of course, to staying on top of the music scene is to keep your eye on the charts – but then it has to be asked – what charts? A recent peek at these graphs revealed that even they might not be able to reveal much to you. For example; a viewing of several different notable music charts recently showed that the most popular songs on the Billboard pop charts were Rockstar/Post Malone and Bodak Yellow/ Cardi B, yet neither of those songs appeared on either the Radio Wave or Promo Only Mainstream Top Ten, respectively. Contrarily Liam Payne’s Strip It Down was listed at the top spot on the Radio Wave chart and number three on the Promo Only Mainstream chart but failed to appear in the Billboard Top Ten. TRYING TO KEEP UP Billboard Magazine, long considered the authority on record sales and popularity in the USA, has tried to keep up with all the changes in a digital world, as explained in Joel Whitburn’s “Top Pop Singles 1955-2015.” Mr. Whitburn is considered one of the utmost authorities on the Billboard charts--his Record Research company specializes in books on music charts (primarily Billboard).
Regarding the Hot 100: “On August 4, 1958, Billboard introduced the Hot 100--its first chart to fully integrate the hottest-selling and most-played pop singles. Ever since its introduction, the Hot 100 has become the nation’s most accurate and trusted source of song popularity in America. The formula for tabulating this chart has been revised several times over the years to account for changes in both the record and radio industries. From 19581991, Billboard compiled the Hot 100 from playlists reported by radio stations and surveys or retail sales outlets. On November 30, 1991, Billboard made the chart even more precise by using actual monitored radio airplay and actual point-of-sale information to compile the chart. For the Hot 100’s first four decades, an essential qualification for a song’s placement on the chart was its commercial availability as a single in America. The record industry’s practice of releasing singles for consumers declined dramatically in the 1990s. More and more radio hits were ineligible to chart on the Hot 100, as they were never released commercially as singles. On December 5, 1998, Billboard debuted a completely revised Hot 100, which included, for the first time, songs that were not commercially available as singles. The revised chart now included all formats of music, so Country, Latin, and Christian music were well represented on the Hot 100. As physical record sales continued to decline, the Hot 100 became more reliant on radio airplay. With the introduction of Apple’s online iTunes music store in 2001, record companies began to slowly offer paid digital downloads. Once again consumers were able to easily access their favorite songs for a low price. By 2004, this practice had revitalized the retail singles market. On February 12, 2005, Billboard began tabulating digital download data into the Hot 100. This helped restore
a better balance of sales and airplay popularity to America’s #1 pop singles chart. On August 11, 2007, data from streaming and on-demand services were incorporated into the chart. In February of 2013, YouTube views (from U.S. viewers) were added to the Hot 100 formula, making the chart an even more accurate barometer of how fans consume music in an ever-evolving world.” More recently Billboard announced that they would not be using Youtube as part of their tabulation formula in 2018 after there were some concerns of songs “hacking their way” to number one. Yes, even they are having trouble keeping up. The way I see it, I have one saving grace: my son is a seventh-grade teacher! He’s sure to know what is trending with today’s youth and can pass the word on to me. ONE MORE THING This month begins my seventh year writing for the Disc Jockey News. Over that time I have written about the importance of the follow-up, business tips we could learn from a race car mechanic, Donald Trump (long before he was elected President) and even things from the prostitution business. I have interviewed notables in our profession such as Scott Faver, Jim Cerone, and Hugo Drax, and maybe some not as notable, but just as important, as Jay Brannon (DJ Tips in a Minute) and Brett Plummer (Alaska Jim charts). Thanks to our publisher John young for giving me the opportunity to be part of the team these past six years. I’m looking forward to many more years and articles. Until next month, ~ Michael ~ Michael J. Lenstra is a 20-plusyear veteran of the Mobile Disc Jockey Industry, a full-time entertainer, and owner of Alexxus Entertainment in Dubuque, IA. He can be reached at mikelenstra@discjockeynews.com
PAGE 12 • Disc Jockey News • NOVEMBER 2017
The Problem With Raising Price By Dave Ternier
The problem with raising price is that the truth comes out. And when the truth has nowhere to hide, our personal feelings can take a bruising. Sometimes that truth is brutal and frustrating; other times, it is motivating and invigorating. But make no mistake – the truth will reveal itself, whether you like it or not. Whenever I take the plunge and raise my base wedding reception fees by $300 or $500, the brutal and honest truth comes out about what people think of my services. When someone refuses to pay my price, it creates an honesty and transparency that is often left disguised, hidden behind the veil of when I previously asked for fewer dollars. Very few things prove the statement “I really, seriously, value what you do,” like someone willing to pay a lot for my entertainment services. If you truly want to discover if people are telling the truth about how great they think you are, raise your price, ask them to pay it, and carefully monitor their responses. The public’s reaction to your increased price will ultimately provide the truth about their praise for you. Are they telling you the truth…or just trying to make you feel good? We all place a very high value on a select group of things. Often, we are willing to pay whatever needed for those things. How highly do wedding couples value you? Are they willing to pay anything for you? This is exactly how I buy things. This is how you buy things. This is also how our clients buy things. Asking for a lot more money than the average is the only honest way to find out how much people like you. Do they really think you are Toronto’s #1 DJ? (That’s what you wrote on your website.) Do they really think you are Winnipeg’s most popular? (You said it on Facebook.) Are you ready to find out if, what people really think about you, matches the words you have written on your website and social media channels? Are you ready for the truth? Can you handle the truth? You are not alone. Many DJs are scared to know the truth. Most DJs (I said most, not all) sit in a comfortable price range, remaining “competitive” in the marketplace so that they can live within the illusion that people think they are the greatest thing in entertainment since Bill Murray starred in Groundhog Day or Adam Sandler performed in The Wedding Singer. Nothing says, “I think you are the GREATEST!” like someone willing to cut corners on other parts of their day so that they can have you, at your higher than average performance fee. That is the truth. On the other hand, nothing says, “I was just kidding, you’re about the same as everyone else” when they won’t even pay you a few hundred dollars more than the average. That, too, is the truth.
This is the internal conversation we all struggle with, but seldom want to talk about, much less, admit at all. This is the problem that each of us has with raising price. No one avoids it. Not me. Not you. Truth…the unhidden, unfiltered, unshackled, honest and transparent…truth. Are you ready to know the truth? Ask your potential clients to put their money where their mouth is. ~ Dave Based in Manitoba, Canada, Dave Ternier is a single operator DJ/MCfor his company, Special Request Weddings and he is the founding author of aDJthought. com. Dave Ternier can be reached at DaveTernier@discjockeynews.com.
Disc Jockey News • NOVEMBER 2017 • Page 13
Earning Trust By Jeremy Brech
I have come to realize that trust is a hard thing to earn but when you do it is gold. We have worked on some extremely amazing events this year, and every time I provide a way out of the box idea to someone I get the look of confusion and disbelief. The thought that a DJ company can pull off such a crazy concept and makes it a reality just boggles the mind of some people. Well, at least the people who have never worked with us before. John filled in for the Dave and Jer Webcast show the last week in October, and we talked a little bit about this. It was all about a story of working with a client about six years ago where they said, “Here is our theme and here is what we want you to do.” I took the marching orders and then decided to add some flair and ideas that I felt would help create the overall feel and ambiance the client wanted. I never cut corners to get by but worked even harder to build their trust. After that event, they raved about the event and asked how we were going to top it for next year. The next year they gave me the theme and then they asked, “So what do you have in mind?” I gave them some concepts and they loved the design ideas. Then when we had the event, they couldn’t believe their eyes. We once again exceeded their expectation and built even
Q & A with David Tutera more trust with the client. The year after that they said, “Here is our theme and here is our budget.” They didn’t ask for a storyboard or a run of the show; they just put everything in our hands knowing we would take care of them and, here is the key, “Keep their best interest in mind.” That is the kicker because the client knows everything I am doing for them and their event is for their best results. They have full trust in our abilities and ideas. The year after that they gave me the theme and we didn’t even discuss budget anymore. People are always asking, “How do you get such elaborate events without budgets.” The key is to earn it. Like I mentioned we had some incredible events this year and every time we received the look of disbelief I just asked them, “Do you trust me?” As we build relationships not just with our corporate events but our weddings, we create a sense of trust which will be your savior if for some reason something goes wrong. If your client knows you are doing everything in your power for their best interest, they will be a little forgiving of any situations. We get some of the craziest requests for things like creating an indoor tent to making rainbows shoot across the ceiling during a duet in a ceremony for the song “True Colors.” Our latest was turning a castle into the Death Star. Stay tuned for an amazing recap video for that over the top Halloween party. Trust: it isn’t easy to earn, but once you do you will be able to create beyond your own expectations. Jeremy Brech is Owner/Entertainer/ Lighting Designer of DJ Jer Events and Lighting Design. Jeremy can be reached at: jeremybrech@discjockeynews.com.
By Keith ‘KC’ KoKoruz
Wedding MBA is the largest business conference in the United States for wedding professionals. It was held during the first week of October in Las Vegas. Over 6,000 wedding professionals attended. The keynote speaker was celebrity television personality and wedding planner David Tutera. His appearance was sponsored by the American Disc Jockey Association, and I had the opportunity to talk to him about his views on music at events, as well as DJs more specifically. Enjoy our interview. You started out in the entertainment business of sorts. You were a singing telegram. Please tell our readers how this came to be and how long you were in the business doing this. “I answered an ad when I was 19 to make some extra money while in college. It was to deliver singing telegrams. Six months later, the woman that owned it was retiring to Boca Raton, Florida and
asked if I would purchase her company for $12,000. I thought sure; the only problem was I had no money. I asked my Grandfather who owned his own floral shop if I could borrow it and he said yes......and the story begins there. I did Telegrams for many years into when I began my little party design business.” I understand that you and your partner, now husband Joey, made it official this year. Congratulations. What type of musical entertainment did you have at your wedding? “Music was EVERYTHING to us. We had an Opera singer, Gospel Choir. Indian Chanting, Old Hollywood Orchestra, a DJ, of course, soloists of all types of music. It was non-stop and changed the energy of the party each time. Our first dance was danced while a 25-member gospel choir sang around us.” For your over-the-top clients, what type of entertainment do you find your clients gravitate toward? “All types. Always depends on the mood, style, and energy they are looking for. From headline performers to bands, to DJ, to all the above and more.” Are there certain events where you feel a DJ seems to fit in more naturally than live entertainment and vice versa? “To be honest, a DJ to me should be a must...it’s the way to truly allow for the guests to get up and to dance all night.” When you work with DJs or live entertainment, Keith KoKoruz continued on page 15
PAGE 14 • Disc Jockey News • NOVEMBER 2017
Top 50 Charts for NOVEMBER 2017
The Weekly Printable Charts (Top 50 and Recurrent) are available at http://www.discjockeynews.com/charts for Subscribers Pop 1 PORTUGAL. THE MAN Feel It Still 2 DEMI LOVATO Sorry Not Sorry 3 LOGIC 1-800-273-8255 f/A.Cara/Khalid 4 LIAM PAYNE Strip That Down f/Quavo 5 CHARLIE PUTH Attention 6 MAROON 5 What Lovers Do f/SZA 7 IMAGINE DRAGONS Thunder 8 NIALL HORAN Slow Hands 9 KESHA Praying 10 P!NK What About Us 11 CAMILA CABELLO Havana f/Young Thug 12 HALSEY Bad At Love 13 FRENCH MONTANA Unforgettable f/Swae Lee 14 SAM SMITH Too Good At Goodbyes 15 TAYLOR SWIFT Look What You Made Me Do 16 ED SHEERAN Perfect 17 TAYLOR SWIFT Ready For It 18 DUA LIPA New Rules 19 J BALVIN F/WILLY WILLIAM Mi Gente f/Beyonce 20 MAX Lights Down Low f/Gnash 21 POST MALONE Rockstar f/21 Savage 22 KELLY CLARKSON Love So Soft 23 CARDI B Bodak Yellow 24 CHARLIE PUTH How Long 25 HAILEE STEINFELD & ALESSO Let Me Go f/FGL & Watt 26 KHALID Young Dumb & Broke 27 DJ KHALED F/RIHANNA/B. TILLER Wild Thoughts 28 SABRINA CARPENTER Why 29 MACKLEMORE Good Old Days f/Kesha 30 BLACKBEAR Do Re Mi 31 NIALL HORAN Too Much To Ask 32 FIFTH HARMONY He Like That 33 NICK JONAS Find You 34 CALVIN HARRIS Faking It f/Kehlani,Lil Yachty 35 ZAYN Dusk Till Dawn f/Sia 36 NF Let You Down 37 LAUV I Like Me Better 38 YO GOTTI F/NICKI MINAJ Rake It Up 39 MARSHMELLO X KHALID Silence 40 DAYA New 41 DJ SNAKE A Different Way f/Lauv 42 AXWELL & INGROSSO More Than You Know 43 CNCO & LITTLE MIX Reggaeton Lento (Remix) 44 LINKIN PARK One More Light 45 SELENA GOMEZ X MARSHMELLO Wolves 46 CHEAT CODES Feels Great f/Fetty Wap 47 LIAM PAYNE Bedroom Floor 48 TAYLOR SWIFT Gorgeous 49 ASTRID S Think Before I Talk 50 BEBE REXHA Meant To Be f/F.G.L. Urban 1 CARDI B Bodak Yellow 2 GOLDLINK Crew f/Brent Faiyaz/Shy Glizzy 3 YO GOTTI F/NICKI MINAJ Rake It Up 4 KENDRICK LAMAR LOYALTY. f/ Rihanna 5 21 SAVAGE Bank Account 6 GUCCI MANE I Get The Bag f/Migos 7 SZA The Weekend 8 POST MALONE Rockstar f/21 Savage 9 FAT JOE So Excited f/Dre 10 CHRIS BROWN Pills & Automobiles 11 G-EAZY No Limit f/A$AP Rocky, Cardi B 12 DJ KHALED F/RIHANNA/B. TILLER Wild Thoughts 13 TRAVIS SCOTT Butterfly Effect 14 TK KRAVITZ Space f/Sexton 15 24HRS What You Like f/Ty$/WizKhalifa 16 QUALITY CONTROL Too Hotty f/Quavo, Takeoff...
17 FUTURE Incredible 18 BAKA NOT NICE Live Up To My Name 19 RICH HOMIE QUAN Gamble 20 MIGUEL Sky Walker f/Travis Scott 21 KENDRICK LAMAR LOVE. f/Zacari 22 WIZ KHALIFA Something New f/Ty Dolla $ign 23 YOUNG THUG Relationship f/Future 24 PLAYBOI CARTI wokeuplikethis* f/Lil Uzi Vert 25 JHENE AIKO While We’re Young 26 A$AP FERG Plain Jane 27 MONEYBAGG YO Doin’ It 28 YO GOTTI Juice 29 THE WEEKND Die For You 30 LIL UZI VERT The Way Life Goes 31 JAZMINE SULLIVAN/BRYSON TILLER Insecure 32 JAY-Z Bam f/Damian Marley 33 2 CHAINZ 4 AM f/Travis Scott 34 LENNY GRANT On & On 35 LIL BABY My Dawg 36 YUNG BLEU Miss It 37 NEXXTHURSDAY Sway f/Quavo & Lil Yachty 38 LIL PUMP Gucci Gang 39 TY DOLLA $IGN Love U Better 40 ZOEY DOLLAZ Post & Delete f/Chris Brown 41 DAVE EAST Perfect f/Chris Brown 42 MEEK MILL Whatever You Need 43 FABOLOUS/VELOUS & CHRIS BROWN Flipmode 44 LYRICA ANDERSON Don’t Take It Personal f/Tyga 45 MEEK MILL 1942 Flows 46 MIGOS MotorSport f/N. Minaj & Cardi 47 FRENCH MONTANA A Lie f/The Weeknd & Max B 48 SEVYN STREETER Before I Do 49 CALVIN HARRIS Faking It f/Kehlani,Lil Yachty 50 300LBS OF GUWOP Teefus Adult Contempory 1 THE CHAINSMOKERS & COLDPLAY Something Just Like This 2 ED SHEERAN Shape Of You 3 SHAWN MENDES There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me... 4 P!NK What About Us 5 JAMES ARTHUR Say You Won’t Let Go 6 ZEDD & ALESSIA CARA Stay 7 SAM SMITH Too Good At Goodbyes 8 CHARLIE PUTH Attention 9 ROD STEWART Da Ya Think I’m Sexy f/DNCE 10 IMAGINE DRAGONS Believer 11 NIALL HORAN Slow Hands 12 KEITH URBAN The Fighter f/Carrie Underwood 13 KELLY CLARKSON Love So Soft 14 ED SHEERAN Perfect 15 PORTUGAL. THE MAN Feel It Still 16 MAROON 5 What Lovers Do f/SZA 17 SHANIA TWAIN Life’s About To Get Good 18 TAYLOR SWIFT Look What You Made Me Do 19 KESHA Praying 20 IMAGINE DRAGONS Thunder 21 PAT BENATAR Dancing Through The... 22 THE REVIVALISTS Wish I Knew You 23 CORBETTE JACKSON Open Door 24 RACHEL PLATTEN Broken Glass 25 SPENCER DAY 72 And Sunny 26 THOMAS RHETT Die A Happy Man 27 JUSTIN BIEBER & BLOODPOP Friends 28 SAM SMITH Pray 29 JULIA MICHAELS Worst In Me 30 COLBIE CAILLAT Never Gonna Let You Down 31 LINDSEY STIRLING Love’s Just A Feeling f/Rooty 32 KATY PERRY Save As Draft 33 LUIS FONSI & DADDY YANKEE Despacito f/Justin Bieber
34 ALL TIME LOW Good Times 35 THE CHAINSMOKERS Don’t Let Me Down f/Daya 36 A. KENDRICK/J. TIMBERLAKE True Colors 37 CHARLIE PUTH How Long 38 ARIANA GRANDE Dangerous Woman 39 CHEAT CODES No Promises f/Demi Lovato 40 SELENA GOMEZ Good For You f/A$AP Rocky 41 TAYLOR SWIFT Ready For It 42 JULIA MICHAELS Issues 43 CHARLIE WILSON Smile For Me f/Robin Thicke 44 DAYA Hide Away 45 THE WEEKND Starboy f/Daft Punk 46 MAX Lights Down Low f/Gnash 47 PHILLIP PHILLIPS Miles 48 LADY ANTEBELLUM Bartender 49 THE WEEKND The Hills 50 KELLY CLARKSON It’s Quiet Uptown Country 1 LUKE COMBS When It Rains It Pours 2 THOMAS RHETT Unforgettable 3 CARLY PEARCE Every Little Thing 4 CHRIS JANSON Fix A Drink 5 LANCO Greatest Love Story 6 KANE BROWN What Ifs f/Lauren Alaina 7 GARTH BROOKS Ask Me How I Know 8 LUKE BRYAN Light It Up 9 KIP MOORE More Girls Like You 10 MAREN MORRIS I Could Use A Love Song 11 BLAKE SHELTON I’ll Name The Dogs 12 ERIC CHURCH Round Here Buzz 13 BRETT YOUNG Like I Loved You 14 CHRIS YOUNG Losing Sleep 15 FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE Smooth 16 RUSSELL DICKERSON Yours 17 AARON WATSON Outta Style 18 EASTON CORBIN A Girl Like You 19 DEVIN DAWSON All On Me 20 WALKER HAYES You Broke Up With Me 21 BIG & RICH California 22 KELSEA BALLERINI Legends 23 LOCASH Ring On Every Finger 24 GRANGER SMITH Happens Like That 25 MIRANDA LAMBERT Tin Man 26 OLD DOMINION Written In The Sand 27 HIGH VALLEY She’s With Me 28 CHRIS STAPLETON Broken Halos 29 SCOTTY MCCREERY Five More Minutes 30 MIDLAND Make A Little 31 LEE BRICE Boy 32 BRANTLEY GILBERT The Ones That Like Me 33 JORDAN DAVIS Singles You Up 34 BRETT ELDREDGE The Long Way 35 MICHAEL RAY Get To You 36 ZAC BROWN BAND Roots 37 TIM MCGRAW & FAITH HILL The Rest Of Our Life 38 DARIUS RUCKER For The First Time 39 LITTLE BIG TOWN When Someone Stops Loving You 40 COLE SWINDELL Stay Downtown 41 CHRIS LANE Take Back Home Girl f/T. Kelly 42 CHASE RICE Three Chords & The Truth 43 PARMALEE Sunday Morning 44 LAUREN ALAINA Doin’ Fine 45 LADY ANTEBELLUM Heart Break 46 JOSH TURNER All About You 47 DYLAN SCOTT Hooked 48 LINDSAY ELL Waiting On You 49 RASCAL FLATTS Back To Us 50 DANIELLE BRADBERY Sway
Should You Use Remixes At Your Event? By Brian Buonassissi
When I first started DJing, I didn’t have the money to buy a ton of music, and back then mp3s weren’t a thing; it was vinyl or CD albums, so I couldn’t just piecemeal a remix curation of my choosing. I was also a novice DJ and thought having remixes made me more of a DJ for some reason. So, when I would get my hands on one, I’d play it non-stop at private events (disclaimer: this post is intended for private event DJs, not club DJs). It wasn’t until I had a few years under my belt that I realized there is a time and a place for them. With top 40 music hits being played into the ground, a remix can give a song a fresh feel and extend the shelf life. Sometimes a house remix of a slower tempo song can allow you to fit a track into a set at a time that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to play it. You also might find that certain remixes are better than the original (for example the “Felix Jaehm” remix of Omi’s song Cheerleader). So here are a few rules I follow with remixes that may help you with your programming: 1) Don’t use a remix for the sake of using a remix. Again, going back to one of my initial DJ misconceptions – just because you find a remix doesn’t mean you need to play it. Like baking a cake, too much of one ingredient and the cake won’t taste good. You start playing remixes all night at any event, and it’s go-
ing to turn off your audience. 2) With so many remixes available, find 1-2 great ones of a track to use and keep those in your library. I used to think I needed every remix under the sun of a certain track because I never knew which event may call for the right mix, or when an event might call for a specific version. I’ve found that having too many mixes just clutters up my library. 3) Make your own edits of remixes. A lot of remixes can be overly produced or simply too long. There are many times where I’ll edit those remixes so that I’m just using the meat of the song with the stronger drum beats via the remix, and that’s all I need. Or, I’ll want to get a chorus-first type of edit. Learning how to do quick edits of tracks is going to become necessary at some point in your career and with so many free, downloadable and easy-to-use programs available, it would behoove you to find a program you like and start learning it now. 4) Be careful using remixes of the “classics”. Songs like “Don’t Stop Believin’” or “Respect” could use a better drumbeat, but make sure that if you’re doing a mobile event, that the remix you use of these classics keeps some essence of the original. Classic tracks where the originals are already well done (i.e. “Billie Jean”, “Let’s Stay Together”, “Back In Black”, etc.) - tread lightly with the remixes. They are classics for a reason. You don’t want to get too crazy with it. When I run remixes through this grid, I tend to have a lot of success. My hope is that this will improve your music programming selections. Good luck and keep rocking those events! Based out of NYC, DJ Brian Buonassissi is a successful internationally traveling DJ/MC specializing in luxury
Disc Jockey News • NOVEMBER 2017 • Page 15
destination private events. He runs a multi-city mobile DJ/event business with offices in Southern California, Destin, FL
and New York City. You can connect with him at brianbuonassissi@discjockeynews.com.
KC KoKoruz continued from page 13 what are a few of the things that you specifically look for? “Real, honest talent. DJs that understand the crowd and do not speak a lot and truly orchestrate the energy. Bands that allow the party to be about the guests and not about the band. Bands tend to be too loud and will not follow a timeline nor understand volume control.” Every special event vendor wants to work with the top 5% clientele who would hire a planner such as yourself. What type of advice would you give to our readers to get you to notice them and consider working with them at your client’s events? “Standing out from the noise. Be unique but not bold, be bold without being loud. So, what I mean is to truly show emotion and passion for wanting to make your potential clients’ party THEIR party and not a DJ or band being the center of attention. Great music and great entertainment is successful because of talent, yet
knows when to be seen and heard.” Are there any parties or a time in your life that you can still think of and look fondly back on and say the DJ at my ………. Rocked? “OUR WEDDING was the best event ever in history ...seriously.” Do you have any DJ nightmare stories to share? No names needed. “Power was blown because the DJ did not listen to the AV sound guy. A DJ playing wrong the song for a first dance. DJs talking too much or making a few too many trips to the bar.” What is your favorite part of hiring a DJ? Is there anything about a DJ that you really enjoy? Emcee ability? Mixing ability? Playing original artists or remixes? “YOU named everything I would have said.” KC can be reached at KC@discjockeynews.com.
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