Today people are claiming to be “Professional DJ’s”, when in fact many have little to no experience, aptitude, etc to be a good DJ. Instead they have simply taken advantage of technology to download music on the fly from sites such as YouTube, Spotify, etc. To use these music sources to provide music for any event is illegal; it is stealing the music. By doing this, they have very little overhead, so they need only to purchase a couple of inexpensive powered speakers, they probably already own a laptop, so now they are a DJ. This lack of investment lends itself to a lack of commitment as well. There are even some that don’t even own a sound and light system, booking shows knowing they will need to rent the equipment to do the show. I have taken calls this year from Brides whose DJ canceled because they couldn’t rent the equipment or one Bride because they had an opportunity to book a show that would pay them more. Even many shows that have been around for awhile take advantage of “getting their music for free”. Why should this be an issue to you? Aside from the fact, again, it is someone conducting an illegal business, there are other factors to consider. If they are downloading at your event, they may not have a good internet connection and you will experience pauses in the playback as the song is caching. It is likely they are unfamiliar with the song, not knowing what year or decade it charted, if it’s slow, fast, listening, hip hop, Indie Rock, country, etc. They likely don’t know if there are explicit lyrics until the song is played, which then of course, it is too late. These people are operating much more like a mobile jukebox as opposed to being a skilled, informed, knowledgeable DJ service. This is NOT what people want for any event, especially a Wedding Reception.
Other ways “DJ services” can misrepresent is by misleading information. For instance, brand name dropping. To promote you use JBL speakers for instance means nothing. Most people know JBL makes some excellent quality speakers, but just like most anything, JBL has an entry level cheap speaker. To say you will bring 4 JBL speakers that are entry level quality, thus can be purchased for less than $300.00 each is misleading a customer to believe they will receive a quality sound system. It’s also a way to just “look” more impressive. To further this example, a $300.00 JBL is, relatively speaking, a cheap speaker. To use 4 of them is just using 4 cheap speakers lacking in sound quality when compared to any better quality speaker. Contrast this to one of our Standard Systems using Mackie DLM-12 Speakers that are almost $900.00 each. Individually the Mackie’s will greatly out perform the $300.00 JBL and with 4 of the JBL you still are getting only $1,200.00 of cheap speakers while with our 2 Mackie’s you get $1,800.00 higher quality speakers that WILL sound and perform much better. The only thing they will not do is, our two speakers won’t “look” more impressive than thier four and that’s what they’re banking on. A quick analogy. Which would you rather have, a 2 carat cubic Zirconia ring that “looks” more impressive or a 1 carat genuine diamond that “IS” more impressive? I could give many more examples, but instead will close below.
In today’s world of email and texting, it is rare I get a phone call anymore. I understand, email is a very handy way of obtaining information, but as mentioned above, how reliable or misleading is that information? I get more calls today than ever from people frantically looking for a DJ last minute because the one they booked canceled. I’ve had more than one customer tell me they went with the DJ they chose because they liked their website. One of these “nice websites” was the person I spoke of above who doesn’t even own a sound and light system. Keep in mind, he makes no mention of the fact he doesn’t own a sound and light system. Therefore I implore you to check out our services & give us a call, 618-985-8855. Allow me the opportunity to discuss your event with you in every detail, to advise you as to what we can do to meet your needs and concerns and then give you an exact quote for that service. Many times we are actually less expensive and when we are not, we are typically very competitive while providing an appreciably higher quality of service. Only by having a meaningful conversation with someone can you better understand the level of service you will receive.
Mike Scott – Owner