Taking Music Requests At Parties..What To Do....

I have been known to give the odd look or not giving the warm and fuzzies when someone comes up and requests a favorite song to be played... We have all been there!

Honestly do not mind that. Face it, requests can help you if you're having an off night, giving you ideas of what next song to play, etc.. so getting these requests can be good for that.

Music Requests Without Being Interrupted- Solution

So coming up with a few solutions may or may not help you, but it sure creates a less stressful moment on the already busy time playing for the crowd..And that helps me!

1. Monitor/Screen Displaying Music Requests At A Party
It depends on the event, but for an example, I will be DJ'ng a special Valentines Bash for Mississauga and for anyone who wants to request a song, they will have to "tweet" it to me using a hastag of my choice.  Here is the fun part, you leave a monitor connected to a laptop with WIFI, on a table separate from your playing table.  And the guests can view their requests online!
I will receive the requests via alerts from twitter for easy review.  The program I use is TwitterFall.  www.twitterfall.com  You type the hastag and the program will only display what "feeds" have these hastags in a LIVE "falling effect".  It will constantly flow as guests tweet you.  They can actually see who tweeted their requested song. Provides great entertainment as well.
Have a look below at the picture of my twitter feed on a monitor that just displays (hastag) #AnythingGoesRadio . The program is FREE to boot.. I Love free things!

2. NotePad/Jar Requests
Simple, and effective, for sure.  Guest come to the jar, or bucket, whatever it may be, writes the song request and drops it in!  You can retrieve it at anytime.
If you are lucky, it might even be a phone number from a secret guest... FOCUS.. lol
You can also have these pre made cards instead of a notepad.  Depends on how creative you want to be. This is a fun, and simple method of reaching out to your guests.

3. Email Song Requests
You can have a nice little pre made sign on your DJ booth/table stating all music request please email the DJ at ...  .... ....com.  Have your alerts popup on your smart phone/tablet while eliminating any distractions.

4. Don't Take Requests
Hey if you are the type of DJ that doesn't take any requests, then get yourself a shirt/hoodie that says you do not take requests...  in a polite way..  and I know there are a lot of clothing that have different ways of saying just that!  What if you are DJ'ng or MC'ng an event that requires you to dress up, then its not a good idea to be displaying that on any part of your body.  Let your guests know ahead of time, or relay to the organizer of the event.  Either way, its a touchy subject, so handle it professionally.

I will end it here, as these are just ideas of my own, and would love for anyone to chime in and suggest other solutions for taking music requests from guests.

..:: DJDave ::..

Canadian Artist Supports North York General Hospital Foundation With Music!

I have always been a huge advocate of giving back, whether its to the community you live in or foundations.  What ever it may be, its a great feeling and I would like to share a Canadian artist and his journey!

Meet Ryan, mastermind behind Inscape Music. Toronto born (respect!) If you have time, read about Ryan and his success in creating an Indie band that in my opinion, should be played, purchased and cranked on a ton of radio stations. Check out InscapeMusic 

His new album, Finally Some Good available on Itunes is comprised of 3 new tracks all of which, play proudly on AnythingGoesRadio NewMusicFridays Show. 

What I see good in this, is the fact Ryan/InscapeMusic is donating $0.50 from every purchase of his album or from the single, "Clouded Glasses" to NorthYork General Hospital Foundation!!!! 

This has started for the month of October and ends in November. 

I encourage you ALL to support Ryan and his music by purchasing your copy now!  You do not have to do anything more. But enjoy great music.

The entire album is $2.97 and each song is $0.99, not all lot of cash to spend on great music to keep in your collection. 

You can connect with Ryan every Friday on my radioshow or on these links:

Twitter: @inscapemusic

http://www.theinscapemusic.com

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Inscape/391722790919809?ref=hl

https://soundcloud.com/inscape-4

..:: DJDave ::..

Jump On It or Dump On It. Discounts Can Be A Bitch.

I wrote this blog, seeing many different faces in business, and I wanted to share my experience as well as provide some guidance. Take it however you want, my blogs are expressed from my own opinions only, and does not reflect how you should run your business.
If you are passionate about your job, and trust me, I am super-passionate, and know the feeling when you get that phone call or email from a potential client, it sends my heart racing, because I want to do and say the right things to secure the deal.
But at what means?  Do you undercut the competitor to get this deal? Ya sure you might, if you are starting up a new business or have discounted services as part of your sales tactics. Should you keep this up and you will end up taking your business to chapter 11...

Jump On It or Dump On It

Value your product or services.  Explain to the client what it means to have you and your services. As a DJ, my amazing clients know the value they are getting when they hire me.  I provide interaction with the crowd, add some zing to my lighting, whatever!  but most of all, I play for the crowd which keeps the guests dancing!! And that's the best VALUE my clients will pay for.
So, try not to constantly provide a discount, selling yourself short is totally not cool and the client will read this.. and jump all over you trying to get the discounted price.  Like I mentioned above, explain the value they will will receive at your price.


Keep your pricing consistent. There is nothing more uncomfortable than pricing one prospect and they come back and say to you...
"My friend hired you last week, and you charged them x-amount of dollars, why is your price different for the same type of venue?"
So what do you do about it?  Well lets back up here for a sec..  In your business plan, you build a target, and that will include pricing, etc..  Listen, I know pricing can depend on other things, I get it..
But, if you are creating a position to reach out for more $$, and then offering a discount? Well then the prospect will pick up on that and poof they are gone. Don't worry about making the $$ right away, long term success will be much more rewarding, both morally and financially and it will come to you.


Let your work and your reputation shed the light for your prospects and future business ahead, it doesn't matter what type of business it may be.
..:: DJ Dave ::..