How to Become a Wedding DJ
Becoming a wedding DJ isn’t as easy as some people think. It requires special skills, years of practice, and a comprehensive business plan.
As a professional wedding DJ, you have to consider your marketing plan, brand recognition, and your professionality and hone your DJ skills at the same time. You have to be a jack of all trades who modifies their sets according to your guests’ preferences.
This article discusses all the qualities professional DJs possess. Wedding DJs are more than glorified MCs. DJs are musical professionals who understand how to create a guest experience people don’t forget.
Preparing Your Business
To become a wedding DJ, you have to know the wedding DJ industry like the back of your hand. Anyone can say they’re a wedding DJ after performing a few weddings. However, if you want to build a lucrative business out of your wedding DJ skills, you need some business savvy.
Numerous online resources are available for those looking to advance their DJ and music production skills. For instance, SoundShockAudio offers free downloads to enhance your DJ sets.
You also need to buy the necessary equipment and understand how to market your business. Understanding the business before trying to begin a career is an excellent way to ensure you get the most out of your endeavours.
Sharpening Your Skills
Most DJs weren’t mixing Mozart right out of the gate. They honed their skills through hours of arduous labour and kept persisting. That stopped when…well, never. To become a successful wedding DJ, you have to audit your DJ skills continuously.
You don’t have to go to Julliard to get the necessary education for wedding DJ skills. Plenty of community colleges give you the mixing and software skills needed to understand the DJing intricacies.
Discuss the Business With Other DJs
As a wedding DJ, you need to examine what makes other DJs successful. Doing so will help you along your path to success. The greats always imitate the greats that came before them. Launching a foray into the high-stress business environment of weddings will be challenging. Talk to other DJs to learn how they deal with the stress that comes from creating playlists, being the master of ceremonies, and coping with demanding wedding guests.
Create Your Business Plan
If DJing a friend’s wedding for fun, or you don’t plan on turning weddings into a full-time gig, you can skip the business plan portion. However, if you’re looking to become a wedding DJ, you need to consider a business strategy. Musicians aren’t known for their administrative skills. However, the music industry is still a business, and if you want to make money, you need to organize your business operations.
Buy Your Gear
The last step in preparing your business is purchasing all of your equipment. When you’re just starting, you don’t need the fanciest equipment. You need to get good at operating the equipment. The essentials to becoming a wedding DJ include mixing software, a PA system, a mixing board, and studio-grade headphones. Buying these essentials will give you a solid foundation to start your wedding DJ business.
Set Your Rates
While setting your rates, you need to be mindful of your location. You also need to be aware of your reputation- when you’re starting as a wedding DJ, you won’t have a reputation. Once you begin to gain respect within your community, you can up your rates. Until then, you might have to perform a few free shows to prove your worth.
To solidify your rates and promote good business practices, you should draft a contract with your customers that details your rates. Specific contracts should include policies for damaged equipment and cancellation policies.
Learn How to Diversify the Ceremony, Cocktail Hour, and Reception Playlist
Each playlist should have its own characteristics. Not all playlists should be dance playlists. You should sit down with your bride and groom to discover their preferences and be able to modify the playlist to their desire.
Try to uncover the bride and groom’s preferences by asking about their listening history. Ask them about their shared musical interests and what their must-haves are before diving deeper into the playlist. Learning the bride and groom’s shared musical interests will help you fill out the rest of the playlist.
Successful Wedding DJ Business Traits
Successful wedding DJs have specific traits and tools that give them the ability to succeed in a highly competitive market. The following few attributes will help you carve a niche in the competitive wedding DJ market.
Flexibility
Wedding DJs who understand how to adapt their set can better respond to different crowds. Guests often have varying musical tastes, so concocting a playlist that covers everyone’s desires can be tricky. Making game-time decisions is a necessary skill for all wedding DJs.
You should be prepared for equipment malfunctions. Bring backup extension cords and power strips are an excellent precautionary measure against potential electronic incapabilities. Often, venues don’t have enough outlets to handle your complete equipment set.
Punctuality
Wedding DJs are on time. Because wedding DJs receive most of their business through referrals, one lousy review can tank your business. Punctuality is also about more than being on time. You also have to consider how prepared you are for client meetings and showing up to your commitments prepared, without rushing.
Extensive Musical Knowledge
You don’t need to be a musical archivist to be a wedding DJ. However, you need to adapt your DJ sets depending on your guests’ musical genres. You also have to resist the arrogance that comes from thinking your musical interests are the best. The music at your client’s weddings is about their musical interests, not theirs.
Conclusion- How to Become a Wedding DJ
Becoming a wedding DJ is no easy feat. It requires grit, extensive planning, and deep-seated skills that take a long time to hone. Many people think they can simply throw on a Spotify playlist at their friends’ weddings and call themselves a wedding DJ. However, it’s not as easy as that.
Suppose you plan on making your wedding DJ services a legitimate, lucrative business. In that case, you need to implement professional practices such as a comprehensive business plan, thoroughly drafted contracts, and professional DJ equipment.
Visit here: teachjewelry.com
