DJ PRICING - DETAILS | DJ Bluesilver

DJ Pricing Details

Detailed List of things Mobile DJ's have to do to run a business:

Buy equipment, maintain it, and sometimes replace it.
Purchase music, make playlists, practice, and set up a set-list of important must play songs, for Ex: Bride and Grooms 1st Dance.
You have to back-up your music, and purchase Hard Drives and Thumb Drives, so you have multiple backups.
Advertising, this can be expensive, for EX: a basic Yelp ad can cost $350 a month.
Marketing materials, like business cards, pens, stickers, banners, etc.
Maintaining a website, this involves hours of work, domain name fees, set-up fees, monthly fee's, yearly fee's, etc.
Keep on top of Social Media, You Tube, etc.
DJ Insurance, this can cost over $300+ a year.
Taxes, we have to pay them too.
Book jobs and communicate with potential clients.
If you are a DJ/and or MC, you have to make a list of the names of your Party/Event key people, for EX: Bride & Goom's Parents, Best Man, Maid of Honor, etc.
Create Invoices and Spreadsheets to keep track of Clients and Payments.
Set up Credit Card/Debit Card payments, like PayPal...oh yes, Pay Pal takes a fee too.
Lease or own a Vehicle... More $$$$.
Drive, put millage on our vehicles, pay for gas, and maintenance.
Load and unload equipment from our vehicles to and from a location.
Set-up, test, and break down equipment.
Sometimes you might have to ask a friend, or hire a helper to help set-up, move, watch, and break down equipment.
DJ/MC/Lighting control for 2-8 hours.
Go home at a late hour tired and put equipment away.

A DJ's work is before, during, and after the Party/Event.

Detailed DJ Equipment costs:

A DJ Mixer/Controller/Turntables/Speakers/

Lights, and accessories cost money.

Most Mobile DJ's use Controllers, cost $500-$1,400+ each.
A turntable cost $350-$800+ each.
A DJ Mixer cost $300-$2,150+ each.
If you have to buy a New Laptop, this cost $700-$2,200+
Speakers 12" or 15" cost $400-$1,000+ each.
If you add a Subwoofer, it cost $800-$1,400+ each.
Speaker Stands cost $50-$120+ each.
Lights cost $180-$500+ each.
Lighting Stands Cost $55-$180+. Lighting Truss cost $165-$715+.
A Lighting Controller, either Hardware, or Software w/additional Laptop to control your lights for different moods and settings. This can get expensive if you need an additional Laptop.
Fog machines cost $100-$300+ each. Fog helps the lighting look better, and you need a special liquid for the fog effect...More $$
To connect everything, you need Audio & Lighting cables, they can cost a total of $400+
As far as Accessories, you need Audio and Lighting adapters, clamps, etc.
To Transport your equipment, you need Mixer/Controller/Turntable case(s), a Cart/Dolly, speaker covers, speaker stand cases, lighting cases, etc. We need to protect our equipment.

Did you know about all these expenses?

The Up Sell/Extra's:

Many DJ's offer Extra's, like Up-lighting, Photo Booths, Game Consoles, Dancers, MC's, Lighting Technicians/Lighting Directors, Stages, Video Screens, Projectors, Additional PA Speakers, Centerpieces, Giveaways- Hat's, Shirts, Blow up instruments, Glow sticks, Fidget Spinners, etc.

Remember, nothing is for free, you have to Pay for all the Extra's.

Some DJ/Production Companies are Full Time Businesses that have to pay for all the things I listed above, but they have a higher overhead, because they also pay Rent/Expenses on their Office location, a staff of DJ's, MC's, Dancers, Office workers, etc. They have to pay health Insurance for their Full Time employees, Office Supplies, run a payroll, pay for multiple vehicle expenses, stockpile DJ/Production equipment, etc.

The Big DJ/Production Companies can charge $4,000-$20,000+.

The sky is the limit...I am not against them, all power to them, it is a business, however most clients cannot afford these prices for a DJ.

I know when I was a client, I did not want to pay expensive DJ prices.

I just wanted the basics, DJ/MC, Lighting, and Fog. This is what most people can afford, and that is what I offer. I might offer Extra's in the future, but my prices will still be reasonable.

I hope you have a better understanding why pricing for a Mobile DJ is the way it is.

As a Mobile DJ Business, we love what we do, but we also have to make money doing it.