7:50
Saving money, and making more of it
On YouTube this video is called How to Save and Make More Money MR MRS Mobile DJ!
What this lesson teaches
Prompted by something a viewer posted, and he has clearly been waiting to say it. His own claim is that it could save you thousands - and more usefully, make you spend money in the right place.
The escalation he describes
And anybody who has been around mobile DJs will recognise it.
You look over at the other DJ. They have bigger speakers, so you get bigger speakers. They have more lights, so you get more lights.
And the vehicle follows: hatchback, small van, semi-high-top, high-top, medium wheelbase, long wheelbase, extra-long, a Luton, a Luton with a trailer.
Then you spend hours setting it all up, and play to fifty people, and earn 300.
His verdict on that, unedited, is the strongest language in the catalogue - and the substance of it is: you are wasting your money, breaking your back, and achieving nothing except boosting your own ego.
Why the ego argument is a business argument
He concedes the one point in his own favour - if you do not feel good you cannot pass energy on, which is a different lesson - and then draws the line clearly.
Being a mobile DJ playing to the public is not about making you feel good. It is about making the public feel good, and about them being happy with what you play.
They came to hear music. That is the product.
The question he poses
A wedding in a hotel for 200 people. Do you really need four 18-inch twin bass cabs and four mid-tops pushing 5000 watts?
Quite possibly not. For a hard dance night, maybe - they love that, the louder the better. But generally people are not bothered about it being loud. They want a good selection of music.
And the one about lighting is sharper still: you spent £1000 on a moving head, then another, then four - £4000 - and they look amazing, and you are behind the booth delighted with them.
The public have not got a clue. They do not know a £1000 fixture from a £100 one, and they were never going to.
What he actually takes out
And this is why the video is credible rather than just a rant - he lists his own rig for that evening.
A pair of twin 12-inch subs and two 8-inch tops, plus one 12-inch full-range as an infill that he might not even switch on. An all-in-one player and a laptop with video, because the client asked for video. And some lighting.
His entire light show: three or four hundred pounds. That is it.
No stacks of bass cabs, because there is no need.
And the money
The punchline that makes the argument land: he will very possibly earn the same fee that night as the DJ with the truck.
Same money. A quarter of the equipment, a fraction of the setup time, no back injury, and - his claim, and it is true - a show that looks more presentable, because a tidy, proportionate rig in a hotel function room looks better than a wall of boxes crammed into it.
What a professional setup actually looks like
His description of the modern norm: a console, a couple of bass cabs, stands with satellite speakers on top, a couple of effect lights.
And the crowd love it - because the DJ knows what to play.
The test to apply to yourself
The question he leaves you with, and it is worth answering honestly before the next equipment purchase:
Are you taking all that out to please the crowd - most of whom do not know the difference - or to please yourself?
Because if it is the second, you could take half or a quarter of it, earn the same, finish earlier, and put the four thousand pounds somewhere it affects what the room actually hears.
Which, by the argument of every other lesson in this stage, means the music.
Contents of the video
0:00 This video potentially could save you thousands of pounds
Recently, I think it was a guy by the name of Nick who posted something on Facebook and got me thinking again, because it's been in the back of my mind for quite a while, been, seen and done it. This video potentially could save you thousands of pounds. Not only save you thousands of pounds, it potentially could make you invest your money in the right place instead of throwing it away. I mean literally throwing it away. Now this video does not apply to every single DJ out there, but I would say it applies to the majority of mobile DJs who do. A wedding, an 18th, a 21st, in a public house, in a hotel, in a hall. So you've just started DJing or maybe you've been DJing for a while and you always look over your shoulder, a little bit like a cow looking over to the other field.
The grass is a lot greener over there. And the cow in that field? The grass is a lot greener over there. Probably the same greenness. Anyway, you're probably looking at the other DJ thinking, my God, that bastard's got bigger speakers than me. I'm going to get some bigger speakers. They've got more lights than me. I have to get more lights than them. And so on and so on. So you go from your small hatchback to a small house. To a small transit. To a semi-high top. To a high top. To a medium wheelbase. To a long wheelbase. To an extra long wheelbase. To a Luton. To a Luton having a trailer on the back. To having a 17 and a half million wheeler truck full of everything. And you turn up and you set all your kit up that's taken you hours.
2:35 You're also doing absolutely nothing except boosting your own ego
And you play to 50 people. And you look, my God I've just earned 300 quid. You're an absolute frigging dickhead. You're a nutter. Because let's be honest. You're not only wasting your money. Breaking your back. You're also doing absolutely nothing except boosting your own ego. That is it. That's what you're doing. You're boosting your ego. Because you've got this wonderful show, it makes you feel good. But being a mobile DJ and playing to members of the public is not about making you feel good. It is in a way of course because if you don't feel good you don't pass the energy on different video. It's about making sure that the public feel good. Making sure they're happy with what you are playing. They come along to listen to some music.
They come along to listen to eclectic style of music. Of course depending on what you're doing, I don't want to digress. But let's imagine you're doing a wedding in a hotel for 200 people. Do you really need four 18 inch sub twin bass cabs and four mid top pumping out 5000 watts of power? Quite possibly not. Maybe if you're doing some kind of wicked banger night. I'll tell you what, they love that shit. The louder the better. But generally people are not bothered about it being too loud. All they want is a good selection of music. And do you know what? You have spent £1000 on that moving head. In fact you've spent £2000 because you had two of them. Why have two when you can have four? You've spent £4000 on four moving heads and they look amazing.
5:15 There will be video footage later
You're there behind the DJ booth having an orgasm. And organising them as well because they look so great. Aren't you happy? Do you know what? The public out there haven't got a clue. They don't know jack shit about a £1000 moving head. So where's this video going? Well, I will go to an event as I am tonight. And I will take a couple of 12 inch bass cabs. In fact, this evening I'm taking the Cardioil Twin 12 inch subs QSC and two 8 inch. And I'm taking one 12 full range as well for an infill. In fact, I might not even turn it on. I'm also taking a video setup with a bunch of videos from weemix.eu And I am taking the Pioneer. Pioneer XDJ-RX with a laptop, with virtual DJ and a whole bunch of videos. Because they want a video setup.
There will be video footage later. I'm taking some lights from Nova Pro. And that's about it. In fact my entire, entire light show is probably one, two, three, four hundred pounds. That's it! That's it! Four hundred pounds! Four hundred pounds! And the PA system. I haven't got stacks and stacks of bass cabs because there's no need. I do not need to boost my ego. What I need to do is make sure that the clients are happy. And you know what? Very possibly, I will be earning the same amount of money tonight as you may have earned last night, tonight or tomorrow night or next week or even next year because you've already taken a booking, haven't you? You idiot! But you're not an idiot just yet because you don't have to take all that kit out.
People want quality and clarity of sound. In fact, most professional DJ setups today is a console, a couple of bass cabs, some stands, sticky up bits with some satellite speakers on the top, a couple of flashy twister lights and do you know what? The crowd love it. Why? Because the DJ knows what to play. It's not about what the DJ is taking with him or her, that mass array of speakers and kit and God knows what. It's about the music, the vibe, the energy. So do yourself a favour. If you do, go out and take a huge show that takes you forever to set up. Are you really? Are you truly doing that? Are you doing that to please the crowd who most of them and I say most of them don't really know? Or are you doing it just to boost your own ego because you could be wasting your time,
Wasting your money, wasting your energy when you could be taking practically half if not a quarter of the system you're taking out and you could be making more money. Also less time, less energy. And you know what? I guarantee you, your show will look a lot more presentable. I hope that's been a help. Where's that chicken? Practice and enjoy. Thank you.
This transcript was produced automatically from the audio of the video and may contain mistakes.
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