Livingston, N.J. – For Jason Zaplin, it all started when he discovered dancing. In third grade, he performed a choreographed…
As we all know, DJs around the world are hurting from canceled gigs and loss of income due to COVID-19.…
As a DJ Times contributor, I’ve been able to help people all over the world with their marketing while offering…
Over the last few months, I’ve written about and discussed many different types of simple or basic marketing tactics that…
We asked veteran DJs about the changes they’ve seen in the industry and how they’ve made running a business easier…
With social distancing being a requirement throughout the United States for the foreseeable future due to the current coronavirus pandemic,…
After graduating from college, Jason Tokita moved back home to San Diego and started playing a small weekly event with…
We’ve all had mobile DJ setups we’ve regretted — you have to start somewhere. Bad DJ Setups on Facebook was…
Over the last few months, I’ve written about many different basic marketing tactics that DJs can employ to help increase…
Welcome to the June edition of “Behind the Wedding Music,” a resource to help build wedding playlists for DJs. Each…
Seattle, Wash. — Alan Chitlik’s first job was as a newspaper reporter. One day he’d be covering a business acquisition,…
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a bit complex, but it doesn’t have to be. I’ve learned so much about SEO…
When it comes to the DJ business today, things are certainly very different than even a decade ago. Running a…
Dallas-Forth Worth has opened up and I’ve got a wedding booked the second week of June. I’ve done lots of…
I’m an expert ballroom dancer, and I’ve been able to use it to my advantage with my DJ company. Here’s…
Writing these articles for DJ Times, I receive messages and emails from DJs all over the world asking for more…
Welcome to the May 2020 edition of “Behind the Wedding Music,” a resource to help build wedding playlists for DJs.…
For many years, John Walter, father of Elite Entertainment’s Mike Walter, occupied a crucial role in the DJ Expo ecosystem:…
The pic was from a wedding I did on the last day we were allowed to have weddings at all…
This crisis has leveled our industry and I don’t think the large gatherings will rebound until a vaccine comes out.…
Remember the Hustle? Jeff Siber does. That’s back when he started his DJing journey, in Brooklyn, teaching the dance with…
“What Would You Do” is written by JOSP’s Mike Kindlick, where each month he explores various situations, offering insight to…
If you’ve been on social media at all over the past month, you’ve certainly seen a plethora of DJs performing…
What I’m hearing from a lot of DJs is they’ve applied for the Emergency Declaration Loan and a lot of…
Here’s a list of things you can do to give your business a proper boost during these downtimes. 1. Focus…
We asked Alan Chitlik, owner of Seattle-based Puget Sound DJ, how one’s ears can create a special moment for a…
Mike Wieder has been driving through neighborhoods in his SUV and playing music and blasting bubbles, going slowly so people…
As DJs, we’re most likely all “gear heads” and tweaking our setups. One thing that I struggled with for years…
By Alan Chitlik I often think about what my business is. It is not DJing weddings. My job is to…
By Dan Blankowski In most states, it feels like any kind of outdoor FUN seems to be against the law.…
Welcome to the second edition of “Behind the Wedding Music,” a resource to help DJs build wedding playlists. Don’t miss…
Mike Garrasi from Albany-based Music Man Entertainment isn’t sitting idly during the coronavirus crisis. He booked a DJ gig during…
With all the rescheduling that’s going on in the DJ world, new questions emerge related to DJ insurance and subcontracting.…
As the DJ industry continues to hemorrhage money in the absence of income, help is on the way for DJ…
We all know how damaging the spread of COVID-19 has been to our businesses. But now is the perfect time…
Mike Fernino, owner of Music in Motion Entertainment in Seymour, Connecticut, will be presenting a solution to a problem that’s…
SEO is a daunting task. There are nearly 300 ranking signals that Google rank calculation takes into account, all with…
If you’re like me, fitness is not only a way to stay in shape and look good in a suit,…
If you find yourself bored to tears during this time of voluntary self-quarantining and you have no events on the…
By DJ Digital Dave COVID-19 has for the foreseeable future drastically changed life as we know it, especially in the…
We recently spoke to DJ Chris Bartosik from Raptor Productions in Baltimore. He’s been in the business for decades, but…
All the following insurance questions have been answered by our insurance professional Dale Wittick, CPCU who has his Bachelor’s Degree…
“What Would You Do” is written by JOSP’s Mike Kindlick, where each month he explores various situations, offering insight to…
If you’re one of those DJs not familiar with Irish music, having a Paddy’s day gig or Irish event any…
In my last column, we talked about DJ marketing — creating a go-to-market strategy. The first order of business is…
The coronavirus is beginning to have real impact on the wedding and corporate event industry (even Pearl Jam cancelled the…
Welcome to the first edition of “Behind the Wedding Music,” a resource to help build wedding playlists for DJs. Each…
I have totally rethought the interactive stuff in my performance to protect my guests as much as possible. You see,…
It was a year ago when R. Kelly was arrested in Chicago after being indicted on 10 counts of aggravated…
We’ve all had mobile DJ setups we’ve regretted — you have to start somewhere. Bad DJ Setups on Facebook was…
By Dan Blankowski My “Dano’s Monday Funnies” weekly DJ newsletter has it roots in the ’80s when I had a…
At the start of October 2017 I was blissfully unaware of the fact that I was critically ill. I was…
DJ Bill France from the coal-mining town of Logan, West Virginia, recently was accorded local celebrity status when he appeared…
Wedding toasts need not be a crapshoot. The tipsy Maid of Honor who drops the F-bomb; the Best Man who…
By David Dallas Bryant I wish that in my younger days I was mature enough to know when DJ burnout…
By Mike Melice For many DJs looking to make the leap to full-time DJing, there exists a reluctance to make…
Everyone can benefit from a company logo review. It’s the first point of reference a client will encounter. That’s the…
By Brian Kelm Before I took Bill Hermann’s Entertainment Experience Workshop in 2011, performing a wedding was a far different…
By Tony Schwartz I knew it was a keeper for my Facebook cover image immediately. I was just hoping my…
Here’s how to travel for free on a cruise vacation — and get paid. I get asked by DJs all…
By Staci Nichols, Pinterest marketing guru. Pinterest marketing is important because Pinterest is where brides go to get ideas for…
There’s an old saying when it comes to competitor analysis: Average people learn from their mistakes, but smart people learn from…
Here’s some Valentine’s day music to play at your events. Courtesy of the mixologists at Ambient DJ Service in East…
Everyone can benefit from a review of their company logo. Regardless of whether you’re just starting your DJ company or…
“What Would You Do” is written by Jam on Sound Productions’ Mike Kindlick, where each month he explores various situations,…
These first dance wedding songs come courtesy of the Music Mixologists at Ambient DJs in East Windsor, New Jersey. Owned…
Any business that offers a service and wants to succeed needs a marketing plan — specifically, a “go to market…
By Jason Rubio “Are photo booths a fad?” is a question that comes up often. I always reply “of course…
Choosing school dance songs requires lots of research. While the kids are still familiar with the top 40 / top…
We’re only a month into the new year and most Americans have abandoned their resolutions — 80% of Americans, according…
Effective talent recruitment is among the most important aspects of any DJ company — but especially for Bar/Bat Mitzvah DJ…
A question I get all the time about my business is how I handle DJ payment. Do my DJs get…
A wedding client told me during a consultation that she absolutely did not want to do a dollar dance. We…
In 2019, I set out on a course to re-engineer my full-time mobile DJ business. The goal was to work…
Here’s a wedding DJ tip: A bride asks “What is a good alternative to the traditional father-daughter dance?” We tend…
At one time or another we’ve all wanted to start a DJ business — or be part of one. Many…
Wedding industry 2020: the beginning of the end? That was the gist when Mike Fernino, owner of Music in Motion…
Here’s a list of wedding songs for open-format DJs to play in 2020. Advise your brides that these songs will work…
Unless you started your DJ career working for a polished-up multi-op, we’ve all had embarrassing DJ setups — you have…
For the last few years, I’ve served as a seminar speaker/keynoter at DJ Times’ DJ Expo in Atlantic City. And…
In “The Tipping Point: Lessons from a Multi-Op,” columnist Mike Walter, owner of Elite Entertainment, offers DJ business tips culled…
Here are some DJ business tips for pricing and dealing with a client who asks for your old rate: After…
Previously, Kurtus Nichols, owner of K-Sound Entertainment in Crooksville, Ohio, wrote about how to build rapport at weddings. This month, he…
OK, wedding jocks… looking to see how to DJ a wedding that your guests won’t forget? It’s all in the…
Dan Quinn recently returned from his first “DJC” Experience in Scottsdale, AZ. This is part 2 of his experiences at…
Most wedding DJs would be thrilled to hear a couple say they want to do something completely different or unique…
The DJ mixer is a centerpiece in your setup. It’s the key to your programming, your instrument, and therefore the…
In advance of your New Year’s Eve parties, it’s difficult to anticipate your crowd — you don’t know how old…
Not all weddings are the same, and not all wedding DJs are the same. The fact is, there are several…
The phrase “fitness tips” and the DJ lifestyle seem like an odd pairing. The life of a DJ isn’t quite as…
Robert McKee has been teaching storytelling since the early 1980s (among his 100,000 former students are a boatload of Academy-…
Johnee Wong-Smedley, DJ at Pez Productions in Calgary, Ontario, has had a busy holiday party season. We asked him about…
In “How to Start a DJ Business,” a regularly occurring column, DJs talk about problems they encounter as they start…
Matt Radicelli, owner of Rock The House Entertainment in Cleveland, recently sold a majority stake of what started as a…
So you’ve seen other DJs on Instagram and Facebook with numerous followers, cool pictures, getting gigs in all kind of…
You know you’ve done your job as a DJ at a holiday party when everyone goes home stoked and feeling…
It’s Christmas season and many DJs are in full party mode — and exhausted. But there are plenty more days…
If you’re a working DJ — whether in clubs or the private event space — chances are you’re passionate about…
Since 1994 Jimmie Malone has been running a single-op DJ business in Binghamton, NY. Of course, the load-in is a…
After Artem Lomaz was announced as the Entertainer of the Year at the 2018 DJ Expo at Haven nightclub in…