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.…
Over the last few months, I’ve written about and discussed many different types of simple or basic marketing tactics that…
Ever since the Coronavirus quarantine began this past March, we’ve been introduced to a new, cloistered reality. Accordingly, platforms like…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
At the start of October 2017 I was blissfully unaware of the fact that I was critically ill. I was…
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…
Wedding industry 2020: the beginning of the end? That was the gist when Mike Fernino, owner of Music in Motion…
For the last few years, I’ve served as a seminar speaker/keynoter at DJ Times’ DJ Expo in Atlantic City. And…
Most wedding DJs would be thrilled to hear a couple say they want to do something completely different or unique…
Not all weddings are the same, and not all wedding DJs are the same. The fact is, there are several…
Bob Morgan started his DJ business, BME Event Group, from his house in Vineland, New Jersey in 2003. He went…
For nearly a decade at DJ Expo in Atlantic City, N.J., the “All-Star MC Secrets” seminar, helmed by Steve Moody…
Every month, the wedding music mixologists at Ambient DJs in East Windsor, New Jersey will provide a curated and annotated…
Mark Haggerty was scheduled to do a wedding on Oct. 24th in the Sonoma County suburbs of Healdsburg / Geyserville.…
In this series of posts, “How to DJ a Wedding,” we’ll go through the intricacies and attributes of a flawless…
In our “DJing Passport” series, we’ll offer a global perspective of the DJ scene — city by city. This first…
This playlist is courtesy of the Wedding Music Mixologists at Ambient DJs in East Windsor, New Jersey. Owned and operated…
Mike Wieder, owner of Ultimate Sounds Entertainment in New Jersey, has DJed at thousands of events over the years, with…
In 2018 Darryl Jake Jacobsen pulled up stakes and moved his family and his mobile company, A2R DJ’s and Entertainment,…
When Donald Trump was elected president in 2016, a collective chill went down the spines of the LGBTQ community. DJ…
This playlist is courtesy of the Wedding Music Mixologists at Ambient DJs in East Windsor, New Jersey. Owned and operated…
In 2001, I created a training system for wedding and event DJs called The 1% Solution. Over the years, as…
“What Would You Do” is written by Jam On Sound Productions’ Mike Kindlick, where each month he offers insights, tips,…
Of the five victims killed at a party at an Airbnb home on Halloween night last week in the San…
Bridal shows are often referred to as “Cattle Calls.” Most wedding vendors seem to think that this is because brides…
This week, Prince’s estate released his memoir, The Beautiful Ones, prompting Elite Entertainment’s Mike Walter to release his Top 10…
St. Louis, Mo. – For any veteran of the DJ game who’s serious about the industry, it’s always a relief…
All business owners have challenges, but DJ-business owners have unique ones: You’re part-business owner, part-entertainer, which means a lot of…
By Jordan St Jacques George Costanza from TV’s “Seinfeld” said it best: “Why must there always be a problem?” He…
Atlantic City, N.J. — Now in its 30th year, DJ Expo showed its time-tested experience by delivering another winning trade…
Roxbury, N.J. – At the 2018 DJ Expo in Atlantic City, Artem Lomaz won the “Entertainer of the Year” prize…
I’m going to make a confession here right from the start: As a longtime DJ, I’ve become fanatical about hearing…
At DJ Expo, Nick Spinelli from SCE Event Group and Rachel Lynch of DJ Rachel Entertainment will co-host “The Art…
By Con Carney From August 12-15 at Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City, N.J., the DJ Expo is poised to once…
Marlboro, N.J. — Adam Hirschhorn is 35 now and has been in business as AJH Entertainment for 22 years. That’s…
By Jerry Bazata Our economy has been in a growth mode for the past 11 years with the bull markets…
Manalapan, N.J. – Jordan Marshall has been entertaining for 15 years – he started as a dance motivator for bar/bat…
Dave Stephenson has been a DJ for over 30 years. In addition to running his DJ company, A Time for…
Most people believe that being a “mobile DJ” or “entertainer” is all about creating a particular atmosphere for the couple…
In the mobile-entertainment world, the mitzvah market and the photo booth are real sources of revenue. How does an entertainment…
Brooklyn, N.Y. — Gospel DJ Dr. D (aka Duane Knight), first appeared in our pages 20 years ago. This year,…
By Jerry Bazata Each year thousands of entrepreneurs take the leap of faith. You did, remember? Dropping the full-time employment…
By Mark Battersby Is your DJ business designated as an S corporation, partnership or sole proprietorship — aka a “pass-through?”…
It was a sunny afternoon in July of 2014 when a motorcycle in Marion, Ky., hit a patch of gravel…
By Leon Mendoza At last year’s DJ Expo at Harrah’s in Atlantic City, N.J., DJ Rob Peters presented “10 Things…
The best DJ is not always the one who mixes the best or has the most gear, but, rather, the…
Marietta, Ga. — In a huge market with hundreds of DJs, it’s crucial to stand out from the others, and…
With 150 party animals packing the floor of the Andorra Banquets and Catering venue, DJ Paul Segal found himself with a perfect…
Running a DJ business in 1988 seems light years from running a one today — like the difference between the…
Hackensack, N.J. — Remember The Hustle? Jeffrey Craig Siber does. That was back in 1974 when he started his DJing…
Hard to believe DJ Times has been publishing for 30 years — since the last year of Ronald Reagan’s presidential…
Ithaca, N.Y. — Mike Melice’s DJ career started at the blackjack table, when he was just out of college and…
At DJ Expo, DJ Mick Uranko of Uranko Productions in Pottsville, Pa., led a seminar (“Tech Innovations for Mobiles”) that…
When a guest at a corporate party once asked Michigan mobile DJ Corey Rusch to play Eminem’s explicit song “Chloraseptic,”…
In the Bay Area of San Francisco, it seems like summer all year long. According to Mark Haggerty, the director…
After being hired to work a wedding reception for one of his wife’s co-workers, Indiana mobile jock Chad Hough was…
Whether you’re a single- or multi-system mobile-DJ operator, you can gain a lot of insight from job interviews — if…
When Lisa Capitanelli-Kasberg auditioned for a mitzvah-MC position in Los Angeles in 1990, little did she know that she would…
The most recent DJ Expo—presented by DJ Times in Atlantic City, N.J. this past Aug. 14-17—was another triumph for education,…
By Chadwick Harrington New Jersey-based mobile Artem Lomaz has a background in marketing and advertising. In his career, he’s had…
Atlantic City, N.J. – The 2017 DJ Expo switched venues from its 2016 edition, but the show’s mission remained the…