When it comes to DJ dance floor lighting, there are a wide variety of opinions on how much a DJ should bring. Some DJs say you should not bring a lot of lighting, while others may bring a ton of lighting. Yet others may bring no lighting at all unless the client pays for it. I've seen a variety of setups and there is no 100% correct answer, honestly. How much lighting you bring should be a decision for you and your client. You certainly need to ask your client what their expectations are, what their vision is, etc. One thing you don't want to do is assume you know what they want! Sure, you may bring the exact same setup to every gig, but should you? For our company, Austin's Best DJs & Photo Booths, we do not bring the same setup every time. Let me explain why. We always check in with our client and... [read more]

First, I would like to apologize to any disc jockeys that actually are lawyers. This blog isn't really about you, but it does pertain to you. There was a good discussion on one of the several thousand DJ forums I belong to about DJs offering legal advice or stating something is against the law without offering any proof. These strands start off innocently enough with someone posting a question about the rules on using a particular piece of gear at an event or about music, files, streaming or sharing. The strands quickly devolve into regional DJs stating how one can or can't do that in their market. A good example: cold sparklers. These things are re... [read more]

About a year ago I picked a brand new Pioneer XDJ-RX all in one controller. I had seen it at MBLV22 and thought it was really cool. Eliminate the need for a laptop with the built in big LCD screen. Put all your important music on two 32G flash drives and off you go to a gig. Sounds like a miracle. The unit is big, sturdy and loaded with effects and cool blinky lights (squirrel). I couldn't wait to take it out of the box and start playing with it. I set up the unit, downloaded the firmware, downloaded rekordbox to my main PC and then hit that first wall. I've always been a Pioneer guy. My first big boombox in the 80's was a pioneer with dua... [read more]

Before discussing keywords, let’s start with the basics. You will first want to create a Google Ads account. To create or login to your Google Ads account, go to the URL – ads.google.com. You will need to add a credit card number to create your account. I do not recommend a Google Ads Express account as you do not have access to all features. What does PPC stand for? PPC is short for Pay-Per-Click. This means that for each click on your ad, you will have to pay X amount of money. Whether the cost per click is $0.52 per click or $4.56 per click. However, the amount you pay per click is not only derived by the amount that you and your competitors are bidding. The amount you actually pay per click is based upon your Ad Rank. Basically, your Ad Rank = Cost per click bid multiplied by your quality score.... [read more]

What qualifies someone to give themselves a title? A degree, a diploma, a certificate of training? If I can change the oil, change a tire and give my car a tuneup, can I call myself a mechanic? Not really. If I can replace an outlet in my house or wire up a new connection, does that make me an electrician? Probably not. If I buy a set of speakers, a microphone, a controller and hook them up to a laptop full of music; am I a DJ? Apparently so. It's no secret that our industry has a ridiculously low barrier to entry. Many people would argue that there is no formal training to become a DJ. Those people would be partially correct. There is no Un... [read more]

One of the many unwanted hats we wear at events is that of lost and found manager. It's not enough to be the host, entertainer, DJ, lighting designer, photo booth operator, babysitter, the "Your lights are on" and "It's last call" guy and whatever else a venue throws at us. Now we have to make endless announcements about lost wallets, shoes, hats, gloves, false teeth and phones. There always is a certain question of ethics and responsibility to do the right thing with other people's property. Sometimes it might be a little too easy to cross the line, especially when technology is involved. A good question was posted on one of the private... [read more]

Have you thought about when your last DJ gig would be? Have you envisioned walking off the stage and packing up for the last time? Do you have your DJ career and retirement mapped out? What if "life" just came in and trashed all those plans and dreams? Have you and your family prepared for something like that? That dreadful scenario is happening right now for one of our DJ brothers. In 2017 Richard Mills (who hails from the kiwi nation of New Zealand) was dealing with life, marriage, kids, bills and a busy DJ schedule when he was diagnosed with brain cancer. He pressed on and with the support of his ... [read more]

Ahhh.  I have your attention!  After more than a year of SEO tips, my articles will be moving toward PPC tips.  However, as I test new SEO strategies, I will definitely update you on what works for better search results in Google.  Getting back to the original question, does PPC help SEO?  The answer is - YES!       [caption id="attachment_125069" align="aligncenter" width="777"] PPC ads example[/caption] Side note: you may notice that the paid ad at the top of the screenshot above is Thumbtack.  FYI, Thumbtack is owned by Google. How can PPC help your brand in search results? First and foremost, you need to unders... [read more]

Try as we might to make sure we have all the details for our events, clients have a habit of hitting us with surprises. How many times has a client answered, "No, nothing else" after asking them during your final pre-event phone call if there was anything special or extra you should be prepared for? I love the look of sheepish surprise on their faces when you ask why Cirque Du Soleil performers are setting up in the middle of the dance floor. "Oh, we didn't tell you". Um, no, you did not. That being said, I usually do my best to roll with any surprises, bite my tongue and make sure the client and their guests have a great time. Playing well in ... [read more]

Mobile Beat is proud to present the third annual “State of the DJ Industry” survey, with questions created by, and 2018 data compiled, analyzed and scribed by marketing guru, in-house economics nerd, and Mobile Beat presenter, Matt Martindale (Matt@MattMartindale.com). You may have seen it at MBLV live too! There were a total of 1,016 surveys were completed providing a tremendous amount of data to analyze and interpret. As of press time hard copies of the report are still available. Click here for more info. If you completed the full DJ survey and included your email address, you will receive a free digital copy of the full 21-page report and forec... [read more]