1999-2009: A Look Back At 10 Years Of The Wedding DJ Business

PRLog (Press Release) - Dec. 25, 2009 - It's hard to believe that I've been a Wedding DJ for over the past ten years.  What started as a part time job during my college years has led to a gratifying full time career.  I've always been a weekend warrior.  In 1999, I had a full time job during the week, and at least 2-3 gigs every weekend.  In 2001, I committed to being a DJ full-time and Ra-Mu and the Crew started to take a life of it's own.  There are many things that I've observed about the industry in the last 10 years-some good, some bad.  There will be a "Part Two" coming soon.  Below is my take in the industry.

SATURATION:

Ten years ago, there weren't as many DJ's and even fewer wedding DJ's.  Being a DJ was a major financial commitment.  Records and CD's could cost anywhere from $12-$19 apiece.  Records and CD singles were anywhere from $3-$8 each.  In order to build your library consisting of all musical genres, the cost could range from $10,000 to an upwards of $50,000.  To this day, I still have ten of thousands of dollars of orginal records, tapes and CD's in my basement.  Many DJ's were part time and let a larger agency book them every weekend.  The part-timers were able to avoid the equipment costs and music purchases by going this route.

I remember hearing about this thing called NAPSTER from my "techie" younger brother in 1999.  At that time, I was spening $300 a week on records and CD's.  As music became more accessible in the immediate years after, saturation began swiftly.

By 2001, everyone and their grandmother was becoming a DJ due to the fact that music was becoming very accessible  Before then, what separated DJ's from each other was MC ability, equipment, and more importantly- a vast music library.  If you were booked to do a country wedding and all you had was one Garth Brooks CD, you were bound to fail.  DJ's with bigger music libraries with a variety of genres  had greater potential to fill  their schedules.

The joke back in 2001 was that if you lost your job, one could spend 1 week downloading, and that guy was your competition next week.  The Saturation era had officially begun.

COMPLACENCY

The last ten years has echoed buzzwords of complacency in the wedding entertainment.  DJ websites talked about "less being more", "polished and refined", and "subtle and unobtrusive".  Most of the time, those buzzwords meant that some "no-personality shmuck" was going to ruin your reception.  DJ's became so subtle that no-one knew that they were in the room.  Ubobstrusive meant that the DJ was probably not properly trained to speak and said fewer words than Helen Keller.

I always thought that wedding DJ's were highly paid entertainers that would give their all to make sure that every event was awesome.  The last decade painted a different picture.  It seemed that "good enough" was acceptable.  At a wedding, if guests ate and danced for 11 minutes, that was "just fine and dandy" for most DJ's and function halls.  

DJ complacency has lead to disastrous results for couples who have had high expectations.  More sizzle and less steak from wedding DJ's dominated at function halls throughout the decade.

THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION

There used to a a time when my last $20 for a CD or record purchase would ensure me the pleasure of being one of the handful of DJ's to drop a certain new song on any particular weekend. Record stores were the gatekeepers for the newer music and if you didn't want to look lame in front of your crowd that weekend, you would have to go out and buy new music before the weekend.  Now you just dowload everything.  Itunes, Amazon, and digital records pools have replaced my daily trips to Newbury Comics and Tower Records.  I still by CD's and Records in order to stay away from the "we are family" playlist.

The digital revolution has both helped and hurt the industry.  Major national chain record stores are just about obsolete however their has been a recent resurgence in stores specializing in vinyl.  Everything is mp3 now.  No more CD and Record cases...just hard drives.  No more searching for that "Thriller" album....you just type it in.  If you are any good, maybe you mix it into the next song.

The one good thing about the digital revolution is that most likely, your 1st dance wont skip via mp3.  Back in the 90's, if a couple was having their 1st dance, and one of the waitstaff bumped into your DJ table, you better hope that you copy of "Endless Love" didn't have any scratches. CD's and records always made you hold your breath every once and a while.

CLOSING:

There used to be a time not to long ago where the DJ was above saturation and complacency and had more songs that your average guest's Itunes library.  Ra-Mu and the Crew contunues to be cutting edge and avoids falling into the the trap of just another wedding DJ.

We will see you at your next wedding reception during the next decade.

About Ra-Mu and the Crew
http://www.abostonweddingdj.com
http://www.theriweddingdj.com
http://www.ramuthedj.com
617-240-0879

# # #

Ra-Mu and the Crew offers high end dj/entertainment at an affordable price. We entertain at weddings, proms, corporate event, and other private functions.
check us out at http://www.ramuthedj.com or call 617-240-0879

Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/10465318/1