Why $395 DJs don’t belong in YOUR SCHOOL!

DJ and Author, Arnoldo Offermann of A Premier Entertainment wrote this in his blog on July 14th, 2009:

I had a friend ask me why $395 DJs shouldn’t belong in a school. Below is my reply.

Click below to read and PLEASE leave a comment.

$395 DJs are bringing out $395 worth of DJ, lol.

Here’s a cost breakdown for a small DJ package that can handle around 500 kids:

• Two speakers = $800/each (there are cheaper, but they will sound like butt or not handle 500 kids at all)


• One Sub = $1500


• 1 year music subscription (multiples by the last 5 years) = $1,200


• Trussing (to hand lights from)… At the cheapest $2,000


• A small light show consisting of 4 LED floods and one centerpiece effects light = $1000


• Clamps & cords = $200


• Jessica Lunsford Act (fingerprinting & license to perform in schools) = $80


• Cheap Mixer = $300


• Cheap CD Players = $300


• WIRED (not wireless) Microphone = $100


• Tripods for speakers (non-Frankenstand) = $100


• Console to hold everything together = $200


• Controller for lights = $500

That’s $9080.

All rental companies charge at least 10% of cost. This means that to rent out this system at 10% it would be $900 (no one rents at 10% nowadays... It’s 20-30, lol).

$900 is $505 more than $395. This means the DJ either:

1) values his skills at NEGATIVE $505... or
2) He’s bringing out low-grade equipment that won’t serve justice to the students.

Talent alone for 4 hours is worth more than $395. Ask anyone who’s seen our guys.

Not to mention that the prices I described are bottom of the barrel for the equipment needed… Obviously we bring out a much more sophisticated system.

It’s all about paying what it’s worth. The entertainment is 100% success of the dance. Kids will NOT dance if there’s decorations, food and no DJ. They’ll go home. But they WILL dance if there’s a DJ but no food or decorations.

If someone spends $1500 on décor $500 on food… but only $500 on DJ, that means they believe that DJ is only 20% of the dance’s success. A $400-500 DJ cannot bring the same level of entertainment and awe that a higher-end DJ can. A homecoming and prom needs to be considered a business— if you want to keep the kids coming back again and again, to have to invest a little more.

That said, $3000 (which is our average price) is NOT high at all considering that we’ve booked as high as $12,000+. Even at those higher numbers, the schools turn out profit because tickets are always sold out.

In short, it’s not possible to run a business and provide effective equipment and service at $395. Even if they were booked 52 days of the year, that’s $20,000…. barely double of what it costs to purchase the equipment, not including the cost of running a business itself… and gas ain’t cheap either.

That’s just ONE reason…. There’s plenty of them, but this is the one that affects the school’s wallet— so it’s the most important one. Thanks!

Responses to “Why $395 DJs don’t belong in YOUR SCHOOL!”

1. Jeffrey Evan Mufson Says:
   July 15th, 2009 at 10:50 am
   Now, talk about this in relation to our discussion at the Kapok Special Events Center last month…You hit on the nerve that I wanted to hit on, but was apparently too delicate to touch upon at the time.


2. Steve Croce Says:
   July 30th, 2009 at 8:25 am
   I should send you some photos I shot with my spy camera… I once saw the most pathetic DJ equipment setup ever and HAD to capture it for posterity.


3. Arnoldo Offermann Says:
   July 30th, 2009 at 9:03 am
   I’d love to see it!!


4. Robbie Green Says:
   August 1st, 2009 at 9:42 am
   The logic is inescapable. I’d be curious to know if you’ve actually presented it to any schools and what their response was.
   
   There are plenty of desperate DJs (particularly now) who would go lower than $395 around here. For low end DJs, the going rate seems to be about $200.
   
   I suppose if you’re totally desperate, some money is better than no money, but how are the schools to know who’s desperate but properly equipped or who’s just a hack with practically no gear looking to make a buck.
   
   They don’t…