Why do DJ's & MC's costs vary so much?

There are a lot of factors as to why one DJ will cost differently than another. You can put them into the following primary categories.

* 1. Experience
* 2. Overhead
* 3. Professional vs. Part-time vs. Hobbyist
* 4. The Nature of the Business

EXPERIENCE:

With a tons of events under ZG Productions under our belt, years of experience and many enthusiastically satisfied clients we are confident in the services we provide and know without a doubt that we will do a fantastic job for any client. If we weren't so sure of our services we would not charge as much as we do today. Why else would a true professional continue to be a mobile DJ if he or she would not be able to raise his or her rates from when they first started? There would be no money and incentive for that DJ to continue so longevity as a mobile DJ would be extremely hard to come by.

OVERHEAD:
Starting off I we didn’t have a web site, our equipment was lower grade, we didn’t have liability insurance, we didn’t invest in back-up equipment, we didn’t have a dedicated van for my business, we didn’t have a business license, we had another part-time job and so on. Now that I have been doing this for over 10 years I have made this a full time career and invested in everything I should have when I first started out. With true professionalism comes costs. My overhead is now greater with the costs of more professional equipment, business licensing, taxes, music royalty fees, replacing/repairing equipment, insurance costs, web site development and more. If we did not invest in these things we would not be found for people to hire us or people would not want to hire us after they found me.

PROFESSIONAL VS. PART-TIME VS. HOBBYIST

This makes up another good portion of why some DJs cost less than others. As I mentioned in the EXPERIENCE category of this article I used to charge a lot less when I first started than I do now as a true professional. Most DJs you find will probably fall into the part-time category. By the nature of this business over 90% of the work a DJ receives is on the weekend making it easy for someone to hold a weekday job Monday – Friday and still be available part-time for Saturday and Sunday gigs. This also means they don’t need to charge as much since this is not their only source of income. However part-time DJs usually don’t offer as many of the reassurances and are not able to perform as many events per year as a full-time DJ. The flip side for a full time DJ however is that we only have a limited number of days each week to perform and to make a living. How many weddings have you been to on a Tuesday? In addition, out of that 90% of the work we receive on the weekend, over 65% of that is for Saturday alone. This is why you will notice prices highest on Saturday. Most people and their friends and family have a regular weekday job so Saturday’s make the most sense to hold a party. This way they are not tired from working all day Friday and can stay up later since they don’t have to go to bed earlier on Sunday. Hobbyist DJs typically charge the least but they also tend to perform less events per year than any other DJ and don’t typically offer any (if at all) reassurances such as a back-up DJ, liability insurance, web site, back-up equipment, etc.

NATURE OF THE BUSINESS:

By the nature of this business over 90% of the work a DJ receives is on the weekend and over 65% of that is for Saturday alone. This is why you will notice prices highest on Saturday. Most people and their friends and family have a regular weekday job so Saturday’s make the most sense to hold a party. This way they are not tired from working all day Friday and can stay up later since they don’t have to go to bed earlier on Sunday. How many weddings have you been to on a Tuesday?

BOTTOM LINE:

Not all DJs are created equal and shopping around for a DJ should never be based on price alone. With just price you are never comparing apples to apples. As the old saying goes, it’s not a great deal if it’s not a great service. Spend a little extra time and do some research, it will pay off for you in the end.

ZG Productions is a Southern California based DJ/MC Company providing services Bar Mitzvah's, Bat Mitzvah's, Weddings, School Dances, Corporate and Private Parties!