The Magazine For Today's Mobile DJ

Earlier this month – June 6 thru 8 – the pro-AV industry descended on Las Vegas, Nevada for the annual InfoComm tradeshow. The ADJ booth was busy from start to finish, attracting AV professionals from a wide variety of disciplines who were keen to see the company’s continually-expanding range of lighting, video and effects equipment in the flesh. They weren’t disappointed, as ADJ used the show to exclusively launch four brand new products including the company’s highest resolution LED panel to date and most compact LED-powered Fresnel fixture. When ADJ debuted the first AV Series LED video panel three years ago, the company disrupted the market by offering an effective and reliable product that sat at a previously unheard-of price point. Since then the range has expanded to include multiple LED video screen options with various pixel pitches and even an IP-rated outdoor mode ... [read more]

A huge part of our training process is allowing DJ trainees to "shadow" or watch my veteran DJs in action, mainly at weddings. By no means is this there only training! We also have days where we set up gear in a local venue, work on MCing, mixing and more. We also have meetings where we just talk about the sales aspects of my company since my guys each meet with their own leads. But shadowing is a crucial component of working in a new DJ. If you aren't doing this, you definitely should be! In fact, I've had DJs that thought they wanted to make the leap from clubs to weddings go out one time, and then we never hear from them again. LOL. They like the idea of that private event money, but don't realize how much hard work goes into prepping for and executing something like a wedding. Make them shadow you or one of your veterans! When I set up a shadowing, I make it real simple. I e-intro ... [read more]

Customer Service - 2 Stories & 3 Ways to Stand Out   Business is business.  Personal is personal. Never mix the two.   Allow me to share with you two scenarios recently.  One that happened to me personally with another business.  Another that happened to my business when trying to conduct business with another business.   I was the benefactor of a case recently with a "settlement" and on a Friday the lawyer's paralegal  told me that the funds would be reimbursed on Monday or Wednesday of the following week. "Cool" I thought and let it go.  Friday comes of the next week ... [read more]

All right. DJ tips in under a minute. Again, live here at expo. We've got totem wraps, you have speaker stand covers, doubles, singles, triples, black, white, but the cool thing here is this, this is a table topper. It goes around your six-foot table. So when people go to put their drinks, oh, I can't, because there's something in the way. I think this is awesome. I'm getting one, because I'm sick of people putting their drinks on my table. And see, you can. So you cover your table up with this beautiful item black or white, unzips from a company called Skrim King, just skrimking.com, I'll put it in the description. But again, a great way to get rid of the drinks and problems on your table, Skrim King table topper, in under a minute.   ... [read more]

One of the biggest components of improving and transforming my company over the past two years has been networking with DJs in my area. I'm not talking about ADJA meetings or get-togethers with large groups of wedding vendors (although those are definitely valuable too). I'm talking about one-on-one, person to person meetings. You and another DJ sitting down for lunch or drinks to learn about each other and ways you can improve can be a huge benefit to your company! When I first arrived in Salt Lake City a little over two years ago I didn't know anyone. My little DJ side business was only making $350-$500 or so per event, and I was struggling to get my name out there in this new market. Luckily, I was added to a lo ... [read more]

ADJ is pleased to announce the expansion of its popular HEX series of LED pars with the introduction of three durable new fixtures that all feature a tough weatherproof casing design. The 7P HEX IP, 12P HEX IP and 18P HEX IP combine the wide color palette of HEX LEDs with the flexibility of a robust all-weather IP65 rated casing to create truly versatile professional wash fixtures. Each of the new pars feature powerful 12-Watt hex color RGBAW+UV (red, green, blue, amber, white + UV) LEDs which allow for a huge gamut of colors to be created. These include both cool and warm white, for stage illumination, as well as UV-infused hot pink, lime green and electric blue. The inclusion of the UV element also means that the fixture can create the classic ‘black light’ effect that causes white and neon-colored surfaces to glow brightly. The LEDs are flicker-free, therefore suitable for film ... [read more]

Josh Yawn is known to MBLV audiences for his popular seminars at Mobile Beat conferences and tours, as well as being the author of the wildly successful book "Hosting For DJs." "Josh's relationship with Mobile Beat has spanned well over a decade, and we've had our eye on him to host for a while now," says Ryan Burger of Mobile Beat. "I began my career as a DJ over 15 years ago learning from Mobile Beat.  To go from that to presenting seminars was amazing, but to now be asked to host is an incredible honor," says Josh. Josh brings along television icon Marc Summers as keynote, known for the smash hits "Double Dare" and "Unwrapped." Marc's incredible career goes beyond hosting and producing, with many experiences and words of wisdom to pass on to the live entertainer.  Marc also wrote the foreword to Josh's book "Hosting For DJs" in 2012. Mobile Beat Las Vegas takes place ... [read more]

What you'll discover:  There are two ways to get leads: 1. Get hunted by prospects through Pipelines. 2. Go fetch prospects with a Bucket. I call them smart work and hard work. In this 2-part lesson, we'll look at both. Promised Result: You’ll learn what to spend your marketing time on so other people deliver leads to you on autopilot. You'll also discover how to avoid the downside of getting booked at one-hit wonders.   This is a big lesson. The important thing is for you to understand the Pipeline and Buckets principle because when the penny drops and you get that 'Pipeline a-ha moment', I'll be right here on the other side of your screen smiling along with you! Pipelines - Sit at the top of your Marketing Pyramid, are word of mouth enquires, generated by other people, re ... [read more]

  K plus T equals C Part 3   Last week I shared a true story of how to handle an alcoholic Father of the Bride wanting to take the mic at his daughter’s wedding when the bride didn’t want him to speak. Why was I able to achieve an appropriate outcome during a stressful time? Answer: I followed the formula – Knowledge Plus Trust equals Connection. I asked my client in advance what was most important about her day. We discussed a plan A (him not speaking), plan B (what would happen if he did), plan C (how to handle that). She trusted me throughout the process to always put her best interests first. This trust, this process, deepened our connection and we were ... [read more]

I did a video yesterday on how I set up my mixing board, because there were some questions that people were asking me. And I showed them the 0db rule, which is what I follow to try to get the cleanest signal possible out of my mixing board, which sends the cleanest signal to my speakers, achieving the best sound that I can get out of my system. A lot of questions came up, a lot of people had some concerns. So I'm going to do a more in-depth video today to try to help you out.

The first thing I'm going to do is on my master volume. I'm going to set it to 8 -- or 3:00 o'clock on the dial -- and I'm not going to touch it. Now let's put a track on. Now, I'm going to put a record on. But this could be anything. This could be an MP3, a music video, a CD, it doesn't matter. And notice, right here, these lights jumping up and down, these are called pre-fade level ... [read more]

I recently had a chance meeting with Moby at a restaurant in Los Angeles. He was beyond kind to chat with me for a few moments. After eating I purchased his book, Porcelain, and powered through it in a week. It’s a candid telling of his hard life before fame, living in an abandoned warehouse, dashing about through Gotham City’s sordid and dangerous street life. One of the things that stuck me was his honesty about a couple of mistakes he made while performing in night clubs—mistakes that would have destroyed any normal DJ. We all make mistakes; how we respond to them tests our mettle as professional entertainers. It is inevitable that you ... [read more]