The Magazine For Today's Mobile DJ

All right. Quick DJ tips. I get this a lot, where can I go to learn more about Serato DJ? And of course, you have the Serato website with their forms, you have some of my videos and other videos, but my boy, DJ Hapa here at Skratch DJ Academy in L.A. has a four-part series right now that you can sign up for on learning Serato DJ. It's got everything from introduction to stuff a little bit more involved and it looks really cool. I know a lot of people are always asking, where can I go, where can I learn more, where can I buy something or get in a program? And Skratch DJ Academy here with my boy Hapa is a great place to look and a great place to start. So I'll put the URL down here, give you a little link, but seriously a great way to get going with Serato DJ outside of just the tutorial videos that myself and other people have. So in under one minute. ... [read more]

One of my favorite breakfast treats is a waffle. When I order breakfast at a restaurant, I often order waffles. If there isn’t syrup on the table, the server will usually ask what flavor I’d like. It would be silly for me to order just syrup, but a waffle without syrup is downright bland. It’s the syrup, sometimes maple, perhaps raspberry, or my favorite, blueberry, that brings the waffle to a higher level of enjoyment. Taste buds rejoice when the sweetness of the syrup embraces the tongue. The child in me resurfaces when I pour the syrup on the waffle, because I always ensure that every square indentation of the batter receives its fair share of the liquid flavoring. ... [read more]

In the first part of this mini-series on mobility (MB #202, Jan 2019, p.26), I discussed the many options that DJs have for bringing their shows to event locations. As I hinted near the end, once you’ve got that great ride, you need to consider what other items you’ll be needing beside your lighting and audio gear. Most are common sense, but I also include some based on real-life (often bitter) experience. Here’s the rundown... VEHICLE SUPPORT Aside from the usual complement of emergency gear that comes with most vehicles, such as a spare tire, jack and lug wrench (although when purchasing a commercial vehicle you may have to buy these items separately!), there are ... [read more]

I always find the back stories about how someone got started in the DJ industry fascinating. There is always some interesting life twist or act of fate that captivates people to pick up the microphone and hop onto the one’s and two’s. For the past ten years, Stephanie Rivkin, a.k.a. Stephanie Stardust, owner of Royal Beats DJ Service in Connecticut (www.royalbeatsdjs.com) has been building her company and crushing her market. She wasn’t always at the top, though. Stephanie has had her share of setbacks; overcoming obstacles is one of her strong points. Read the rest of this article and check out the full issue at ... [read more]

DJ Shortee, a.k.a. Shannon Ames, might only be 5’1”, but the Grammy Foundation has expansively referred to her as “the world’s premier female DJ.” If you are a turntablist (or aspiring to be one), you have no doubt run into her videos on YouTube. I met her on the last day of the NAMM Show in Anaheim in January. Her performance at the Rane/Jetpack/Beat Junkies booth was the buzz of the day, and there was a huge crowd gathered to watch her do things like beat juggling while spinning around—she’s like a “Harlem Globe Trotter” of turntablism! Although I didn’t meet her in person until NAMM, I had been chatting with DJ Shortee on Instagram for a while prior to that about doing scratching lessons with her. ... [read more]

There are a lot of different things that make your blood pump harder and your heart beat faster. However, live music is often left out of the conversation when it comes to impacts on our perceptions of love. Even for all its power to unite and please people, music is wrongfully disregarded in this respect. That’s why it’s important to take a look at several ways that music can impact your love life, just to show you its significance to people. You Tend to Find People that Enjoy the Same Things As You When you really love a certain kind of music, band, or other musical elements, you really can’t keep it to yourself. After all, music is a group activity and a share experience that is meant to bring people together. In fact, music has such a profound influence on the way that people meet one another that there are entire dating chat ro ... [read more]

I heard something recently shared by one of my past students in a Sales Is Solutions Workshop (what it was called before SALES 4 Event Pros) and I LOVED it SO MUCH I wanted to share it with you in this space.  The past student is Sam Kwak, and back when he took my workshop he was EXTREMELY skeptical and needed major convincing to even take the workshop in the first place. Fast forward now several years and he has moved on from the mobile DJ industry and is one of Chicagoland’s most successful real estate investors.  Now, I’m certainly not saying that it was my workshop that turned the tide for him, but more or less just proud to know this man, and to have him remind me of thi ... [read more]

DJs have a lot of power when they are in front of the crowd and making people hang on every note of a song. That’s why DJs need to have a great repertoire of songs that they can bring out to work the crowd. For those musical artists that are going to be employed at a wedding or other place where tender dating is happening, there is a need to have some really weepy songs. Here are five modern songs that any DJ can play to bring the room to a standstill, make people speed-dial their exes, or long for a hug. “Hello” by Adele The first song has to go to the queen of breakup music herself, Adele. The song “Hello” is so famous for its ability to make people stop what they’re doing and reminisce about lost love that there are memes and videos about it. Even SNL had a go at the song to show the potency with which it can make people rem ... [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 emai ... [read more]

This year marked my ninth year coming to Mobile Beat Las Vegas and my first as a staff member. What an incredible experience, to be on the inside and go behind the scenes of the production and execution of the conference. The amount of hours, staff dedication and planning that go into MBLV each year is staggering. This conference really is a labor of love to give the DJ industry a solid, positive platform that helps us grow individually and collectively. Not everyone is going to have the opportunity to be a staff member (thank you Ryan and Dan), but the next best way to maximize your learning experience at MBLV is through the Platinum Pass. Two years ago, for MBLV21, my wi ... [read more]

Another successful and enlightening Mobile Beat Las Vegas conference is in the books. Even though preparations for MBLV24 are already in the works, we wanted to get some feedback from first-time Mobile Beat Las Vegas attendees. The number one priority of the Mobile Beat staff is to build upon the success of the previous conference. The goal each year is to load MBLV with fresh ideas and informational content that will help DJs take their performances and businesses to the next level. A big part of that mission is to listen to attendees and add the seminars and workshops that are most valuable to their education. This year the content was exceptional. Early morning round-ta ... [read more]