For many of us, COVID-19 is proving to be the most challenging occurrence of our lifetime. We asked DJs how they’ve been handling various aspects of it, from revenue streams, to social distancing, to how they’ve been making use of the downtime.
When it comes to handling revenue, “There’s a professional way to do it,” says DJ Marve Adler, “In fact we have a holding account where all deposits and prepayments stay until the event has been completed, and then these are shifted across to the main account. That way they aren’t even recognized as revenue until the ‘job’ is complete. We also (out of goodwill) offered all clients who had paid a deposit and who were having financial difficulties (due to job losses from the pandemic), which is a full refund of their deposit. Amazingly there were only two couples who took up the offer, while all others said to keep their deposit — as they’ll definitely be going ahead when the restrictions allow. Next year is looking like a busy year.”
“We have a holding account where all deposits and prepayments stay until the event has been completed, and then these are shifted across to the main account.”
“Social distancing isn’t my responsibility,” says DJ Tim Strater. “I play music, and our first gig is an outdoor wedding. We normally don’t do outdoor events, though it was good getting back those gigs, smooth as butter. But the downside is music, because the harder thing is to stay up on what people want when you aren’t playing all the time. Pools and charts are good, but TikTok and Byte will throw a curveball in there.”
Mark Wills, a mobile DJ in South Catherines, Ontario, says regular gigs remain on the upside in his market. “And yeah, the way things are going, I’ve found more time to improve my real job skills,” he says.
Read More: DJs Staying in Business with Skills
Scott Sain, with Blacktree Music Group in Johns Island, South Carolina, looks back and says he hasn’t had a break like this since 1994. “I used the time off to finish projects at my house and build cars,” he says, “though this is pretty much the same. I’ve had six or so weddings in the last month. There are almost no-masks on the guests, but staff is always wearing. Some smaller receptions have ended early because guests are leaving before the end. I’ve missed playing loud music, though it’s felt great to get back behind the controller.”
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