Music Control Freaks

The cardinal rule of deejaying is this – if you play what they want to hear, they’ll dance and the floor will be full all night long. It really is that simple.

Over the years I’ve had far too many clients give me an ‘approved playlist’ for their event or, even worse, a specific list of songs to play. More often than not, that playlist is made up of songs that only the happy couple love (songs that the guest have never heard of or appreciate). While the couple may love Bluegrass tunes by Trampled by Turtles, the guests want to dance to Livin’ On a Prayer, Uptown Funk, Love Shack, You Shook Me All Night Long, and some of the more current top 40 songs.

I tell all of my clients the same thing – let me know what kind of music you like to listen to (country, top 40, hip hop, rap, etc.) and I’ll definitely work that into the playlist. But please – give me the ability to play guest requests as well as the ability to read the crowd and play what I think they’ll dance to. As long as the requests aren’t on the ‘do not play’ list, I’ll use my skills and experience to fit the requests in, playing the songs that will get your guests to their feet and out on the floor.

Your job is to say ‘I Do’ and then interact with your guests. My job is to keep the dance floor full. This is the reason you hire a DJ rather than plug in an iPod. Rely on your DJ’s experience rather than a playlist you create!