Nick Spinelli
4
Why Wedding DJs Are So Cheap and How To Fix It | Wedding DJ Pricing Tips
This video I will explain why Wedding DJs are so cheap and how we can fix this problem. We are ranked near the bottom of the list of wedding vendor cost and I think it’s insane. Wedding DJs are an extremely important part of every wedding and the fact that we’re cheaper than most other vendors…
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41 comments
Watch this video all the way through people! VERY IMPORTANT. 🙏🏼
I needed to hear this
Start a National DJ union Nick. $2,500 should be the average these days.
Wedding cakes start at $500 but generally are between $1,500 to $5,000.
I’m from UK I’ve been a Wedding DJ for over 40 years ! average price in my area is £250.00
you’d be hard pushed to get more
I am totally agree with you. I invested in this shit 25k pounds. 😵💫
Is a good payed job. but what you said it's true
We are at the bottom of the wedding vendors.
Is not to fair, because after the dinner all depends of us
I get asked to DJ at a gig. And then, get asked if I can provide the sound system for the musicians (at my price of DJ'ing only) way too often! LOL!
Do you have a, pricing guide for Sunday brunches?
You forget Champaign I just did a wedding as a dj for the first time this weekend at my sisters wedding and I’m deejaying sins 1994but they payed for the installation 100€ because we have a sound and light company in the family but… the spend 100€ per bottle Champaign and there where 20 bottles emptied. Okey undid it as a gift now but I will never ask les than 2500€ just basic dj boot to turntables dvs mixer and sound exl lights! The work with there music preferences making me play songs I have to force me in to styles and I can mix most music but … to do good for everyone on that dance floor it’s prepping a week and a half at least… and nick dude you helpt me alot I have seen maybe 20 of your YouTube’s now your a talented and passionate guy I hope you charge even more than 10000 because you are the James hype of the wedding dj’s! For real! Big up! That’s hardcore
Well Said
Ur 💯 right on this system are ten grand or more. So we need to get paid for what we do
9:38 if you start charging $1200 or more, people will just start using YouTube. 😂😂😂
Literally the ONLY thing in this video that is realistic in price was the $500 cake. If you pay them listed prices WHEN LITERALLY ANY FRIEND CAN DO MOST OF THESE THINGS FOR FREE. You are a complete moron.
Since this video is a few years old, here are the updated average costs for 2024 throughout the US:
Invites: $530
Ceremony musician: $900
DJ: $1,700
Wedding dress: $2,000
Videographer: $2,300
Florist: $2,800
Photographer: $2,900
Band: $4,300
$1,700 is still unacceptable. Especially if a DJ is covering Ceremony, Cocktail Hour, Dinner and Dancing, it should be around $3,500 depending on your location.
Musician here who provides live music for ceremony, cocktail hour & also occasionally with a band for the dance portion of the evening. I also often 'double-dip' and provide DJ services for the evening. There is far more pressure, time and skill involved to provide live music for a wedding than there is to DJ. DJing is a walk in the park in comparison and pays a good amount more. On gigs where I do both, after the live music is done and I switch to DJ mode, I'm always like, "Phew! Party time!"
I'm a photographer and I approve this message. You bring life to a wedding. Otherwise it's just a dinner. Bunch of people eating with weird faces.
As someone looking for a wedding DJ, who won't have any florist, nor a videographer, and who is looking to buy a 90$ used dress, this video scares me. Not because I don't think DJ adds value, but because every vendor is so damn expensive. I do feel the average of that website is weird tho. Our photographer will be around 500$, no wedding I've been nor mine went with real expensive flowers and the lowest price I found for a dj is 1500$.
Maybe your video would be more convincing if you went with value, time you out into each wedding, making the wedding dj a full job, instead of comparing prices with other vendors?
Dude this is awesome
i thought “wedding bands” meant like the rings😂
Following up here to see if folks are seeing a generally increased rate or not as of February 2024. I am still 20-25% of the photographer/videography at least, no shade
Agree👍🎧🎉 We perform live! We only have secs to decide what’s the next song to play to rock the party! We are the heart of the wedding celebration! We do not have the luxury of the photographers to go home and fix mistakes by cropping and editing. We come early and leave last! Do not under value our job!
I approve this message!!!!😂😂😂
How many hours at an event are you talking about?
I think there are steps and you gotta work way up to that. Price of you're just starting off you do not deserve the high pricin You still need to earn your keep., I also think that the market is flooded right now due to tik Tok D j's and everyone wanting to be A DJ. Just because they think it's cool or it looks cool Or they want to be cool.
You're 100% right. And to all you DJs that drop your pants on price because that's the only way you can get gigs, you need to throw in the towel and stop driving the price down.
Every time I need some reassurance, I watch your videos. Thank you!
Let's be honest here, We know in a Wedding Gig most of us are just not really doing anything beside just playing some background music and if we do get a chance to perform live mix on a Dance party after the wedding, they don't last two hours and considering that there are other performer like band and games we don't actually do anything beside just to look out for our Sound and Lights equipment.. That's the reason why Wedding Gig are cheap on DJ gigs.. We also know that Band are more working performer than our mixing talents so if you find that they paid a lot is because they work a lot to perform better not to sing like a horse and to play instrument like a kid, try to switch into a musician so that you know. We are not in that level mostly if they are already famous. The only thing for you to be paid higher is if you're already a worlds famous DJ or you own the entire Sound and Lights and that depends on how big is your equipment.
Nick is great idea.
Experience DJ and get more referral and get more paid and more time to play music.
Money money
Non experience DJ no place to DJ, they have to low the price to get into the market.
Many many issues DJ low the price because of that.
I have been DJ for 30 years but I still enjoy play music not business because DJ is not good business to live.
It is enjoyable.
Mark Ferrell has been speaking about this for over 20 years. The presentation was Getting What You're Worth
I’m now DJing weddings in the Lake District UK and have been in the most expensive band in the area. We charged double what every other band charged, here’s what I noticed:
The more they pay, the more they appreciate you. We used to get thank you card regularly telling us we made the evening.
What if you don't like to do weddings. Are mobile djs called wedding djs
Fully AGREE! Cuz the Market is Saturated with instant DJ's… every since MP3 Music or Stripped YT Music can be pretty much FREE for any person to gather from multiple online sources, cuz if it was a matter of Dj only access to music was like in the 70's & 80's in the form of RECORDS then it would be someone vested in the game – So Now The disparate ones, like myself, lack of confidence etc… under price themselves which in essence sets the standards or pricing in general… Talent vs Tangible things like Food/Flowers/Location etc.. then there is the subject of Quality of SOUND>Lights>etc
Wow…..this is absolutely insane. You american wedding DJ's are killing it. Im a wedding dj in South Africa and we only charging around the equivalent of $300 per wedding…..at $1200 i could do 2 weddings a month and would be smiling all the way to the bank
It’s because a lot of DJs are watering it down just wanting gigs and taking less
damn bro. u doing gods work….
I know a few folks who despise wedding dances, so they set their prices high ($2500-$3000) just to minimize their bookings, but they still do plenty of wedding dances.
There is no way a dj cost 1200 for all the work that has to be done at a wedding. That is dirt cheap. It takes loads of talent energizing the crowd, interacting with the crowd through introduction and ceremony. Im not a dj but I agree prices need to be raised. Immediately.
Musicians may spend only one hour for ceremony, but many hours preparing for it
Nick, thanks for posting this! I was one of those DJ's around in the early 80's. I have watched our industry in a mad race to the bottom of the toilet bowl when it comes to pricing. I was one of 10 DJ's in the phone book in the mid 80's. If a couple wanted a DJ in my city of 250,000 (Madison, Wisconsin), they had 10 choices. We all knew not to undercut and we didn't. When computers came out, many went to Napster or bought a music loaded hard drive on line. All of a sudden, instead of a couple having 10 choices for a DJ, they had a thousand. Many were willing to work for next to nothing just to have the work. In the later 90's, the going rate for a bar DJ in my area was $450. Three decades later, the going rate is $225. So prices have been cut in half because DJ's were willing to work for less than a non livable wage. Like you said in your video, the price of everything else has gone up by 5 times as much. Everything except DJ's. The hardest part of it all is that other DJ's will fight you tooth and nail to justify why they believe a DJ shouldn't be more than what they charge. I have tried to educate others with the same message you had in this video. I hope your message gets to the people in the back row! Thanks again my friend!
Isnt it also like "I couldnt ever play cello, of course they cost a lot" and "Well i have a party playlist on Spotify i dance to all the time, whats a DJ even doing?"