Tag Archive for Music

CEE Worldwide Entertainment Agency | August 29, 2011
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X Factor – Auditions Week 2

So week two of the X Factor 2001 auditions has been aired. As in week one we see technology being used, dressing rooms, and an audience which is bound to influence the judges.

I have to say that whilst not a fan of the X Factor in any way I have been so far reasonably impressed with the new look judging panel. I think in week one they made a few horrendous decisions, but in week two seemed to have redeemed themselves. Perhaps it is just a case of settling in, however I hope Kelly can learn a new word from the dictionary for week three as “cute” as she is she really needs another adjective to add to her collection.

So what did I make of week 2 of the auditions well read on and find out.

Johnny Robinson

Johnny Robinson X FactorI was pleasantly surprised with the start of the week 2 auditions when we were introduced to Johnny Robinson. Before we saw him on stage he was interviewed and we got our first insights into him. So what did I make of “the book”? Well it looked from the outside to be pretty nondescript, the title giving nothing away, a little worn and frayed at the edges, perhaps an unsuccessful hint of trying to reclaim some youth. The preface was a trifle camp, not in the Noel Coward way but more the Kenneth Williams, with a smattering of Hilda Baker. Then Johnny stepped on stage and the book opened. Talking to the judges was a guy of 45 with what could be described as a reedy voice, but what happened next was comparable to Susan Boyle on Britain’s Got Talent. The mouth opened and out flowed At Last by Etta James. It was one of those you had to be there moments, you had to see it as it happened not see the YouTube re-runs. This was a voice that had the wow factor, as it sang the song with passion style and note perfect. As Louis said he had judged the book by the cover and had had to do a complete re-appraisal, just like everyone had had to do with Susan Boyle. The voice is great, the look needs work, but if he can overcome the obstacles as Susan Boyle did Johnny could go far.

Derry Mensah.

Derry Mensah X FactorBefore Derry even went on stage you knew he had a thing for Kelly Rowland. It appears the 20 year old who works at Burger King was once on the wrong side of the law for robbing a teenager on a train for which he was sentenced for 18 months and served 9. It is reported that he was armed with a gun when the incident took place although non was ever found. Derry says that prison gave him the want to turn his life around and that he was encouraged to do so by other inmates. Whilst some people will feel that Derry should not have such an opportunity due to his past, under law he is entitled to the same rights as anyone else, to discriminate on the grounds of him being an ex-offender is against the law. If I am honest the music business has a lot of people arrested for various things working within it. So what of his singing? Well he held the tune singing Can You Help Me by Usher. Can he be a good solo act? Possibly. Could he fit into a group? Possibly. The judges were split on this one with both Louis and Kelly saying they could see him in a group. Why am I sitting on the fence, well he is through to boot camp and I already know a number of groups were formed from some of the contestants but I do not know who was in them. I am therefore reserving some judgement for the future when we see what path Derry takes.

Roger Boyd

Roger Boyd X FactorRoger Boyd is 32 and from Portrush, County Antrim and works in an off licence. Again to me this was another Johnny Robinson moment. I think again it was judging books by covers and making assumptions before actually listening. I know Gary questioned versatility and asked do we need another Meatloaf? But if I am honest isn’t the show called the X Factor, and hasn’t Gary been heard a number of times saying we are looking for people who will sell albums worldwide. With the range, power and already proven selling record of Meatloaf, the answer would have to be YES. With his version of Meatloaf’s “I Would Do Anything For Love” Roger has been nicknamed RoBo, and admits he is a self confessed SuBo fan. Time will tell if it is he or Johnny who claims the SuBo crown. Roger has also hit back at claims he is a Drag Queen, after a photo he claims was from a fancy dress party was leaked to newspapers. There are many within the entertainment industry who are gay or extremely camp, it has been that way for years and I thought that we had overcome prejudice .. perhaps we still have a way to go.

Craig Colton

Craig Colton X FactorI like Craig’s openness and what you see is what you get approach. he admitted living at home because he got his meals cooked and ironing done. We found out he worked in a biscuit factory where his dad also worked and he had no idea what it was his dad did, a typical child. Craig is like a breathe of fresh air although being involved with the X Factor the air may go stale pretty quickly. He performed a cover version of  Adele’s “Hiding My heart” which was better than many of those who went through on week 1. There were imperfections and a few bum notes but vocal coaching and guidance can cure most of those things. I shall be watching Craig with interest, so far he may be a contender who comes out of nowhere to go places.

Misha Bryan

Misha Bryan X FactorThe only female to get through in week 3 was Misha Bryan who is 19 and from Manchester. She performed a cover of RESPECT by Aretha Franklin at her audition and even added some rap into the mix. Whilst trying to fill the queen of souls shoes is a big enough task I have to wonder if the rapping was worth it, it showed versatility but there is still plenty of time for that. Tulisa loved her enthusing “That was exciting! I loved that audition, everything was brilliant. Your  style’s on point, you have attitude. Best audition of the day, brilliant.” However before we get too carried away lets look at a few facts not made known. Misha from Longsight is a busker in Manchester usually performing close to the Arndale Center in market street. In support of I Love MCR Misha put on performances of Adele’s “Someone Like You” and “Forget You” by Cee-Lo Green.

Misha has just completed her first year of a course at Trafford College’s Manchester Music Base, where she was coached by Leanne Brown, who had a hit with Flowers in 2000 as half of the duo Sweet Female Attitude. Misha has also collaborated with top Manchester rapper RIO, and taken part in a charity appeal in aid of the Japan earthquake at the city’s Night and Day venue. So she is no stranger to the stage and her coaching allowed her to give a good performance. She has potential, and it will be interesting to watch how she progresses. It also would seem that perhaps she is another X Factor producers project as they showed her “on the bus”, and so called arriving. Am I cynical … damn right I am.

Joseph Castle

Joseph Castle X FactorAnother male act who went through to boot camp but whom we saw very little of. In the few seconds the X Factor producers gave us we saw a little flirting with Kelly Rowland and Joseph singing a slightly jazzy version of Nat “King” Coles “Let There Be Love”. We also found out that Joseph is 24 and works in IT. He seemed to have a reasonable voice but what else have I managed to find out about him? Well it seems earlier this year he was in recording studios and that he began work on what he calls his “debut LP”, which would seem to be songs penned by himself or others. On the 7th June 2011 “Everything You Want” was released into the public domain followed on 8th July 2011 with “This Song’s For You”

Take a listen using the following links:
Everything You Want
This Song’s For You

The Keys

The Keys X FactorThe only group to make it through in week number two of the auditions were The Keys. It is always hard finding half decent groups in the X Factor so to find a very decent one is like finding a certain piece of straw in a bale of straw, nigh on impossible, until now. Boot camp often sees solo acts combined into groups with these boys no combining is needed. So what do we know about The Keys apart from they audiationed and went to boot camp. Well I can reveal i have names and ages Rohan 24, Lewis 23, Charlie 26, Nick 25 and Dan 24, although which is which I am still at a loss at. The group performed a slick and tight version of Aloe Blacc’s “I Need A Dollar” with some really good harmonies. They also had a great individual look. It is no wonder Louis who mentored JLS was excited. These guys had pt the work in and it showed in the audition big time. I think these may be a big surprise in the coming weeks.

The Talentless Majority – Week 2

The Duos X FactorStanding tall amongst this weeks talentless majority are The Duos. Likening themselves to Beyonce and Jay-Z, its was more like Beyond Comprehension and what you might find on a J Cloth. Bad is not a word that even comes close, I wish I could be kind but I can’t, it was dreadful, medieval torture would be more preferable, as would being forced to listen to Dennis Waterman continuously. Also in this category we see Mark Byron who was a sales assistant. Mark had what can only be described as a bad hair day, yes the hair was tragic but not quite as tragic as his audition. Luckily he said if he got 4 no’s he’d leave the country, so perhaps as he got 4 no’s there is a plus side for the rest of us. Then we had P-Knowledge aka Perry Devonish. Kelly loved his abs but didn’t love his voice .. I have to agree it wasn’t good, but next to The Duos it was like that of an angel.

Conclusion.

All in all a great week for hidden talent. The other thing that was even better was the lack of professionals being put through. Yes the X Factor has its favourites again and perhaps Joseph cannot be called a total amateur but it was much fairer than the previous week. I will be watching and reporting and only time will tell what happens.

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© 2011 Paul Sims. CEE Worldwide Entertainment Agency.

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CEE Worldwide Entertainment Agency | August 2, 2011
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Copyright Advice Regarding Music And Its Use

How do I use some music in my TV programme/corporate video/radio commercial/website etc
You’ve chosen the music you want (royalty free music or any other music), and you want to stay legal. There’s an important point to consider – although composers may often be poor, but they belong to big organisations who have big lawyers! So here’s what you need to know. Let’s assume the music is protected by copyright – we’ll get to why later on. When you include a piece of music in a TV/video/film production you need a Synchronization license – so called because the music is synchronized to visuals. With radio, it’s a Transcription licence. Broadly they’re known as “Mechanical Licenses” (from the days when they were actual mechanically made copies), and however you copy the music you’re going to need one. And I do mean “however” – whatever the format, it’s still valid, so it includes computer files (mp3, midi), tapes, Cd’s, DVDs, vinyl, paper and comb…(well, almost).

Is all music protected by copyright?
The broad answer to this is ‘yes’ – for all practical purposes. If you’ve come across the music (let’s assume you didn’t write it yourself) then the music creator has certain rights – Copyright. In the US they have to invoke these rights, but if they’ve gone to the trouble of releasing the music (and that’s where you heard it, right?) they will have done this. In the UK, the right exists automatically. The creator may well have appointed a publishing company to look after the Copyright on their behalf, or they may do it themselves. Either way, it’s there.

So what’s the big deal about that?
Nothing really, except that the person who controls the Copyright gets to say how the music is used. So if you want to use it in your corporate DVD, they have to give the ‘OK’. In practise, this would be an administrative nightmare – imagine how many composers there are out there, and how would you start trying to find the right one?? So here’s how it’s made easy – each country has a main agency to administrate the”music copyright” rights for everyone. In the UK it’s called MCPS (the Mechanical and Copyright Protection Society), in the USA it’s the Harry Fox Agency. You contact them, and they can give you the permission you need to stay the right side of the law – for a fee.

THERE IS AN EXCEPTION TO THIS!
And that’s so called “royalty free music” or “buy out” music. What happens here is that the composers have kept the Copyright rights themselves, so they don’t use an agency to administrate those rights for them. This means that they’ll give you a license individually to use their royalty free music, for a fee of course. It’s often cheaper, as well as simpler, and we think it’s a great way to license music, but then we’re probably biased…visit www.royalty-free.tv

So what do MCPS and Harry Fox want from me?
It generally comes down to a bit of form-filling, and you pay a set rate for the permission.

It’s going to cost me – right?
That’s for sure, but the rates vary enormously depending on the use that you want to put the music too. Generally it’s geared in proportion with how many people end up hearing the music in the end. So a network broadcast at peak time to millions of people (say a TV drama), the rate is going to be high. On the other hand, if you’re making a corporate presentation that’ll only ever be seen inside the company, the rate is a lot lower!

So now you’ve paid the “Mechanicals” license, you think you’re in the clear. Not quite – it depends on what you do with the music next, so read this bit carefully! There is also a right included in Copyright that’s referred to as the “Performance Right”. Without going into the exact technicalities, this means that the composer has the exclusive right to decide how their music is “performed” publicly. You guessed it – you have to pay them for that permission too! But read on – you may not have to either! There are a few terms you should understand here to make it clearer…

What’s a Performance?
A “performance” can be thought of as whenever the music is played publicly – this means to anyone other than yourself. It includes, for example, radio, TV, nightclubs, trade shows, telephone on-hold, in-store music systems.

So who pays who?
As with the Mechanicals licenses, the admin if you had to track down each individual composer would be a nightmare, so to solve this problem we have Performing Rights Organisations (PRO), who represent most music composers. In America the biggest societies are ASCAP and BMI, in the UK it’s the PRS. The person or company who actually does the broadcast pays them a fee for the privelege of broadcasting (or “performing”) music in public. This can be good news – because if you are a TV production company for example, you don’t pay. Why not? Because you don’t actually do the broadcast, the TV station does, so they pay! No matter what music they play, they still have to pay a fee. The rate they pay is again scaled sensibly according to how many people hear the music, and generally the TV & Radio stations pay one big fee to cover all their music for a year at a time (it’s often referred to as a “blanket” license, as it covers all their music used). However, they still need to know exactly what music they are broadcasting, so when you (as a TV programme maker for example) give the TV station the final tapes, you also give them “cue sheets” with exact details of the music/composers used in the programme. These details get passed on to the local Performance Rights Organisation, who use this to calculate how much money each composer should get, according to how much of each composer’s music has been “performed” in public. So they (PRO’s) do a good thing – they do all the administration so you don’t have to!

When do I pay a Performance Licence fee?
If you make a public performance by playing the music to the public. For example, let’s say you make a corporate video for your client, who then shows that video at a trade fair. That’s actually a public performance, and the client will be expected to pay a fee for the right to do this, usually to the trade fair organiser, who’s already been charged a fee by the local Performance Rights Society such as ASCAP. So it pays to think through to the final use of the music – if you write a midi file version of a hit song and put it on your website, no matter how insignificant that may seem so some people, technically you’re due to pay your local Performance Rights Organisation for the right to do that. And remember, big PRO societies have big lawyers (who have kids with big college fees), and they’re gonna be chasing you for some of that…

We hope that’s explained the necessary facts to those who want to know. Generally, just approach the right people in the right way, and you’ll have no problems at all. It’s only if you ignore them in the hope that ‘no-one will ever notice’ that you’re likely to regret it. And in our experience, composers, agencies etc are usually very reasonable people, and business minded. If you’re making money out of their talents, it’s only reasonable that they get their fair share (and no more!). On the other hand if you’re making no money, they’re just as likely to charge you nothing, turn a blind eye, and tell you not to worry. But at least you’ve extended them the courtesy of asking, and thereby shown that you recognise the value in their music – which is what Copyright is all about.

Acknowledgement

The above information has been reproduced with the kind permission of www.royalty-free.tv The copyright to this information remains the intellectual property of www.royalty-free.tv and may not be reproduced in any way without written permission from them. CEE Worldwide Entertainment Agency would like to thank Gavin and royalty-free.tv for allowing us to reproduce this information.
© www.royalty-free.tv All Rights Reserved.

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CEE Worldwide Entertainment Agency | March 29, 2011
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The Cost Of Selling Your Digital Music Online.

So you are a band or musical act and would like to sell your music digitally online, in a secure way. The easiest way is to use a digital music distribution site, but what are the potential costs of doing so.

To use as an example we have choosen CD Baby a well known digital music distibution site, and will use its own prices as a demonstration.

Firstly if you wish to sell your music you have to register for a membership account which is similar for most sites of this type. Once registered you can then proceed to upload your music to sell online. The process seems simple enough, and it is. It is why people use these types of service. However, once registered and you want to start uploading you begin to find out the true cost of doing so. Most people do not read the small print or other terms they just sign up, and that as this article will show is a huge mistake.

Above you can see the CD Baby pricing page in the frame, if you cannot see the frame you can always visit the web page. You can see from the page in question that we have not invented any figures etc.

So you have your account and now want to upload some music. You decide to upload say 3 albums of your music, so let us look at the first entry in the pricing table. Album signup is $39.00 per album so 3 albums will cost $117.00 yes $117.00 and you haven’t even sold anything. So you have paid money to upload your music and have paid to do so in the hope of making sales, does this seem right to you? Next say you want to upload 3 single tracks, as an album perhaps contains 10 or more a single track will be free or cost very little, well lets take a look. Looking at the second entry in the pricing chart we see the cost of upload for each single track which is $9.95 per single so your 3 singles will cost, wait for it $29.85 and you haven’t made any sales. So 3 albums and 3 singles have cost you a total of $146.85. I think you will agree that is a reasonable outlay and without a single track sold.

If you then decide you want extras such as a UPC barcode that is another $20.00 per album and $5.00 per single. Those prices soon add up.

So you can see you can spend a lot of money before you have even potentially made a sale. And remember you aren’t guranteed to make any sales at all. So what happens if you make a sale? Well then for each item sold you ALSO pay a commission. Yes more expense, on top of what you have already paid out.

So if we scroll down the page we see the section regarding how much CD Baby pays you. The second box down deals with downloads where it states you get 75% of sale fee which means CD Baby gets 25%. The following is a direct excerpt from that entry “We keep 25% of the purchase price with a minimum of 29 cents. For a download that sells for $9.99 you get paid $7.49, and for a single that sells for 99 cents you get paid 70¢.” Have you noticed that the minimum is 29 cents which means that on a $1.00 download you are actually paying 29% commission if that was a $0.50 sale you would be paying a whopping 58% commission. Yes it really does pay to read the small print and thing about it. On another page completely, click here to view it, they claim “Make the highest profit margin of any online store
Get paid 70¢ for any single you sell for 99¢. For multiple singles transactions, we keep only 25% (minimum 29¢) and pay you a whopping 75% per download sold on our store – more than iTunes, Amazon, and other retailers.” Not completely factual as it is not always 75% due to the minimum charge already mentioned. One other thing to bear in mind is that they claim to pay more than other reatilers in commission, However i doubt they check all the potential competition just the big guns so you can probably find better deals by looking around. New site Music Acts Tracks charges just 20% commission and has a commission price promise too.

So is it easy to find cheaper alternatives. The answer is YES. Music Acts Tracks offers you the ability to do just that. There are no registration charges. There are no upload fees. You just pay 20% commission which is backed by Music acts Tracks commission price promise. It really is that simple.

© Paul Sims 2011

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CEE Worldwide Entertainment Agency | April 18, 2009
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Happy Birthday To The 45rpm Record

Author: Robert Benson

Happy Birthday and welcome back to an old friend, the 45 rpm record officially turned 60 years old on March 31. British trade journals are reporting that single song 45rpm records are now outselling their CD counterparts and many American bands are now releasing music via this historic audio medium.

The 45rpm record was initially introduced in 1949 by RCA Records as a smaller, more durable replacement for the heavy 78 shellac-based records of the time. The 45 was created by RCA as a competitive move against one their rival record companies, Columbia, which had just introduced the new microgroove 33 1/3 rpm LP. The number 45 came from taking 78 and subtracting Columbia’s new 33 to equal the 45. Record companies and consumers alike faced an uncertain future as to which format would survive the 78rpm or the 45rpm; in what was known as the “War of the Speeds.” In 1949 Capitol and Decca started issuing the new LP format and RCA relented and issued its first LP in January 1950. But the 45 rpm was gaining in popularity and Columbia issued its first 45s in February 1951. Soon other record companies saw the mass consumer appeal the new format allowed and by 1954 more than 200 million 45s had been sold.

So On March 31, 1949, RCA Victor released “Texarkana Baby” b/w “Bouquet of Roses” by Eddy Arnold. The first 45 to hit the Billboard charts was “A — You’re Adorable” by Perry Como, listed on the charts on May 7, 1949. The next week, the year’s biggest hit appeared on the Billboard charts — “Riders In The Sky (A Cowboy Legend)” by Vaughn Monroe. The first 45rpm records were monaural and as stereo sound became more prevalent and popular in the 1960s, almost all 45rpm records were manufactured in stereo.

The historical and commercial significance of the 45rpm record has varied over time, the technological developments in recorded music and according to the audience of the particular artists and musical genres. In general, 45rpm records were more important to the music acts who sold music to the younger audiences (mostly teenagers) who tend to have limited financial resources and shorter attention spans. That said, the golden age for the 45 was in the 1950s and 1960s in early development of rock music. They were affordable and allowed artists the freedom of releasing a single song as opposed to a whole LP. Conversely, some singles helped to launch the sales of the albums that the musicians were promoting.

The length of the songs also evolved. In the 1950s, it was common for songs to be anywhere from two to two and a half minutes long and in the 1960s; the three minute single became the norm. This length was very convenient and fit the AM radio format very well. Millions of demo records were sent out to radio stations with specific instructions as to which song was supposed to be the ‘hit single,’ although there were some DJs that played the ‘B’ sides and those songs became hits. Elvis Presley was one of the first artists to release the ‘double-sided single’, meaning that both songs would ultimately end up on the charts. The Beatles followed suit and were also one of the first recording artists to push the envelope, so to speak and commonly had songs over the three-minute norm. In fact, there are some singles that had to be edited by radio stations and shortened to fit their particular formats. Don McLean’s 1972 hit “American Pie” is an example, the single was split up into two parts on the 45. The Beatles broke new ground in 1968 with their over seven minute epic “Hey Jude.”

The sales of the 45s were recorded on the record charts in most countries in a Top 40 format and these charts were often published in magazines (Billboard), television shows (American Bandstand) and radio programs often had the Top 40 countdown shows (Casey Kasem).

Nowadays, they still manufacture 45 rpm records, but on a much smaller scale than decades ago. Indie bands, r&b artists and punk bands love the format; it makes the music affordable for their target audience and, after all these years, are still highly sought after by collectors. Happy Birthday to an old friend, here’s for many more!

Sales of 45rpm Records:

Over 11 million copies
“Candle in the Wind 1997/Something About the Way You Look Tonight” – Elton John

Over 8 million copies
“We Are the World” – USA for Africa

Over 4 million copies
“Hey Jude” – The Beatles
“Hound Dog”/”Don’t Be Cruel” – Elvis Presley
“I Will Always Love You” – Whitney Houston
“Low” – Flo Rida featuring T-Pain
“Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)” – Los Del Rio
“Whoomp! (There It Is)” – Tag Team

Over 3 million copies
“Apologize” – Timbaland presents OneRepublic
“Disturbia” – Rihanna
“(Everything I Do) I Do It for You” – Bryan Adams
“Eye of the Tiger” – Survivor
“Gangsta’s Paradise” – Coolio featuring L.V.
“Hot N Cold” – Katy Perry
“How Do I Live” – LeAnn Rimes
“I Kissed a Girl” – Katy Perry
“I’ll Be Missing You” – Puff Daddy & Faith Evans featuring 112
“I’m Yours” – Jason Mraz
“Just Dance” – Lady Gaga featuring Colby O’Donis
“Live Your Life” – T.I. featuring Rihanna
“Love Me Tender/Any Way You Want Me” – Elvis Presley
“Stronger” – Kanye West
“Viva la Vida” – Coldplay

About the Author:
Author Robert Benson writes about rock/pop music, vinyl record collecting and operates http://www.collectingvinylrecords.com, where you can pick up a copy of his FREE ebook called “The Fascinating Hobby Of Vinyl Record Collecting.” Have your vinyl records appraised at http://www.vinylrecordappraisals.com

Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Happy Birthday To The 45rpm Record!

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CEE Worldwide Entertainment Agency | March 13, 2009
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Digital Kills The Wedding DJ

This article has been prompted by one that appeared in The Times Online some time ago. If you would like to read the original article please use the following link The Times Online.

The article refers to how some couples are using ipods to supply their wedding reception music as opposed to hiring a DJ, although this could also apply to any other event.

This may seem like a good money saving idea, but lets take a closer look at what it means in reality. I agree that couples could save money on hiring a DJ but, and it is a big BUT, what are the potential ramifications of doing so legally.

Firstly in the UK any electrical equipment used in a public place and accessible to the public must have PAT (Portable Appliance Test). This is to make sure that the device is safe electrically. That means using an ipod with any form of mains supply either to the ipod itself or a mains powered docking station must have PAT. There are many companies doing PAT, usually charging per item, but most also have a minimum fee of around £70.00 plus VAT.

The second factor is if extra amplification is required then it will mean hiring additional equipment which will also add to the overall cost.

The third factor is that an ipod does not come with any lighting which mean the hire of lighting effects if you want some.

It is now we hit the major stumbling block. If you are using such equipment you must be conversant with its safety and operating instructions. Why is this? Because you will be liable to be sued if anyone at the event has an accident, and if you have no knowledge of the safety and operating instructions then you cannot mount an active defense should the matter go to court. The next point to this is that to offset any possible action for injury you will have to have PLI (Public Liability Insurance). Yes the venue may have it but it is you who are responsible not the venue. PLI is not cheap to obtain, and if you read most small print it will require that all electrical items have a valid and current PAT, otherwise the PLI is void. PLI is a legal requirement.

Lets do some simple maths at this point:

PAT £70.00
PLI £150.00 (though you may get it cheaper)
Equipment hire £60.00 (hire equipment must already have PAT)

Total cost £280.00

Next let us take a look at using an ipod for your musical entertainment. You have downloaded your songs the party is going well, and then a guest wants a particular track, do you stop the music to download it as you don’t have it already or do you just say they can’t have it and risk offending them. This is something that should be considered, also how much do you spend downloading the tracks in the first place.

There is available a system that has 60,000+ tracks available to play, and which you can hire from certain places. Basically it is a large digital jukebox for want of a description cost on average £300.00, and yes it can do requests, but what happens when someone puts on a track they love that clears the dance floor. Or will the music someone likes and puts on offends other people at the event.

A good quality DJ will set you back on average £300.00 for the evening, some cost more some less, but £300.00 is a fair price, unless you have special requirements. A good quality DJ will also have PLI and all equipment will have PAT, if it is required. A DJ can also play requests, and adapt to different situations, being human has advantages. Then there are the times someone wants a request but can’t remember the title of the track and is also not sure who recorded it so they try and sing it to the DJ hoping they will know, now you can’t do that to a machine.

When all is said and done to be legal and do it yourself will cost the same if not more than getting someone to do it for you. The other benefit is they will also set all the equipment up and take it all down, and there is no having to return the hired equipment which saves on time too.

I hope the above has made you think a little, sometimes it is better to get a professional rather than DIY.

© Paul Sims

CEE Worldwide Entertainment Agency

We would like to thank The Times Online for allowing us to link to their original article. We would also like to thank the articles author Carol Midgley for her work, were it not for her this article may never have been written.

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