How to Book a DJ in 3 Steps

Who would have thought that booking a DJ was a difficult thing to do? Picture the situation: you’re holding an event (a corporate party, a birthday, a wedding, etc), but you’ve never booked a DJ before. What do you do?

The average Mr Virgin-Event-Planner might think it’s a simple and straightforward process. We agree that it is a very easy process, but it is easy to over-complicate. You have got to make sure you don’t fall into any common traps, and thus increase stress levels.

There are 3 key steps to take in this guide on how to book a DJ.

1. Plan Your Event

It might sound obvious, but the first thing you need to do before booking your DJ is to actually plan out your event.

We get countless queries from customers who don’t know the most basic information about their event. This is like trying to build a house without a plot of land or any drawings.

The key information you need to have drafted ahead of the booking process:

1. The event date or dates.
2. The event timing (will you need a DJ for 2 hours starting at 10pm?)
3. The event location (have you booked a venue yet?)
4. The sound/lighting equipment to be hired (do you need anything, or is it included in the venue hire?)
5. The budget (how much money have you allocated to the DJ and equipment hire?)

On top of the basic plan, it’s also worth drafting a few questions you might want to ask the agency.

2. Make Contact With The Agency

Once you have your event planning drafted it is now time to make contact with the DJ agency.

You should get in touch with a few options, and send over your requirements per your plan in Step 1. We would advise checking online reviews across places like Google, Facebook, and Trustpilot for a balanced picture each first.

You will find that some DJ agencies make life hard for you during the contact stage. Look out for the following:

• The agency might not give you any pricing information upfront. This means that you will need to wait around for quotes/estimates.
• The agency might in fact just be a ‘casual’ worker who has a handful of DJ gigs a year (you can usually tell this if on their quote/pricing there is no VAT). They additionally might only reply to emails or calls after 5pm, if at all.
• The agency might actually be a ‘catch-all’ service agency, offering everything from plumbers to cleaners (the chances of getting a quality professional DJ from one of these are unfortunately very slim).

At Storm we offer the following benefits which make us stand out at this crucial stage.

• All pricing is clearly shown on the site. There are no hidden costs.
• You get talent from a top-rated organisation with independent reviews.
• You get a choice of highly-experienced, in-demand, and vetted DJs from our roster (pro, celebrity, and premium are also available) as well as talented live musicians to accompany the DJs.
• You can rest assured that all performers have Public Liability Insurance and all equipment is PAT tested.
• You are in full control of your booking needs: you tell us exactly what you need when, with no restrictions.
• You are in control of the playlist, genres, and music direction (as much or as little as you want to be).
• You can receive a custom-recorded mini-mix by your chosen DJ to make sure that he or she will perform your ideal mix.
• You get to have a full phone, Skype, or in person chat with your DJ before the event.

3. Finalise The Booking

As with most things in life, if you’re too late you’re going to miss out. The third, and most important step is to complete the booking. It’s not quite the same as leaving an item in an online basket, then coming back to purchase it. There are only a finite number of DJs available available on each day of the year.

Most agencies will secure your booking by giving you the option of a refundable (and secure) credit card payment. This deposit payment is usually a percentage of the total booking cost. Be wary of agents who require 100% upfront and only offer bank transfer as payment mechanism.

If you manage to follow the guidance we have provided in the above 3 steps, the process of booking a DJ should be as smooth as butter.

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