For the sixth year in a row, Music Man Productions was asked to provide music for the Northwest Iowa Bridal and Prom Extravaganza at the Clay County Regional Events Center in Spencer. In addition to providing the music mix for the prom and bridal fashion shows, Curtis and Eric had a booth to talk to prospective brides and grooms  Deciding on what kind of display to have for a bridal show is a challenge for DJ's. Many DJ's bring all their equipment and set it up as a way to show off their gear. We've always used a different philosophy at Music Man Produtions. We want to place the emphasis not on gear, but on the relationship that we work to establish with our couples. So we had a projector and a slide show featuring photos from 2011 events, a table with flyers and business cards, and a few lights just to add a touch of color.
 As I mentioned earlier, the organizers of the Northwest Iowa Bridal and Prom Extravaganza have asked Music Man Productions to operate the sound system for the event, including music during the style shows. Here Eric is keeping an eye on Kevin Tlam, the host, so that he can bring the music volume down a bit when Kevin speaks. Thanks again to KICD-AM, CD 107.7, and Lite 104.9 radio in Spencer for asking Music Man Productions to be a part of the 2012 event. Over 400 people attended!
As expected, the activity has picked up in recent days following the holiday season and the traditional engagement rush.
January is usually the biggest month for bookings as recently-engaged brides make arrangements for their 2012 weddings. Although we have many openings left this summer, it's best to not procrastinate if you just became engaged. Give us a call to see if Music Man Productions is the right choice for your reception!
Ankeny Patch is an online community news site about things happening in and around Ankeny. A couple of weeks ago, I was contacted by the editor of the site about my business relocating to town. She visited with me here at the house and wrote a very nice article (see link below). A bit thank you to Ruthie Tabone for agreeing to be interviewed for th
http://ankeny.patch.com/articles/music-man-productions-makes-the-move-to-ankeny
In addition to calculating the total number of events (see the blog post below), I also decided to look at 2011 in regards to lead time....how far in advance did wedding receptions book.
The average wedding reception was booked (contract and deposit received) 219 days before the wedding day, or just over 7 months. The longest lead time was 402 days, the shortest was 35 days.
15 of the weddings we performed at in 2011 were already booked before 2011 began. The rest were booked during 2011.
And what's the busiest month for booking (not performing) wedding receptions? No surprise...it's January, right after the traditional "holiday" engagement season. We booked 5 weddings during January, 3 during February, 4 during March, and 3 during April. After that, most of the new bookings that we received were for 2012 dates.
The bottom line for these statistics...plan early!
Merry Christmas everyone!
The "holidays" (a nebulous term that starts with Thanksgiving and ends sometime around New Years) is a time for enjoying the company of loved ones. And for some couples, it's the time to become engaged. After all, what's better than finding an engagement ring under the tree!
So I expect to see a serious uptick in calls and emails from prospective brides and grooms in the next few weeks. For couples that are just becoming engaged and planning a 2012 wedding, you have some decisions to make and not a lot of time to make them. Why? Because the wedding professionals you need to make your day magical are already seeing their prime dates becoming filled. So your quest for the perfect wedding and reception venue, DJ, photographer, etc. should be begin soon after the question is popped and the answer is received.
Our team enters 2012 will plenty of dates still available, primarily due to the fact that Chris and I relocated during 2011 and are just getting our names out in our new areas (Chris in Cedar Rapids, me in Des Moines).
 The final statistics are in, and it was a record year for Music Man Production!
By the time the calendar turns to 2012, my partner Chris and I will have performed at 48 events during 2011. 39 of those events were weddings, with the other nine being assorted other events (birthday parties, proms, company events, etc).
I personally DJ'ed at 29 events while Chris performed at 19. Chris' activities also included officiating at 5 wedding ceremonies during the year.
It's a record that is likely to remain unbroken in 2012 for a couple of reasons. First of all, two of our three partners (Eric Meeter in Spencer spent 2011 in training) relocated during 2011. That has meant getting the business established in a new area with a new competitive market. Curtis has been very actively networking in the Des Moines area while Chris has been doing the same in the Cedar Rapids area. As of this writing, Curtis has only one central Iowa event booked for 2012 while Chris has none from his new location. As a result, Curtis will be doing some travelling back and forth to northwest Iowa in 2012 to pick up some events to keep busy. Eric's bookings in northwest Iowa are on a good pace.
All told between Curtis, Chris, and Eric, we're hoping for a total of 40 events in 2012. It won't be a record, but it should be enough to keep us out of trouble!
It was nice to get a little positive press today. A short blurb about Music Man Productions was printed in today's "Ankeny Register and Press Citizen", which is sort of an Ankeny-centric version of the Des Moines Register. Here's what it said: Music Man Productions Ankeny Music Man Productions is a mobile DJ service that provides entertainment for wedding receptions, corporate events, class reunions and other occasions, including karaoke. Curtis Dean started the business in 1988 in Iowa City, then moved to Spencer in 1992, where it took off. Dean just moved to Ankeny, where he plans to continue the business. In the meantime, Eric Meeter has joined the business in Spencer to continue it there, and Dean’s son, Chris, who recently moved to Cedar Rapids, is also offering the DJ service in that area. See more at www.musicmaniowa.com, or call Dean at 650-0251.
In 23 years as a mobile DJ, I bet I've answered well over 1,500 initial inquiries by potential DJ clients. In the early days, of course, most of those were over the phone. In recent years, more and more of those "leads" are coming from my website or other online referral tools, or by email.
Those conversations - electronic or by voice - inevitably begin with a first question from the client to the DJ. And that first question you ask may set the stage for how successful that contact will be.
Shopping
Occasionally I get a call from someone who knows they want my services. Oftentimes these are friends, acquaintances, past clients, or others who have seen me perform. However most clients are simply "DJ shopping". Perhaps they've scouted out a few DJ's on the internet, or received a vendor sheet from their venue with the names, email addresses, and phone numbers of a few DJ's. They don't know yet who they want to have as their DJ, so they are calling around or emailing to learn more about their options.
Like with any shopping experience, how the interaction begins often determines how it will end. So if your a prospective client calling a DJ, what should that first question be?
What NOT To Ask First
There's one question that's on every client's mind, and in many cases it's the most important: how much will this cost? But for several reasons, I would advise you NOT to ask that question first.
When the first thing out of a potential client's mind is "How much do you charge?", the DJ immediately thinks, "This person is only interested in getting the cheapest DJ they can find." Even if that's not your intent, it can put the DJ on the other end of the line into a defensive posture. The DJ may think, "They are on a very limited budget and probably can't afford me, so do I want to waste a lot of time on the phone with someone who will end up hiring a 'Craigslist DJ' anyway?"
The other reason it's not the best first question is that usually the answer is "it depends". Most DJ's have service packages and pricing depends on what package is most appropriate for your event. So while it's obviously important for you to know what your financial obligation will be, it's better to engage the DJ in a conversation about your plans before turning to the financial matters.
Conversations Matter
Hiring a DJ is not just about hiring someone to perform a service for a few hours on the day of your wedding or other big event. I truly believe it's about establishing a relationship with someone who will be a partner in that event's success. So I believe the best place to begin is with a conversation.
Most mobile DJ's like to talk about themselves. After all, you couldn't do the job without having a bit of an ego and a penchant for communicating. So I would advise you to start your dialogue not with a question but with a simple request: "Tell me about yourself and your company." The response you get may very well tell you all you need to know about whether that DJ is right for you. If you don't get a positive feeling from that conversation, you may never get to the question of money.
In addition to asking the DJ to tell you about them, be prepared to tell the DJ about YOUR plans, even if they are only tentative. A good DJ will want to know what those plans are before talking about packages and pricing because of all the variables that go into offering a package of services. If all the DJ says is "It's $500 for 4 hours", that means they probably see themselves as offering a commodity...their time in exchange for your money. That's not to say that the DJ won't have a fixed package price, but if they don't take the time to learn more about what you have planned, how can they truly meet your (very specific) needs?
Ask To Meet
I've got to admit that most of the clients I've booked over the years hired me after a few phone calls and/or emails. I think that's because in northwest Iowa, I was already a known presence because of my years on the radio, as spokesperson for Spencer Municipal Utilities, or by my reputation as a mobile DJ.
Now that I've relocated to a central Iowa, my reputation doesn't precede me. The slate is clean. So, I've been asking potential clients for the opportunity to meet with them in person before they hire me. If you ask your potential DJ to meet with you and they express reluctance, then you're probably not talking to the person who's best suited for you. If they enthusiastically agree to meet with you, that means they are excited to engage you in a conversation about your event and they are confident in their abilities.
Some people might be reluctant to ask for an in-person meeting because they are afraid of a "sales pitch". But you're not buying a car from a used car salesman, or a TV from Best Buy. You're investing in a person who very well could make or break your event. So don't be afraid to sit down with that person and engage them in a conversation.
Meet, Have a Conversation, Then Talk Price
So you meet with a potential DJ. You have a good conversation about their services, and about your plans. You're getting a good vibe about this person. At that point, you're ready to start talking about how much their services are going to cost. But what happens if the DJ you just "fell in love with" is out of your price range? It's about priorities. If you've done this process with several DJ's, sit down as a couple and discuss the pros and cons of each DJ. If the "perfect" DJ is $200 more than the "OK" DJ, think about whether or not you want to settle, or whether it would be worth it to economize elsewhere to make it work. A couple of hundred dollars is generally a tiny sliver of the total cost of a wedding, for example, but having a quality DJ is by far the biggest factor in how memorable that event will be. Think about it this way: what will your guests remember most about the evening a month later? Will it be how fancy the cake was...how stunning the floral arrangements were...what color the napkins were...or will they instead remember how much FUN they had? That fun is in the hands of your DJ, so choose wisely.
WHEW!
That's my usual reaction to the last wedding reception of the busy summer-fall season. It's especially true this year because the last three months of the season has been spent commuting to NW Iowa from Ankeny.
I haven't dared to open up the mileage book and calculate how many miles I've put on during these weekend trips, but it's easily going to be the most miles I've ever driven for Music Man Productions.
It was also one of the best years in the 22 or so since I first started plying the DJ trade. There were lots of memorable events, with a consistently fantastic group of brides and grooms.
The year's not over yet. There are still two events in November and one in December to round out 2011. But a needed break is in store for me until November 11th.
It happens every year. Some song comes along at the beginning of summer that ends up becoming the "anthem" for that summer. So, what's the summer song of 2011?
There are actually a couple of nominees, in my opinion. The early favorite was "Blow" by Ke$ha, which was very popular early in the summer. But later in the summer, a new contender emerged. "Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO has become the go-to party song since about July.
You could also make a strong argument for "Rolling In The Deep" by Adele. It certainly has been dominant on the radio this summer, especially on hit and adult contemporary stations. But while this tune is certainly danceable, its certainly not a "party song" like I usually think of for summer songs.
Past summer songs include "All Summer Long" by Kid Rock, "I Gotta Feeling" by Black Eyed Peas, and countless others that have faded into obscurity.
What do YOU think is the summer song of 2011?
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