How Record Industry Changes Will Affect DJs

The song is fire, but the tag says 2026. We kick things off with a rant every DJ will relate to—bad metadata—and then follow the thread into the biggest shifts reshaping music discovery and live events. From Netflix flirting with the label game to Sony’s surge across streaming, publishing, live, and merch, we break down how the industry is acting less like record sellers and more like IP builders, and why that matters for what actually works on a dance floor.

We unpack how platform power changes the hit pipeline, why exclusive content could mint the next wave of breakout tracks, and what that means for crates, licensing, and quick-turn edits. Then we zoom into the night-to-night grind: a smart trick hidden in plain sight with Pharrell’s four-beat intros that make cold starts surgical, and a candid read on the DJ Intelligence Top 200—what still saves the room, what’s overrated, and how to test trend tracks without burning momentum. Expect frank takes on ABBA, Whitney, Mr. Brightside, TikTok revivals, and the global Latin wave driving real demand.

On the business front, we share how to price for complexity without nickel-and-diming, how to present lighting like a pro without drowning clients in options, and how to handle giant do-not-play lists by asking for context that protects the vibe. We also talk planner-led timeline shifts, why trust beats ego when the schedule moves, and a small gear upgrade that makes mobile work less clunky. It’s a blend of field-tested tactics and big-picture awareness—everything you need to keep your sets sharp while the industry rewrites the rules.

If this helped your prep or sparked a new crate idea, tap follow, share with a DJ friend, and drop a review. Want our weekly top 10 bangers and bonus breakdowns? Join the Patreon and get in the booth for real.

Transcript

Cold Open, Banter, 311 Day

SPEAKER_04 0:17

What's up, everybody? Welcome back to the private event DJ podcast. The P H E E. It's Beyond the DJ booth with your host, Joe Bunn. This is my guy Brian B. And uh we're back with another episode. B B B. Hey man, you know what I noticed you did the other night? Um at the NACE meeting, you imitated me with a southern accent. I did do it. Do it again. Do it again. Like here, do do the show intro.

SPEAKER_05 0:46

I can only do it for the first two lines though. I can't keep it, I can't keep it.

SPEAKER_04 0:50

Well just just just do the beginning of the show, like how you would intro this podcast as me.

SPEAKER_05 0:56

I won't look at you. I won't look at you. It's only certain words though. So like I was like, hey, you know, that uh Joe asked me to come in here and do this thing, but you know, he doesn't ask it like that. He's got that southern draw, you know, like what from Wiltson, you know, it's not even the real. So he's like, hey man, you know, like I can only do that part. It's like the hey man. I can't do hey everybody. Like, it's gotta be hey man. You do that all the time. I do, hey man, hey man, yeah, you're like hey man, you're right. I do do that.

SPEAKER_04 1:25

That's all you have is two words.

SPEAKER_05 1:27

That's all I can do.

SPEAKER_04 1:28

I thought you did a few more sentences.

SPEAKER_05 1:29

I mean, I but by that point I lost it.

SPEAKER_04 1:31

You lost the drawing okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:33

But uh hey man's pretty guy.

SPEAKER_04 1:35

Hey man, he made 11. Happy 311 day, yeah. 311, 3311.

SPEAKER_05 1:41

What's your do you use play 311 anymore? You for you. You still?

SPEAKER_04 1:45

I mean, at a show? Yeah, no, no, in my car. Okay, in your car.

SPEAKER_05 1:48

Were you ever playing at shows? I was for a while. I played Amber.

SPEAKER_04 1:52

Were you?

SPEAKER_05 1:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:53

Like what? Like cocktail? Like dinner?

unknown 1:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:56

California. It's got that California vibe.

SPEAKER_04 1:57

If I'm in California, yeah, but they're from Nort Nebraska. Are they? Yeah. Yeah. Um, yeah, I love 311. They always have a big show today. Big show.

SPEAKER_05 2:06

Isn't it in Vegas? Or is that usually where it is?

SPEAKER_04 2:08

Uh usually is. I can't remember what they're doing this year.

SPEAKER_05 2:10

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 2:10

Yeah, we went one year. It was awesome. Do you went? Yeah. In Vegas. Wow. And it was sick. The the stage was built like the like their mom's basement where they started the band. Wow.

SPEAKER_05 2:20

Yeah. And do they probably don't do their typical show stuff. They're doing more nostalgia.

SPEAKER_04 2:26

Dude, it was all over the place.

SPEAKER_05 2:27

Deep cuts, every record. I mean, they have, you know, 12 albums probably. Do you know the story of how they got that name? Was it literally because they started on March 11th? I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 2:35

I don't think so.

SPEAKER_05 2:36

I can't remember. I should know that. Rant time. Oh shit. Going off the record. Oh boy. Let's hit it.

SPEAKER_02 2:43

Uh off the record. Let me talk my sugar honey icy. They throw a shade while I'm sipping on this ice tea. Don't care if you hate on like me. You know why? Cause that's just how I see. I'm gonna say what I want to say. Time to write and read, get out the way.

Rant: Record Pool Tagging And Years

SPEAKER_05 3:13

I'm going back to these editors, man. I hate to call them out because I love these editors. I love them. You love it. I love an editor. You love it. Love an editor. So this isn't really about your edits, though, man. But I'm going through these pools and this drives me nuts, man. Oh shit. It's when you have the I'm a tagging fiend. I am all about the tagging. I go deep into tags. So when I pull these things in there, let's just say it's remix of whatever, they put the wrong year in there. They keep putting 2026. It's not 2026 when the song came out. No one's searching when this remix came out. No one gives two craps. I want to know when the original song came out. If you want to put the 2026 remix, put it in the title in the description. Sure, sure. It takes two seconds to change the year. Right. Now I gotta go search it because the way I tag it is by year. That's how anybody would be looking up. I can't imagine anybody looking up a track thinking, man, I want to know when these songs, uh remixes came out. They won't. No. Yeah. You're playing your love. 1983. I want to know. It had to be in the 80s, yeah. I'm not searching, oh, a the 2026 remix category. No, put in the year, bro. Like take a little care. You're right. I don't care if it's the pool, the editor, whoever's submitting it, yeah, whoever's curating it. Yeah. Put in the year.

SPEAKER_04 4:32

God dang. He's he's he's spitting game today. Drew and Fuse, tell them. I think they're responsible for uploading the DMA. Boys, help us out. Drew, fuse. Help us out. Talk to your people. Put the right ear in for Brian's sake. He's about to have a heart attack.

SPEAKER_05 4:47

Let's talk about pop culture.

SPEAKER_04 4:48

Okay.

SPEAKER_05 4:49

Pop culture minute.

SPEAKER_06 4:51

Brian B. Jump on.

SPEAKER_04 4:53

Dropping heat just for fun. Pop talk spinning like a record spine.

unknown 5:00

Woo!

SPEAKER_03 5:01

Pop culture class where the stories collab.

SPEAKER_06 5:06

Two DJs bringing the flavor we're a wow.

SPEAKER_05 5:12

So, dude, uh, the industry's changing, my guy. Okay. Music industry, that is. Saw two crazy clips recently. And I don't know if you've seen these, but let's hit the first one.

SPEAKER_00 5:25

Now I hear Netflix is starting their own record label. So now you're gonna start seeing content where they're gonna do exclusivity deals with artists who nobody owns a share of. Nobody. Not the majors, no one. Maybe not even management or publishers. And they're gonna go, let's give Justin a hundred million. We want you to do the next three albums. We want your your live concert. We want all the behind the scenes of the songwriters writing the songs, we want all the content. We want we are going to obliterate what is now what is presented as music. That's the Blue Ocean strategy, one of them coming.

SPEAKER_05 6:02

First of all, I have no idea that Netflix was even getting into the record mainly.

Pop Culture: Netflix As A Record Label

SPEAKER_03 6:07

So that makes sense. Now you can watch you can watch podcasts like Breakfast Club, a couple of sports ones on the city. Oh, Netflix. Yeah. That's scary.

SPEAKER_05 6:15

I just thought it was crazy. I mean, I don't know the direct implication to DJs right off the bit.

SPEAKER_03 6:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 6:20

But I think it's worth noting, like, hey, there's people who could be signed to this stuff, and you know, it's got its own audience, Netflix, built in, that songs could pop off from their deals. It's like another to me, it's like another TikTok. It's another social media algorithm for music to be found. Yeah, so yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:41

I don't know how much you know about this, but are they like once you sign your deal, are they gonna use your music in their show? That's what I thought it was saying at first. It's like a licensing deal. I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 6:52

I don't know either. Guess we'll be finding out soon. Yeah. I I didn't that's where I thought it was going, but it sounds like it's bigger than that. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_05 7:00

Now, this has more of an implication to this.

Industry Shift: Sony’s Multi-Vertical Strategy

SPEAKER_01 7:02

This is another clip that just came out the other day. So while everybody's distracted with the headlines, here's what's moving inside the music business. Sony Music just posted double-digit revenue growth, driven largely by streaming and global Latin consumption. We're talking quarterly revenue hitting roughly 3.4 billion operating income up, publishing, up, double digits, and streaming still, the core engine pushing everything forward. Artists like Rosalia, Peso Pluma, and Tito Double P are driving massive global streams, proving once again that Spanish language music isn't just regional anymore. It's worldwide market share. But here's the bigger play recorded revenue is up, publishing is up, live events and merch revenue, they jump too. Meaning labels are not just selling music anymore. They're monetizing full ecosystems around artists. Even physical is ticking up. So the real headline isn't just Sony winning the quarter. It's that streaming plus global plus repertoire plus live plus merch plus publishing equals diversified leverage. Translation: the modern label isn't a record company. It's a multi-vertical content investment firm built on IP ownership. And the more global the consumption, the bigger the valuation. Just is what it is. Story developing.

SPEAKER_05 8:44

Interesting. Interesting. Because these labels were about to take a bath, I think, with all of this stuff, and now they're getting into all of these other niches to make up the shortfall. I mean, you went a quarter 3.4 billion, that ain't nothing to shake a stick at.

SPEAKER_03 9:00

Yeah, I saw something with Jimmy Ivine. He just did an interview, and he was like, This kind of makes sense though, because he was like, and he probably knows more than we do, but he was like, the streaming thing is done. There's no money in it. So like I think Sony is like realizing, hey, we can still sell physical stuff.

SPEAKER_04 9:23

Right. And so I think you mean what? Like vinyl t-shirts, right?

SPEAKER_03 9:29

Like physical stuff. CDs. J. Cole went out and sold CDs again. I'm about to start doing that again. Right. You know, because the streaming thing, it just it was really never gonna last. It was so diluted and the money so diluted, you mean it's just it's it's hard to pay right all these artists that are uploading stuff every day. Yeah, right. Um it's just a flawless system.

SPEAKER_05 9:53

There's no money in it.

SPEAKER_03 9:54

Right. So that kind of makes sense.

SPEAKER_05 9:56

Yeah. But the uh to go back to the the first clip, that's where I think a company like that has maybe like I I can see a day where maybe YouTube or Meta owns record artists or you know gets in that game because they have a platform to promote it. Yeah, exactly. You know, yeah the push. Yeah. So like Netflix, yeah, they may not have record executives that have AR guys, right? But they know how to create shows. Yeah, they have uh, you know, the way to get the music out, and they've you know done it with you know all kinds of live concerts. Absolutely. So it's gonna be interesting to see where it goes. Yeah, and you know, can a guy like Sony, yes, they had to do this because to survive, but now you got other players in the market. I don't know if that's gonna last much longer. It's just an interesting thing where I in a good way it could be that artists who would never have had a chance, now there's many more options to get out there, but it also means there's more out there that's crap.

SPEAKER_04 10:52

I think also I get super like blindfolded by living in the United States and not realizing how big global artists are, how big music is outside the United States, the peso plumas, the I mean, we know Bad Bunny's big here and and and most streamed artists on Spotify. Yeah. I mean, like I just sometimes forget just living in America and knowing only these, you know, this small sector of music and bands like that I like. Right. You just kind of think about damn globally. Yeah. Or even like when bands that we like, like Laney, which is kind of just a mid-sized band, will go and tour Asia and you know, sell out the biggest indoor arena there. Yeah, you know what I mean? Like crazy. Yeah. I kind of forget that sometimes.

SPEAKER_05 11:32

Totally. Oh, totally. Anyway, I just thought it was worth bringing up because um, you know, it's uh something you gotta keep a pulse on. Yeah. As music kind of changes and the way it gets delivered, all those different things.

SPEAKER_04 11:43

I mean, think about that. I mean, think about the apps most used on your phone Netflix, Amazon, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok. I mean, that yeah, why would they not? Right. Why would they not be pushing the music?

SPEAKER_05 11:54

Totally. Well, didn't you say you were listening to Spotify the other day and like they came up with a song that you thought was AI? Oh, yeah. TI wasn't it TI? No, I sent it to you. I don't remember what it was. It was something like that. It was like a hip hop, yeah. And I was like, dang. And that's just like random. Oh, it was a it was a fetty wop song.

SPEAKER_04 12:11

Like a cocktail song. Yeah, I'll have to go back and I'll go back to my. I thought it was AI, but I don't think it was. Yeah, somebody covered like a fetty wop song, like as a like a cocktail song.

SPEAKER_03 12:20

Like come my way, baby. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 12:23

It was good, it was actually good. Yeah, yeah. Anyway, let's hit some music. Let's go to the digging in the crates, okay?

SPEAKER_06 12:30

Fine's crate, fine's digging deep for the good times, crate, fine's great, fine's hidden gems in the rewind.

SPEAKER_05 12:44

Okay, so uh I have a client who wanted some Pharrell. Okay. And didn't specify it, but just for said Pharrell. So I kind of went like just down the rabbit hole. And I don't know if you've ever noticed this before, but did you notice that he starts every song with a four-beat intro?

SPEAKER_04 12:59

That's his thing. Because he doesn't have a producer tag.

SPEAKER_06 13:03

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 13:03

So you know, like how it goes metro, like metro boom, yeah, that sequence. What is yours again? Uh you're imagining. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 13:10

This is dedicated.

SPEAKER_05 13:12

Even when he makes songs, like he'll throw those little tags. That's his thing. Even songs he just produces and doesn't even isn't even on. So I I put a little collage here. Yeah. So check it out. Nice.

SPEAKER_06 13:24

Might think crazy. All four. Yeah.

Global Music Trends And Platform Power

SPEAKER_05 13:38

Wow. Even milkshake.

SPEAKER_02 13:44

My milkshake brings other boys to the yard.

SPEAKER_04 13:47

I had never noticed that before. I think Saquon pointed it out to me. I don't I don't think I cued in on it. And one day me and Saquon were talking about it, and he was like, Yeah, Saquon. I mean, uh, Pharrell always does that. Boom, boom, boom. Even that new TI song.

SPEAKER_05 14:00

Yep. I mean, it his songs are great ones to start cold. Oh, yeah. Because you can kind of like slam edit. Yeah, yeah. It doesn't feel like you're fading into nothing.

SPEAKER_03 14:09

No, no. I think uh I might I might be thinking about something else, but I've heard this from a lot of drummers. You know where people get that from?

SPEAKER_04 14:15

That clicking the yeah, the drummer clicking off the tip of the uh the gap band.

SPEAKER_03 14:20

Oh yeah. Oh, yeah. So if you go back and listen to all their shit, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 14:25

Well, even the Nirvana guy said that. Yeah. He did.

SPEAKER_04 14:28

I saw that interview. Yeah. And the guy was like, You're a brilliant drummer. He was like, No, I just ripped off the guy from the gap band.

SPEAKER_05 14:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 14:34

For that for smells like Teen Spirit. I just thought that was super interesting.

SPEAKER_05 14:40

Yeah. Because I'd never paid attention to it before.

SPEAKER_04 14:42

And I was like, I the only reason I think I knew is through Saquon, who happens to be a music producer as well.

SPEAKER_05 14:48

All right, so I got one more part of this. Okay. Um, this is from our boy John Hanna, Throwback Brothers. Love John Hannah. Shout out to Throwback Brothers. He sent both of us the uh, and it came out in January, which I thought was kind of odd. Well, I guess not, because if it happened in December, but the top 200 of DJ Intelligence. Yeah. And so um, dude, I it's a book. Literally a book. Is this a TLDR? No. Uh I I thought we could talk through some of the categories, but I didn't know which ones you'd want. Oh shit.

SPEAKER_04 15:21

Man just handed me a damn Moby Dick.

SPEAKER_05 15:25

Moby Dick. That's quite the description. But uh, I mean, we don't have to go through this entire thing. We're not out of time for that. But I just thought we'd just hit some of the top ones here. If you look at like the the first thing here, it says the top most requested songs.

SPEAKER_04 15:40

Yeah, this always comes out at the end of every year, and it's it's literally uh created by DJ Intelligence, and it's people, all the couples that use this platform, I guess, collated into one long list of the 200 most requested songs. So whenever we get it every year, we always distribute it to our DJs and be like, just create a crate of these. Right. Because worst case scenario, right? If all else fails, yeah, and these are on your phone, yeah, on your laptop, they will save your ass.

Digging In: Pharrell’s Four-Beat Intros

SPEAKER_05 16:10

Yeah, totally. What um, I mean, I looked at the top 10 of the top 200 most requested, and I really the only thing I thought was shocking that wasn't on here, because they start with their number one, which is Dancing Queen by ABBA. Yeah, I don't know if I go with that with number one, but it's definitely, you know, I want to dance with somebody's too, Pink Pony Club, September, Mr. Brightside, a bar song tipsy. Shocked that yeah, still up in that category. It's unbelievable, you know. Uh Cubid Shuffle, also surprise. Those two in there. Uh Journey, Don't Stop Believing it. I could see that one there. I I don't play Stup and Dance much, but I can see how that used to. Shocked that um Hotel Room Service wasn't in the top 10. Yeah. It's 12. It's not far. Right. But I thought for sure that would have been up there. No Taylor Swift in the top. No. That was shocking. It's down a little lower in 17, I think. Even Bettingfield. I thought that would be in that would be towards the top for me a little bit as well, number 19. Uh low. I think it's better than um Shut Up and Dance or Cupid Shuffle.

SPEAKER_04 17:08

He fell to 22.

SPEAKER_05 17:09

Yeah. So it was just really interesting to see. No hands. How does that not be on the top 10? That's in number 24. So I thought that was really just interesting to see the top 10 of the most requested. If you go a couple pages deeper, then it kind of gets into the top most requested trending tongue songs.

SPEAKER_04 17:26

Dude, we we there were only like, I don't remember if Randy told me it was like three or four songs that had been added. Oh, really? I think it was either three, four, or five songs. Randy was like the only ones that are different from last year. And I think it was Man, he went he went down the rabbit hole. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 17:46

Maybe Pink Pony Club. Well, hot to go is number 23 on this list of the most requested. And I was like, I can't see that really being no, I haven't played that in a month. I mean, I it had its moment for a couple months.

SPEAKER_04 17:58

I don't remember what they were, man. And maybe it was Pink Pony Club. Maybe um that Benson boon.

unknown 18:05

Please.

SPEAKER_05 18:09

So if you go a couple pages in the next category, shows the top 100 most requested trending songs. Yeah, yeah. I think it's the next one after that. Yeah. For the year. Yeah. How is Neon Moon number one? Uh TikTok, man. I but that that trend was like a couple years ago. But it was too. And what did you do to it? What were you supposed to do to it? It was just had a uh like a weird beat to it. It wasn't like anything. I had like a hip-hop beat to it. It wasn't like a dance. So I just shocked that that was number one. I could see how bottoms up was number two or in the top, whatever, but even that one I don't get the idea of the trend. Like Suave Mente, number six, that song's been dookie for me. Dude, it has not worked.

SPEAKER_04 18:53

That's the ultimate green go DJ pull card. You know what I mean? Oh, it used to be. It used to be, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 18:58

Now it's like Donza.

SPEAKER_04 18:59

No, I yeah.

SPEAKER_05 19:00

Right? How's Donza not on there? That's a great call, right? Like some of these songs were just really interesting to see. Even Mo Bamba number eight. When's the last time you played Mobamba? Dude, a long time ago. I'm not even getting that requested. No, me neither.

SPEAKER_04 19:13

Um what happened to that guy? Sheck Wes.

SPEAKER_05 19:20

Sheck Wes. Shaq, yeah. Is he one hit wonder? Oh, I don't think he's got any of it.

SPEAKER_03 19:27

He blames Travis Scott.

SPEAKER_05 19:28

Anyway, the next category that they oh yeah, no, you're right. I'm thinking about designer. He blamed Kanye.

SPEAKER_03 19:33

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 19:34

The next uh category is most re most requested pop.

SPEAKER_03 19:40

Like, was that big? No weddings? Nah. No, nah.

DJ Intelligence Top Requests: Surprises

SPEAKER_05 19:44

The most requested pop, I felt like was the best representation of what's actually out there, at least for the weddings that I'm intending to do. I still I don't know if I agree with uh Alex Warren as number one, but definitely these top ten. They had that Nakia, they had Abracadabba, which I never played really. No, I mean shocking that that made it. Cupid Flex is in there. Wow. Surprisingly. A couple bad bunny tracks, blue strips. Did you play that much? Jesse Murphs. I didn't I was about to say I don't know. I played it once and it didn't, it kind of didn't do much. And then Golden, number eight, disco lines, no broke boys.

SPEAKER_04 20:18

Somebody maybe play boots on the ground at some corporate event the other night. Remember that? She was pissed off that I didn't want to play it.

SPEAKER_05 20:25

I was shocked that no espresso was on here. Yeah. You know, it's like so so deep on the list. Anxiety is pretty low on the list, too. Like number 25. Just interesting to see that uh the Ray was ahead of that. So, you know, some of these songs were just kind of interesting. So, anyway, worth going through.

SPEAKER_04 20:42

I'm not gonna spend the time to go through it, but I think it is worth having this, going through it, seeing what you're missing. Yeah, maybe it'll spark some like creativity as well to get out of the same things that you've been doing, but it's pretty much what you expect. There's very few changes on that top 200, is what Randy told me. Yeah, I think it was five. They did change from the last time we got it. That's crazy. Yeah. Thanks for my noveletto. Yeah. No, it's yours. I wouldn't mind having it actually.

SPEAKER_05 21:10

Yeah, yeah. Go through that.

SPEAKER_04 21:12

Some reading material. Jeez. All right, booth heads.

SPEAKER_05 21:15

We made a move and it's a bold one. We officially launched a Patreon. We've got two tiers: one for$5.99 and one for$19.99. Basically, the cost of a coffee or a cocktail, depending upon how you roll.

SPEAKER_04 21:28

Listen, this isn't some support us or we disappear kind of thing. You actually get some things that are useful that we think that you're gonna need to run your DJ business.

SPEAKER_05 21:37

Like early access to batched episodes, bonus episode that we couldn't post publicly, maybe, and our weekly top 10 banger lists, songs that absolutely crushed at our events this week. You know, the stuff that you really want to steal from us anyway. But if you want to go deeper, jump into the booth back room at$19.99 a month.

SPEAKER_04 21:57

That's where the extra love lives. Monthly prize drawings like headphones, merch, coaching calls. We've got Serato exports of our history, discounts on exclusive merch, and record pool hookups.

SPEAKER_05 22:10

Backroom members aren't just listening. They're actually shaping what this podcast is going to become and probably making your DJ sets better in the process.

SPEAKER_04 22:18

So stop texting us asking what remix was that and get in the booth for real.

SPEAKER_05 22:24

Patreon.com forward slash beyond the DJ Booth podcast. Choose a tier, grab your spot, and let's keep building. Booth heads, you know where to go. Um two more things. Gear gear corner. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 22:40

The gear's here. The gear.

SPEAKER_03 22:46

Is here is here, is here, is here, is here, is here, is here, is here, is here.

SPEAKER_05 22:50

Alright, so I'm bringing back an updated version of something for you. The bucky. This was the desk pillow. Right. I think it was so bulky, bro. Yeah. I mean, I liked it. You did like it. I had the cup holder. Yeah. This doesn't have that. Okay. This is a little bit more succinct. Okay. So this is uh the updated and improved. Ooh, can I let you feel this? Okay. Put that on the old lapper. Okay. Am I putting it on right? Yeah. Okay. Laptop, posture. Uh you in this model. Yeah. You got the uh you got the pockets on the side. See, okay. A little remote action.

SPEAKER_04 23:26

Yeah. You could cell phone. Yeah, technically could put a beverage in there.

SPEAKER_05 23:29

You could have a beverage. I'd be careful. You want to make sure it's secure. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right there. Anyway, I just liked it because it was a little bit less bulky. Okay. Uh pretty. So your girl could your girl could sit beside you? Yeah. You know what was that was wanting to sit by me? The dog.

unknown 23:45

Oh.

SPEAKER_05 23:46

And the thing was too bulky. He's like, bro, get this thing out of the way. Back it up. Back it up. So now we got this new improved. It's pretty sturdy. Yeah, it's nice. What do you think it goes for? Uh a little Amazon fine?$59.99. No, we're going a little cheaper.$39.99. So if you're looking for an updated pillow, didn't get it the first time around, get this new and improved, bad boy.

SPEAKER_04 24:06

Yeah. Made by Kadua. Yeah, I'm sure. And it looks like you can take the cover off and wash it if you need birds on it or something. Yeah, yeah. Okay. A little dribble. Okay. A little dribble.

SPEAKER_05 24:19

All right. So let's hit the question. Okay. Question of the day. This is uh a style of questioning that we haven't done in a while. We're gonna do like hot take speed round because he had six questions.

SPEAKER_04 24:36

Speed round.

SPEAKER_05 24:38

So uh let's go with the first. This is by Martin, Martin, your boy.

SPEAKER_04 24:41

My boy Marty Nightingale. From via Patreon. I mean, I guess if you're a Patreon member, you just get six questions like this. I felt like they were all easy. Or is it because he's from North Carolina? I'm just giving him a bone. Give him a little bone. You know? Shout out Marty Nightingale. All right, let's do it. You go first one. Okay, question one: Do you charge extra for room flips where you need to move all your equipment across the room? For example, the ceremony space is flipping to be the reception space. We do not.

SPEAKER_05 25:10

We do not dial it in like that. In other words, we're charging an add-on fee. It's just part of the overall scope. Right. And then we usually do charge a little bit more if we're gonna do it. Um, but they don't know that it's like parsed out like that. Gotcha. So it's not a line item. No, not a line item. Number two, how do you handle couples that want to give a huge do not playlist? Say 20, 50 songs. I feel like we just answered that. Yeah, we did a couple episodes ago. But for me, I haven't capped them.

SPEAKER_04 25:37

Yeah. Um me neither. But but I've also never gotten 20 to 50 do not play.

Trends List Head-Scratchers And Misses

SPEAKER_05 25:41

No, I've gotten 20, probably. Yeah. And those are challenging, man. Um, you know, I did hear a good tip from I think it was Nick, maybe somebody, who said that he uh marks them as played. Yeah, right. And I don't do that. I literally create a crate and I just put a bunch of those songs in there. If it's a whole artist, I'll put a couple songs and I kind of mark them with Serato Red or something like that. Yeah. Yeah. I like to start clean though. I'm OCD about that stuff. Right. I don't like anything shown played. Even if it's one that I don't have played, I just that's like a it's a weird tick. Uh, you want to go with number three? Uh well, you didn't really answer the question. Oh, I just said I said, uh, how do I handle couples that I I don't cap them? And or is it asking me couples that how do you handle couples that want to get it?

SPEAKER_04 26:23

Well, I think he's saying, like, what would you say to them like if they handed you 50 do not plays? I would want to get more context, more than likely. Okay. That's I was gonna say the same thing.

SPEAKER_05 26:32

Like, give me, like, tell me a little bit more about Usually what I've found when they get are that big is that there's crossover on other genres, like genres. In other words, like if I see like five or six on this do not playlist of pop, yeah, but then they have some pop on the other one, I'm like, are you talking about these artists specifically, or are you talking about the overall genre? Give me a little bit more context, like why don't you like these songs? Was it, you know, because sometimes it is nice to get those landmines, and I'll tell you why. Like, if someone had was previously married, which is 50% of the country these days, sure. And that was their first dance song. Yeah, right. I don't want to bring up bad memories on their new day, right? So, like to know that stuff in that context kind of helps.

SPEAKER_04 27:12

You're right. Uh, number three, during sales calls, do you feel that clients with a higher DJ budget have different priorities and expectations? For example, 3,000 to jump to 6,000, jump to 12,000. You? Uh yeah, for sure. What are they? Uh I think it is going to be more possibly possibly more planning, more, more touch points with you. I think it's gonna be elevated setups. I think it is going to be experience. Yeah. Um familiarity with the venue, maybe. I feel like I lost a show on for Halloween or a wedding because I had not played at the place. Interesting. Yeah. And I was like, I'm happy to go. I was like, I've been there for a meeting, like I'm happy. It was in Durham. I was like, wow, that's weird. I don't know, or just I got low ball to I don't I didn't get a true answer. Um, but yeah, what do you think? Do you think they have different priorities?

SPEAKER_05 28:08

Oh yeah, I feel like they um one, they they don't they can read through bullshit. Yeah, yeah, to say it like that, but that's pretty much they can read through it. And they know if you're not um if you're just trying to snow them to close the deal. I also think that they want to know that their money is going in the right direction. Like if you know that they have money, yeah, and you're just trying to like gouge them for every little thing, yeah. Like they want to know that it makes sense. Right.

SPEAKER_04 28:34

And that they're not gonna do that anymore.

SPEAKER_05 28:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 28:37

I I really don't. Even though prices are all over the place for DJs, like I I don't think you know you can they go, oh, we're getting married at you know, landfall down in Wilmington. Well, that's a rich people place. Like, oh I'm just gonna I'm just gonna jack this rate up. Right. No, you gotta you gotta have the the the the data and the stones to back it up. Yeah I mean with whatever it is, your show, your everything we just taught about, your music curation, your experience, yeah, the gear you're gonna bring in, the the experience you're gonna deliver.

SPEAKER_05 29:06

I mean, you gotta show the value. And I think too, on these priorities and expectations at the highest level, they're super busy people. Like they don't want their time wasted. So come in prepared. You know, they're really just like if we're gonna have a planning meeting, do your homework. Yeah, yeah. I think uh the other levels, it's not as um, they have a little bit more flexibility in that regard. Number four, I'll go with it. How do you communicate the value of different lighting packages to couples that have no idea about lighting or how much they would even want? So the way I do it, um I don't give them the option. Yeah. I I know the rooms that we're playing in. Right. If I haven't played there, I'll do the research. And I said, this is what's included in this and what I think makes the most sense. Yeah. If they want to do extra, that's on them.

SPEAKER_04 29:51

Yeah.

Patreon Launch And Member Perks

SPEAKER_05 29:52

But I never want to, if I can at all avoid it, I never want someone to go, uh, I really don't have the money. I'd like to take that out of the package or whatever the case may be. Yeah, yeah. No, this is what comes with it. Yeah, for me to do a Brian B show, I need lighting. Right. I'm can I do it without it? I could. Yeah. But I why? No. This is what I want it to look like.

SPEAKER_04 30:08

I want the pictures to be in there with this, you know, like I I show the pictures, uh, maybe not of their venue. Bonus if I can pull up pictures of their venue. Here's what it looks like, here's what it should look like, here's what it looks like static, here's what it looks like when dancing starts.

SPEAKER_05 30:22

Because I feel like you do it differently too, in the sense that you say, hey, here's the Joe Bun show. This is all the stuff I have. Yeah, I'm willing to bring it all. Do you give them options or you say I'm bringing it off? No, no, no. This is I'm bringing it off.

SPEAKER_04 30:33

I'm bringing CO2, I'm bringing lights, I'm gonna do your ceremony, I'm gonna do your cocktail hour, dinner dancing.

SPEAKER_05 30:38

But if they wanted like, and then you get into dancing, it's kind of like meh, and then you're not gonna use a cryo. Ah I mean no.

SPEAKER_03 30:46

I'll look at Saquon and be like, if it's a stinker, if it's a stinker, stinker, stinker, we wait until the last.

SPEAKER_04 30:54

Yeah, we've can't we've carried it out to the street before and done it on the spark for a while.

SPEAKER_05 30:58

Wow, yeah, just cook the canon. So you you kind of do it like me. You basically say this is what's coming with it. Yeah. And no, I'll show Go Buncho.

SPEAKER_04 31:07

Number five, go for it. In a situation where the planner drastically alters the timeline, for example, changing when the first dance happens, do you go along with that or do you check with the couple before going along with that? I go first. That's tough. Um, most of the planners here I know and I've worked with extensively, and I will say that they are the the mediator between me and the couple. They have been from day one usually, and I'm going to listen to her because I'm going to assume that she went outside and the bride was like, uh, I gotta take a dookie or whatever. Let's move the first dance to after dinner or whatever. And I'm gonna assume that that's the gospel. Yeah, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_05 31:50

Like that I'm listening to the planner. You giving her some of your man wipes, dude wipes? Dude wipes, yeah, a little patch, a little pocketful.

SPEAKER_04 31:59

I forgot about that.

Gear Corner: Slimmer Lap Desk Pillow

SPEAKER_05 32:00

That was like episode one. I think it was. Um very similar. I mean, yeah, uh, I don't run into this hardly ever. Yeah. Um, where there's like a the I think the bride would say no to something that the planner is gonna do. They trust them. Yeah. Uh I have I've had it happen once, and uh, that's it. I mean, I it's I I'm gonna put my ego aside and do what the planner wants for this.

SPEAKER_04 32:26

I mean, at the end of the day, that's you know, the couple hire the planner to make their day easier and less stressful. Yeah, and I'm hoping that that, you know, pays off for everybody, for all of us.

SPEAKER_05 32:36

Totally. Number six, uh, if I make a brand of longer dress shorts called the Ashy Knees Club, will Joe wear them for setup in the summer? Absolutely not. There is no maybe we'll put that on the Patreon.

SPEAKER_04 32:49

Not in the merch. Merch merch. There's no world in which I will ever show up to any show. Any show, I'm going that far in a pair of fucking shorts. Uh summer or not? You don't go with the squirt? No, no, skort, short, jort, nothing. Yeah. No. That would be no. Stop trying to sell me on with the Jordan? No.

SPEAKER_05 33:11

Jordan Ash. The Jordan Ash. Absolutely not. Well, thanks, Marty, for these amazing questions. Uh hopefully they're helpful. Thanks for tuning in, everybody. We want to thank our sponsor, yeah. DJ Event Planner. TJ Event Planner. We got one episode to go in this uh season, one left.

SPEAKER_04 33:29

Dude, uh, before we sign off, last thing.

SPEAKER_06 33:32

Yeah.

Speed Round: Pricing, Playlists, And Lighting

SPEAKER_04 33:33

Um, dude, shout out you. You got you booked Joe Bunn. I did book Joe Bunn. You booked Joe Bun at Joe Bunn's highest rate ever gotten in 40 years. You deserve it. Congrats. Appreciate you. I mean, I want to make dinner out of that. Oh, yeah. I got I got you on dinner. I got you on dinner. I I I appreciate that though. I know we're not gonna say I beat out two other two other younger, better looking people.

SPEAKER_05 34:03

Yeah, but you you were questioning your skill set, and I thought that that was dookie. No, no, Brian B. Brian B locked in. I will say, uh, you had some uh just another learning thing. You had good media. I have great media, and that really did, I think, make the the sell. Yeah, because it wasn't. Not even viral shit. Not even viral shit. Yeah, just media. I think sometimes people just send whatever they send because you know it's just like you could have sent me weddings, yeah, but you actually said no, this actually makes sense for that type of an event. Yeah, let me send you this. Yeah, kind of one over. Oh, yeah. So congrats to you. I'm gonna rock out. You said big party, right? Big uh 1,500, 1800 people. You're gonna need some help. Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_04 34:44

Thank you. We got the budget, yes, sir. Oh yeah. Anyway, thank you, bro. Appreciate you. No worries. Thank you guys for listening. As always, make sure you join the Patreon and uh new episodes every week. See you then. See ya.