Ahhh Craigslist, home to everything from cheap used TVs, to roommates to … DJ services? Yes, you can find just about everything on the internet’s classified listings, even DJs. Or in this case, someone looking to hire a DJ. A friend sent me the link to this posting, which I’ve preserved in this screenshot below:
The poster is looking to hire a DJ as a wedding present for his friends. Why aren’t the bride and groom hiring their own DJ? Wouldn’t the couple like to have some input to the selection of their wedding day entertainment? Okay, maybe they were planning on having a low-key wedding and not hiring a DJ so this friend is wanting to come out as the shining star for their day. The friend has offered up $100 — or more “if you have a lot of experience.” And for that $100, he’s asking for the DJ to play for 5 1/2 hours, plus bring his own equipment, AND play exclusively from the bride and groom’s playlist. So really, they’re looking to hire someone to bring out a PA and DJ equipment and be a human jukebox playing a preset music list for a measely $100.
One hundred dollars.
I can’t even rent a PA system for that. Never mind the costs involved with buying music (or are the bride and groom providing the actual songs not just the list, not too clear?), equipment, insurance, business licence, professional DJ association membership, advertising (or would the DJ who answered this gig also advertise his services on Craigslist for free?), taxes, the gas to drive there… etc. There is a reason good DJs cost what they do; we have expenses just like any other business. A good DJ isn’t cheap and a cheap DJ isn’t good.