Who wants a wedding DJ when you've got an iPod?

We kind of understand the rationale. Why spend hundreds of dollars to hire a wedding DJ when you can load up an iPod or two (or a laptop, for that matter), and choose the playlist yourself down to the last song? Got a request? Put it in the queue, buddy! Because for less money than hiring Robbie Hart to belt out the classics you can just buy yourself a shiny new friend and sort it out yourself. Of course, the DJs argue that only a live person behind the decks can sense what the crowd wants to hear right then, time music properly, do intros, and all that rot, but as we recently learned when we actually did attend a wedding DJed by iTunes and a playlist, it just doesn't seem to matter as much as they might have you think.

[Via TechDirt]

[tcc3 @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

I actually did that at my wedding last year. I borrowed a buddy's laptop and groomsmen took turns keeping an eye on it. Worked flawlessly.

[Xio @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Good luck with your IPOD Speakers!

[J @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Just got married about 1 1/2 months ago and I should've gone with the ipod and a friend. Instead we went with a DJ who told us to tell him some songs we liked and he would figure out what went along with those. (He told us he had done some weddings where people had given him a list of songs and it didn't turn out well) The result: he sucked...he had no clue what we wanted to listen to.

The bottom line: you know better than anyone what your friends and family would like to listen to. Only get a DJ if you aren't into music or most of your invitees are not of your generation/background.

[Ben @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

We did exactly this for our wedding last year. Worked like a charm.

[Tupper @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

I handled my sisters wedding this Aug with a G4 iBook, Airport Express, Klipsch amp and speakers and 20G of lossless music.

The wireless (airTunes) was the icing on the cake... it allowed me to join the party.

[ZoliElo @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

http://www.jacobandkimmy.com/weddingphotos/images/tn_Riskin0860.JPG

Worked well with a PowerBook for a friend of mine.

[Dan @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

I did the same thing for mine (iTunes & Powerbook) last month. I had made 5 playlists ahead of time with the idea of selecting the 'dinner playlist' then to follow with 'classic dance' (for people who actually know how to waltz, etc.) and then a couple of 'modern' playlists for everyone else. But I never had anyone in charge of the music - so people (mostly my younger sister) ended up using Party Shuffle and my original playlists for guidance. Something must of worked, because people were dancing all night long.

[Biochemlab @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Please hav some respect for REAL DJ's... Wedding DJ's just play requests, and start one song at the end of another... and I agree (as a DJ) that Ipods are just as good at that...

HOWEVER! There is no freakin way an iPod is going to replace dance music DJ's and HipHop DJ's. Your iPod can't beatmatch, make artistic blends, scratch, perform well with an MC, keep the energy up for minutes at a time and know when the crowd needs a break...

And seriously, a wedding doesn't really have jack to do with what DJing is about. Wedding DJ's do an easy job for easy money... but good DJ's spend their lives learning how to put on a show, just like any other performer.

I'm sorry, this article offended me because I felt as though it was presented to people who are ignorant of what real DJ's do, and gave a bad name to all DJ's without specifying the difference between a wedding dj and a real dj.

Thanks for listening.

[Christoph @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

I would have to disagree with these comments, I occassionally DJ for a company that specializes in weddings when I have a free saturday night and need some extra bucks. We pride ourselves that having a live experienced DJ can make all the difference in the party/dance portion of a reception.
An iPod or laptop will never know how the crowd reacts to the song it just played, if a swarm of disco freaks just cmae on the dance floor it wouldn't know to maybe throw another 70's classic in there to keep them dancing, it will just go on to Billy Bob's request for "Stairway to Heaven".

I do admit that there are a lot of really bad and some really creepy weding DJ's out there, I have met many, but if you do your home work, go to a Bridal convention/show then you can meet a veriety of guys & gals. I suggest interviewing a few to get a feel for them then make your decision.

But on that note, I use my 17" Powerbook along with my CD collection and an iPod for back-up.

[JK @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

1 vote of support here, biochemlab. Get 'em!

[narco @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

It works great with the Party Shuffle feature in iTunes as well. Usually I'm the one in charge of music when a friend has a party, or if my mom has her annual Easter party.

Sadly, after playing "I wanna be your dog" by the Stooges last Easter, I had my DJ privileges taken away.

Fishes,
narco.

[jimmy @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Its a good idea and probably worth it.

Wedding DJ's make my want to vomit, with their stupid straw sombreros and inflatable saxaphones they pass out. I hope my wedding, should i ever get married has none of that awful cliche crap.

[SWO @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Bio> I think the article stated several times "wedding DJ". So it did in fact differientiate between a wedding DJ and a "REAL DJ". I mean really guy, it was a one paragraph blurb on people who have successfullly used Ipods/Itunes in their weddings and saved a few hundred bucks; not a global commentary on the fascinating world of DJing at large.

[Sean Klein @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

I got married in June and I used my Powerbook G4 and some nice speakers for my reception. It worked great. Everyone commented on how easy it was to request music and how cool it was that I didn't have to pay a bunch of money for a DJ. I recommend it to anyone getting married.

[Pancake @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Narco,

Maybe that's because you should have played the Uncle Tupelo cover of "I Wanna Ben Your Dog."

It's much better :P

[Jezza @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

U know its all about decks really!

[d.lyte @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

i take tunes to my parents' events all the time.

when the older folks are around, it's statler brother, slim whitman, marty robbins, jim reeves, hank williams, johnny cash.

a little later, the country/light rock comes out: tim mcgraw, alabama, nitty gritty dirt band, meatloaf, journey, toby keith, fleetwood mac.

then when the party hops for the younger generation, its system of a down, trapt, nirvana, green day, crystal method, metallica, audioslave.

this works like a charm every single time. everyone is happy. i can easily use this same process for a wedding dance.

however scratching, mixing, and a professional voice with a light show and the necessary fog machine is for hire only. you can't replace an "entertainment experience" with music only. otherwise live bands would just play their cd's at a concert and sign autographs. that's the whole draw...the SHOW.

peace. d.

[iPod DJ @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

I've deejayed dozens of weddings, parties, proms, dances, and happy hours over the past dozen years (not my day job) and my iPod's made all the difference in the last year. I charge pretty low rates for my service and after 2 or 3 gigs I paid for my 40 GB 4th Gen iPod pretty easily. Since then, I've made more than enough to buy a Shuffle and start looking at a Nano.

Before I bought my iPod I used to haul around bins of CDs, filling up the back seat and trunk of my car and throwing out my back carrying those $@#!ing things up and down stairs, stages, and through large parking lots. Now, the only thing that gets tired is my thumb. :D

And I take some umbrage to the ideas that all wedding/dance/party DJ's don't have a clue about how to put together a good mix or work well with a crowd. Though I don't spin vinyl at a club, my skills in putting together a diverse selection, working dynamically off of a crowd's vibe, and integrating appropriate requests into the playlist seems to pay off well - more referrals than I can count and lots of thank yous and praise after the gigs.

All in all, the equipment makes things a lot easier, but upgrading from CDs to an iPod does not a great DJ make. You've got have a pretty wide knowledge and selection of music, a good understanding of who your audience is (both the tastes/special requests of the client and the party crowd), and an ability to change up on the fly as the event progresses. All the iPods in the world can't provide you with that.

[creamofcow @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Luckily, I've only seen one "wedding DJ" in my life. And just like Jimmy said above, he had inflatable saxophones! All the real DJs I've seen doubled as a sheepherder, keeping the wedding schedule on track and helping out with the announcements, and putting on a scratch and mix show for a little bit amidst playing the regular tunes.

[luke @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

i'm getting married next may, and i'm desperately trying to convince my fiance to just do this. the kicker is my best man is a dj and he has a laptop with over 80 gigs of music as well as a full sound system.

any more tips?

[ryecob @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

if you need to save some $, doing your owm music is great. just make sure the person in charge of the iPod/powerbook has a clue about music. a bad playlist could very easily sink your reception. and good djs often provide some lights too which can add alot to your party.

[Geoffrey Sperl @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

I was married in November of 2001 and we did it both ways: My wife's cousin, Mike (who is a professional DJ), was our DJ for the introductions and the after-dinner stuff... but my iBook was set up on the DJ stand dishing out the dinner music so Mike could eat with his family and talk with the folks from out-of-town, etc.

With the simple stuff, an MP3 player or laptop makes a ton of sense. But, in terms of having an announcer, who is comfortable in front of a crowd, a DJ is usually a good thing to have. If it's a small wedding in your parents' backyard, then a good sound system and a loud, but not obnoxious, relative should do fine. ;)

[iPod DJ @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

#17 - Have your best man put together a playlist with you and the fiancee and have a friend of the family who has a clue about music and whom you trust monitor/run the playlist as the night goes on. If something goes seriously awry, the best man can fix it, but otherwise it's taken care of.

[me101 @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

An iPod (or a laptop/computer and a descent pair of speakers) are great alternative to a DJ if money is of concern for your wedding or event. an play list gives YOU control, you know what will be played, or the selection of songs placed on shuffle.

A DJ on the other hand brings to the function what an MP3 cannot, games, announcements, that spontaneity and general voice over, someone that is used to speaking in front of a bunch of happy party go-ers.

I was recently at a friends wedding, the DJ was $800 (5 hours), granted I could have setup the playlist as I had most of the songs played in my CD collection, but a DJ knows which songs go with which (expertise)... we can only do a best guess (with sometimes horrible results!), an DJ's experience at hosting the event is what you are esentially paying for, song selection comes a close second.

At the end of the night, my friends wedding DJ had trucked in over 3 oversized suit cases loaded with CD's (60k+ songs, requests were welcomed), i'd say that he played most of the music from his laptop as i'd bet he usually plays the same selection of songs at each of his weddings, possibly modding the list to include minor fixes and songs that are getting a little old in the tooth!

My biggest complaint... the music was WAY TOO LOUD.

[SomeCat @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Just a note to the offended DJ's, when it come's to a rave your the man! For a Live Dance show, gotta have a DJ. But, for a wedding I'm sorry but an IPOD is the way to go. Save the money and let The Chemical Brother's handle the dance part of your wedding.

[Andrew @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

I use to dj through high school and then at local clubs in Toronto through the late 80's and early 90's ( as one of the guys stated in a previous post, most dj's take wedding's to make BIG money with little effort ) and when I got married in '98 I didn't want a dj, so, with the help of SAW audio on a good ole 486 DX 66 I played live off two turntable and 2 cd players and recorded it all to the hard drive. I then turned around and burned 8 cd's worth of live music, over 9 hours, on an old 4x HP CD burner. At the wedding, I hooked up 2 5 disc changers to the PA system and away we went. It was great with no complaints from 70 or so guests. I imagine it will only be a matter of time before Gemini mixers comes out with a dual iPod mixer!!

Cheers

[Paul @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

OR you could just hire a DJ who USES iTunes... like at the last wedding I went to. :-)

[Michael @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

All well and good until, here in Canada, the AVLA enforcement officer or local RCMP Mountie comes in looking for your license for the public presentation of copyright material.

Not having one means the party is stopped, equipment and music siezed (even personal equipment) and fines issued.

A percentage of the Hall rental fee is for licensing depending on location. Even though a "Private Party", you are in a public facility and required to have proper permits/licenses.

Wedding DJ's are not allowed to use premixed music and are required by Law to manually mix the music.

You must be able to provide ALL copyright information on request for all your music or you are in violation.

Professional DJ's accommodate ALL of your guests all of the time. They can adjust instantly to any situation and are available as an experienced person to handle any MC duties if required. Like any profession there are good and bad. Referrals are your best way to prevent some of the bad ones.

But using players, playlists and source devices without proper licensing, in Canada, will eventually cost you a lot.

Yes, you can use a laptop with a DJ program on it but it, too, must be licensed and the license must be affixed to the computer.

Yes I have worked as a wedding DJ for 15 years but I have been doing weddings for nearly 30 and I have seen the above scenario play out to the detriment of all.

I am not against the idea I am just leting you know there are rules and laws that must be followed.

A professional DJ will eliminate a lot of the worry.

There are only two things people remember from the wedding; how the bride looked and the party. You look after one and the DJ looks after the other.

[bv @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

I would never pay some deusch bag to play songs for my wedding off of his ipod. What the hell are you guys thinking.If what you care about is announcements and spontaneity, just pre-record the announcements before hand and load them in between every 15 songs on your playlist. Then you can not only hear songs that you want but people can get a heads up when the speakers magically command them to prepare for the chicken dance.
Seriously though, when i get married i'm either djing myself off and on using either vinyl or cd-decks (real cd-dj decks like pioneer cd-dj 1000's) or hiring a well known dj to spin tunes. Ipod dj, that's deusch bag for "hey i'm 40 years old and still cool...right?"

[Pete @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

I used my iPod for reception music and it worked like a charm. The only problem was that it didn't crossfade. I wish I had a laptop at the time but...

I got complements all night about the music. I just created a hand-selected playlist from my library and hit play. Put the classics (Sinatra, Ella, Armstrong, etc) first and older crowd then eased into more modern stuff (Killers, David Gray, Black Eyed Peas, etc) for my friends. By midnight we were rocking it out with dance/house music and danced the night. It was a great time. People stuck around until 230am and had to be dragged out.

I've gone to several weddings since then and the music has sucked at all of them. Wedding DJs have no talent. They just trainwreck terrible songs together. I have yet to see a wedding DJ seamlessly transition from one song to another. iTunes does a better job than they do. I keep telling my friends that I'd DJ for them, but they keep going out and spending cash for a lame DJ that they're unhappy with. Eventually, they'll figure it out.

[lupinstel @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Does iTunes have "Wind Beneath my Wings"?

[tacojackson @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Yeah, how sweet. Just use your 80 gigs of illegally downloaded music and an iPod to make money and put a legitimate DJ out of business. *Applaud* I love this generation.

[J Grunge @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

I'm getting married in about 10 days, and believe me, I've thought about doing the whole DIY DJ setup since the day I proposed.

We've been engaged for about 16 months, and wound up booking the DJ about a year ago. He's a good guy with a ton of experience and a good price, but even a good price is way more than just renting a PA system and hooking up my laptop.

One of the reasons why we picked our DJ is because he was flexible with his setlist (which we found to be a bit of a rarity in the DC metro area). At first, I was happy, I didn't want to deal with any of it. Just have the guy play some tunes, and we'll groove. All good.

Then the audiophile in me took over.

I didn't want structured-dance songs like the Macarena or the Electric Slide or YMCA. I started thinking of songs I wanted to hear that he didn't have. We wanted string covers of rock songs for the cocktail hour. He didn't have it. I wanted some ska and some electronica he'd never heard of. He didn't have it. I wanted covers that were only released in Japan. He didn't have it. The end result? I've burned over 5 CD's of material for him to use, mix and work into the evening.

Now, is that his fault that he didn't have the music we (I) wanted? Nope. He's a good guy, a great DJ, and has a decent template setlist. I'm a weird guy with eclectic and weird taste. But the problem is that I'm now in a situation where I've paid a guy over $800 to press play on his CD player and tell us when dinner is served and when it's time to cut the cake. Seriously, I could've paid a friend to do that for $50 and a bottle of Jim Beam.

In retrospect, I might've (should've) opted to go the DIY route, but I can see how it's not for everyone. I'm a picky, controlling audiophile, so it would work for me. For the average joe bridegroom, just let the professional handle it.

[iPod DJ @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Hmmm . . . "BV" - that's douche bag for "my wife, friends, and family are on the dance floor & taking photos on the happiest day of my life and I'm behind my Technics 1200s or Pioneer CD-DJ 1000 making sure that my record collection is properly mixed" . . . right?

And no - I'm in my twenties, and a few thousand songs and dollars richer thanks to my iPod.

[mepex @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Doesn't anybody hire bands anymore?

[Scott @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

I recently did this for a friend's wedding (with a laptop), except it was just the rehearsal dinner music, and background music before the band came on and between sets.

Get a real band for the reception- that's worth real money. All the wedding DJs I've ever seen have been talentless unimaginative hacks. I'm sure there are good ones out there, but they are rare. Like most aspects of the wedding industry, it attracts people with mediocre skills who smell easy money.

[DG @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

About putting professional DJs out of business: I remember countless stories during the height of Napster about wedding/party DJs who were happily downloading everything they played, most without remorse. If you ask me, someone playing stolen music (and you're assuming a personal user isn't just ripping from CDs) off his/her laptop is way better than paying some hack DJ to make money off of stolen music.

[J Grunge @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

I might've gone with a real band, but they cost more, and my tight budget wouldn't allow it.

Plus, most of the live musicians we spoke to worked union shifts of 40-20 (40 minutes playing, twenty minute breaks). Don't get me wrong, I'm all about a live sound, but I'd still have recorded music for a third of my evening, and I wanted my party to just start hopping and not stop until we were kicked out. I thought that the transition from live to recorded music would be too awkward for a nice night-long dance party.

[Joe @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

one thing an ipod cannot do is be your karaoke DJ. A guy with a laptop full of great karaoke songs, a mixer and a couple of mics can make for a great party... unless you hate karaoke.

[duncanbeevers @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Numark's iDJ mixing console: http://numark.com/
Big iPods! (sucks to your software crossfade!)

[Tom Robinson @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

I agree with "biochemlab" completely.

I hate wedding/bar mitzvah/etc DJs with a passion, they give REAL DJs a bad name and piss me off to no end with their lame party games and stupid blow up guitars and saxes and YMCA and Macarena and ARRRGGGGGHHHH!!!!!

Anyway, I've been DJing for my fraternity parties for awhile now, and mostly just use my PowerBook since most of my vinyl is electronic music, and frat boys (other than myself) generally don't like "techno".

I'm trying out Native Instrument's Traktor DJ Studio, and it's pretty sweet but I need a better dual-output soundcard (internal audio + USB soundcard == very crashy == not suitable for live DJing) as well as some sort of MIDI controller (Behringer BCD2000 or Kontrol-DJ look sweeeet)

http://www.behringer.com/BCD2000/
http://www.kontrol-dj.com/html_eng/

For my wedding, all I can say is I want The Dan Band (think Old School)

[Toni @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Wow, I didn't realize that such a topic would polarize people.

I've seen good wedding DJs and bad wedding DJs. It really depends. And it really depends on the couple if they want to hire a DJ or use their own iPod to provide music.

Personally, if it means that I can save money, and I can find some friends to help monitor the music, I'd rather not hire a DJ. I care more about me saving money than whether or not a DJ has a job. Besides, it's not like iPods will put DJs out of business any more than TVs put the movie industry out of business.

Besides, if my friends, the groom, and I were in charge of the music, it guarantees that horrible, horrible stuff like "The Chicken Dance" and "The Macarena" never get played at my reception.

[bv @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

To 'Ipod dj': I guess the average person having a wedding knows nothing about djing or let alone cares as long as the dj plays 'i like big butts'. You have to feel at least a little bit guilty swindling people's money for a performance that could easily be duplicated by a laptop and winamp. I'm sure you throw in some flare and everything, but I just can't imagine, in my point of view, paying someone to caress a click wheel for 4 hours. Just doesnt add up to me.

[Brian P @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

I got married 7 yeears ago and did this. I used a laptop running Winamp hooked into a kickass home stereo. Worked like a champ.

brian
http://myvogonpoetry.com

[austinkennethlee @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

#28, great point. in the US, wedding DJs "theoretically" are paying public performance fees to ASCAP/BMI.

17 USC Ch1 �106(4)

[Mary @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

This was suggested in Cosmo not long ago in a special wedding issue on how to save money.

[iPod DJ @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

BV: I think you're right about most people and their DJ needs: they don't know much it, they don't care much about the selections, and they have a list of a few songs that they want played (first dance, family songs, etc.).

In my experience, though, it seems that people want to not have to worry about the music, they want to make sure the music played is appropriate (I'm not going to play "Closer" by NIN - unless, of course, the bride & groom inexplicably want it), and they want to make sure the music played is good (variety of styles and genres, can get most everyone on the floor, maybe a song or two that's really good that most people don't know, etc.).

As far as can tell, it's really hard to find someone who can provide all that in one package. Anyone can put together a playlist of music - not anyone can do the rest of it.

As for the guilt part, I don't charge much - I live in the DC area and charge $75/hr (they provide the sound equipment, which often comes with the hall or venue). If I charged more, I do think I'd have problems sleeping at night.

But all in all, it seems to hit the sweet spot for people pretty well - I've been able to get some good referrals and make some extra money on the side doing this.

[Matt E. @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

This is article reminds me of something.....Oh yeah, here it is:
http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000757040098/
http://www.numark.com/index.html?http://www.numark.com/products/product_view.php?v=overview&n=132

iPod DJs rejoice!

[DG @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

Sure, I'd love to make $75 profiting off of other people's work, especially if I didn't have to pay any royalties or usage fees. That'd be awesome.

[Nate MC @ Dec 19th 2005 1:06AM]

iPods simplified it for my and my friend, we do one or two events a year and just use our band's PA, we used to burn tons of discs, then we moved to using laptops, now we just use 3 ipods.

We get a list of what they want to hear and then we add to that and bring along the top 100 tracks from the last 20 years.

and with on-the-go playlist making it's easy to cue up tracks