Dulles Sound Center DJs Corporate Functions Information Page!!!

DJs vs Bands - The Bottom Line: Basically, your company will get more continuous music for less money using a DJ; sometimes at a quarter the cost of a band. Disc Jockeys also carry a wider variety of music to satisfy everyone from the president to the mail clerk. And, specific songs can be played as the requests come in.!!! Add a small light show, a blow up guitar and an energetic DJ and you'll have tons of excitement, music for everyone and a whole lot of dancing all night long.

Flexibility - Black tie affairs to Beach themes: DJs are the most versatile type of entertainment you can hire. Disc Jockeys can be sophisticated or wild, depending on the atmosphere your corporation wants to create. And, at times, the DJ can change the atmosphere as the night progresses. You can start off with a "black tie" cocktail and dinner hour with light jazz and/or piano music. Then kick in the dance music after the speeches, loosen up the ties and party!!!

Are you having several parties with different themes throughout the year? DJs would be perfect, especially if you find an individual or company you like. Instead of spending time auditioning different bands for that Beach Party and later that Southwestern Fiesta, your DJ can bring the music and dress the part each time. Plus, you are not "stuck" with just a marriachi band or steel drums all night. Instead, your DJ can "switch" over to the party music your associates love when it is time to dance. DJs can fit into any corporate function!!!

Is a DJ right for my corporate function? Simply put, you will be amazed what a little music can do for your function. Turn a small casino night into a Las Vegas style party. A sales reception into a pep rally! A quarterly kick-off into a Super Bowl!! An awards ceremony into an Oscar!!! The possibilities are truly endless and your company has nothing but fun to gain. Professional DJ services can match up specific personalities to fit your corporate culture, provide music for specific themes and will be enthusiastic to service your needs.

DJ Services vs Individuals vs Music Agents: So you are excited about hiring a DJ, but where do you go? Generally a DJ service will have a lower cost than a music or talent agent and possiblly some individuals (depending how popular they are). An advantage of a Music agent is that they will generally only hire DJs that meet their specific requirements. Meaning they have done all the foot work in interviewing and auditioning for you. But, as expected, you will probally pay about 25% more for their services and many times they use the DJ Services or individuals that you could hire directly. Music agents are typically listed in the Yellow Pages under entertainment. DJ Services and individual DJs are listed under Disc Jockeys. A disadvantage of using an individual DJ is that if something were to happen to him/her, you may be out of luck in finding a replacement. With a good DJ Service, you will always be guaranteed a DJ, no matter what. One disadvantage in using a DJ Service depends on if they use "subcontractors" or have employees. DJ Services using subcontractors, by legal definiton, lose control over the DJ's performance, how he/she presents him/herself, equipment and music requirements and even when he/she has to arrive for a function. Typically, employees of a DJ Service will have more rules and guidelines to follow to meet the DJ Service's reputation.

But most importantly, when searching for a DJ, make sure you can either meet or speak with the DJ that will be assigned to your corporate function. Make sure that the company, DJ Service or Music Agent, will guarantee the DJ you choose, AT NO EXTRA CHARGE. Also, services should provide you with planner sheets and songlists to help plan your party. Review these sheets with your DJ before the show and make sure that he/she will have all of the your music requirements. Other than that.... you'll have a great party with a DJ!!!

Adding Karaoke to your Corporate event: We dedicated a whole page to Karaoke entertainment. Click on KARAOKE and find out more!!!

On Raffles & Stuff: Raffles and Giveaways at your Corporate Event is always welcomed by your employees and can add to making the night fun and exciting. Typically, Raffle Tickets are handed out or, if you have a small company, simply employee names on slips of paper are used instead and then picked at various times throughout the evening. But if you want to "spice" up the giveaway time, here are a few ideas.

• The Price Is Right Gane Show: This fun event was done recently at a Holiday Party and the guests had a blast with it. Simply, Raffle Tickets were handed out as the guests arrived. After dinner, one of the party planners acted as the emcee and pulled tickets out of a bowl for the "contestant' to come up. After four 'contestants" came up, the emcee would bring out the first prize. The contestants had to guess the price of the prize and the one closest to the price, without going over, won the prize. What's nice about this game is that four guests are playing for the prize, involving everyone. (The others are encouraged to yell out prices, just like the real game show.)
• Other Game Shows: The above example can be modified for whichever Game Show you would like, using the Raffle Tickets as the way to choose the contestants. With a little help from the DJ, theme music can be added in to make the event more realistic and fun.
• Table Draw Off: This event worked really well too, recommended for a smaller company. Basically, this game takes Pictionary to the next level by having tables of guests compete against other tables. A large wipeoff or paper board and magic markers are brought in and each table has to designate the "drawer" for their table. Put a time limit on each round and the "drawer' has to draw from a preestablished list of things. What is fun about this game is that you can design the words or phrases to fit your company! At the event that this was first seen, the CEO handed out cash to the winning tables, but other prizes will do as well.
• Other Table Activities: Another fun activity to involve the table is to buy each table a set of Lego, Lincoln Logs, Erector Sets or something similar and, after dinner, have the groupat the table create something, like the tallest structure. Again, this is a fun way to break up the night and to get tables to work together for a really cool prize. Typically, people/employees will sit with others from their department, so you can always reassign tables for this event to get a better mix of people working together.

Getting The Guests Involved: Corporate parties can be difficult for the DJ to get the guests up and dancing. So many factors are at play, such as the Corporate Culture, entertaining a group of people that don't normally socialize with each other outside of work, significant others that don't know each other, and even the time of year that the party is being held. But, despites these odds, people do dance at Corporate Parties and some of it is in part to a few basic influences.

• Filling up an Empty Dance Floor: In the words of Kevin Costner, "if you dance, they will come!" Very few people want to be the first or only ones on an empty dance floor. It is very intimidating. If you are planning a Corporate Party, simply by getting the Party Coordinators and yourself or a few "popular" employees to come out and start things up will help tremendously. Participating and encouraging others to participate during a "group dance" (ie, Electric Slide, Cha Cha Slide, or YMCA) can be very contagious! Even getting your CEO or President to start things up will help fill the dance floor, kinda the "lead by example" theory.
• Ice Breakers: Group Dances are usually a good gauge of how the night will be on the dance floor, pending on the "presentation" of the song by your DJ. Playing the Hokey Pokey during dinner probally won't be very effective! But, a good DJ Emcee can encourage guests to come out and participate. Other great Ice Breakers during dinner would be like Music Trivia or Name That Tune. Of course, some people like to converse during dinner and do not want to be interrupted to play, but a sprinkling throughout the dinner hour will actually add to the conversation, get people talking about music and even spark some requests for the DJ to play.
• Nothing Seems To Work: There are occassions when nobody seems to want to dance. But this doesn't mean that the night wasn't a success. Many times, people just like to talk and are enjoying the music in the background. Unfortunately, the DJ seems to be graded on how much dancing occurs, instead of how much people enjoyed the evening. A good DJ will recognize the situation and change the music and play more upbeat, but can't dance to style songs, until the crowd is ready to jam. Keep in mind, "if you dance, they will come." So, instead of asking the DJ to play something that "everyone" can dance to, request a song that YOU want to dance to and see what happens!

On tipping the DJ: Tipping is an appreciation for a job well done. If your DJ went over and above your expectation, tipping is an excellent way to show your appreciation. 5% to 20% of the total cost is suggested, but any amount is truely welcomed.

Thank you for visiting the Sound Center DeeJays information page. Sound Center DeeJays is the Best Part of your Party!!! Need more information? Click on Sound Center and find out more about the company, including our phone number and address. Or E-mail your questions or comments to Info@sndcntrdj.com... and have a great party!!!

RETURN TO MAIN PAGE

Copyright notice: Sound Center DeeJays, Sound Center DJs, the Sound Center logo and all text are copyrighted or a trademark of Sound Center DJs, Inc., 1996, 2001, 2005. © ® All Rights Reserved.