DJGold

DJ Iron Mike · Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 4:46 pm Post subject: What do you guys think of this?

I got this email today and I didn't know what to think. Apparently this national company is looking for DJ's. Does anyone know anything about these people?

I had "issues" in the presentation of this as I read it, so I am not likely to respond. What do you guys think? Do you know anything about this?
I don't even know how I am getting mail from this guy. IMHO, he asks an awful lot for so little in return. ;:

Dear fellow DJ,

Saturday August 13, 2005

We are a national DJ company with work in every state. Due to a Huge volume of work we are offering the right DJ's immediate jobs with us and are currently recruiting both nationally but especially in MD and DC

To be considered you must visit our web site and complete the DJ Vacancy form so that you are registered with us. We also encourage you to send any business cards, reference sheets, videos or DVD's to us. This will assist in placing you for work in the future. This is all free to you and you will receive direct work from us as we get bookings

We evaluate every DJ's performance and those with higher scores get more work than those with lower. If you get a bad score then it stands to reason you won't be working with us again, hopefully by the time you have read our pages you will see we only want the best DJ's and in terms of reward we do command some great fee's that we pass on to our entertainers.

If you have your own experience and equipment and can entertain at any party and want the work contact us as soon as you can so that we can start to fill your calendar for 2005/6. You will always represent Academy DJs when with us and not your own company !

This current gig requires you to meet the clients within 2 days of accepting the event.

First to respond will get the job !! Companies wanting to share work with us are welcome

Wedding
August 13, 2005
6 hours
Wheeling, WV
$550

Please call if you definitely want the job, thanks on 585-943-9144 only

Richard Barker
President
Academy DJ's "Entertainment Excellence"
Call Toll Free (877) 383 6056
Email: Richard@academydjs.com
Website: http://www.academydjs.com

DJ Teddy Bear · Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 5:20 pm Post subject:

I am unimpressed.

I thought the website was badly designed, had poor punctuation, inconsistant capitalization, and questionable grammer.

He can't decide if it should be DJ or Dj or dj. Um... that's your profession. You should know which way it should be. And if you're too dumb to figure that out, at least pick one and stick with it!

At any rate, the real questions are:
1 - Is $550 an acceptable price for subcontracting? For me, it would be.
2 - Will you actually get paid? THAT is the big question.

DJ Iron Mike

For 6 hours I'd be charging $900. However the time to travel to this location would be a heck of a hike for me and to get back? Something more than the average going rate per mile has to account for that trip. I have been to that city on a way to a funeral for an in-law in Ohio and I know it is a long..... drive. This place is near Pittsburgh PA, well outside my 100 mile service area.
Me personally, I'd rather buy the gig from him at a negotiable price but I'm somebody who beleives the DJ should be paid because he is the one doing all the work. I beleive the bookie should get a comission off of the total price of the sale but the person doing most of the work should be the one receiving most of the money. That's just my belief. My other issue is that I'd be reperesenting his company. Persoanlly if I ended up screwing something up, I would rather it come down on me and not somebody else. I couldn't accept the blame for screwing up somebody else operation. But that's just me.
Asking for DVD's and all that stuff and paying that little, I have a hard time making sense of it?
I don't presently find that I could make my operation compatible with this one.

Maybe I have too many issues, I don't know? I want my operation to be unique and a rarity , not a charity.

DJ Teddy Bear · Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 5:50 pm Post subject:

When I said $550 isn't bad, I wasn't considering a distance problem. Yeah, that alone kills this one. Also, my base price is $750, so for me $550 is OK.

For what it's worth, I believe the booking agent IS entitled to a large share. Maybe half the total. The costs involved in finding the client and then getting that client to sign on the dotted line... If I was given gig info and all I had to do was a confirmation call and do the gig, yeah, he can keep a big portion - as long as my portion is big enough.

Then again, I'm not the best salesman in the world, so I place a high value on someone who can close the deal.

DJ Iron Mike · Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 6:21 pm Post subject:

I had one interested in me from up your way, the venue was called "The Sphinx" and it was somewhere in NJ, I'm guessing by the name of it, it was somewhere near Atlantic City because that just sounds like the name of a casino to me, but they wanted things I was not able to provide, so I had to pass on it. They wanted cheap. $350 range, they wanted rap/crunk, which is something I won't be offering, then they wanted me to travel over 5 hours one way to get there to do a 4 hour wedding? Wasn't going to happen. If they wanted me, I would have been 4 times that amount , required a hotel stay and quite possibly would have had to use a rental vehicle.
I'm not the best salesman either. It would be an assett to me to have somebody on my team that could close the deal. I can run my mouth just as well as the next guy, but to be quite honest, (and I usually am) I suck at closing deals. My operation has proven that. I would rather have a deal closer working for me though as opposed to working under one.
Having any kind of "strings" attached makes me uncomfortable.
Do you think I should respond to this guy or should I just round file the bulk mailer? He is obviously fishing for help. I think that if he was all that that maybe he would have a better response, but that's just me.

djdonny · Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 6:31 pm Post subject:

Great points, everyone. I'm doing my first "subcontracted" gig in over 10 years this Saturday. I got it basically because of a miscommunication (I never work under another company's name), but felt obligated to do the gig since the miscommunication was partly my fault (and my wife's). Anyway, I'm SUPPOSED (hopefully) to be paid $750 for a 5-hour 50th B-day w/lighting in Manhattan (I would charge $900, but since it's an open January date, I don't have a problem with the pay).

At least it's all disco all night, my favorite!

Quote: First to respond will get the job !! Companies wanting to share work with us are welcome

Wedding
August 13, 2005
6 hours
Wheeling, WV
$550

I'm just wondering what the client woudl think if they saw this...

My DJ was picked because he was the "first to respond"?!?!

DJ Iron Mike

First to respond doesn't always mean that a profile is on file. Sometimes I too would wonder what a client would think if he/she knew that DJ's were drawing lots over their special event ? Would I go with some big national company that just pops out mail like that to anyone? No, I'd be asking where the personal service and attention to detail was? I'd be asking information about the DJ, but since no one knows who the DJ is until 2 days out , I don't know, I just have issues with this. I don't feel that I could properly plan out a wedding with just 2 days notice and no client meeting. I'm not going to hold a pre-reception pep rally to figure out what needs to go on. I feel that if a company is so "large" that it can't provide a "personal" touch in this industry and only views every client as a number, there should be a re-evaluation of services that goes on.

On the flip side, I appreciate the fact that somebody took the time to even think of lowly ole' me , but sometimes when things seem too good to be true they probably are.

DJ Teddy Bear · Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 7:43 pm Post subject:

Donny -
Good luck in NYC. I refuse to go to Manhatten because load-in can be a nightmare. But that's another thread....

Would a bride like to hear that their DJ was the 'first to respond'? Of course not. And we could use that as a sales point when selling to our own clients.

Mike -
I don't think you need to respond to this gig, but you may want to respond to the company, just so they can get a better idea of what you will or won't do, and for how much. Worst case scenario, you waste a couple minute on the phone, ignore all gig offers they send you and eventually they stop sending you gigs.

For the record, when I checked out their site, despte the fact that I was unimpressed, I signed up. Got a reply that looked like an autoresponse for a wedding client! Also got a reply almost an hour later that may have been an autoresponse, but said they will contact me when a gig in my area pops up.

And the two-day-out thing? Are you thinking contacting the client two days before the event? Read that again. It requires talking to the client within two days of today. Maybe you gotta do a little selling anyway...

Again, my big concern is, would I actually get paid, or is it a scam?

djmc · Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 8:17 pm Post subject:

Looks like it could be another Pinnacle scam!

DJ Iron Mike · Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2005 8:48 pm Post subject:

I'm probably just going to re-direct the leads to the spam folder. I'm likely not going to take any action on it. My name is on a mass mailing list that this guy has . I was thinking of responding to this company , but then I thought a little more about it and had to determine "what was it going to get me?" Probably nothing except this guy saying "EXCUUUUUSE ME!" to me and that wouldn't be any good either.
I think I have stepped on a lot of toes in this business. I kind of feel like as I build a bridge of communication with this guy I would be burning the bridge at the same time, so for me, I am just going to likely do best to say nothing at all to him. If people want me that badly, they can at least learn my name and I'll respond. It's not that I'm not thankful for an opportunity, but at the same time I just don't feel his vision and mine are compatible at this time.

DJ Iron Mike

Matt,

What is a "Pinnacle" scam? Please? ???

Michigan DJ

Yeah...what is a Pinnacle scam?

audiopulse · Joined: February 18th, 2004 Posts: 214 Location: Joplin, MO

Yeah?? what is it Matt????

Oh.. and I am finding more and more the calls I am getting.. one of their first questions is "Are YOU going to be the DJ?" ... I reply yes that my wife and I are the owners and WE are the DJs... the conversation then goes on and we usually end up booking them... kinda like they don't want their DJ to be pulled out of a hat from a group of DJs...

jwg · Joined: September 15th, 2004 Posts: 1089 Location: Erie, PA

I am guessing from this Wheeling event - 6 hours at $550.00 is what YOU would make after they take a couple hundred off the top. Sounds like 1-800-DJ.

Don Niles DJ

I also received this E-Mail..I thought I was singled out because I am 100 miles from Wheeling but I now know better...The clincher is "It is required to meet the client within two days"..Not contact,but meet..With that distance and the money involved I would expect the client to pretty much either drive to my area or handle the pre-event details by phone or E-Mail..I would only consider this if it was a last minute opportunity to fill the date and I would only be willing to drive to Wheeling for the actual gig...I'll think I'll pass with this outfit.

djmc

DJ Iron Mike wrote: Matt,

What is a "Pinnacle" scam? Please? ???

Pinnacle was a rip-off artist in NY or NJ that would send DJs to gigs, and then wouldn't pay them the promised $.

DJ Iron Mike · Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2005 4:16 pm Post subject:

Definately something to keep in mind. Who else has heard of Acedemy DJ's? Has anyone worked for them before? Does anyone by chance have any information on them or could this be a "jump first" ask questions later type of thing? A lot of questions out there being asked but not many seem to know at this point.

DJ Drew · Joined: October 21st, 2004 Posts: 16 Location: Topeka, KS

I had a good friend apply for a hoot and he has never so sorry he did it...He has had alot of bad situations with them.. He got away from them ASAP.

iluv2dj · Joined: April 2nd, 2004 Posts: 3 Location: Mchenry, IL

Quote: DJ Iron Mike wrote:

What is a "Pinnacle" scam? Please? ???

The answer is right here,
http://www.letsdanceproductions.com

iluv2dj · Joined: April 2nd, 2004 Posts: 3 Location: Mchenry, IL

They have not only bilked DJs but clients as well.

http://www.complaints.com/november2003/complaintoftheday.november19.7.htm

http://www.complaints.com/february2002/complaintoftheday.february8.12.htm