If you're operating a retail store, you know how important music is to a customer's experience. Hiring a DJ for your pop-up or retail store means you can benefit from a real-time response to customers' reactions. During lulls, a DJ can draw on a wealth of experience to keep customers engaged, in the evening hours an event DJ could play calming music to reduce stress.

Hiring a DJ for Your Retail Store in Three Steps

The purpose of a retail store DJ is to attract customers to your store and get them shopping. If they're not capable of doing that, then the DJ is no better than the radio or a Spotify mix.

For that reason, you should take into consideration three aspects of hiring a DJ for your retail store.

Listen to a Prospective Event DJs Mixes

To understand a DJ's knowledge of music, you should listen to sample mixes; two or three samples should give you an accurate gauge of a DJ's range.

Consider a DJ's Versatility

Hiring a retail store DJ in Los Angeles means you'll need someone who can develop ambiance that would be enjoyed by any shoppers. It also means that your DJ should be able to assess the types of crowds your store is attracting and choose songs that are appealing to that customer. In the beginning, your retail store DJ may not know shopper patterns and demographics, but over time, observant DJs will pick up on these patterns and home in on them to leverage better sales volumes.

Test their Ability to Emcee

A retail store DJ should be an excellent speaker and emcee. Using one, you can announce deals, launch new products, and even map the customer's path through the store.

If your DJ has passed the previous assessments, ask them to send a sample of a one-line phrase that includes terms and themes commonly used in your store. For example, "Today only, 25 percent off Frame jeans."

You're listening for clarity and conviction. The kind of retail store DJ that would entice you to check out the jeans.

Of course, your dialog will change to reflect your store or target demographic; alternatively, you could ask the DJ to create one.

What Type of Music Would Be Good for Retail Stores

Once you've hired a DJ, knowing the kind of music that you should be playing in your store or pop-up will give them a foundation they can use to create mixes.

80s Songs

80s pop music is often inoffensive, clean, and nostalgic. Even younger crowds appreciate some of the music as it seems vintage.

90s Songs

90s music is effective for the same reason 80s music is: it builds nostalgia, which triggers dopamine — the brain's happy hormone. Associating your store with this music will cause customers to — inadvertently — make a positive connection to your store.

Contemporary Music

If your retail store appeals to a younger audience, contemporary music will unlock dopamine in their brains when you're playing music relevant to their experiences.

Of course, there's more to being a retail store DJ than playing 80s music. You need to let the crowd — in this case, shoppers — direct the mix.

As a Los Angeles retail store DJ, I understand the impact a good mix can have on a business, and I aim to do what's best for your business. Please contact Black and White Affair. We are not a dj service but we are a Dj experience.

It maybe time to set up your Dj for your prom in the Bay Area. Proms are usually hitting at the end of the school year. I am seeing them set up Mid April till Mid May. Schools are picking those dates since they don’t want it to interfere with the ending of school. At that time the weather is getting warmer so people are setting up their parties. 

So what do you look for in a prom DJ? Make sure they have experience playing at schools. Playing at schools is a totally different animal compared to playing at private events outside of schools. The dj has to make sure the music is clean meaning that there are no profanity. Also a lot of students like having a dj that can quick mix. That means they can play a song for a short period of time and throw in another song so it blends perfectly. Long gone are the days where a dj plays the whole song from start to finish. It seems the only songs that can be played out like that would be songs to play during dinner or Spanish songs on the dance floor. 

Speaking of dinner, songs should not be slow songs to put students to sleep. They rather be songs that everybody knows and keep everyone excited and you start building it at the end of dinner so they go straight to the dance floor when its ready to party. 

I am all about playing good dance music but during proms a few slow songs need to be put in the mix spread out through the night. 

If you are looking to book your prom dj now please look no further than Black and White Affair Dj services. We have enough sound for any events and please check out our reviews. 

Do it Yourself Music versus a DJ

Weddings are not cheap. It is one of the most special days of a bride and grooms life and they want to share it with the special folks around them. Weddings can be very intimate and have under 50 guests or they can be extravagant and have over 200 guests. The hosts have to provide the food, the venue and the entertainment. Location is something people can not skip on since it’s a must to have the physical reception. All these guests got to eat so food has to be in the wedding budget.

After everything has been paid for its time to see if there is budget for the entertainment. Oh brother Steve has an awesome cd collection and he likes the same kind music that we have. Or maybe someone can stream music off their phone.

A dj is more than just a dj and a button pusher. They follow a timeline and make announcements to keep the guests in the know.  They see the crowd and keep feeding them what they want to hear to keep the dancefloor filled.

 Maybe you don’t want to have a dance party then having a friend play off their system. If one goes that route then make sure you have a timeline. A wedding planner can get you one or if you reach out to a dj then they can give you a sample template.

Which is better to have a friend doing music or having a professional dj?

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Not everyone can speak Spanish. What happens if you find a really good dj but his Spanish is non existent? I have been a part of many Spanish weddings. Some weddings playlist have been all in Spanish. There have been times where the bride and groom offered to have a guest make the announcements in Spanish. Most of the time they just want to make the grand entrance in their language then the rest of the announcements the dj can do. They mostly do that so that the last names are pronounced correctly.

My Spanish is ok but I do have assistants who speak perfect Spanish so if the bride and groom want that then I make sure that assistant is available.

Also what helps is to have a script of what they are going to say. Some people say they are professionals and want to wing it but I advise to have a script. When it comes to announcements I like to repeat what is being said then rephrasing it so the folks that are not paying attention can follow directions. I do not advise using google translator for the Spanish translation because sometimes its translated but it’s not the correct meaning. If a Spanish script is written then it should be translated by a fluent speaker. 

For most Spanish weddings, I like to play a lot of cumbias. It’s the cumbias that gets everyone out of their seats and onto the dance-floor. Best bet is to have a playlist from the couple with Spanish music. 

Call Black and White Affair to book your latin party. Always repping the bay and now in Southern California.

The City offers a perfect urban atmosphere with plenty of beautiful scenery. It is one of the top U.S. cities to get married in. What makes San Francisco so scenic are the spacious parks, the skyscrapers in the business area, and let’s not forget the San Frans’ icons cable cars and the Famous Golden Gate Bridge. San Fran is surrounded by water so it can provide many beautiful pictures. At San Fran, they have various types of gourmet food made from fresh ingredient to make any venue menu mouthwatering.

Temperature wise San Francisco cannot do no wrong. It may get a little chili at times so make sure you have light jacket in case you get married in the summer.

Half Moon Bay is a small town with big scenic views. There are awesome beaches, fantastic golf courses and delicious food. May to October would be the prime months to go but at the same time it does draw crowds of its beauty.

Napa has very stunning views of acres of vineyards. It is famous for all the wonderful wine that it produces. Restaurants produce fabulous food that go with Napa wine. Napa Valley towns are filled with nice boutiques and galleries.

The best time to go would be the summer and October. September may be hard to book since it is their busy time unless you really pre-book.

The thing to do is to go wine tasting. There are so many wineries to chose from. Guests do have plenty to do when they are going to your destination wedding in Napa.

How to Pick the Best Dj in the San Francisco Bay Area

In the San Francisco Bay, many folks plan all different kinds of events such as private events, weddings, and corporate events. Maybe years ago, you may have had buddies who dabbled in the dj field but you don’t know if they still are in the field. But you are throwing an event and you want a professional so who do you turn to?

Check previous experience

These days everyone loves looking at reviews. Check out the Yelp Reviews and Google Reviews. Take a look at their Facebook Business Page to see if they are doing events currently and if they post consistently.

Talk with them

Ask them how busy they are. A good dj is a busy dj. Yes, there are loads of djs out there but the ones that are working are the ones that are sought out. Communicate with the dj to get a sense of their professionalism. Ask them what is included in their dj package. Does the dj bring their own lights and microphones? How many speakers will they bring to the function?  How is their response time? Does the dj respond quickly or does it take days to email or call back?

Look at their Website

A good dj should have a website that talks about what they do and who they are. Does it look professional?

Listen to their mixes

A dj will have example of their mixes either on their website or a page dedicated to their mixes. You will get the vibe of the kind of music that he plays and style of mixing. Some djs can give out usb’s with their mixes and some can even give out cds.

There is so much to do in the Bay Area and there are many planners out there that can find you the right event space and vendors to make it stress-free for everyone. The planner’s job is to be organized and create the event based on your vision.

First and foremost, the company needs to know how much money can they spend on the event and it will help determine if they can afford the planner or not. Sometimes the company elects to have someone from their site with little or no experience secure a venue and also the vendors and hope everything goes well! But if budget allows then it is best to hire a professional who knows the field and knows which vendors can be trusted.

Do some online searches for Bay Area planners who have corporate experience. Pick 3 to 5 that stand out from the searches that you have done. Then it is good to reach out to them and find out if they have done similar events before recently and their level of experience. It would be good to connect with their reviews to see how good their prior work has been. Talk with the planner to see what ideas they have for your event and that would be a good way to see how experienced the planner is.

Once a planner has been selected then have them start on the planning right away since with more time often times equals better results with nothing being rushed. Working with planners, communication is key and check on the progress of your event since it is the company’s manager’s job to worry but the planner will keep him/her at ease!

As for school events, the budget for school dances will not be as much as prom.  Typically it is held on campus to help cut on cost.

The question that comes often is what is the cost to hire a dj and what is included. The djs can bring multiple speakers and lights to fill up the gym. I have seen djs charge 100 to 150 dollars an hour for school dances. The dj has to get a playlist ahead of time so the dj can play the music that the students requested.

Schools should select djs that have edited music so they will not have their vice principal run to the dj booth demanding to change an inappropriate song.

Also on the checklist is to see the dj reviews on google and on yelp to see if they have done other schools and can see their successes.

It would be good to have the dj visit the school to show them where they are going to set up. Some schools are not labeled easily so the dj can be driving around and not knowing where to park to unload. Ideally they want to drive close by to unload all their heavy gear.

Last but not least please talk to your dj about their dj crew. It is good to have the dj have one helper but when they are bringing 3 to 5 people to do a 1 to 2 person job, it just is not professional and can be a liability to the dj company and to the school.