ISSUE 182 MAY 2017 WWW.MOBILEBEAT.COM THE MUSIC ISSUE THE MOBILE BEAT TOP 200 POWERED BY DJ INTELLIGENCE PLUS... Songlists on Social Media Looking Back at Video Out-of-the-Box Song Choices Blizzard Lighting ............... www.blizzardlighting.com ..... - QSC .................................. www.qsc.com ........................ - THE TRACK ONE es, we cover music in some way in every issue; it would Ybe odd if we didn’t, as a magazine for mobile DJs. But way MUSIC ISSUE back when, we established a yearly tradition of putting the spotlight on what people are requesting DJs to play, by way of the Mobile Beat Top 200. In days of yore, our readers would PLAYLIST dutifully pencil in their top requests based on their own gig logs. Then, we provided handy emailed and online forms to fill out. Ultimately, Mobile Beat partnered with DJ Intelligence, TRACK ONE ................................................................. 4 the provider of leading management tools for entertainers’ YOU, DISRUPTED ........................................................ 6 websites, to present what is likely the most accurate view of Breaking DJ Complacency what’s really being played out there. So enjoy the lists, as well as the other music-related info inside! By Todd Mitchem ~ Dan Walsh, Editor-in-Chief THE WEEKDAY GAME ................................................... 8 Power Up Your Trivia Up-Sell By Rob Johnson FEATURE ................................................................... 10 ADVERTISERS What Do I Do with These Screens? By Steve Sharp Blizzard Lighting www.blizzardlighting.com 2 FEATURE ....................................................................12 Bose www.bose.com 11 Good Times Never Seemed So Good By Mike Ficher DigiGames www.digigames.com 9 SOCIAL MEDIA KNOWHOW ..........................................14 Electro-Voice www.electrovoice.com 5 The Magical, Musical Unicorn List By Staci Nichols Famous Stages www.famousstages.com 7 SPECIAL FEATURE ......................................................16 Frankenstand www.frankenstand.com 35 The Mobile Beat Top 200 POWERED BY DJ INTELLIGENCE Innovative LED www.innovativeledsales.com 27 PLAY SOMETHING WE CAN DANCE TO! ....................... 30 Mobile Beat Cruise www.mobilebeatcruise.com 39 Stepping Out of the Box Odyssey Innovative Designs www.odysseygear.com 13 By Jay Maxwell THE SPIN DOCTOR ..................................................... 32 PSWCDT Book www.mobilebeat.com/store 31 Keep On Trucking? QSC www.qsc.com 3 By Mike “Dr. Frankenstand” Ryan FEATURE ................................................................... 34 You, Disrupted www.toddmitchem.com 25 Is It Sound or Is It Noise? By Matt Martindale FEATURE ................................................................... 36 Ready to Play, Come Rain or Come Shine By Stu Chisholm BRILLIANT DEDUCTIONS ........................................... 37 Coming Transactions: A Cashless World Publisher Gear Editor Editorial Assistant / Ryan Burger Jake Feldman Writer By Mark E. Battersby Mobile Beat Circulation Manager Rebecca Burger THE LAST WORD ........................................................ 38 Editor-in-Chief Kitty Harr Events Director Emeritus Examine Your Margins Dan Walsh Michael Buonaccorso By Jason Weldon TO ADVERTISE IN MOBILE BEAT OR EXHIBIT AT A MOBILE BEAT EVENT, CALL 515-986-3344 x300 OR EMAIL [email protected] 4 MOBILE BEAT • MAY 2017 Electro-Voice .................... www.electrovoice.com ........... - YOU, DISRUPTED Breaking DJ Complacency START BY CHALLENGING EVERYTHING By Todd Mitchem music. I went up to him, intro- hen I entered the duced myself and hung out in W Mobile DJ world, the booth for a short period of I had one thing on my time. It was then that I saw... mind: to make a mark. that he was playing a prere- corded set! The entire night It was not within me to was a sham. I then saw this simply settle for being same behavior at a wedding average or basic in my a year later and, again, the DJ approach to the craft of was playing premixed tracks. These DJs have effectively DJing. I remember the become pieces of technology most creative time in my rather than artists. young life back in the WHO—OR WHAT—IS early nineties. DJs of the REALLY IN CHARGE? nineties had to be agile, To kick off this series of articles creative and entertaining. I am writing for Mobile Beat, I We could only rely on want you to consider one our skills in interaction, important thing: Are you mixing, and properly truly working to take your skills, abilities and shows to a level of disruption that inspires designing music playlists that took the audience the audience? Or are you simply going through the motions on a journey. A DJ, either in a club or at a private and letting technology do the work? Don’t get me wrong about event, had to be smart and there were many ways technology. A laptop, with all your music stored on it, is far more to differentiate oneself from the others in our field. convenient than all the CDs and gear we had to carry around in the nineties—but mixing and programming are being lost. As time went on, I created the longest running DJ/MC Performance skill is being killed off and the only person who can comedy show in Chicago: Comedy You Can Dance To, and then save it is you. went on to entertain at countless weddings, corporate events So here is your lesson for this month—your assignment, and concerts as the warm-up act. When I finally stopped DJing if you want to truly stand out from the thousands of lazy DJs in early 2005, I had moved on to become a behavior and cultural around the world. Your disruptive assignment in three steps: change leader in the corporate world. However, the drive to disrupt everything around me remained intact. • Write (or type) the top ways you can engage the So, modern-era DJ, I have returned to challenge you with audience differently. For example, “I will work the room some transformative insights. I feel the need for this is dire to take more requests and then integrate these into a because I've been watching an unprecedented level of compla- playlist.” Or “I will stop the music at least twice a night to cency taking hold in the DJ world. walk in front of the audience and get their focus.” I first saw this issue about two years ago, here in Denver, when • Next, destroy any pre-made playlists, sets or groups of I took my team to a local club. As I stood watching the DJ behind tracks that you have so very carefully placed on a pre-mix. the booth, it was apparent after a few minutes that something was Get rid of them. The action of deleting the set will force off. The music was playing and was mixed perfectly—but maybe your mind to program music in the moment, rather than a little TOO perfectly. Also, the DJ’s movements were not consis- simply lazily hitting “play” and faking it. tent with someone who was actually programming and mixing • Lastly, and this one is the most important, look for opportunities to program actual playlists in a way that takes the audience on a journey. If someone requests a For more than 17 years, Todd has coached executives on slow song, then after you play it, begin to take the crowd dynamic leadership, structural excellence, and strategic on a journey into music they will love—all building to a business applications at some of the top brands in the world, including Microsoft, Apple, Starbucks, Anheuser-Busch, H&R climax. Take your time, rather than attempting to slam the Block and more. His skill in helping corporate leaders and dance floor with a packed group. many others reach breakthroughs to greater success led to the creation of his new book, You, Disrupted: Seizing the In the next article, I will explore more ways for you to stand Life You Want by Shaking, Breaking, and Challenging out from the pack and truly disrupt your thinking. Let’s take this Everything. disruptive journey together! 6 MOBILE BEAT • MAY 2017 Famous Stages ................. www.famousstages.com ........ - THE WEEKDAY GAME PRESENTED BY How to Fill Your Calendar with Cash Power Up Your Trivia Up-Sell By Rob Johnson clever, you can engineer this in a way where even when getting the s we prepare for the summer months and likely reduction, you achieve the rough sales target you are hoping for. lots of weddings and other music-based events, A ADDITIONAL SERVICES / TAG-TEAMING midweek trivia nights should also be busy, providing you with some gravy to go on your meat and potatoes. Up-selling can also involve boosting your business by bringing in more revenue streams. You probably do this anyway, but make sure To be busy, marketing and selling yourself are important. you offer any appropriate additional services to current customers. So, in this article we are going to look at some key elements For example, if you are doing trivia in a bar that you know features for successfully up-selling your a DJ on the weekends, try and trivia services to enhance your combine it. Again, wait until your DJ business. These ideas will trivia has been a success first; then help build your confidence by try to increase your services. showing you when and how to approach the subject with your UP-SELLING WITH clients. TECHNOLOGY One element that can really help TIMING IS KEY you upsell is cutting-edge tech- The first thing you really need nology. If you have been reading to consider is WHEN to do the this column for a while, then you up-selling. There are two ways will know the benefits of using to look at it. If the gig is going to technology. You need to be be a one-off, say, a wedding or selling this aspect to your venue graduation party or something owners as well. If they have only along those lines, then the up- booked a standard pen and selling could need to happen at paper night you should show the initial stage.