Beyond the DJ Booth

Episódios

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  Doors Open Music That Hits 16.09.2026 45min

  Send us a message Doors open is the most underrated part of a wedding reception, because it’s one of the first places where guests judge your taste, your confidence, and the vibe of the night. We get super specific about how we build doors open music that feels modern without being annoying, cheesy, or overplayed: the BPM pocket we like, when to use originals vs bootlegs, why we strip aggressive rap sections, and how to choose tracks you’ll never need again once the dance floor starts. We al...
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  Wedding DJ Storytime 09.09.2026 45min

  Send us a message Cold sparks that can literally scorch carpet, a bride who wants the party to go explicit on command, and a viral custom dance edit that suddenly turns into 20 strangers asking for the file. That’s the kind of real-world wedding DJ life we’re unpacking, with the wins, the awkward parts, and the decisions that affect your reputation and revenue. We start with updates from our world: Patreon shoutouts, DJ Collective reminders, Recharge Circles deadlines, and why we’re ex...
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  Stop Playing For The Internet 02.09.2026 51min

  Send us a message Formalities are fading and the party is taking over. We’re seeing it in our inboxes, in the way couples ask questions, and in what actually works on dance floors right now. Gen Z wedding clients want fast answers, clear pricing, and proof you can really mix. If your set still leans on full-song playback and your sales process moves slow, you’re about to feel it. We talk candidly about what’s changing, what isn’t, and how to stay booked without becoming a hype-chasing DJ. We...
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  What If You Had To Restart Your DJ Business Today? 26.08.2026 38min

  Send us a message You can book great events and still feel like the money disappears the second it hits your account. We get into the unsexy part of being a working DJ that decides whether you stay stressed or build something durable: cash flow. With The DJ Collective coming up in Raleigh, we shout out why education matters and why Rich Cranston’s talk hits so hard, especially when the question is “I just booked a $3,000 wedding, where should the money go?” We unpack the mindset shift from ch...
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  We Hit 100 Episodes And Here Is What We Learned 19.08.2026 36min

  Send us a message We just hit 100 episodes, and we’re not pretending it happened by accident. We talk about what two straight years of weekly drops teaches you about consistency, momentum, and why the audience often finds value in moments we barely remember recording. Then we turn the milestone into something you can actually use: a giveaway for the Melanair SD2, a full rack-mounted in-ear monitor system that can seriously upgrade how you hear yourself and perform at weddings, corporate event...
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  High-End Wedding DJ Playbook 12.08.2026 27min

  Send us a message A wedding reception with a breakaway screen entrance, a merch table, a sax player, and RFID wristbands sounds like a flex until you’re the DJ responsible for making every moment hit on time. Brian B and Joe Bunn pull back the curtain on a full luxury wedding day, from travel and load-in to the last song, after Joe comes to Florida to shadow the entire “Brian B show” in real time. We walk through how a modern couple’s vision gets built, especially when it’s heavily influence...
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  A Great DJ Tells a Story Not A Playlist 05.08.2026 39min

  Send us a message A great DJ doesn't build a playlist - they tell a story. That idea came from a listener question asking why some wedding DJs command more than double the average rate, and it sparked one of our favorite conversations in recent memory. We unpack why premium DJs aren't being paid for song selection alone. They're hired to create moments people remember, make smart decisions under pressure, and understand what an event is trying to say...not just what songs it should hear. Alon...
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  Is Your DJ Business Built To Run Without You? 29.07.2026 41min

  Send us a message What happens if you step away from your business for a week? A month? Forever? In this episode, we dig into one of the biggest questions every DJ business owner eventually faces: Is your business built to run without you? Inspired by the ideas in Built to Sell, we discuss creating systems instead of dependencies, using pricing strategically, building a team you can trust, and what it really takes to create a business that can survive (and even thrive) without the owner being...
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  How Private Event DJs Stay Ready For Anything 22.07.2026 27min

  Send us a message You can do everything right and still get hit with the one problem nobody schedules for: getting sick right before a wedding. We talk through the real-world backup plans that protect your clients, your reputation, and your paycheck, whether you run a multi-op team or you’re a solo DJ who needs a reliable sub at the last minute. Along the way, we hit a quick pop culture minute on wedding trends we’re seeing more of, like interactive cake moments and late-night snacks with bo...
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  EDM Wedding Bangers That Never Miss 15.07.2026 35min

  Send us a message Looking for EDM tracks that actually work at weddings? We share the edits we keep coming back to - from hooks-and-drops and chorus-first versions to mashups that bridge EDM with hip hop and rock so mixed crowds stay on the dance floor. We also react to a viral video from a bride who says she regrets spending $2,000 on a wedding DJ and built an app to help couples DIY their music. It sparks a bigger conversation about what clients are really paying for, why playlists aren't t...
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  What Actually Works At Gigs 08.07.2026 37min

  Send us a message Every DJ has songs, transitions, and little tricks they keep coming back to because they simply work. In this episode, we're sharing what's consistently working for us right now at weddings, corporate events, and private parties: from current dance floor tracks to dinner music, walk-in playlists, and programming strategies that are getting real-world results. We kick things off, however, with a fun challenge that turns into a conversation about instincts, pattern recognition...
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  When The Client’s Daughter Hijacks The Decks 01.07.2026 39min

  Send us a message A packed dance floor can disappear in one song, and sometimes the person asking for that song is the one signing the check. We open with a wild high end wedding story where the playlist is a tightrope: a huge do not play list, a “keep it upbeat” mandate, and a room full of guests who do not share the bride and her daughter’s festival taste. When a Sophie Tucker request clears the floor, we break down what we do next, how we narrate it, and how we rebuild momentum without get...
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  Handling Bad Song Lists From Couples 24.06.2026 43min

  Send us a message A packed dance floor is not guaranteed just because a couple hands you a long playlist. We’re Brian B and Joe Bunn, and we’re starting the season by getting real about what happens when client expectations, modern music culture, and the actual room collide. First, we share a big update for private event DJs: the DJ Collective in Raleigh (Nov 16 through 18) and why we’re genuinely hype about keynote speaker Jess Ekstrom. She’s an author, founder, and high-level conference sp...
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  Working with Live Musicians 17.06.2026 31min

  Send us a message Somebody sends us a mystery package and it turns into a real conversation about community, merch, and how much value listeners can create around your brand when you actually let them in. From there we shout out Patreon supporters around the world, plug The DJ Collective in Raleigh, and talk about why being in the room with other working DJs still matters if you want sharper ideas and better execution on your next season of gigs. Then we get practical. If you’ve got TV...
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  Are Pay to Play Venues Worth It? 10.06.2026 40min

  Send us a message Paying a venue to get on their “preferred DJ” list sounds like a shortcut until you’re staring at the invoice wondering if it actually produced real work. We dig into a real pay to play example with clean numbers: a $2,500 annual buy in, seven leads so far, three bookings, and $7,200 in booked revenue. Then we get honest about how we judge DJ marketing ROI without getting lost in spreadsheets, when gross revenue is “good enough,” and when you absolutely have to subtract labo...
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  How Private Event DJs Stay Sharp 03.06.2026 28min

  Send us a message You can usually tell when a couple filled out your DJ planning form with AI, even if they never mention it. The answers look perfect, but they don’t sound like them and that can wreck the very thing people pay a premium for: personalization. We dig into how we’re seeing ChatGPT style responses show up in wedding DJ questionnaires, what it means for music discovery and prep, and how to sanity check details without awkwardly accusing a client. One of the simplest moves is re c...
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  Learn How to Say No 27.05.2026 32min

  Send us a message That tiny moment when a couple scans your QR code at a wedding show can decide whether you book the date or never hear from them again. We talk through what went wrong with sending people to a long website contact form, why friction destroys conversions, and how a simpler raffle style lead capture setup can help you collect names and phone numbers fast. If you have ever worked a bridal expo and watched leads slip away while someone fumbles with a form, this one will feel fam...
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  From Conference Stages to Wedding Madness 20.05.2026 48min

  Send us a message The part nobody tells you about being a working DJ is how often you’re building in the dark. Social media gives you instant dopamine, but long-form work like podcasting, education, and community takes time to show results. We open with some real talk about staying consistent, what actually feels fulfilling, and why the listeners who support on Patreon make a bigger difference than they probably realize. We also drop a few updates for DJ Collective in Raleigh, including the u...
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  Breaking Down Backup Plans 13.05.2026 48min

  Send us a message One dead play button can turn a wedding ceremony into a nightmare, and we both know that “it worked at soundcheck” is not a safety plan. We start with a few Beyond The DJ Booth updates, then get into DJ life the way it really is: imperfect, funny, stressful, and fixable if your systems are solid. We bring back a classic segment and test our brains with a drum-only game that proves how hard song recognition can be when you strip everything down to rhythm. From there we jump ...
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  How to Reduce Wedding Prep Time 06.05.2026 29min

  Send us a message Wedding planning shouldn’t take an hour of copy-pasting, second-guessing, and chasing missing details. We’re sharing two big updates for mobile DJs: a cleaner way to shop our gear and a new tool designed to give you your time back. First, we explain the business shakeup for Bunn Gear that moves all their 3D printed DJ parts to Parts4DJs.com, while keeping BunnGear.com focused on higher-end booth products. Then we get into the real pain point behind new product development: ...