For Immediate Release:

USA Today / Nerd Wallet
Kelsey Sheehy
7950 Jones Branch Dr.
McLean, Virginia, 22108

Dear Ms. Sheehy,

By way of introduction my name is Hugo Drax and I am the director of the American Disc Jockey Association. The ADJA supplies continued education as well as access to business needs such as insurance and consulting to its thousands of members. Our mission is to help our members supply better services to their clients which allows them to create a better living for themselves and their families.  

We also serve as a voice for our members and the DJ industry at large from time to time. I am writing you today to express how disappointed I am in the article that you wrote for nerd wallet that was published in USA Today. I realize that covering a topic about cutting expenses is going to always be subjective and not everyone will agree however I feel that you have done your readers a dis-service and a dis-service to the wedding and DJ industry.

Your article at one point even contradicts itself. Your number 2 suggestion of “Ditch the DJ is contradicted by the last paragraph where Catherine Clark says that most guests remember the food and the entertainment. If you felt that she is knowledgeable enough to publish her quote, I simply do not understand how you can publish a suggestion that a couple should consider the concept of “Ditch the DJ.”

An iPod or computer hard drive filled with music is truly no different than a musical instrument in the corner of a room. By itself, it is an inanimate object. The music doesn’t happen until someone with education, skill, and talent picks up that instrument and starts playing it. The same is true of a great DJ.

A great DJ will use their skill to create the correct mood for the cocktail and dinner hours for guests to greet each other and get more and more excited about the evening. A great DJ will also act as a wedding couple’s emcee introducing their bridal party, parents, and of course the wedding couple into the room during formal introductions. They will guide the evening introducing the honored guests who will offer a blessing, perhaps a welcome toast as well as the best man and or maid/matron of honor’s toasts. They will work together with the hosting venue, the photographer, and any other services hired by the wedding couple to ensure that the evening runs smoothly. They will incorporate any other wedding and ethnic traditions into the couple’s wedding day. They will also emcee the couple’s first dance, and highlighted parent dances. All of this is before any of the general dancing has even started in some cases.

A great DJ will not only read the room based on age, ethnicity, and other determining factors to pick the correct selection of music to fill the dance floor, but they will lead the room pushing the energy of the reception so that everyone in attendance has every opportunity to get up and dance the night away. They will mix the music in such a way that one song flows into another seamlessly. They create an energy in the room that allows everyone to be excited so that even the non-dancers enjoy the evening. This is done by an experienced professional DJ using their years of education and knowledge to create a once in a lifetime experience for a wedding couple who truly wants their guests to have an amazing time at their wedding reception.

While a wedding couple’s computer or iPod may indeed contain some music that may be suitable for dancing. It doesn’t contain the programming skill that keeps a dancefloor full at all times and creates mood that has everyone talking about how much fun they had.

I honestly believe that you owe your readers an apology for a poorly researched article. There are a ton of ways that a couple can cut their budget in a responsible way to show their invited guests a wonderful day while not needing to “Ditch the DJ” or other parts of their day that they will indeed regret after it is over.

Best Regards,

Dr. Drax
ADJA National President & Executive Director

American Disc Jockey Association
“We Help DJs Build & Grow Their Business”
20118 N. 67th Avenue
Suite 300-605
Glendale, AZ 85308
888-723-5776
866-310-4676 Fx

http://www.adja.org