Pro Mobile National DJ Conference 2013

Oxfordshire's Crown Plaza Conference Centre and Hotel, set in the 440 acres of Haytrhop park, was the fabulous setting for two days of  top flight leaning, professional development and networking  for eighty of the country's keenest professional DJs.  Arriving on the morning of Sunday 17th March through the country lanes in rapidly settling snow, it felt like a great place to be snowed in, a great venue with a full and exciting conference agenda.

In fact the first ProMobile National Conference is a milestone for the mobile DJ industry.  This builds on BPM, the annual DJ exhibition at Birmingham's NEC, where over three days 8000 visitors getting a mix of new kit and demos, plus some education sessions.   This Promobile national conference takes things to the next level.  An intense but engrossing programme of top notch education and networking.  In short Continuing Professional Development for us mobile DJs who love the business and seriously invest time, effort and money in learning to make ourselves better and better.

It was to be a great mix of inspiring keynote presentations in the conference theatre,  practical educational workshops, panel debates and discussions.    Add in some 1-2-1 mentoring advice,  loads of structured plus informal networking, dedicated demos and tutorials in the breakout rooms, which all makes for a very full, varied and engaging conference.

So day 1 kicked of with a heartfelt welcome from the conference lead Eddie Short the Editor of Promobile magazine. Lots of content and opportunity to come and the challenge being to make the most of it personally both during the conference and then actioning things afterwards.  So taking lots of notes.... plus of course the launch of the competition for the most business cards collected over the two days.

Then straight into the conference's keynote presentation Jim Cerone, "The Perfect Host", one of USA's leading Wedding DJ hosts and Master of Ceremonies, flown in especially. This was a great exploration of Jim's now famous top 10 DJ tips for  planning and delivering the best ceremonies and parties, delivered with real feeling and experience.  In short to live the role of host for our clients, letting them shine and own their event, but supporting the smooth planning and running with care and thoughtfulness to make the party really great.

Then came Alex MacLaren, an top actor, trainer and consultant on personal impact, creativity and communication, both in the UK (Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts- RADA)  and USA.  A great session learning some key principles, procedures and behaviours used by actors and statesmen alike to create really engaging impact. All up on the stage with some interaction and fun here of course....

Then one of the several panel discussions.  This one on the "State of the Industry".  Some really interesting topics here including a how new music has become much more short lived and disposable over the last decade, lacking the same degree of staying power compared to the 70's, 80's and 90's. That led to a debate about really knowing our own music collections.  The debate over whether minimalist kit is best, and linked to the fact that venues are increasingly installing their own PA kit.  Then the changing expectations and impact of communications and the facebook generation who over the next decade will become the customers for wedding events.

Next into the smaller group workshops with Jim and the Alex, to explore their ideas even deeper.   Great chance to discuss specific ideas and issues in practice and at a more personal level.   So Jim's next 10 points, this time for making mic use work really well, with a clear less is more emphasis and really thinking through the message and how it's delivered including speed, tone, enunciation, emphasis, and length. Some role play with Alex of course to practice some of those principles and procedures from earlier in the day.  Being five hours in on day one, so still meeting some people for the first time, that being made lots of fun by meeting them in role play of course....

Take a breath, a quick shower and change for the Pro Mobile Gala Dinner, very smart networking and entertainment in the grand and glamorous ballroom.  So a grand start, the presentation of the first ever Promobile Lifetime Achievement Award.  The hugely worthy recipient was Derek Pengelly, reflecting the 30 years experience as a DJ, presenter and DJ trainer.   That nicely coincided with the launch of Derek's latest book here at the conference...Wedding Marketing for DJs - Ten Top Tips.  I'm pleased to now be an owner of signed first edition of course, and all very pleasing having been on one of Derek's courses last year.


A super three courses and then some entertainment.  Entertaining a room of entertainers, mostly male, is a tall order of course.   The secret seemed to be some proper audience engagement.....so an engaging vocal act with some "backing dancers" recruited from the floor, followed by an illusionist working through the audience with a range of clever mind bending surprises.   Then off to the bar for some final socialising....

Monday morning kicks of with a networking breakfast at 7:30.  So filling our boots in both respects. Musical tables really, discussing some specific topics and then moving tables to discuss others points of view and other points.  Great to engage with a some kindred spirits equally a passionate about the power of lighting programming in enhancing the overall experience....follow up conversations to come, and we might have even established a bit of a enthusiasts network.


A second panel debate discussing approaches to success. Really pleasing to see some well articulated differences of approach, providing real food for thought.  That clearly showed that there can be more than one right way of doing things with mutual respect for those difference...whether or not to insist on seeing clients pre event, how to approach wedding fayres,  and lots of consensus on backup plans and kit.

Derek, my copy and I

Next  some more time to talk with specialists and suppliers in the breakout rooms.  Then it another insightful keynote.  Having received the lifetime achievement award the previous evening, Derek Pengelly then takes centre stage in the theatre for the launch of the new book and the talk through those ten top marketing tips for wedding DJs, with a focus on real engagement.  Lots here, and clear why a book's needed too, and a real testament to the hours spent distilling that 30 years of what works.

After another breakout room break, it's back to the theatre for Mark Walsh's presentation on Stage Work and Performance Art.  The most memorable quote of the conference is very likely to be Jim's Cerone's  reference to Mark..."light the fuse and stand back", and sure enough  Mark was true to that - thoughtful and challenging pointers around positioning, awareness, confidence, reaction, voice and pace.

Networking lunch next in the plush Brassey restaurant with views over the parkland, the accompany the shared discussion and views on common topics with colleagues included comparing the whys and wherefores of our different set ups.   The off to the rapid fire 1-2-1 clinics for us all to personally chat with an industry expert and get the really personal help, prompt and support, with lots of very personal progress emerging.

Back to the theatre for the final big presentation  this time from Dave Reed of RSD music on Business Planning.   A great reminder of the rigour in understanding what success means personally and converting that into the rigour of business planning - especially the financial aspects- and then driving that forward with real action.  That included following up our 1-2-1 personal commitments to ourselves and each other over the next week.

With that sense of all good things must come to an end, back to Eddie Short's great wrap up, with thanks to all those who made it possible.  The ProMobile and BPM team who brought the idea to life, all the great speakers with their insights and challenges, the sponsors and select exhibitors and also all the other DJ delegates who put in the effort to learn and share with colleagues in such positive way.

Happy days - great shared learning, development and networking

So that's great input, sharing, thinking, ideas and reflection, but of course only half the opportunity.  The real challenge being to turn that learning into practical things that make a real difference to the experience that we create at our DJ events.  So for me that's 14 pages of notes to distil and then reflect on from which specific actions emerge. Exiting stuff, that virtuous circle of learning and improving getting better and better, and enjoying more and more.  Roll on the next one.

Dynamic Range Day

Well there's a day for everything.  World book day on 7th March.  That's a big thing.  And 22nd March 2013 is of course Dynamic Range Day.  It's also; organise your home office day; as young as you feel day; education and sharing day; international day of the seal; world day for water.

So Dynamic Range Day is not quite as big as World Book Day, but still of some cultural significance.

Dynamic Range Day is all to do with the "loudness wars" in the music industry.  Basically over time music recordings have become louder and louder.  Listen to an album from the 80's and one now, and the default volume is higher.  That can be really noticeable playing music live at discos using some of those original classic recordings with newer recordings.  This issues become sufficiently well recognised that some of the DJ software now tries to control that difference out.

That all sounds simple enough, and you would think it can be controlled by the user at playback.  However there's something a bit more complex happening which cannot be undone at playback.  In short by inflating the volume at recording time, the quiet bits end up being  made louder, and proportionally more so than the naturally loud bits  That reduces the variation in the sound, loosing some of the crispness and making it a bit more muffed, and basically less interesting.

There's some great video explanation on youtube at the dynamic range day web site... illustrated with Michael Jackson's Thriller.

Here's the essence of it.

1.  The original recording.   

Note the quiet intro and then the spikes which indicate the louder drum beats.

The central band will be accentuated to increase the loudness.







2.  Increase the loundess.


The overall loudness is increased.   The difference between the low and high volumes is now less.







 3.  The overall effect.

When played again at the same volume as 1 above, then it's those spikes - red here - which are now missing from the recording.









Research also seems to indicate that listening becomes more fatiguing, basically harder to listen to.  So the Dynamic Range Day is a campaign to encourage those recording music to build in a minimum variation or range into the music, technically at least 8 decibels.  Here here. Or should that be hear hear.


Sources and thanks:  dyanmicrangeday.co.uk; wikipedia:loundness war

Red Nose Charity Chart

So it's been Red Nose Day 2013 [15.3.13],  the big national fundraiser from Comic Relief,and having been going now for 25 years.

On Red Nose Day ...."everyone, including celebrities, is encouraged to cast inhibitions aside, put on a Red Nose and do something funny for money.   It culminates in a night of cutting-edge comedy and moving documentary films on BBC One. Red Nose Day unites the entire nation in trying to make a difference to the lives of countless people across Africa and the UK who are facing terrible injustice or living in desperate poverty".  In short that's "having fun changing lives"  (Rednoseday.com).

In 2011 a whopping £74,300,000 was raised.   This had already been surpassed in 2013 by the end of the night, reaching over £75m.   Part of the traditional fundraising is a music track recorded by a popular artist of the moment.  This time it's One Direction, with their medley cover version of...Blondie's One Way Or Another and the Undertones' Teenage Kicks.   The Government is contributing the VAT equivalent of the proceeds from the single.

To celebrate that 25 years and those comic relief singles over the years,  the Official Charts Company has compiled the list of the biggest selling Comic Relief singles.


There's been 21 singles, totalling 8 million sales, and including 13 number one's.  The first was released in 1986, Cliff Richard with the Young ones, reprising Cliff's Living Doll.  The overall best seller is Peter Kay's technically 'unofficial' single (MycFly was the official release), selling 1.25 million singles.   That puts it in the big players league of less than 130 singles that have sold over a million singles in the life of the official chart.

	TRACK		ARTIST	YEAR	PEAK POSITION
1	IS THIS THE WAY TO AMARILLO?		TONY CHRISTIE & PETER KAY	2005	1
2	UPTOWN GIRL		WESTLIFE	2001	1
3	LIVING DOLL		CLIFF RICHARD AND THE YOUNG ONES	1986	1
4	MAMA / WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE		SPICE GIRLS	1997	1
5	WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE TOUGH GET GOING		BOYZONE	1999	1
6	SPIRIT IN THE SKY		GARETH GATES AND THE KUMARS	2003	1
7	ALL ABOUT YOU/YOU'VE GOT A FRIEND		MCFLY	2005	1
8	I'M GONNA BE (500 MILES)		THE PROCLAIMERS FT BRIAN POTTER AND ANDY PIPKIN	2007	1
9	JUST CAN'T GET ENOUGH		THE SATURDAYS	2009	2
10	HELP!		BANANARAMA AND LA NA NEE NEE NOO NOO	1989	3
11	GOLD FOREVER		THE WANTED	2011	3
12	ONE WAY OR ANOTHER (TEENAGE KICKS)		ONE DIRECTION	2013	1
13	THE STONK		HALE AND PACE	1991	1
14	LOVE CAN BUILD A BRIDGE		CHER, CHRISSIE HYNDE, NENEH CHERRY AND ERIC CLAPTON	1995	1
15	ROCKIN' AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE		MEL SMITH AND KIM WILDE	1987	3
16	BARRY ISLANDS IN THE STREAM		VANESSA JENKINS & BRYN WEST FT TOM JONES	2009	1
17	WALK THIS WAY		SUGABABES VS. GIRLS ALOUD	2007	1
18	STICK IT OUT		RIGHT SAID FRED	1993	4
19	ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS		PET SHOP BOYS AND ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS	1994	6
20	(I WANT TO BE) ELECTED		MR BEAN AND SMEAR CAMPAIGN	1992	9
21	I KNOW HIM SO WELL		SUSAN BOYLE AND GERALDINE MCQUEEN	2011	11

Sources and thanks: Official Charts Company

Official Divine Chart

This week sees the launch of another chart category - the Official Christian and Gospel Albums Chart [11.Mar.13].  That's to add to the more recent additions such as the classical and streaming charts.

So that's "official" - rather than divine - because it comes from the Official Charts Company, which has been providing the UK charts for 60 years now.   It's also launched in conjunction with Compassion is an international Christian child development charity,  focusing on spiritual, economic, social and physical development of children living in extreme poverty in 26 countries.

No.1 Album - Zion by Hillsong United

The scale of Christian and Gospel music is significant. In the UK in 2012, 600 new Christian and gospel albums were released.  In the US sales outstrip the combined sales of classical, blues and jazz - 7% of all recorded music sales, with 26 million albums sold in 2012.  That's reflecting a more musically contemporary world of worship.

So the first top spot goes to the Australian group's Hillsong United, having already made it in the Australian and Us charts.

Here's that first top 10:

1	ZION	HILLSONG UNITED
2	WITHOUT WORDS	BETHEL MUSIC
3	10000 REASONS	MATT REDMAN
4	TOP 100 PRAISE & WORSHIP SONGS 2012	MARANATHA MUSIC
5	BURNING LIGHTS	CHRIS TOMLIN
6	FOR THE SAKE OF THE WORLD	BETHEL LIVE
7	CAMPFIRE	REND COLLECTIVE EXPERIMENT
8	CORNERSTONE	HILLSONG LIVE
9	SING LIKE NEVER BEFORE - THE ESSENTIAL	MATT REDMAN
10	LIVE FROM NEW YORK	MARTIN SMITH/JESUS CULTURE

Source and thanks: Official Charts Company