DJ Alex Gutierrez/SFDJA/ Yacht Rock Miami / Rewind 1039/Miami Beat 305
When the Pandemic hit and everything shut down, alot of us were left wondering how this would affect our business , since ” Our Business” is all about the one thing they told everyone to stay away from…..CROWDS . DJs all over South Florida at first tried going ” Live” on Facebook many asking for donations , when Facebook kept taking down Livestreams for Copyright issues, most had no choice but to find ” Real” jobs. It was hard for many of my friends. Drive by Birthday parties became popular but the DJ was taken out of the equation. Clubs and Bars began to close permanantly. By January, February of 2021 some establishments began calling DJs offering 30-40% less than pre-pandemic fees. Some turned down these offers but most took whatever came their way often for markedly reduced fees.
Attendance at these establishments were weak, most people still feared exposure. Gallons of Hand Sanitizer on the bars and tables did not convince many. Slowly as vaccines rolled out and cabin fever was at a peak weddings and events began to resume. Parties began to look like parties again , except of course everyone was wearing a mask and there were little hand sanatizers with the couple’s name next to buuter and rolls on the tables. But why did it feel weird? Something had changed. People had changed. The way we played began to change , our delievery had to be modified. I called it ” Musical Distancing” the customers at the clubs I performed at were more concerned with ” CONTENT” than they were with my DJ abilities on the decks , back to back mixes tired them out quickly. Microphone interaction were now more important than ever. The key to keeping crowds engaged was becoming part of the entertainment. It worked for me. So I started thinking, how many of my fellow DJ friends have noticed this change and how have they adapted since Covid kicked our businesses ass.