PA hire viable?

[TonyMitchell]

I deliberately don't carry CDJs, turntables, or DJ mixers for this reason. It seems like every month there is a new model that becomes the only acceptable option on riders. I've no idea how people generate the return on investment when kit becomes unfashionable so quickly.

 

Over the past few years, there's an increasing trend for Guest DJs to bring their own controller, so as a technician when setting up the booth you only need to run a pair of XLR for FOH and a pair of TRS for their monitors.

You're right on the thing about riders demanding the very latest model, although as yet no-one has rejected our 6 year old CDJ2000 Nexus stock, because it's not the latest NXS2 version. As with live, so long as you agree substitutes in advance, there's no problem.

[Stuart91]

as yet no-one has rejected our 6 year old CDJ2000 Nexus stock, because it's not the latest NXS2 version. As with live, so long as you agree substitutes in advance, there's no problem.

 

We found that one particular group were unhappy with a year-old model and were adamant that they wanted the latest version. I remember looking at spreadsheets for both and was struggling to see any differences between the two, apart from "MkII" being added to the silkscreen.

 

Some customers will be more relaxed about this than others. The folks giving us bother weren't spending their own money, it was a well-funded council event that they were using as an opportunity to play with the latest toys.

 

The problem is that in a major city there will be other hire outlets available. I often find that customers have come to us for PA, and hired in CDJs and mixer from somewhere else. Those guys don't carry any speaker systems at all, so it works well. If I was trying to eat into their market, my options would be to invest in the latest and greatest, and hope that I can generate the ROI, or offer deep discounts on older kit so they have an incentive to get it from me. Getting everything from one source just means a saving in delivery charges, little else.

[kerry davies]

We found that one particular group were unhappy with a year-old model and were adamant that they wanted the latest version.

A few years back doing community events we used our own Numark CD Mix with iPod dock and that satisfied most youth club types until we did a new event at senior management request on a small estate alongside Welsh Harp. The DJ/MC combo demanded and were given a CDJ set up then about 9 of their posse turned up and lurked around the stage muttering. The DJ fiddled about, flew into a rage and started insulting me saying I had provided him with duff equipment. Before he went overboard and threw it all in the reservoir I leaned over, looked deep into his eyes and pressed the reverse play switch.

Trying to play track one backwards from the beginning gets you nowhere fast.

Edited March 9, 2020 by kerry davies

[dosxuk]

I've had a DJ mixer rejected by a "production manager" for a DJ for the grave fault of not having a genuine A&H Xone embossed fader cap on one of the channel faders. Had something silly like 24 CDJ's and 16 various mixers on that job, all working perfectly yet he still found something to have a strop about (and yes, he did have a strop).

[Stuart91]

My other favourite of late has been the newer Pioneer players that need linked to the mixer with RJ45 leads as well the usual phonos for audio. Of course the person providing hasn't included any leads, and of course it's utterly vital to the performance. More than once we've had to take shells off of our spare Ethercon leads to get it working.

[TonyMitchell]

@Kerry - Post #18 above, you've quoted me, however it was Stuart's

[MarkBarl]

Dry hire of PA equipment isn't very lucrative and ROI takes quite long. I do know some that have a reasonable business of renting decent PA speakers with Subs and essentially an iPod lead for people that want decent sound for their Party.

[Stuart91]

Dry hire of PA equipment isn't very lucrative and ROI takes quite long.

 

ROI of many items in our industry is equally poor, though. What sort of return do you get on lanterns, stage deck, etc.?

 

There aren't many easy cash cows around any more. Yes, there's money in corporate (current virus-related slump notwithstanding) but that comes with different expectations for the cosmetic condition of the kit and the level of service.

[kerry davies]

@Kerry - Post #18 above, you've quoted me, however it was Stuart's

I am old and, in my DJ's terms, computer illegitimate. Forgive me.

[handyman]

The downside is I do have to update items to keep my offering up to date,

 

I deliberately don't carry CDJs, turntables, or DJ mixers for this reason. It seems like every month there is a new model that becomes the only acceptable option on riders. I've no idea how people generate the return on investment when kit becomes unfashionable so quickly.

 

 

Yes, and they want the latest stuff, but they don't even need the features of the latest model and a 5-6 year old model will do the job they want it for.

[canoemoose]

Having previously been involved in the club/DJ scene (but from our side!) and having spoken to and negotiated with tour managers and DJs themselves, a lot of the reason to spec the latest kit is because it's an easy way to hopefully guarantee it'll be new-ish, and in good working order.

[Junior8]

I would steer well away. The going rate for a typical disco has not changed in the last 20+ years. There are still plenty of people, with thousands invested in kit and vehicle, prepared to go out on a Saturday night for £150. They might call it a business but in reality it's a hobby.

To put some context on pricing...many many years ago (25+) I used to run a disco. I have a friend who still does. He has a huge investment in good kit. And yet he struggles to get half of what I was getting when I packed it in.

 

Interesting - I had no idea what the current prices were. I've just calculated to get now what I was charging in 1971/2 I'd need to take over £350 a time. (I would not pay 10% of that for any of the last few wedding type discos I've had inflicted on me.) Everything said about the risks to equipment applied then and still apply now. Truth is though it was never really a business but it was, for a time, a better paying hobby enterprise than some - until you grew out of it.

Edited March 12, 2020 by Junior8

[Stuart91]

a lot of the reason to spec the latest kit is because it's an easy way to hopefully guarantee it'll be new-ish, and in good working order.

 

Same reason why a lot of bands specify bi-amped wedges on their riders, since it's just not available on cheaper, nastier models, and easy to verify.

 

It doesn't improve the ROI any unfortunately - you still need to make the money back before they fall out of favour.

[Irothwell]

I would agree with most of the contributors to this - Have you considered the meeting and conferences market. I assume with IT you are hiring PCs Screens , Projectors etc etc. There is opportunity to offer simple audio solutions, radio microphone and small Pa systems to your existing clients. With the availability of cost effective battery uplighting you could also offer lighting packages to suit .

 

Just an idea I would however wait until the Covid19 virus goes away first. Please get in touch for price ideas.

[handyman]

I would agree with most of the contributors to this - Have you considered the meeting and conferences market. I assume with IT you are hiring PCs Screens , Projectors etc etc. There is opportunity to offer simple audio solutions, radio microphone and small Pa systems to your existing clients. With the availability of cost effective battery uplighting you could also offer lighting packages to suit .

 

Just an idea I would however wait until the Covid19 virus goes away first. Please get in touch for price ideas.

 

Ahh yes. bloody covid 19. I am fortunate that I do not have any staff and my busness overheads are <£200 per month. All my equipment is bought, van is bought, no commercial rent, working out of a an outbuilding in my garden. Equipment in self storage. But I suspect the coronavirus will bring me £0 for the next 2 months at least, perhaps people will start to book after 2 months. But I suspect people will be a bit shy about going out into public events for a while after that.

I will be able to get by on savings for the next few months. So I'm OK. Some of the bigger competitors with bigger overheads, equipment on lease may struggle.

You're quite right about the corporate rentals, I should find other associated equipment to cater for their needs. Corproate rentals are so much easier to administer, they're all ltd companies with steller credit (you can credit check them very cheaply), deposits aren't even required because they pay up easily. OTOH with personal rentals you have to ID them, personal credit checks are expensive and not available for smaller businesses, people move around all the time in London so the address on their driving license/paperwork might not even be accurate.

 

Business rentals = people are just naturally more careful and look after the equipment. The employees that take equipment aren't going to neglect and abuse the items because at the end of the day, they have to explain to accounts and the line manager why the screen they took out ended up with a crack through it.

 

One of the reasons which drew me to it is that I have an SEO background, there's a website that is dominating google search in London

The are #1 for these keywords:london speaker hire,

pa hire,

speaker hire,

pa hire london,

pa system hire,

speaker rental,

pa system rental,

sound system rental,

sound hire london

The total monthly searches for all these keywords is 3250. The SEO is mainly directory listings, I could take the #1 spot from them spending less than £1000 in SEO, probably only need to spend £500 to scrape the top spot.

So it would be quite easy to take a big bite out of their business. I know personal rentals has it's headaches, but that's just a cost of running a business. I thought.

You guys have put a dampener to that idea.

Edited March 15, 2020 by handyman