DJX 2024 DJ Show Preview – E134

Welcome everybody to the Wedding Songs Podcast. I am Matt Campbell. Today, we’re going to be talking about the DJX DJ show based in Atlantic City. And to help me along with it is Shawn Hazan Jim Tremayne. They’re in the New York area, but guess what? The show is in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Welcome to the show guys. How are you? Thanks for being on the show.

History of DJX and DJ Expo

Just to get things started, just as an icebreaker question, for the beginning DJs, can you just share some of the history and the highlights of past shows?

Sure. The very 1st show happened in 1990 in Atlantic City at Merv Griffin Resorts. it was run by DJ Times, which, I was the editor of and, every show since then I’ve been a part of most of them have been in Atlantic City. we’ve done some shows on the West Coast, Chicago, Orlando. I believe this is our 34th show in Atlantic City.

And I think we’ve done 38 overall. We were the very first DJ-specific show, that essentially brought in a club, and mobile studio, all under one umbrella. So we’re not, mobile-specific. We’re not club-specific. We’re not studio-specific. We have always tried to bring in, the entire breadth of the DJ market and community all the different kinds of music, all the different kinds of approaches, and all the different kinds of gear. and, when we made the transition from DJ Times to DJ Life in 2021, we maintained the show. We’ve tweaked it a little bit. Shawn has a unique background in trade shows from his days in the fashion world, and he’s applied those to the DJ market.

And we think the show has been growing and evolving in a really positive way. And I have to say, yes, it’s definitely the go-to DJ show. For the length of time that it’s been around.

Change of Ownership

What’s interesting too, is there’s been a little bit of change in management and ownership. Can you just talk a little bit about that too? short version of the story is that DJ Times magazine ran from 1988 until 2021. The show, as I mentioned before, was born in 1990 and we did at least one show every year until 2021, except for, the COVID year. unfortunately,

Our publisher passed away in 2021 and we rebranded and rebooted, under the umbrella of, Hazan Media Group. And so DJ Life Magazine has been published since 2021 and the trade show has been, sold and, Produced really by Hazan Media Group. so yeah, we put out magazines. We have online content.

We do, shows and, this is something that is, a highlight of the summer. We like to think, you know, it’s before the kids go back to school. It’s sort of like the final thrust of the year for us. we’ve met, Thousands of DJs, and hopefully we’ve made their lives and careers, more enriched from the show that’s essentially, what we want to do.

We want DJs to learn. We want DJs to commiserate network, create community, And also learn to make more money and learn to thrive in this business. And that’s really what, DJX is all about. Can I add to that? my partner, as well as the team, has been here for. A lifetime really since those beginnings and me being the new kid on the block, as Jim had mentioned I do have almost 30 years of experience in events specific to fashion lifestyle music food art And so looking at this event and the legacy that was kind of left behind in the incredibly talented team that we have Hopefully my experience can add a flair of taking the show to where we preserve the direction, or preserve the legacy that it is, but evolve the direction and expand the direction of the show.

Preserve and Evolve

And Matt, you and I have talked, I think, a bit about that along the way as well. and so each year we try to introduce newness and some factors to the show. I’m sure we’ll talk about some of that a little bit later in the podcast. So we’ll go from there. But what’s interesting is The parallels to my previous experiences are, you know, and one thing I say often is that the world I came from was 5,500 years old and the world that we’re in is 50 years old for the most part.

When you look at it from that angle, my hope is that we can bring some of the opportunities or shortcuts or obstacles that we can, Get around or avoid altogether as an industry. Robin, my partner, and I, as well as a team really believe in our responsibility. The DJ community helps find solutions to challenges that exist.

We spend a lot of time talking to the market and to add to what Jim had said Beyond, content online and magazines, newsletters, and emails, we try to provide content information and distribute that in any way somebody is going to read it. So that could be on your, Apple News. It could be on your Google News.

It could be eventually a TV show we’re working towards or podcasts of our own as we talked about. So, there’s aside from the traditional round of media and how people are reading, or visualizing what we do. and it’s very collaborative. With the market as you know, and so our goal is to continue to enhance and understand what the needs are and bring this market forward every day. It is a challenge. The media is constantly changing. That’s as we all know. That’s for sure.

Meet Shawn Hazan and Jim Tremayne

So if you would, before we go any further, just briefly introduce yourselves to everybody. Jim Tremayne, editor of DJ Life Magazine, co-organizer of DJX. trade show. I live in New York City and I’ve been basically working, for the show and a version of this magazine since 1990 grew up in Georgia University of Georgia.

Journalism school grad and, an Atlanta Braves fan. I’m going to start with a New York Yankees fan. on that front, Shawn Hazan. I am a partner in Hazan Media Group, with Robin, as my partner. Like I said, been with the company for a while, as well as the team. I’ve been 30 odd years in event media production, and event production in lifestyle space.

New York-based, always lived here, went to school here. And, I’m pretty enamored by the passion that exists in this industry. And thank God we have people like Jim and our team that teach me every day, more and more about this industry, which I’m enthralled by. So it’s a passion I’ve always had in the event world and to match, to see what goes on in the DJ world is beyond exciting. I love your guys’ passion too, because. Just managing the show. I think you have to have that passion.

Exhibitor Floor

Speaking of the show, let’s Get into the show details a little bit more. So including the big names, who are some of the show floor exhibitors that people can expect this year? Before we go there, one of the things that we try to do on the side of representing the show to our audience is really making a point of representing a good percentage, 15 to 20 percent of the show as new to the show experience. And so we’ve got a bunch of new brands. on the floor, as I look, the big names are, of course, there you’ll have the pioneers and the mixed wares and the Hercules, the AM and S groups, of course.

But this year we’ll have a, a little bit more of a shopping experience. So we’ll have some style. there’s a group called DJ Style that’s out there that we’re working with. In the photo booth world, we’ve seen some experiences and increases there in the lighting world. We see much more prevalence like we do in the PA and audio space, to name specifically, I could go through a list.

We have about 95 brands so far. They’re on the floor. We are, slightly larger than we were last year, which is nice. The floor plan is laid out a bit differently than last year. We have a company called My Wedding Songs that’s on the floor. so we’re excited to have them there. and we’re working with some new and old guys who haven’t been there in a while.

And guys that are new to the show on top of what you would traditionally see. What’s also interesting, I think more than the brands is the approach. We have a cash-and-carry instant gratification shopping experience on the show floor, which a lot of people are excited about. They are represented by 10, I think, or so retailers in the industry, they’re well known.

But we also have the experiential aspects of the show, which is evolving for us certainly since we’ve gotten involved in that’s part of our strategy and the vision is to make it about more relationships and you use the word community earlier, Jim. that’s another way of it. Evolving the community experience and there are other ways to show that we’ve, we’ve done that, which we’ll talk about.

But so you’ll see a mix of not only the shopping and demoing and playing around and putting a corrugated box over your shoulder and going to your car and taking it home with you. But it’s also the opportunity to learn more about these brands and meet the teams that are there behind the brands and talk to them.

Get some tutorial out of it and so forth. So it’s a dual experience and that’s a unique aspect of our show. Yeah. And we have more demo rooms and sponsored seminars than we’ve ever had. And, some of them are, the tried and true, the QSCs of the world, our, RCF, Bass boss, et cetera. So we’re very excited about that. Where attendees can go and actually experience the sound in a room that’s far away from the exhibit floor.

Edit Studio

Let’s talk a little bit more about the exhibitor floor because one of the things that you guys have been promoting new this year is what’s called the Edit Studio. Can you describe what this is? The idea behind it is that the market has evolved so much, we’ve always seen DJs making music. But we’re now seeing, certainly since COVID, we’re seeing a lot more DJs. Doing podcasts, YouTube channels, doing a variety of influencer, specific platforms.

And so where are they doing that? They’re doing it in their home studio. They’re making music from their home studio. They’re, doing their videos or doing their podcasts. and this is an area where they can check out all the latest gear for those applications. So what it does also is for us, we see a convergence and a trend in the marketplace, where, because of the portability and the technology that is out there, you can pretty much create your own label.

And, a whole album, seriously, on a flight from Vegas to New York. so with that being said, we see more congruence between those two market sectors, where they’ve been more separated as categories in the industry. There’s obviously a little bit of intertwining, but our goal is to create a hub.

It provides a lot of opportunity. Our hope is to get the producer and the music production people together. With the DJs that are, aspirationally looking to go in that direction, but, at the mobile level, it’s learning some skill sets and mixing and understanding what’s going on there to bring to their game.

It helps them at a branding level. So it’s really applicable across the board. It’s not just at a certain level or a profile of a particular DJ. what I think it also does is create opportunities to enhance the community that we have, as opposed to two circles, they’re kind of overlapping and we’re seeing that grow. And we see that in attendance numbers as well.

We also think it’s a benefit to the brands that participate on the floor. Many of them have these areas or categories within what they represent to the marketplace. And this gives them an opportunity to, you know, whether it’s budgetarily aligned in one location and, coalesce around that, but we anticipate the edit studio, which is a small neighborhood today. It’s a curated turnkey solution. That’s very clean.

It’s a concept that we think as a neighborhood will grow. and an offshoot of that, if you will, is we have an influencer space outside the floor, which allows folks like yourself that have podcasts where reverse engineering the online experience and bring the streamer, if you will, live to the registration side of the show and allow them to speak live from the show and communicate with their audience versus commenting on the chat column, raising their hand or saying something in front of you. So again, that speaks to community and building an opportunity, which is what is our underpinning in terms of our values and our vision statement is really about looking to provide opportunities for all aspects of the market.

Well, and I think that as you said, Jim too, you have the DJs that are on Twitch, but then you also have not only club DJs but also wedding DJs that are putting their mixes out on Mixcloud on SoundCloud. They’re doing the podcasting, they’re creating the videos. There’s so much media that’s being produced and to have this, I think it’s just advantageous for every kind of DJ.

Right. We also want to bring in these Brands and companies that make products for the content creator for the professional studio for the amateur home studio, whatever you want, we want to be a one-stop shop for them. We also still want to, convince the pro audio market that, you have to pay attention to the DJs.

They’re very powerful. and as you said the content creators, they’re on a variety of platforms. There’s a variety of topics out there and it’s, it’s almost overwhelming. I mean, you can really go down the rabbit hole pretty far. just clicked around YouTube and it’s amazing. Any, almost anybody, who’s interesting or comes up with interesting topics or interesting guests, can hold people’s attention for a while.

And, all the products that you need to do that will be a DJX. Some of those have traditionally not come to DJX because of the thought that it was only that cash-and-carry experience. So here you are with 50 percent of that at a studio that will be on the floor that is focused on, the software and the technology around creative music.

Whether that’s a mixed-in key or record box and DJ studio or so forth. So you have that, component where you’ll have an opportunity to work with them and see what they do and what can be done on-site. And that adds a new factor, a newness to the show and a new dynamic, as opposed to just what you may traditionally see, we believe as a show, we’ve always got to evolve that experience.

Yeah, that was the thing during COVID that really kind of blew me away that, you know, obviously there were no gigs, but you had all of these DJs. Really putting the brand in your face, nonetheless, and, with time on your hands. I’ve discovered some people and, I obviously, found some shows from DJs that I’ve always loved.

They were, creating the music for COVID for me. and yeah, some of that has ebbed and flowed, in terms of popularity and numbers. But, some people really found their footing, during that period, and they’ve ascended, within the DJ realm, and it’s, it’s really exciting to see because everybody has access to the same products now. And I think having that there, knowing what’s available, I think is invaluable for those people that are trying to do that. Many DJs attend the education to grow their business.

The Education

Can you just share any details of the education seminars or presentations of what to expect this year? There’s a lot. the shorter version of the story is that there’s going to be about 35 seminars and you’ll be doing 1, on diversity. And we’re excited to have you. But, for starters, we have, more sponsored seminars than we’ve ever had, from the big brands like Pioneer DJ, Alpha Theta, Mixware, we have, The Knot, Wedding Pros doing something.

We also are very excited to have, two studio-specific seminars. And DJ mixing specific companies, we’re going to have a sponsored seminar for mixing keys. That’s going to be presented by DJ Hapa who’s always a tremendous presenter. We also have a new company from Holland called DJ Studio. That’ll be showing, you how to do, exciting mashups, et cetera.

We have some CRM, companies, carnival cruise line will be there. I’m sure I’m forgetting some people here Mixware with their variety of products. So that’s happening. for the mobile, there’s a lot. and, we have tips and advice on SEO. selling tips, AI. A lot of performance tips, and mobile mixing.

Then we’re gonna have some very specific things. We have one called the gig MacGyver, about avoiding disaster. That one’s sort of a loaded topic just in its name. Mike Walter is going to be doing a couple, for one is a performance, emcee oriented, seminar, but for another one, he’s going to bring in his attorney and they’re going to talk about contracts, which is very important as most mobile DJs have had a conflict or two over the years, they will show you how to put the correct things in your contract and avoid issues that might come up later. Every year we do a shopping for DJ equipment, which dives into the trends of the market. And we will have some top retailers discussing really what’s gone on in the last 12 months.

Where the industry is evolving, where we expect it to go, and which companies and brands are really stepping to the plate. we’re going to have, some mixing sessions, as I mentioned, a couple of production sessions, sorry, a little history on the market. Oh, yeah. Darren B-Side Young is going to have his, seminar, which is, really goes over, the history of the market and the gear that he does it all in the space of 45 minutes.

It’s actually a sprint to the finish, but it’s, it’s really, really good. And Darren is, another terrific presenter that we’re, we’re happy to have. Yeah, I’m, I’m leaving out a lot of them. I’m sure here. that’s a loaded question. And there are a couple more, we have a keynote from the Disco Fries who are a DJ team, and remixer producer.

They went to Berkeley College and music, but, you know, they’re not in bands. They’re doing electronic music and they’re also terrific presenters. They’re great people to ask questions of, they have some entrepreneurial, things that they’re doing that are appropriate to the market.

And they’ll talk about, we’re going to have a session with sports DJs. Where we’re going to, have the DJs for the New York Mets, New York Islanders, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, Pittsburgh, Panthers, and, Pittsburgh Pirates, and we’re going to talk about, how they got into that, what they’re, What their flow is, what their job is.

It’s a very different kind of DJing, but because you’re DJing for stadiums, both, 30, 40, and 50,000 people. It’s a very different gig, but we think it’s interesting. And, I got to Met games here in Queens, and, I’ve gotten a DJ razor for a while, and I’ve seen his operation up close. And I thought, you know what?

We should do a seminar on this. And I think it’ll be interesting. It’s not just for the sports fan, but it’s for the DJ who might. Right. I’m interested in pursuing something like this. and I think it’s unique. That’s cool. I would assume digital Dave is part of that as well. Even though I’m not in that industry, it’s fascinating to me.

Well, both of those guys still do lots of gigs beyond that. Razor came up as a remixer producer in the New York house music scene in the nineties and had number-one hits on the dance chart. and he has transitioned into this world. He also does high-end mobiles, out on Long Island and Dave is all over the place and he’s, I don’t know when he sleeps. So, yeah, we think it’ll be good. And, that’ll probably be on Wednesday, the 7th of August. Very cool.

Show Surprises

Besides the Edit Studio, do you have any other surprises not experienced in previous years? We do have, something that I’ll let Shawn talk about, this year we’re doing something called the sunset sessions, which I’m really excited about it because it gives more to the attendees and it also gives more to the exhibitor.

Shawn, do you want to take that? Yeah, so sunset sessions are just a precursor to after-dark and post-show experiences. It fills the gap of time. We’re excited that we have two of our three nights covered. We’ve announced one with QSC, which is, having an event, hors d’oeuvres, or in this case, I think it’s hot dogs and chips, and drinks.

They’ll have a bar there. On the second night announcing another one shortly, which is another large brand on our floor. what it is, is it gives us a chance again, goes back to the component of communicating within the community or getting to know people and, the real side of the business.

You’ll see, that’s a trend in everything we do and talk about. and we believe in walking the walk as well around that, not just talking about it. So it’s a chance for people to gather and get together, prior to a party. It’s a. more muted sound. It’s not going to blow you away. You don’t have to scream over a club and electric lights everywhere and lasers on you.

As exciting as that is, it’s not to take away from those events. But so we’re excited that in the launch of it, we have our nights filled already. It was very much in demand. It gives that chance more to Jim’s point for brands to communicate with the DJ community directly and Get to know them. so we’re excited about that.

And that goes both ways to that. And we have a location on the floor that we’re launching for the first time called the DJX annex, which is a meetup location. we’ll have on the show floor from a distance from the stage, the opportunity to sit down, relax, talk to fellow DJs. It’ll just be sitting at tables and a chance to kind of recharge.

Throughout the floor, we will have, in collaboration with our brands again, going more experientially, we will have, service from coffee caffeination bars. That’ll be there. regular alcohol bars that you see on the floor. Traditionally, we’ll have ice cream, a sweet spot that Chavet is bringing to the table for us, which is nice.

So it’ll give a chance for us to, as for the DJs to give the attendees to come together and, Different aspects of the floor. It’s a much more well-balanced floor from a wedding lounge to, a shopping experience. We have an announcement tomorrow and a very significant Instagrammable moment if you will, but something very cool and dynamic and powerful.

That is representative of the DJ industry. So we’ll stay tuned for that. We have a DIY experience. I think I mentioned earlier. So there’s a little bit more engagement opportunity and it’s not just about shopping for product. A DJ will need it, it’s also about shopping for products that are on the periphery of the lifestyle culture of the DJ.

Traditionally we have our ultimate and daily giveaways. They look very strong this year. We’re excited about that. and the layout of the floor is more breathable. One of the reasons we looked at this location four years ago is because we can play with the space and make it more, experiential. So you’ll see that layout. It’ll be a good-looking show. We’re excited to see where it’s going.

Why Would A Wedding DJ Attend?

So let me just ask you then just because we’re the wedding songs podcast and there’s a lot of wedding DJs that listen to us, what advice, or what would you tell a wedding DJ that has never been to the show, why should they come to the show? aside from the fact that. We’re the DJ show that has the most gear specific to what they do. pretty much outside of the show, which is not a consumer show. that’s a big part. the networking is huge because you can talk to, all the other DJs who do what you do from other markets. I find that, you know, a guy from Seattle, talking to a guy from South Jersey, They’re not really afraid of each other. They’re not competing. They share ideas. some seminars are related, not just to weddings, but, selling overall, how to market yourself, crucially online, which, Every DJ over a certain age has had that moment where they’re like, how come this guy’s getting the gigs and I’m not?

It’s like, well, they know how to do SEO. They know how to do all these newfangled things that you have to learn right now. And we have a track with those seminars for you. Also, it’s a whole lot of fun. they’re DJs for a reason. They, like to be party masters. They like to have a good time.

They’re type A personalities. and, it’s, it’s a really interesting group of folks and, we like to think that there’s no other experience like it in the DJ market. And, as a guy that got into this relatively new, just to add to that, I think the most compelling part of our show, yeah, we have the largest show floor on the market and we have the largest gathering of DJs that come this year and plenty of them take vacation time to do that beyond consumer where both, you know, B2B and B2C.

Then you have the parties and that’s all great. But I think one of the most compelling things I’ve heard in learning about the business, driving around and talking to DJs, and understanding what their needs are, whether they’re mobile or otherwise, is this sense of a relationship that they create, the inspiration they get from other DJs, the community component of just that passion that exists.

And, what’s very fascinating about this industry Is with the combination of the passion, and the passion that you have as a DJ, along with there are geographic lines that remove walls of competition, that exchange of information is like something you don’t see in any other industry. How many times have I heard stories of people saying, I was going to give up on DJing? And then I bumped into, Matt Campbell and, or, Jim Trey or this guy, and it reinvigorated me. And, and, you know, there was an inspiration that pushed me to continue. And now my business is stronger than it’s been. And I think that is really some of the most compelling components about what we bring.

We bring all of what you see and what we talk about to the table, but we also. You know, maybe I don’t think it gets overlooked, but I think it’s understated is the importance of the relationship that exists and the opportunity that is created from that. Yeah. And something that you can do person to person, not online, I say it all the time, you gotta be in it to win it.

You gotta be there, and make the interpersonal relationships happen. That’s how you learn things. And a lot of times. You come across people or experiences or ideas just merely by showing up and, and checking out, what the rest of the market is doing and having an open mind. yeah, we have 35 seminars for some of the grizzle veterans.

Not all of them are going to be for you. we have. Greg Curran from Philly doing his DJ 101. That’s not for you if you’re a 20-year wedding DJ, but we want to grow the market. We want people to come in and learn how to get started. And so they can come the second year and the third year and move on.

So we’d like to think we have something for everybody and, that’s what we’re trying to do. So back that stat up before we go on to whatever you want to say next is 22 or something percent of our show are veterans that have been to the show for over 20 years Another 23, 24 percent are people that come to our show for the first time.

If that itself doesn’t speak to the opportunity that’s being, you know, Jim just mentioned is I think so compelling because it’s, and everybody else has been there from what, five to 12 years or whatever the number is. It shows all gradients of skill sets and whether you’re a beginner who can learn from Mike Walter was mentioned before as a pro, as well as many others, or There are different categories where it’s a club at a mobile.

There’s an opportunity to learn and educate each other that way. So it goes horizontally, horizontally, and vertically as well. And I think that’s a really intriguing aspect of our attendance. And since we’ve been involved, year after year, those three, four years that we’ve done this, we’re seeing those numbers go up. Diversify, but the number that stays the same is that 20 percent on top, if you will, and 20 percent on the bottom.

Talking Directly With Manufacturers

Additionally, get to speak directly to the manufacturer if you want to. And the manufacturer, believe me, they love talking to you because they basically use DJ Expo every year as their own personal focus group.

They ask questions. They want to know you. Well, why should I put an extra input here? , they have very specific questions about your needs. And if you say, you know, I love this product, but it didn’t do this, or it didn’t have this, believe me, they’re not blowing you off. They, want to know about it.

And if they can make a product better, they’ll do it. and you have the opportunity to access them at DJX. Just to get back to the seminars and the seasoned DJs, I think that even for me as a seasoned DJ, I want to go into those basic talks as well, because technology changes.

And sometimes we forget that, Oh, I’m doing, I’ve been doing this way for 20 years. This is a different way of thinking it, maybe I should try it out this way instead. So I think even though that it could be geared towards the newer DJs that. Even seasoned DJs, have to put their ego aside and say, Hey, maybe there is a better way of doing things.

Yeah, and some of it is also basic inspiration. We want to inspire people to go out there and be refreshed. If you’re willing to make that or want to make that next move, if you want to level up, there are ways you can learn how to do that at our show. If you want to stay where you are, that’s cool.

The inspirations, I’m the same way when I go to trade shows, right? Yeah. Yeah. Sometimes I’m so in a fog of like, my job is I got to do this. I got to write about this. I got to do that. But I’ll see that one other seminar at a trade show in maybe Amsterdam or Miami or Vegas or wherever. And I’ll be like, you know what, that’s why I do this because that guy’s got it.

Right. Trust me. I borrow from the best. And you see that, you see that because our ticket sales on paid tickets, all access passes, so you get access to that education has historically the last Three years has been historically the highest it’s ever been. And we see that again this year, which is intriguing because when you look at that, those are the guys that are, you know, they’re going to be there at the floor, but also with the education and you’ve got to think based on that growth that we see in those tickets, not only is there 100 percent show up for the most part that they’re going to verify on-site and be there, but you’re also getting the diversity.

Within that there may be guys like you who are going to the basics as a season just because they want to Make sure they’re doing math today I don’t understand that and some of the other DJs go into the sessions for younger DJs because maybe they want to bring them into their company And that’s another component.

Summer Camp

We have this year. I’m sorry, not just to answer the question before and we have our second year next, which is our summer camp, but we see a lot of family opportunities at our show. And so we encourage you to bring your kid. We have a summer, 90-minute classes for kids on 3 days for summer camp. We have launched master classes this year with Happa and, seems to be an announcement on that.

the other master class, we have 2 of them on site, which is great. they are yeah. Selling quickly. Actually, the masterclass is almost sold out. the camp we try to keep up to date or bring as many people as we can gives you a chance to sponsor a kid. Certainly the underprivileged in the area, which is, is important, but any DJ can bring and sponsor their own kid and bring a kid or somebody they know.

Teachers that come, it is the summer and so there’s opportunity there. And that’s also on our website. That’s fantastic. I love that. So I want to flip the script a little bit. Before I do that, I just want to let everybody know that we are recording on July 10th and this is going to drop July 17th. So just so you know, when we say one day or next week, you’ll get that timetable.

Planning The Show

I want to flip the script a little bit and ask you, is there something you wish attendees knew about the details of planning the show? They don’t want to know. It’s a lot of work. What can I tell you? Most of the time in your life, your summers are yours for vacation. Whereas for me, my summers are just loaded with DJ expo prep. My year begins in September, you know, you know what I mean?

no, it’s just a ton of work. Obviously, we’re selling booths. We are reaching out to people trying to get, exciting seminar topics. we’re coming up with different ideas, for the show, and some of the sponsored opportunities, we try to tweak the show where we think it needs tweaking.

We try to do, throw, throw a couple of curve balls in there. Like, I’ll give you an example this year. For our opening party, we’ve been, working with HQ2, which is a club that is, within walking distance of the Hard Rock. And we’ve been doing our opening night parties there because they have this amazing nightclub.

And, this year we’re bringing in this brand called Gimme Gimme Disco, which is an incredibly fun sort of disco-era, brand that throws parties all over America. I saw one of them in Manhattan, Earlier in the year. And I thought, you know what, this would be perfect for the DJ Expo DJX people will love it and they will, they will have a blast.

And so, we brought in world-class DJs the last two years, and this year, we’re bringing in a world-class party brand, and that’s something we’ve not done before, but we think it’s going to work well. I think the other really important thing and yeah, there’s logistics and we, we spin plates and all that, but a trade show is a reflection of the industry and what she represents.

And it’s really important that. I think the most important thing, for an attendee to know is that we want your feedback. There’s a reason we send out surveys. There’s a reason we’re accessible. We’re not a corporate BMF in any way, there’s no tie wearing it in our group.

And, you know, but the truth is if we don’t hear what you have to say. And we seek it out, but please feel free to reach out, share your thoughts, share them in, the comments here, or share them by going to anywhere on our website. You will always see our email addresses and a way to contact us.

We can only evolve an experience for the industry that we represent, that we’re proud to be part of by the feedback that we get. Does that mean we can do everything in one shot? No. But when we hear what’s going on and it’s common enough, we’ll make those changes. And I think one of the things that we find, whether we’re selling space to exhibitors and asking them how their show was, or we’re working with attendees to try and figure out where their needs are, we’re evolving the show to reflect that, it’s a show really outside of me by DJs for DJs, and so we want your feedback and please share your thoughts.

Yeah, we’re thinking about the show in the magazine year-round to be honest. I mean, like I said, I’ve been editing this magazine since 1990 and so I’m constantly thinking about the next show constantly thinking about opportunities for the next show constantly thinking about, useful content for the magazine and the website.

It sort of never ends, so whether I wake up in the middle of the night and write a note or whether I’m at a nightclub and I, I see a DJ who blows me away or another event, like, like I mentioned, Miami, Los Angeles, Amsterdam, or wherever it is, things present themselves to me and I try to find a good slot for them either in the magazine, the website, or the trade show.

Show Details

That’s a great transition into, let’s talk about how people can get tickets to the show and get more details about the show. You can go online to djxshow. com and click the attend button or djxshow. com. Forward slash registration. Check back. Cause the seminars, of the podcast today, you’ll see listed there, our parties, everything is there.

We refresh this site every season, that we do the show. So we try to keep it as up-to-date as possible. but you could go there and click register. It’s very simple and you could register for a day pass and all-access pass or exhibits only pass or what have you. There are a lot of incentives that we try to put out there, again, bringing the community together.

So, whether it’s a July 4th or a national DJ day, there are opportunities with that. There’s also many of our brands that are on the floor have, digital codes that can help those attendees that come in and come along. but regardless, you could just go online very quickly, djxshow.com and, you’ll see where you are. Just click your way through it. And I’ll throw it out there, too. That’s where you can get the discount codes for hotels while they’re still available if you’re coming and you haven’t booked that, I would suggest strongly. You did the last 2 years, 3 years.

We’ve sold out and extended the block this year. We extended the block up in advance and we’re approaching those that getting tight. So, whoever’s listening to this, whether you’re coming to see the show to experience DJX, which is what it is, is an experience. make sure you experience it at the Hard Rock because it’s just a lot easier for you to manage and get around.

And we have a discounted block for you guys to come. Just make sure you book it before it’s too late. And just so everybody knows, it’s August 5th through the 8th in Atlantic City, New Jersey, so it’s just a little bit east of Philadelphia, people will fly into Philly and then rent a car and get to Atlantic City that way, if they are in the area, of course, they’re going to just drive, to get there.

That will take you from Philly Airport. I think Spirit Airlines is the hub in the New Jersey Atlantic City Airport, so you could go in through that. Go to Newark. But even if you’re in from out of town, but in a town that has an airport that has a Spirit, terminal, Then that will take you directly into Atlantic City, which is about 10 minutes from the hotel.

That’s a great tip. Last question, is there something that we missed that you wanted to share? I think, go on site and you can find all the information about the show. the hard rock is a great experience. I mean, there’s pretty much everything you need there. the trade show floor is not like any other.

And, we just hope to see you there and, we hope you enjoy yourself and leave the show richer. Thank you. Beyond that, what we think sometimes we see missed, but it’s becoming a little bit more common. We work with the city and offer discounts in the city retail community.

So when you’re done with the show day, whether it’s discounted to restaurants or shopping experiences, of course, you see that in our app, which we’ll be introducing shortly, the technology around the show. That will be, exciting, but please know when you’re coming, show your badge. And most places you go in the city will provide that for you, a list of, but you’ll see opportunities when you take your friends out for dinner, you guys go out for dinner, you want to have a drink somewhere, or you’re going for a snack, or you want to shop the Tangiers outlets, we do offer through the city’s collaboration, discounts of programs to shop And don’t forget at the trade show, there’s plenty of giveaways pretty much every day.

Contact Information

Because you guys are so accessible, where can listeners connect with you? djlifemag.com. there’s a variety of email addresses in there and they all will come to, the publisher, editor, or wherever you want to send it to.

I’m very good with email. I’m better with email than with telephone calls. Believe me, DJX at Hazan Media Group dot com is also an email. It’s a basket. You can get press of Hazan Media Group, wherever you’re looking to come in from. you’ll have our numbers on our site as well.

So. It’s all accessible. We try to get back to you as quickly as we can. We’re usually pretty good. Awesome. Well, thanks Jim and Shawn for being on the show. I appreciate it. Make sure you visit DJX in Atlantic City, from August 5th through the 8th at the Hard Rock Hotel. Thanks for listening and stay tuned for next Thursday for another episode of the wedding songs podcast. Have a great day.