Spotify versus Wedding DJ with Tarcy Schindelka – E135

Welcome everybody to the Wedding Songs Podcast. I am Matt Campbell. Have you ever wondered what’s happening with Spotify and wedding DJs? Well, to talk about that, I have Tarcy Shindelka from Advanced Entertainment based in Alberta, Canada. Welcome to the show. Tarcy. Thanks for having me, Matt.

Great to be here. Yeah. Thanks. I think this is an important topic that doesn’t get talked about a lot and the influence of Spotify and the growth of Spotify as well.

Heartwarming Wedding Moment

But before we get into that, can you just share a heartwarming or memorable wedding moment? Oh, there’s so many, I mean, we’ve done so many weddings. I started DJing weddings in 1994, more than most people that are getting married to the, you know, so, but, I think what I remember the most is, not even when it typically it’s the brides that come and say thank you and that kind of stuff. But at the end of the night, the groom with 1 of our weddings was so happy.

He was the 1 who came over, hugged me, and said, you were amazing. Thank you. We had such a great time. and. that’s always what we’re shooting for the smiles and the sore feet at the end of the night. And that’s exactly what they got. And so he was super happy. So when I get a hug from the groom, that’s, you know, it takes me, Hey, we did a great job.

Good. It’s kind of like, instead of the bride being behind the decks, capturing that one photo, it’s the groom who actually cares. Exactly. She cared too, but he was the one who hugged me. It was awesome. Yeah, that’s cool.

Meet Tarcy

If you could introduce yourself to everybody. Sure. Well, my name is Tarcy, as mentioned in Edmonton, Alberta, I own Advanced Entertainment. We have been in business since 2007, but as I said, I’ve been DJing since way back in 1994, officially two years before that on the amateur level kind of thing. I have two kids, a wife, and a dog sitting right here beside me as well. So I’m just your typical family guy, trying to make a living and having a great time doing it.

You mentioned starting in 1994. I actually started my business in 1993. Crazy. Where the time goes. I know 30 years all of a sudden. What? As you said, starting in 1993, some of the couples weren’t even born yet. So exactly. Yeah.

Music From Yesteryear

And some of those younger ones just getting out of university, starting their lives, I like the experience, because it’s not as always, not just them at the weddings, it’s their parents and their aunts and uncles and grandparents that are going to be there as well.

So, having that wide knowledge comes in handy. So speaking of that, as a tangent, are you seeing that music before, let’s say, the 70s, is really fading out? Somewhat. I mean, the, the thing is, is even like, let’s go to junior high dances. I will get a kid in grade eight to come up and request Led Zeppelin from my kind of thing.

And I go, what, or the doors or what I’m going, wow. Either your parents are very widely musically versed or TikTok is helping us out in that respect too. It’s funny how these songs will come up. Like, you looked at Fleetwood Mac a couple of years ago, and hit the top 10 again because of a TikTok video, right?

So, these apps are really bringing some of the oldies back now and again too. I think of, Etta James, even today at last is still, a very popular wedding song, but I think of one of my favorite Sunday Kind of Love. And you think, man, that’s really fallen off. And hopefully, somebody will do a TikTok of older songs.

Yeah. That’s the hope that they get picked up again, or somebody picks on it somewhere, and boom, you’ve got it back in the forefront once again. Yeah, for sure. At least it’s helping those artists make money again. Yeah, undoubtedly.

Couples Choosing Spotify

So let’s get into talking about Spotify weddings. Have you seen a decline in recent years in couples who are choosing to go the Spotify route versus hiring a DJ?

You know, yes. overall, it really kind of depends on the couple. Cause I just booked a wedding, last week for next year where the bride said that party and that music is the most, Important part to me, because that’s what people are going to remember. But I mean, realistically with, the way life has gone here in the last few years, inflation is up, everything’s more expensive gas costs more to fill your tank.

So I can see where people are kind of going, you know what, we need to save some money. So. How are we going to do that? Where are we going to cut? And if that party and that music isn’t as important to them, just having the family together and doing the visiting and that kind of stuff, and maybe a little bit of dancing, that’s where a Spotify or an Apple music playlist or whatever will come in handy.

And so, we have been getting more calls this year from people just wanting to rent a sound system that they can plug their iPad or their laptop into or their phone into and just go from there.

Playing the Whole Song

One of the things that I’m thinking of is when you have a Spotify playlist versus a DJ playing the important parts of a song, and that’s really the TikTok trend. And I think that having that Spotify playlist doesn’t happen. You have to listen to the whole song. So, That again depends on that crowd, right?

A lot of people, if you quick mix out of a song or play just one verse in the chorus and then move on, people look at you like, where’s the rest of it too? So it can happen either way. And that’s where reading the room and knowing, having a meeting. Sitting down with that bride and groom and sometimes their immediate family, their parents that are part of that planning process as well.

That’s where it’s, it’s kind of a golden thing in that we will have an idea as to who’s going to be there and what they like, and can play. Accordingly. So Spotify, you’re right. It has to play the whole song unless your drunk cousin comes up and gets ahold of things and starts pushing buttons, which can happen.

Advantages of Spotify

So besides saving on the budget, what would you say is an advantage to couples choosing the Spotify playlist? Realistically, it’s the fact that you know exactly what’s going to be played, exactly what version because there are different versions of every song out there. You know the version, you know, the drum beat, you know exactly what’s going to be on there.

You can make separate playlists. Here are the four or five songs we need for the ceremony. Here’s where our grand entrance is going to be. here’s what our first dance is going to be as well. So you can have those all there in different playlists, which makes it. Fairly simple to, switch around or to have somebody look after, and, like I say, you know, it’s all your favorites kind of thing.

Managing Music at Wedding

So that’s one of the advantages for sure. and I wouldn’t even be the bad guy on that if somebody has to manage that. So if you’re planning your first dance, somebody needs to have that phone or however you’re managing that playlist, iPad, whatever, somebody needs to change the music. So you need to have somebody that you trust to go ahead and do that and efficiently do that as well.

Exactly. And I mean, realistic, like, I will not advocate for Spotify as a replacement for a DJ ever. Yeah. And, that’s exactly what the expertise of a DJ is, is having that song at the ready, knowing the timing of most wedding ceremonies or receptions and how they’re going to go, knowing the layout of how your reception is going to go because of the meeting you’ve had with, it’s all advantageous in my head to have somebody dedicated to exactly that, to make sure the night flows as it should and the right songs go in the right places.

Spotify Pitfalls

Yep. So that was the next direction I wanted to go to was talking more about the pitfalls and you, you covered some of those having that timeline that’s being managed. And for me, reading the room, as you said, I, I think is such a big thing. Whereas if you’re playing songs from the sixties or the seventies or the eighties, and they’re not going well, where now you’re seeing the most of the people on the dance floor is.

20 to 25. It’s, it could potentially be different music and maybe that playlist that you created that you have to stick to is not, what’s going off. So are there any other pitfalls that you want to mention as far as having a Spotify playlist? Well, I touched on it already, but again, I’m going to go a little more in-depth into it.

You set that playlist and hit play. And if, you say the crowd changes. If somebody doesn’t like a song, now all of a sudden, because it’s just, there’s nobody there looking after the decks. So to speak, there’s nobody there looking after the equipment. Anybody could realistically come over and go, I hate this song and pop, hit the next button.

And all of a sudden, if people are dancing, but that person hates that song. Now, all of a sudden, the whole vibe changes and everybody’s angry with that person. Everybody that was dancing was angry with that person. The three people who were at the table who hated the song with them were not. So it just becomes a whole balancing act that We get skilled at that stuff, dealing with people, knowing what is happening.

If somebody comes up and says, I hate this song, change it. Well, no, the 30 to 40 people that are dancing out here right now, love it. And I think we’re going to stick with that. What do you want to hear? We’ll get to that in a little bit. Like we can do that kind of thing. a computer phone, iPad tablet cannot do that.

A whole lot is going on there. we’re not just pushing play. That’s a big thing. DJs do not just push play. We manage a room. So that’s, that’s kind of one of the big ones I think that I wanted to touch on for sure. Another one I will add is if there’s a trending song like Shaboozey and it’s going off, it’s going crazy and it’s not on your playlist, it’s not going to be played unless you have to, now you’re going to have the dead air of changing the song, adding the song.

All that stuff. Yeah, download whatever, all of it, right? It’s, yeah, a whole lot is going on there. Whereas a DJ while a song is playing can move on to grab another one and work it into the set. And you know what, if it’s going to go off, it’s going to go off.

Venues Adding Sound Systems

One thing I wanted to ask you is I’m seeing a lot of venues that are incorporating their own systems into their places. Are you seeing that in your area?

We have the odd one or two or three here that do it. and depending on the place and the system. I personally would rather bring my own stuff anytime because, a lot of times with the in-house sound systems, everything’s behind a locked door. metal door. A lot of times, and this isn’t every time, but a lot of times the people who work said venue may not know the exact operation of that system.

So who knows how it’s going to sound, at least with. Our own sound equipment. We know exactly how it works. We know exactly where to turn up and turn down and adjust base and mid and high, right? All this stuff to make it sound right for that room, and placement of speakers, that kind of thing as well.

As long as the venue works with us on that, can be a better sound coverage than what they might have. But now, if they have a full room, a system that works best for speeches and that kind of stuff that covers all the tables without a hot point as DJs might have. then that’s a good thing that we can work alongside of them too. Right? But yeah, it’s happening here and there too. That’s what I’m seeing as well. speaking of systems.

Renting Sound Systems

You mentioned couples renting your system. Is that something that you planned on or a direction you wanted to go? Well, it’s, we do audio-visual rentals anyway, as well.

So we’re part of a full service. Like our company does a whole lot of different things outside of just DJ. That’s where we started. Don’t get me wrong. Love it still, but there’s a lot of other stuff going on. So, yes, we do have some rental inventory to send out as well. so it’s, it’s there. It’s available. If that’s the direction you want to go, we can help. Okay, cool.

Working with Streaming Playlists

Let’s get more into the actual playlist because of Apple Music and Spotify playlists have become so popular. How can couples use those playlists to best collaborate with you to ensure, a successful wedding? Well, it comes down to that whole meeting, like, and if they’re hearing songs that they love and like, oh, God, that has to be played at our wedding, then you can add that to a Spotify playlist that we can then be connected to, right?

And we can look at, okay, here’s the stuff that they want. And because that’s streaming, legally, we aren’t supposed to use that stuff. We are supposed to pay for the song. And so the artist gets their royalties. So, Once I have those playlists, and I’ve had many couples do that for me, I will download and pay for each and every one of those songs.

So I have the actual physical copy on my hard drive and a backup there too, right? So there’s always that technical. Background stuff of let’s make sure that what they want is happening. and so it’s, it’s a great thing for them that, hey, we’re driving along. I want that song at the wedding, bang, add it to the Spotify playlist.

Now a week before your wedding or two weeks before your wedding, I’m downloading it and it’s going to be there. So it’s a great tool to be used alongside what, your DJ can do as well. I think that’s a great point as well. You’re talking about streaming. How many places are you DJing that there is no internet?

That’s yeah, that’s the other, I mean, a lot of guys will have their, their rocket sticks or whatever, but even still out here in Alberta, we’ve got a lot of rural areas where unless it’s a satellite link star link, maybe, You’re still not getting internet service. There’s no cell service in that area.

Right. And the same can be said, I’m sure for a lot of states out there too, that yeah, if you’re out in the middle of nowhere. Where there’s nothing but farms around you for miles and miles, there still may not be Internet service data, whatever the case may be. So again, that comes down and inside of a metal building, right?

All of a sudden, all cell signal goes away and you hope they have Wi-Fi. Maybe they don’t. Now what? All discussions that have to be had with your venues well in advance. So make sure you’re talking about that for sure.

Streaming Music

Do you think that DJs are streaming from Spotify for their weddings? Is that a big issue right now? Guaranteed. Yeah, of course. It’s going to happen. And some of the DJ software links up with Spotify and Tidal and that kind of stuff. which means it’s very gray area stuff, but I’m not going to play in the gray area. If people are humanly possible. I would much rather own said song and make sure I have that file with me.

You know, one of the things that I recently experienced is the quality of a song on Spotify, where I’m listening to it and the quality was extremely low. Then I would play the next song. It went way up and I’m just like, this is not good. I, I feel bad for the people who are trying to stream this for any kind of event.

Well, exactly. And, again, going back to, let’s toot our horns as DJs, right? If there’s, we have ways to make it sound better. And we know, cause we’re previewing in our headphones, we have that ability. Whereas a Spotify list does not.

Future of Streaming

What are your thoughts on the future of streaming You know what? Proliferated enough to the point that there’s no going back, I don’t think, unless a good chunk of artists and you hear about the one here, the one there that do it. But no, unless like 80 percent of them join up and say no more of this. Spotify’s owner cannot be a multi-billionaire 1000th of 1 cent per stream.

I don’t think it’s going to change. I think that’s kind of where it’s going. And governments need to figure out how they’re going to regulate and make sure that the artists, the people that make this music get paid for what they’re doing. I 100 percent agree. I’ve, I’ve had a lot of conversations about that and just seeing where we are now and where we’re headed.

Garth Brooks not being on Spotify is not enough. I personally don’t even think Taylor Swift’s not being on Spotify is enough. I think. Something’s gonna a new platform has to be made because like you said, why would the owners of Spotify? I want to make that much less. Yeah, it’s just, well, that’s it. I mean, you’ve become a billionaire on it and it’s like most artists are on there.

Taylor wasn’t on Spotify for a while, if you remember, but even she then realized that in order to get the music to the masses, that’s the only way she could. So yeah, until somebody goes, you know what? I’d be happy with a couple hundred million dollars, as a worthwhile the artists still make a better chunk of money than what’s on that.

And then you’re right. Just Garth not doing it isn’t enough, but if Garth. Taylor, Beyonce, Jay Z, right? And, and everybody steps up and does it, or a good chunk of them. But even Jay Z tried, I don’t know. I feel like there’s a whole lot going on out there that, yeah. It’s a, it’s a Wild West that needs to be figured out. But we have to play in the pool. However, you know, the rules aren’t set, so we gotta figure it out as we go. So we are the Wedding Songs podcast.

Trending Wedding Music

So I have to ask you a little bit about music. What songs do you think are trending right now for your summer Weddings? So you know what, you mentioned the, the Shaboozeys, the hot stuff is always gonna be the hot stuff. it’s funny though, in the last number of years, Matt, and you might’ve noticed this too. there’s less of the newer music being requested. Mm-Hmm. It’s still the stuff that people can dance to and have a party to.

So there’s a lot of that 2000s and 2000 and early 2010 stuff, with the Pitbulls and, and that kind of stuff are still. Going off because people can, it’s got that right beat, the right beats per minute that people can dance to, the newer stuff less. So, you know, there’s the odd one here and there that comes out. That’s still a good hit and people can dance to, but they don’t stick around as long either. Yep.

Genre-less Music

One trend that I think is really fascinating is, I would consider it a genre-less era, whereas you see the crossovers with, you know, Post Malone’s working with Beyonce, Taylor Swift, and other artists, and then you have Kane Brown working with Marshmello.

I just see a genre less, you know, we all talk about, inclusivity and I think music’s really headed that way as well. Yeah, well, that’s it. You mentioned Kane Brown as a perfect example. Kane, country, hip hop, right? Like he’s, he’s right in the middle or both of those at all times, you know, and you can go back to, to even a few years back,

The country artist who is more pop Body Like A Backroad, right? Like that kind of stuff. So it’s, it’s, Sam Hunt is exactly it. It crossed so many pop lines that you’re right. Genre less, it’s still country, but it’s also pop it’s pop, but it’s also country.

So, yeah, I mean, and, and there’s been artists blurring that for years. It’s just, I think becoming more prominent in recent years. the Taylor Swift, all the guff she got from going from country to pop. Oh my gosh, it’s the end of the world, but I think it worked out for her. Yeah. But exactly what you’re saying.

Before she left, yeah. It was kind of poppy anyway, so yeah, what’s the difference? Just taking an extra step is really all it was. Exactly.

Spotify As A Tool

So talking about Spotify lists, is there anything that we missed as part of, you know, that you wanted to cover today? I think really just to kind of sum it up, it’s just, it’s a tool to be used.

And it can be depending on what you’re going for. Everybody’s got a different. Vibe that they’re looking for for their weddings. If you’re more of a, I haven’t seen my family in years. and, and we only get together at weddings and funerals. And so let’s visit for the night and get a few dances off. It’s something that can be used if the party is.

The important part. And remember, that’s what people are going to talk about in 20 years. So that’s what I shoot for every single time too, is they’re going to remember whether they had a great time at your wedding or not. They’re not going to remember the decorations most times, kind of thing. So, If the party is what’s important to you, then a DJ, a professional DJ, not a part-time hobbyist kind of thing is the person you’re going to want to go for.

So, use Spotify as a tool to guide them in exactly what you’re looking for. And then you’ll get the vibe you want. I think that’s really the big thing. It’s a tool to be used. And going off of that as well, I, I love the idea of couples creating a playlist, having your personality when it’s cocktail hour when it’s dinner, that’s when you play those songs, but giving liberty to the DJ during the dancing time, because what you think may work for your crowd, maybe it will, maybe it won’t, that’s up to the DJ to switch it up and impact the dance floor.

Undoubtedly. Yeah, give them a guideline, work with them, but allow them to do what they do best. And that’s read that room, play the songs that Typically work well for the crowd, and learn as you go. They can also shut it off. It’s funny. Back when we used CDs, it was easy. You would take the CD out and throw it away.

Right. And I would, okay. That one didn’t work off to the next one, but now you just get, you fade out and onto the next song kind of makes it, you know, switch it on or, okay, cool. You can have fun with it. Well, you’re making me feel old. I remember the, invention of, Cassette singles. Oh my gosh. I don’t have to buy the whole cassette.

I only have to spend 99 cents or a dollar 99 instead of 10 bucks for the whole thing. When I started my first DJ job, my first real DJ job was on cassettes. when we fell into DJing in high school, that was, we used the CDs that we had kind of thing and cassettes, but yeah, it was all on cassettes, compilation cassettes, and having to listen to, yeah, I’m old to that. I mean, that’s just the way it is.

Connect With Tarcy

I think that’s a great place to stop. So where can listeners connect with you and follow along? Realistically, our website, AdvancedEntertainment.ca is probably the best way of being Canadian .ca makes sense.

There is already another Advanced Entertainment somewhere in the States, so he had. com wrapped up. But, that’s the best place to connect with us, as well online on Instagram. You can see all the stuff we do as well. We are Advanced Entertainment Canada there. Very cool. Well, thanks again, Tarcy for being on the show today.

If you’re thinking about a Spotify playlist, hopefully, this has helped you out making the decision. And stay tuned for next week. Thanks for listening and have a great day. Thanks, Matt.