Yesterday the president was inaugurated. While he isn’t the man that I voted for, I recognize that he is the leader and the face of this country. I find myself having very different beliefs then he and the Democratic party do, but I am still grateful that I live in a country that I can speak my mind and exercise my freedoms even if it makes some of my friends on Facebook blood boil. This is possible because of a group of men and women who chose to break away from England and banded together for a better life for themselves and their children.

What does this have to do with djing or the ADJA? It is quite simple. The American Disc Jockey Association http://adja.org/ is the largest national disc jockey association in the world. On Friday, ABC aired a lack luster 20/20 episode geared toward weddings. They portrayed disc jockeys as a bunch of greedy thieves that choose to charge more for a wedding than other events just because brides are so emotional in having the dream wedding that they will pay our inflated fees on their wedding day. 

Since this has aired, djs from all over the country have posted on Facebook that we need to all get out our pitch forks and burning torches and go after everyone at 20/20. The more logical decision is to allow the director of the ADJA, Hugo Drax the ability to draft a letter of extreme disappointment for the unprofessional way that the mobile dj industry was portrayed. Dr. Drax is the director of the ADJA and the most logical choice to be the face of the dj industry as he represents the most djs in the country.  The more djs that Dr. Drax represents, the more powerful the message is to ABC and 20/20 on our behalf. The price for this is only about $200.00 per year. How can you not write a check or hand over your credit card?

If that isn’t enough, the ADJA hosts an excellent national conference that is open to both members and non-members and is a fraction of the costs of other dj conferences. He has had top speakers in the country speak such as Alan Berg, Andy Ebon, Peter Merry, and Randy Bartlett to name but a few. They will be hosting the conference again September 8-11, 2013. You can click here for more information. http://thelasvegasdjshow.com/. This is only possible because of member’s support. How can you not write a check or hand over your credit card?

If you still need another reason, let’s talk about Marketing 101. As a member you can proudly display the ADJA logo on your website, your business cards, your ads, etc. Typically people hiring djs have never hired a dj before and have a ton of questions. The ADJA logo lets your clients and potential clients know that you are part of a professional trade organization and thus it sets you apart from the garage djs unwilling to step up. How can you not write a check or hand over your credit card?

In addition to all of the reasons I have stated so far, let’s talk about networking with other local djs and education on a local level. The ADJA has over 40 active chapters or chapters in formation. This gives you the opportunity to network with other djs in your market as well as meet monthly and learn from one another as well as from their local education they have put together. In full disclosure, I am not a member of the local Chicago ADJA chapter due to other organizations I belong to with meetings that happen on the same days. How can you not write a check or hand over your credit card?

Last but not least, the ADJA offers so many discounts not available to djs on an independent level such as insurance, discount on gear, formalwear, etc. How can you not write a check or hand over your credit card?

Your yearly dues come out typically to be less than $20.00 a month. I think that I have clearly demonstrated why I am a member and why you should be as well. 

Follow them on Facebook and see what they are doing. http://www.facebook.com/4ADJA