IN THIS EDITION

• Trending: BPM 2019 • Spotlight: Video Geek Kel Sweeny • ProMobile DJ: QSC CP Series Review • Lou Paris: Harness the power of your reviews!

• Video of the Month: "Graveyard" • The Hitlist: OCT 2019 • TED: Beau Lotto & Cirque du Soleil

---

---

Trending: BPM 2019
A UK DJ tradition continues

Those familiar with these pages may recall last year’s account of the against-all-odds resurgence of BPM, the UK’s largest DJ conference, following the collapse of its previous owner. Rescued and reimagined under the auspices of Mobile DJ Network’s Pete Williams, BPM 2018’s no-nonsense, DJ-driven approach won universal praise from exhibitors and attendees alike.

The torch has since passed to new show directors Steven Boys and Jack Wilson, whose event expertise was on full display at this month’s BPM 2019. Wilson and Boys, along with the support of well-known industry figures Mark Parkhouse and Kris Dawber, left little doubt that BPM is in the best of hands.

“Our plan is rooted in the success of 2018 – to offer an affordable annual event that offers true return on investment and which grows at the rate the industry needs,” says Jack Wilson. “I’m delighted to say that the 2019 show was attended by some 2000 visitors. That’s a huge vote of confidence and we take that support very seriously.”

Growing your DJ business starts in one place!

Once again Cranmore Park, Solihull proved to be the ideal site for the demos and deals on sound, lighting, and music offered by exhibitors such as Cobra, KAM, Simply Sound and Lighting, LiteConsole, DAS Audio, Marten Cables, Session Music, Prolight Concepts Group, Mercury Audio, and Promo Only UK.

Opportunities for hands-on demos and to meet the people behind the products on hand were also in abundance, as were career-enhancing seminars and after-hours social events that invited casual networking with DJs from near and far. Old friends and new were also able to spend quality time with UK/Europe office manager, David Brown, who reminded one and all of our commitment to our customer service, a commitment that includes phone and email support (emails are monitored even on weekends!).

“We want our visitors and the wider industry to let us know what they want from BPM,” says Steven Boys. “Your opinions are at the heart of making BPM a success and we would love to hear from you.”

For more info and to get the jump on BPM 2020 discounts visit: facebook.com/bpmshow

back to top ↑

---

Spotlight: Kel Sweeny
A few minutes with the 'Video Geek'

Pictured from left to right: Kel Sweeny and Ben JamInn of the Video Geeks

“I started video DJing in 2006, having been a DJ for many years. I just happened to get a gig covering the opening night of a club here in the UK, that had the Pioneer DVJ-X1s and they gave me a stack of DVDs to play and I thought this is really great, especially as not of lot of other DJs were doing it.”

That, of course, was just the beginning of Kel Sweeny’s evolution from DJ to VJ, a journey that winds through our own Promo Only UK office where Kel’s footprints can be found in every Intro Edit and video remix serviced to our UK subscribers, all of who benefit from the wizardry Kel puts on full display with partner Ben Jaminn as The Video Geeks.

“Ben and I came together in 2011 and started getting video gigs at student union venues at universities and corporate events, and some really interesting projects in the Natural History Museum in London,” says Kel. “We kind of built our reputation doing a lot of that.”

Currently Kel is flying solo, having just signed a five-year deal with Back To The 80s/90s Festival as the main-stage video DJ. “I have a feature one-hour set each day where I’ll feature retro stuff, 80s, 90s. It’s a lot of cutting up pieces of music and film, combining all the sound and vision from that time.”

We could, of course, attempt to explain the genre-spanning, decade-leaping, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it madness that is the DNA of a Video Geeks performance, but, as they say one video is worth a thousands words.

Trouble viewing this video? Watch it on Facebook

For info, tour schedules and more great videos, visit:
facebook.com/kelsweeney and facebook.com/VideoGeeks

back to top ↑

---

ProMobile DJ with Chase Jewel
QSC CP Series Review

At Pro Mobile DJ we like to give you the most up to date equipment information possible so you can make an educated purchasing decision! I had the pleasure of using the new QSC CP Series speakers over the spring and early summer. I was thoroughly impressed by them. In this article I will be going over the uses of these speakers as well as my thoughts over the quality.

What They Are
The QSC CP-12 and CP-8 speakers are new compact powered PA speakers from QSC. These speakers feature a 1000-watt peak power Class D Amplifier, which powers the speaker nicely! Some of the other features are their compact size, Advanced DSP with Intrinsic CorrectionTM, Directivity Matched Transition, Lightweight, multi-use options, and a clean appearance. I will say for their size QSC has included A LOT of bells and whistles on these speakers. Included in the DSP are settings for use with a sub. These settings automatically set the crossover in the amplifier to disregard certain low frequency signals.

In Use at Events
I was able to use these speakers with both a subwoofer and without. While I always prefer a setup with a sub for the quality of sound, I was impressed by how well these compact speakers sounded without one. At a wedding with 100-125 guests I was able to fill the entire room with sound with no audio failures and no additional sound needed. I was able to push the signal out of my setup into the speakers with no clipping or faulting. These little speakers can get loud and pack a HUGE punch. With a sub, these speakers can really shine. I was able to use them with a QSC KS112 sub and once I added the sub the speakers didn’t even get hot at all. I had clear and concise audio all night with amazing lows and great highs.

Additional Uses
While I believe these speakers can be used for main events, I think they are extremely better suited for supplemental speakers, ceremony setups, or satellite setups in other rooms for your event. With their compact and lightweight size, they are perfect to carry to more remote locations where your cart or vehicle cannot navigate. If you also have a sub I would... continue reading

About Chase Jewel: Chase Jewell has been in the DJ world for 15 years, starting in clubs and bars then moving on to mobile events. From the beginning, he’s always had a fascination with pro-audio and lighting gear. Starting when he was a child at his church, Chase learned audio mixing and lighting skills. He’s been studying sound and lighting ever since then – learning the ins and outs of every new piece of equipment that could possibly make his performance better. His mobile DJ company, Jewell DJ Solutions, serves all of Indiana and some of Ohio, Kentucky, and Illinois. chase.jewell@jewelldjsolutions.com | jewelldjsolutions.com | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

back to top ↑

---

Lou Paris:
Harness the power of your reviews!

Reviews, testimonials, references, whatever you would like to call it, validation of your services are one of the most critical aspects of running your business for many years now. Be it on Facebook, Yelp, Google, Wedding Wire, Knot, or the countless other sites where people can put in their $0.02 about your business, the sites that collect reviews tend to be a goldmine of useful information for future clients to examine what you are about.

But these sites can be detrimental to your business. They can seed in competitors right into the mix as potential clients are checking you out. Worse, the terms of service can change overnight requiring more hoops to use their properties. And lastly sites can just simply disappear. With acquisitions and competition, the sites of today may simply not exist tomorrow. So what can you do about it?

First, and I can’t stress this enough still continue to use these sites. There is no reason not to because people will hit those sites and if you have no reviews there you can simply be ignored as they are examining what services are out there. They have tremendous reach, with Facebook reaching 1,500,000,000 members alone. Google still reigns supreme for search. And while Wedding Wire and The Knot are merging and the future is still uncertain, they still are a highly focused resource for potential clients.

So, as the reviews of your services come in, check them out, reply to them on the respective sites they are published on, and then collect them and put it on your site. And I am not talking about using the plugins that some websites use to display their branded reviews on your site. Literally copy and paste your reviews into your site. Cite the location where the review came from so people know that this was just not some randomly created review and if they so wish they can check out those sites to validate your reviews.

But more importantly you now own your reviews. You’ve taken control of the look, feel, location, branding, everything about your reviews. Let your website become the clearinghouse of all the content you generate, and let your website become the focal point of the much-needed social validation to signal to the world that you are worth your value and here is the proof.

And, if one of these aforementioned sites goes rogue one day and demands that you start to pay for access for your “storefront”, you can make a more sound decision and not feel pressured by that site essentially ransoming one of your most valuable assets on their properties. If one of these sites simply disappear, honestly, it’s not a big deal. You have already claimed the most important asset from it.

Further, and I stressed this in my July 2019 article where on Promo Only, your website should be one of the most important pieces in your marketing toolset. While social will dominate the landscape, you never quite ever own your look, you never quite own your brand on those sites. Leverage those places, but make it enticing to come to your website to check you out. That is where they are greeted by the countless praises about your services and you are more likely to get that email, message, or call that they are interested in talking to you further.

About: Lou Paris started his DJ career in 1988 and also a successful IT career in 1996 with stints at the DOJ & the FBI. He is the owner of Paris Creative, a solo wedding DJ operation in the Hudson Valley area of NY and founder of eCUEity, building the next generation event-planning platform. lou@pariscreative.com

back to top ↑

---

Video of the Month: "Graveyard"
Halsey

Trouble viewing this video? Watch it on YouTube