How many of us, during our DJ careers, have had this situation at an event? You’re playing amazing dance music, the dancefloor is full, the party is rocking, and a slightly older guest (over 40! LOL) comes up to your DJ booth and asks for something they can dance to. Early in my career this would happen often. I would look at them with a ‘what are you talking about’ look in my eye, and think to myself ‘I am playing the best music ever, just look at the dancefloor buddy!’ But as my career progressed, and I suppose, as I got older, my perspective changed. I realized that these people deserve to be entertained too!

In this article I’m going to consider ways to ensure that older guests are involved and entertained at family parties. But, before I do, please indulge me for a few minutes in a little bit of background.

As a wedding DJ, I've read many articles, and heard many speakers, that talk about our perfect client, and they all seem to say that it's a higher earning bride aged between 24 and 35, the millennial generation. However, after my own marriage in 2015, it occurred to me that we can't be the only (slightly) older couple getting married! So, I did some research on Dr. Google and found some interesting facts about the ages of people getting married in England and Wales. Surprisingly, the average age of brides is 34.3 and grooms is 36.7.

By analysing the table above, we can calculate some interesting statistics. The total number of people who got married in 2013 (these are the latest figures I could find) was 481,708. The total aged over 35 was 186,160 which is over 38% of all the people who got married. The number aged over 40 is 128,040 which is over 26% of the total amount of people that got married. So maybe we should rethink our perfect couple?

Just consider that out of those ‘older’ guests that are sitting around and not getting involved it is likely that a few may be planning their own wedding – or at least know someone who is. That means that entertaining them at some point in the evening could get you a referral!

If we have a look at the second table above, it tells us that weddings are also on the decrease. With more DJs marketing themselves as ‘wedding specialists’, are there too many of us chasing fewer jobs? It’s something to consider.

But, if we target older clients, there are lots of other key celebrations – such as 40th / 50th / 60th birthdays and 25th wedding anniversaries – as well as potential weddings that could provide a source of DJ work. Older people are also more likely to hold key positions in business, so could be a source of corporate bookings. And, finally, older people tend to have the disposable income to pay for a premium service for their events.

All I am suggesting is that by engaging with those older guests there is a lot of potential for referrals. ‘How do I entertain those older people?’ I hear you cry. Well, first of all have a read of my article about background music in the last issue. A great way to include older guests is to play music that will connect with them during the earlier part of an event. But also consider their ages and play some music that they are likely to want to dance to when the party is in full swing, not only the obvious big chart hits of the 60s and 70s but the dancefloor anthems of that time. Playing a song or two that they have not heard for a few years could bring back memories of that great night out, that romance, or that happy time in their life. If your music selection, which isn’t what they expected to hear, helps them to have a good time, you’ll really stand out from the crowd of other DJs. Then, if they are getting married or planning a party, the chances are that you will be the DJ who they want to book.

Hopefully this short article might give you food for thought. Please remember, the over 40s like to party too!!!