Why Does Your Bar Mitzvah DJ Cost So Much?
Image by IStock Photo
By Anne Cohen November 17, 2015
Shopping for a bar mitzvah DJ is a grueling process. You want someone who can successfully pull off the Cha-Cha-Slide, cajole your 81-year-old great uncle Mort onto the dance floor, give out dollar-store prizes with flair, and lead the hora without amassing a body count — all while being up to speed on the latest from Adele.
Such service comes at a price. A very steep price.
According to a survey conducted by Thumbtack, a California-based company that connects individuals with local services, bar and bat mitzvah DJs cost more than any other kind of DJ.
Image by Thumbtack
After analyzing nearly 300,000 DJ requests on Thumbtack for bar mitzvahs, weddings, school dances, corporate events, etc., they found that the average Jewish family will spend roughly $800 on a bar mitzvah DJ.
Just to put things in perspective, that’s 31% more than a wedding DJ.
Image by Thumbtack
Per the :
“A bar mitzvah DJ is the director of the show: he or she is much more a master of ceremonies than a headphone-wearing song mixer.A bar mitzvah DJ is the director of the show: he or she is much more a master of ceremonies than a headphone-wearing song mixer. In advertising its DJ services, the company SpotlightLA explains: ‘Music, while very important, is only one piece of the puzzle. Our professional Bar and Bat mitzvah DJs will keep the party rocking. Energetic and atmospheric lighting, interactive and immersive décor, and the ability to enroll your guests into a vision of the perfect event…’”
Of course, $800 seems like a paltry sum compared to piles of money that some parents spend to achieve the perfect bar or bat mitzvah. Remember the infamous Nikki Minaj drop-in? Or the $100,000 Lily-Pulitzer-themed bash? When Sam Horowitz dropped in from the sky? Or this video to end all bar mitzvah videos?
A Justin Bieber appearance doesn’t come cheap.
Image by Thumbtack
The real trick is to get these people before they become famous. Case in point: Paul Rudd, who, might I remind you, started his career as a bar mitzvah DJ.
Let’s all take a trip down memory lane:
Bar mitzvah DJ? $800. That yellow blazer/shirt combo? Priceless.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
