Be sure to consider these points when hiring a professional:
Industry recognition
Disc jockey and entertainer associations have strict application requirements that ensure only reputable and professional companies become members. Most have customer dispute resolution (ombudsman) services available to you free of charge. You can feel confident in the company you choose if they're a member of a professional association like COJDA or others.
Look for an Organized Professional Business
The manner in which an entertainer or disc jockey conducts business indicates how they conduct themselves while performing. Look for good organization, planning, and attention to detail. A company serious about professionalism and business will always provide written agreements, planning forms and services, and consultations (phone or otherwise) to help you organize your event.
Music Variety
Your chosen company should ideally have a very large music selection to be able to please all of your guests. It's a great disappointment when you request a song and the disc jockey doesn't have it. You can never predict everything your guests will want to hear, and sometimes the unpredictable and obscure requests, only possible with a big music library, start some great dancing! Our library is host to thousands of songs ranging as far back as 1934, up to today's newer music, encompassing all musical genres. We very rarely get asked for something we don't have.
Experience
Unless you plan events and parties for a living, it is best to have experienced professionals on hand helping you through your big day. Inexperienced entertainers and disc jockeys and can spoil an otherwise smooth, fun and cohesive event. An experienced professional entertainer and disc jockey can coordinate entrances, introductions, dances, giveaways, contests, and anything else fun for you and your guests. Take advantage of their presence to ask whatever questions you may have, even if it doesn't specifically pertain to entertainment - he or she has likely been to more events just like the one you are hosting than you have!
Reputation
Considering a particular company? Don't forget to investigate their number of years in business, customer comments and reviews (especially recent ones) to see that the company you are choosing knows what it's doing. This sort of information is best kept current, and you're more likely to find it on a website than on a dated brochure.
A service that knows its music
Especially important to any event are disc jockeys and entertainers that know their music. If someone makes a request the guests like, an experienced professional will keep things moving with similar music. Inexperience shows when the disc jockey suddenly plays something completely different and ends up clearing the dance floor. Experienced professionals know when to change the music, and always do so slowly, avoiding abrupt shifts (from dance music to hard rock for example).
Licensing
In the entertainment world, a company must play licensed music to avoid violating the copyright act. With mp3 and computerized systems becoming more prevalent, the recording industry has adapted with new licenses to allow a company to play this kind of music. Be sure the company you are hiring licenses their music - don't be afraid to ask them. Although inspectors can not shut your event down, they can pressure the disc jockey to do so themselves, or at the very least upset him or her with threats of legal action following your function.
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