The Canadian Professional Disc Jockey Association functions under three central pillars: Education, Networking and Support.

To serve that third pillar, the CPDJA has created a business information and mental health COVID-19 resource page for all Canadian DJs. This page is accessible to all DJs, both members and non-members as a service to the Canadian DJ industry under our mandate of providing support.

The Executive Committee of the association has assembled a variety of easily accessible links, organized by both federal/national as well as provincial and territorial.

COVID-19 Resources

The page will continue to be updated as new information is discovered or sent to us. If you have resource suggestions that you feel we should consider adding to the page for your province or territory (or nationally), please contact us.

Please continue to be safe, adhering to all provincial and federal health guidelines in your jurisdiction.

As a national association, one of the roles we fill for our industry is to speak up as a united voice for those we represent. Advocating for our members in times of great need is one such example of when our united voices became greater than the sum of their individual parts.

As we announced at our recent Annual General Meeting on May 3, 2020, the Canadian Professional Disc Jockey Association, on behalf of our membership, has written and sent a letter to the Canadian Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, asking for additional assistance for our industry.

In addition to the Prime Minister, we also sent copies of this letter to the Honourable Bill Morneau (Minister of Finance) and the Honourable Steven Guilbeault (Minister of Canadian Heritage, responsible for arts and entertainment).

Following is a copy of the letter we sent:

We urge all Canadian DJs to now do two things:

First, take the content of this letter and repurpose it so that you can send it to your local Member of Parliament (a downloadable sample has already been prepared for you here). The more ears our message lands on, the louder our request will be heard. Let us take action on this together.

Second, if you have not already taken advantage of our free 3-month membership in the association, sign up today. By joining, you help make our voice louder and louder. When government officials look into who we are, numbers matter. Let's show them how many DJs there are behind the message this letter contains.

In addition to our regular work of providing programming and support for Canadian DJs, we will continue to voice your concerns to the Federal government when times call for it. Your involvement in the association makes that possible.

Help us help you.

Use this letter to write to your PM and join the CPDJA to lend your voice to the greater good.

Be safe, be healthy, be well.

AS ANNOUNCED AT THE MAY 3, 2020
Annual General Meeting of the
Canadian Professional Disc Jockey Association

In light of the recent and unprecedented struggles that COVID-19 has brought upon the Canadian mobile DJ industry, the Board of the CPDJA has authorized a complimentary membership extension for all current DJ and Allied Members of the CPDJA. This extension has already been applied to all current members of the association as of May 3, 2020.

The Board of the CPDJA has also authorized a free 3 month membership for any NEW or RETURNING members to the association. Applications for this free Professional Membership with the CPDJA are now being taken online.

We know this only contributes to one small part of what every DJ in Canada is currently dealing with, but we hope it helps us all maintain some semblance of normalcy during this incredibly turbulent time.

On behalf of all of us at the Canadian Professional Disc Jockey Association, please be well, stay safe and stay healthy.

We are all in this together.

Brought to you by the In place of our regular members-only Weekly News Memo, the Canadian Professional Disc Jockey Association compiled the below list of resources for our members and all Canadian DJs. This blog post is a variation of the email that all members of our association received yesterday. If you have suggestions about what else we might include, provided they are relevant on a national level, please let us know. Don't forget that another Coping with COVID-19 call will be held this Tuesday at 2:30 pm EST. Click here for details or click the image at the bottom of this post. Members of both associations are invited as are all non-members. This call is simply about helping each other through the pandemic. COVID-19 Business ResourcesCOVID-19 Business Resources

The Canadian government introduced the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) to help workers and businesses this past week. Details appear to indicate that DJs who are self employed and suffering income loss as a result of the social distancing restrictions may qualify, but until the application process is open, we can not be absolutely certain. The Chronicle Herald reports that "Anyone who has made at least $5,000 in the previous 12 months or the previous tax year and who has lost their income for any reason due to COVID-19 is eligible for the CERB." This gives us great confidence that mobile DJs will qualify for the CERB. The Federal Government has also recently announced 75% wage subsidies to help employers to maintain the employment of their staff. This would apply to DJ companies that employee DJs as employees (not subcontractors). Additional information on the wage subsidy, including federal and GST/HST tax deferrals, business loans and other initiatives for small business, can be found in the March 27, 2020 announcement from the Prime Minister. For complete and up-to-date Government of Canada information on the current pandemic, head to their Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) information site. A special mention to the Think Splendid blog as it contains some of the most insightful methods through which to look at the current crisis from the special events world point of view. Leine Stevens, founder and author at Think Splendid, has written 10 extensive blog posts on COVID-19 and the wedding industry. Each post sees her answering questions about how to handle the crisis from all vendor categories. There is a lot to dig through over the posts that have been written, but they all contain valuable advice for approaching the pandemic, as it relates specifically to the world of special events.

Educational ResourcesFree Educational OpportunitiesEee Mobile Beat Las Vegas will continue to offer free replays of all content they streamed for their recent online version of the conference until March 31, 2020. CONNECT with the Mobile Beat Las Vegas seminars. DJNTV Insiders Area has decided to open up their library of over 100 seminars free for two months. CONNECT with the DJNTV Insiders Area. Alan Berg recently produced a free webinar seminar titled 10 Proactive Things You Can Do Now To Lean-In. This webinar was produced in response to the current pandemic and a complimentary recording of the webinar is available from his website. CONNECT with "10 Proactive Things You Can Do Now To Lean-in by Alan Berg. Word of Mouth, a seminar that Dave Ternier recently presented at the DJNTV DJ Conference in Las Vegas, has been published in the members-only area of the CPDJA website. It has become the start of what may become an educational library for association members. CONNECT with Word of Mouth. AV Shop.ca has compiled a list of general audio and visual training opportunities currently available from manufacturers. CONNECT with the AVShop.ca list. Two Electro-Voice Canada Wide DJ Calls are scheduled for April 7 and April 14. The first, Performance Ready, will feature CPDJA DJ member and Holistic Nutritionist, Rachael Henderson as she participates in a conversation with us about the unique health challenges that DJs face and how identify simple solutions that you can add to your tool kit right away. Topics will include nutrition, hydration, restoration, movement, community and performance. The second call, Marketing and Branding on Social in 2020, will feature Nick Spinelli from SCE Event Group. Nick has made a huge name for himself through Instagram, YouTube, his performance and the knowledge he has of branding. *Every effort has been made to ensure the validity of the above information but with new details emerging on a daily basis and with information changing as fast as it is today, the CPDJA makes no warrants or guarantees with regards to the above details.

The Canadian Professional Disc Jockey is proud to announce a brand new CPDJA managed website (in addition to this one) for consumers, www.findaDJ.ca!

For years, we have wanted a separate, consumer oriented website. One website would be for industry (you and I) and the other for consumers. The consumer one would work to educate them about our industry and promote our member DJs. At the start of this year, the consumer education material began being published on a bi-weekly basis (in a not-so-easy-to-find place at cpdja.ca). Today, we are excited to share with you that a brand new website has been launched as the new home of this consumer orientated material!

FindaDJ.ca is intended to not only hold the educational material we are publishing with our partner associations in the UK and Australia, but it will also serve as a method by which consumers might find our members.

While this secondary website was in the works prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, we now hope that it and the new social media profiles we are also creating for it (the Facebook page is live now) will help with our members returning to work faster than ever.

With that, our new blog post has now been published. This one takes on a slightly different angle for the public in helping them understand the concept of staging. Check out Staging For Entertainment now at the new findaDJ.ca and give it a share to your social media followers if you'd like!

The CPDJA looks forward to promoting its members through this new secondary website along with valuable information about our industry for the Canadian public.

The Canadian Professional Disc Jockey Association would like to welcome new Allied Member, Scotia Events, to the CPDJA!

Owner of Scotia Events, Terry Holdershaw, has long been a CPDJA DJ member (and is a current member of our Board) but as his company continues to expand in the rental and large scale production side of things, transitioning to become an Allied Member made the most sense for him.

Based out of Milton, Ontario, Scotia Events supports DJs, bands and events throughout the Greater Toronto area and southern Ontario regions between Niagara, Kitchener/Waterloo, Halton, Vaughan, Durham and surrounding areas. From speakers and microphones to digital mixers, monitors, band support, backline, lighting, truss, screens, projectors, TVs, staging, drape and more, Scotia Events can be your trusted partner when you have equipment or production needs.

Equipment rentals can be picked up in Milton or arranged pickup/drop off location. They also offer delivery and pickup services as well as full service rental, delivery, setup, teardown and technicians so that you can stay focused on your performance and not have to worry about any of the equipment or setup and teardown. 

Check out Scotia Events online or reach out to Terry personally with your equipment or production needs.

We appreciate adding you to our lineup of Allied Members, Scotia Events! Thank you for your support! 

If you are an equipment manufacturer or service provider that would like to support the CPDJA in exchange for sharing your messaging with the DJ membership of our association, please contact us.

The Canadian Professional Disc Jockey Association would like to welcome new Allied Member, Pioneer DJ, to the CPDJA!

For more than 20 years, Pioneer DJ has been a market leader in the design and production of innovative DJ equipment and software. Pioneer DJ's vision is "to be a leader in making life richer through music technology.” To do so, the company draws inspiration from its diverse customer base that spans countless genres and DJ styles. Pioneer DJ remains at the forefront of the DJ market as they continually launch next-generation products that inspire and shape the global dance music community.

Pioneer DJ’s portfolio includes globally recognized brands such as TORAIZ, Pioneer Professional Audio, and Pioneer DJ Radio as well as social platforms KUVO and DJsounds.

Expect to see Pioneer DJ product, training and more at upcoming CPDJA Networking Nights along with a few other exciting things we’ll be launching this new year!

Head over to the Pioneer DJ website to check out details for their entire product line.

Welcome, Pioneer DJ, to our growing list of Allied Members! We sincerely appreciate your support of our not-for-profit organization!

If you are an equipment manufacturer or service provider that would like to support the CPDJA in exchange for sharing your messaging with the DJ membership of our association, please contact us.

The Canadian Professional Disc Jockey Association would like to welcome new Allied Member, QSC, to the CPDJA!

QSC is a trusted name for many DJs in their business operations. Some of the most recognizable lines from QSC in the DJ world are the K.2 Series, KW Series, KLA Line Array Series and the popular TouchMix digital mixers. Expect to see QSC demos at upcoming Networking Nights as well as some unique initiatives including online product training and a new AMA (Ask Me Anything) series will be launching with them next month!

Founded over five decades ago, QSC is globally-recognized leader in the design, engineering and manufacture of award-winning high-performance loudspeakers, digital mixers, power amplifiers, audio processors, digital cinema solutions, and the Q-SYS™ software-based audio, video and control platform. Offering reliable, scalable and flexible solutions for professional installed, portable, production, corporate and cinema applications, QSC puts customers first with its highly acclaimed sales, service, and support networks worldwide.

To check out the entire QSC product series online for DJs, head to their website and navigate to the Live Sound > Mobile Entertainers section.

Welcome to our group of Allied Members QSC! We appreciate your support of our not-for-profit organization.

If you are an equipment manufacturer or service provider that would like to support the CPDJA in exchange for sharing your messaging with the DJ membership of our association, please contact us.

The Canadian Professional Disc Jockey Association would like to welcome new Allied Member, Private Label Trivia, to the CPDJA!

Private Label Trivia might sound new to you, but make no mistake, they’ve already proven themselves to deliver an incredibly valuable service to many DJs (more on that below) - and they’re a Canadian based company! 

Every week Private Label Trivia produces two different types of Trivia Shows for Average Joes! Their trivia shows contain questions that cover a wide variety of themes, music, categories, and even word puzzles – there’s something for everyone! And because they’re a Canadian-based company, you won’t have to worry about things being regionally-based elsewhere that might alienate or frustrate your audience.

All trivia shows are uniquely branded to YOUR DJ company (or your clients) and offered in a PowerPoint slideshow format that you download to your laptop or tablet. Each week they send you a link to download your show, customized with your branding. You then output the show from your laptop to your venue’s TV screens or on their in-house projection system. It’s as easy as that! Team answer sheets and automated score sheets are also provided, making things as turnkey as possible.

CPDJA member Jordan Gawley of Black Creek Music has been using Private Label Trivia and shared the following:

"Running a small business can be time consuming and difficult...we always try to do everything ourselves.  When offering trivia, it is so refreshing knowing our DJs will be leading guests through an interactive masterpiece!  Private Label Trivia takes all the work out of the process and allows our DJs to focus on what’s important...entertaining and rocking a room full of trivia teams.  Brad is so helpful, available, and an all-around great person!  Geographically we are close to the Private Label team, so it is not unlikely for other Private Label supporters to show up at our Trivia Nights showing support and creating excitement in the room.  Thank you Brad and everyone at Private Label Trivia!!!"

Now, if what you’ve read so far isn’t enough…check out this great offer directly from Brad Bell, the genius behind Private Label Trivia:

"Send us your logo, and we'll do up a totally FREE trivia show that you can use however you like, so you can see what makes our show unique and better than the rest!  Take it to a local pub or bar and use the free show as a demonstrator or sampler...no strings attached.  After that, as a CPDJA member...we'll give you your first 4 shows half-price to help you kickstart trivia wherever you can get it started!  That's 4 weeks for only $100…it’s a no brainer!"

What are you waiting for?! Get chatting with a cool local venue that wants something fresh and new for a weeknight and then email Brad about this deal before he realizes it’s too generous to keep going!

Welcome to our incredible group of Allied Members, Private Label Trivia! Thank you for your support of our not-for-profit organization!

If you are an equipment manufacturer or service provider that would like to support the CPDJA in exchange for sharing your messaging with the DJ membership of our association, please contact us.

The Canadian Professional Disc Jockey Association would like to welcome new Allied Member and social media marketing extraordinaire, Booked Solid, to the CPDJA!

The mission of Dominick Pirone of Booked Solid is to help you fill your calendar with high-quality events and weddings using the latest in paid digital marketing strategies. But wait, who the heck is Dominick Pirone and Booked Solid and why should you care?!

Dominick is the personal marketer for recognizable names like Joe Bunn, Bunn DJ Co, The DJ's Vault, Jason Jani and SCE Event Group. He's a speaker at The DJ Collective and owns his own marketing agency called Break the Internet that works with micro-influencers. He's not just another "guru," but a lover of marketing done right and is always searching out the best ways to assist DJs in growing their business.

Booked Solid was founded by Dominick Pirone, an active wedding entertainer and self professed digital marketing nerd (been in marketing 15+ years), to provide DJs with the latest in game-changing lead generation techniques that givers them the upper hand in their area. Fans of The DJ's Vault will also know Dominick ("Dom") as a regular contributor there and frequent host of webinars with Joe Bunn.

At Booked Solid, Dom believes that quality entertainment services shouldn't wait to be picked from the directory sites (Wedding Wire, The Knot, Google, etc.). Instead, Booked Solid teaches the ADVANTAGES and the HOW of pushing out the value of your brand and business in a profitable way from day one on IG, FB and other highly effective marketing channels to connect up with your ideal clients. The goal is for your prospective clients to see you EVERYWHERE and make you the "celebrity" wedding entertainer of your space. And to pack out your calendar.

• DONE FOR YOU ADS
• FULL WALK THROUGH ON SETTING UP YOUR VIRAL CONTEST GIVEAWAY
• ADVANCED NINJA MARKETING SKILLS
• REMARKETING LIKE A BOSS
• ...and A TON MORE!

These things and many more are what await you behind the walls of Booked Solid! Join Booked Solid for just $27USD/month in order to unlock thousands of dollars of marketing intel along with weekly support for your digital campaigns! Over 250 members of Booked Solid have been increasing their revenue by implementing the tools, pre-built templates and information picked up from Dom! Oh, and don't forget to take advantage of the free Professional Video Logo Intro Design for your company when you signup!

We're thrilled to have Dominick and Booked Solid come on board as a CPDJA Allied Member and as a sign of his generous character, Dom has also committed to further supporting the work of the CPDJA by sharing a portion of the monthly fees with the CPDJA from all DJs who sign up through the special link he's set up for us.

Welcome to our roster of Allied Members Booked Solid! Thank you for your support of our not-for-profit organization!

If you are an equipment manufacturer or service provider that would like to support the CPDJA in exchange for sharing your messaging with the DJ membership of our association, please contact us.