YouTube, I Tube

Next month (mid-January 2010), I'll be launching the GoodNoteDJ Channel on YouTube.  At that time, I'll be uploading four brief videos I'm currently producing (assisted by the very talented young videographer Rob Burdette of Thomas Bowen Films ).

These videos are aimed at educating brides and grooms about their wedding entertainment options. Each video clip will be about three minutes long. We've shot two so far, and will do the others soon after the holidays.

The topics of the initial four clips are:

• 10 Things You Should Look For When Hiring a DJ for Your Wedding
• How a Creative DJ and MC Can Make Your Wedding Unique and Memorable
• Music Options for Cocktails and Dinner: "Background Music" Need Not Mean "Boring Music"
• Pitfalls to Avoid: How Things Can Go Wrong with the Wrong DJ

Between the scripting, rehearsing, recording of multiple takes, and editing, there's a lot of time and work going into each 3-minute clip. But I think the result will be worth it.

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NO MUSIC, PLEASE

"No Music" may seem like an odd header for me, who not only DJs for a living but has been a lifelong music lover. (Indeed, my never-ending love for music is what led me to a DJ career.)

However, as I spend more and more hours on-line, there is one place where I do NOT welcome music: on websites!

What I'm referring to are websites that automatically play music when you visit them. Many wedding vendor websites do this.

I understand the thinking behind it. We all want our wedding websites to convey elegance, charm, romance, and a nice ambiance -- and music helps set the mood.

But wedding websites shouldn't act like music boxes -- open 'em up and they play a tune. Here's why.

ONE: Many wedding couples do wedding planning while at work. (In fact, TheKnot.com gets more traffic Monday-Friday 9-to-5 than during any other time slot.) A bride doing personal web-surfing in an office environment doesn't want her co-workers and boss alerted by loud strains of Sinatra when she clicks on your web page!

TWO: Many people listen to their own music while on the computer. While they surf the 'net, they might be spinning a CD in their CD/DVD drive or listening to iTunes or tuning into web radio. No one appreciates having his or her favorite music interrupted by some OTHER music popping up unwanted from a website.

I know, I know: Nearly all auto-play music websites have a button somewhere on the page that can disable the music. But by the time your visitor locates and activates the off-switch, she is already annoyed. And annoyance is NOT the "mood" you want music to foster.