…Well, maybe not like your boss, because they probably wouldn’t play good music. That’s why you’re in charge, right? And the boss would definitely have no idea how to create a great playlist.

But with great power comes great responsibility, and there is no greater responsibility at a party than selecting the music. It’s got to be on point at all times, beginning to end.

You have the power over the party!

Everything’s going great. You know you’re the person for the job. You know which tracks are going to kill it on the dancefloor at the end of the night. But then you sit down to work out the playlist and, suddenly, it’s not as simple as that time you had your house party rocking.

Before you think of a single track, you need to think about your audience. It’s the number one rule of the DJ. Taking people on a musical journey is fine… if you’re a big name DJ, for the rest of us, it matters who is listening.

You’ll need to take everything into account, if there are people of all ages at your event, you’ll want to play a music across the past couple of decades.

Make sure the music is appropriate — if you’re creating a playlist for a corporate event and some of the guests might lean toward the conservative end of the spectrum, make sure the lyrics are all acceptable.

Unless it’s just a straight up party, there’s going to be an event flow, and you need to account for that. So don’t start the event imagining you’re standing in front of a crowd, pumping your fist along to the cheers…you’ll want to start a little more chilled out than that.

Early on is a great opportunity to fit in some of the older music as well, you can save the latest hits for the end of the night… Let’s face it, the oldies aren’t usually the last ones standing anyway.

It’s definitely important to keep it chilled during food service.

Adjust the volume according to the evening and what is happening throughout. It’s a good idea to make sure you can do this prior to your party. In fact, it’s always smart to check all the audio equipment is working as you expect and give it a test drive beforehand.

Make your playlist as eclectic as you can. Different people like different music. Everyone has their favorites, it’s what makes music such a universally great thing.

Finally, have fun! If people don’t get up and dance when you expect them to, don’t panic. It only takes one or two people to get the dancefloor going… and it always happens eventually.