My 2 penneth then
I ran the Leeds Central from the start of the reunions 5 years ago, and the DJs that were booked were all too willing to do it for free for the first few events until it picked up and looked like a runner, mainly due to the fact that they were and are all original Central DJs from the 60s and 70s, and they wanted as much as myself to see the Central back up and running. I then started to pay them and they were more than happy. I try to keep the door prices to a minimum for a City centre venue, it's not easy sometimes, as the promotion, Security and whatever else that goes with it, doesn't come cheap, and rises regularly. I only raise the door price by £1 or so when the Guest DJs booked have to be paid, as they usually cost more than the residents, if they don't, the price stays the same. This year due to rising costs the price has gone up by £1, but I still think that £7 for a 7 hour all dayer with 7 DJs, in a legendary venue is good value compared to what others sometimes charge. At Christmas this year there were 10 DJs (one A list) and the event went on for 8 hours, and I still only charged £8, £1 per hour is good value in anyones books.
An issue in the original planning of restarting the events, was that that it HAD to be the original venue, and if I couldn't have secured that, it wouldn't have happened at all. It's just that the original venue happens to be in the center of one of the biggest cities in the UK, and that was never gonna be cheap to do, but I bit the bullet and took the chance, and I can say with all sincerity, that it has all been more than worth the initial nervous breakdown, and I buzz and smile every time I see the Central in full swing - That my friends is Priceless