Show notes:
In this episode, I’m chatting to Lianne Cole, a female wedding DJ, live vocalist and entertainer who is right at the beginning of her journey in the wedding industry.
Lianne’s route into weddings hasn’t exactly been a straightforward one. With a Master’s in opera performance behind her, she’s worked across a whole mix of different industries and businesses before finding her way into DJing and entertainment. She now brings together her love of performing and her passion for music through LMC, combining live vocals with high-energy DJ sets.
We talk about what it’s actually like trying to establish yourself when you’re new to the wedding industry, particularly as a female DJ in what has traditionally been a very male-dominated space.
Lianne shares some of the challenges she’s come up against, from seeing the same male DJs repeatedly recommended in local wedding groups to feeling like female DJs can sometimes be brought in simply to tick a box. We also talk about why visibility matters, the importance of having more women represented in the industry and how venues and suppliers could help create more opportunities for people who are newer to the wedding world.
Time stamps:
01:37 – Leanne’s Background & Opera Journey
13:57 – Gender and the DJ Industry: Women in Opera, Weddings, and Beyond
19:41 – Confronting Sexual Harassment in the Industry
27:34 – Unearthing the Gender Gap: Getting On Venue Supplier Lists
35:16 – Marketing on a Shoestring: Visibility Strategies for New DJs
Transcript:
Lianne
00:00:00.320 – 00:00:07.400
So hopefully if anyone’s thinking of starting, just, just set aside a little bit of money to help boost you at the beginning of your marketing.
That’s what I would say.
Becca
00:00:07.400 – 00:01:34.060
I’m Becca Poundney, wedding business marketing expert, strategist, speaker and author.
Over the last decade, I’ve combined my love of marketing with my knowledge of the wedding industry to help thousands of wedding pros and venues just like you learn new skills, strategize, get re energized and grow their businesses.
Because after all, that’s how you stay top of your game.
Whether you’re brand new into this industry or been here forever.
I want to so grab a cup of tea or a cocktail, sit back and enjoy a brand new episode of my award winning podcast, Wedding Pros who Are Ready to Grow.
Let’s get going with today’s episode.
Today I’m chatting with Liane Cole, a Hampshire based dj, live vocalist and entertainer with a master’s degree in opera performance.
She now combines powerful live vocals with high energy DJ sets under the LMC brand.
As a female dj, Leanne decided to explore female representation in our industry and she was really surprised to find out how few venues in her area had female DJs on their supplier lists in the late.
Let me say that again.
In the latest musician Census released in 2024, it showed that just 29% of DJs in the UK are female and that 51% of female musicians have experienced some kind of gender discrimination.
That’s compared to just 6% of men.
In today’s episode, I’m going to be finding out more about how Leanne is getting visible and how she’s pushing through those barriers to find success.
Leanne, welcome to the podcast.
Hi.
Lianne
00:01:34.060 – 00:01:34.900
Thank you for having me.
Becca
00:01:35.060 – 00:01:56.260
It’s an absolute pleasure to have you.
Now, before we get into our conversation and we’ve got lots to discuss, I want to find out a bit more about you.
And we have to start with the opera because I read that in your bio.
I loved it.
I’m a big musical theater performance girl myself and so I was like, right, okay, let’s find out.
How does one decide to study opera?
Lianne
00:01:57.300 – 00:02:26.480
That is a good question.
I’m not from a musical family at all, so I got, oh, I think when I was going for one of my auditions, they’re like, so your family musicians?
I was like, no, no, just me.
And then I also, you’re a bit of a freak.
And I was like, yeah, pretty much.
I don’t know really.
I started having singing lessons when I was about 11.
And then my singing teacher at the time said, like, you know, you’ve got a big range, you could definitely do opera.
And I had an auntie who liked opera, so I think her influence kind of came into it and I suppose I’m just a bit quirky and I was like, you know what, not everyone’s going to do this, so I’ll just give it a go.
Becca
00:02:26.560 – 00:02:41.660
I love is a very niche interest, but you must have an incredible voice to be able to do it because it’s also a really difficult thing to do.
And people listening appreciate how difficult it is to sing opera.
But like you said, you need a big range, you need a big voice.
It’s a tricky skill.
Lianne
00:02:41.900 – 00:03:19.130
It is, it’s.
And it’s.
I, sadly, I kind of feel like it’s a bit of a redundant skill nowadays because the funding for opera has just gone down and down.
Like I was recently offered some work for opera and it was three weekends of rehearsals plus the show and it was like £200.
I was like, I can’t, I just can’t do that.
So.
Yeah, but the main difference I would say between like opera singing and just pop singing or singing with a microphone is essentially you are your own microphone, you are doing your own amplification.
So.
And the moving into more contemporary stuff was quite weird for me because I was still trying to sing like opera.
My new singer was like, no, you don’t have to do that, the microphone does all of that.
Becca
00:03:19.130 – 00:03:22.490
So, yes, it’s a bit of a difference.
Okay, so you studied opera.
Lianne
00:03:22.570 – 00:03:22.970
Yes.
Becca
00:03:22.970 – 00:03:31.690
And then tell us what happened next.
So you, presumably you graduated and did you work, did you work as an opera singer at all?
Did you go straight into contemporary music?
What did you do?
Lianne
00:03:31.690 – 00:04:28.010
Okay, so I graduated my masters in.
Oh God, when was it?
20, I want to say 2013, I think.
So I did try and get a bit of work, but part of the other issue with operas, there’s loads of women.
All of the operas are male heavy in terms of roles.
Like some Mozart operas have like maybe 12 male roles and two women roles, for example.
And I’m a soprano, which is the most common voice type.
So it was really competitive.
So I then had to just get a job.
I worked for Lancome, I worked at the Albert hall as a steward.
And then I kind of got bored and set up my own dog walking business.
Just bizarre.
Then I took over a children’s entertainment company and I’ve been doing princess parties as well on the side.
But yeah, so I guess opera Singing was never my, unfortunately was never my main income.
I wasn’t lucky enough where I could just rely on my parents to support me.
When I needed the money, I had to work.
So I was just performing as and as and when really.
So.
Becca
00:04:28.010 – 00:04:44.110
Yeah, okay, so you obviously had a business brain because immediately you thought, I know, I’ll just start a dog walking business or just get involved in children’s parties.
So owning a business or being part of a business has obviously been a big part of your journey.
You said your family aren’t musicians, are they entrepreneurs?
Lianne
00:04:46.190 – 00:05:09.410
No, they’ve all got jobs.
My dad was in the N. My dad was in the Navy.
My mom was very much say, my parents are a bit older.
They were 41 when they had me.
So my mom was kind of had.
She wasn’t a, I wouldn’t say she was a career woman, but she always had jobs.
But she’s just one of those who’s just been happy to have a part time job just to fund her so that.
Yeah, no, not really.
And my brother works for Boots Opticians.
Becca
00:05:09.570 – 00:05:15.010
So yeah, no, you’re definitely, you’re definitely writing your own story there.
Lianne
00:05:15.010 – 00:05:15.410
Yeah.
Becca
00:05:15.410 – 00:05:27.010
So, okay, so talk me through that process because you’re not getting a job in opera.
You’re like, yeah, I know, I’ll start a business.
What was it that made you think I’m going to start my own business rather than just going into another job?
Lianne
00:05:27.490 – 00:06:01.130
Do you know?
I, I did work for someone for about three months dog walking and it, it was not good.
I don’t go into too much, but there was a massive conflict of personalities and I was just like, well, I need to make money and I enjoy dog walking.
So I would, I don’t, I don’t know, I wasn’t one of those people, like when they set up a business, they’re like, right, you need a business plan, you need this, you need that.
And I’m just like, no, I’m just gonna do it.
So I just don’t think in processes, I don’t think, I think that’s part of the issue.
So, no, I just did it because I needed, needed a job and I kind of just didn’t want to go and work for someone I don’t know.
Becca
00:06:01.450 – 00:06:21.130
No, that makes perfect sense.
I always say I’ve become the most unemployable person ever because I love working for myself.
I like to decide what to do, I want to make my decisions, I want to do things my own way.
And I’ve never, you know what I’ve Been, here’s a big admission.
I’ve been in this business over a decade.
I don’t think I’ve ever written a proper business plan because it’s not just me.
Lianne
00:06:21.130 – 00:06:22.410
I’m signing a fraud.
Becca
00:06:22.570 – 00:06:32.630
No, I think there’s a lot of people that spend so long writing a business plan that don’t actually do anything.
Now, obviously if you need to go and get money from a bank, sometimes you need something more on paper.
Lianne
00:06:32.630 – 00:06:33.030
Yeah.
Becca
00:06:33.030 – 00:06:47.910
But actually, you know, there’s a lot of things that we can do and I guarantee there’s a lot of people listening who’ll say, thank goodness they said that because we’ve never had a business plan either.
But it feels like this kind of thing hanging over people.
I need this business plan.
But yeah, actually taking action and doing stuff is way more beneficial.
Lianne
00:06:47.910 – 00:06:48.470
Absolutely.
Becca
00:06:48.470 – 00:06:50.670
Making money than writing it down on paper.
Lianne
00:06:50.670 – 00:06:51.030
Yeah.
Becca
00:06:51.030 – 00:06:58.480
So, okay, let’s get to where you are today then.
So you started the dog walking business, you’ve got the princess parties.
Where did DJing into the mix?
Lianne
00:06:59.200 – 00:08:22.730
That is a very good question.
I, I don’t know.
I was never, I learned.
So I’ve never been a multi instrumentalist.
Like, I tried to learn piano, but I just couldn’t cope with trying to sing and play piano at the same time.
I got too nervous.
Never been nervous of singing or forcing.
So.
So I suppose I thought, oh, I need, I like music.
I’ve never been someone who, because I, I think a lot of people think, oh, she sings opera.
That’s all she listens to.
No, that’s not my friend who’s a chef.
I was like, so what, you cook for yourself?
And she’s like, well, I just put a pizza in the oven.
Like it’s the same thing.
You need, you need to distance yourself from that.
So I’ve always loved all music.
Like I will listen to anything from like 1960s, like rock and roll, rockabilly, to like garage and like drum and bass.
And then I could go on to like heavy metal and then rap.
Like, it’s just very random.
I like everything because I think everything has something different to offer.
So I guess for some ways I’d also had the musical training.
So I guess in some ways to me I was like, why haven’t I done this sooner?
I think, and I absolutely love, when I’m DJing, I’m thinking, oh, do you know what?
They won’t expect me to play this, but I think I’ll really like it.
And then when the dance floor lifts off, it is amazing.
And then I just Sort of dance along.
I kind of feel like I’m part of it.
I’m not One of those DJs that just stands there.
I do feel and get into the dancing as well and feel like I’m part of the party.
Becca
00:08:23.050 – 00:09:27.090
And DJing is really a performance art in itself, right?
It is a whole performance.
You’ve got that performance training.
But being a DJ isn’t just about playing a song.
There is a huge performance element to it.
There’s a huge element of deciding what music to play when, how it all goes together.
And I know you then enhance that with your own live vocals as well.
But I’m going to tell the listeners another story that I may never have shared before, but years ago I worked in at Haven.
At a Haven.
Fun stuff, sure.
I mean it was a mad moment.
It was like a three month sin when I just finished university and I was like, I’m going to do this.
And I did.
But as part of that I didn’t realize as well as all the singing and dancing and working with the kids, there were some nights where I had to be the DJ and I was terrible at it, I was really, really bad at it.
And I realized, you know, it isn’t just about playing music.
Like you’ve got to line the next one up, you need to know what’s coming, you’ve got to make announcements, you got to do all of these things.
And so I’d love to know at what point you realize you had that skill, how you developed that skill.
Because I don’t think it’s as easy as just thinking I was going to be a dj.
Lianne
00:09:27.810 – 00:10:46.020
Do you know, I think I have.
I just put a post on TikTok about this and just saying like it was to do with some of the low rates of pay in some of the pubs and venues.
But I understand pubs and venues are really struggling at the moment.
So it’s not really a dig at them, it’s a dig at the system that they’re in.
But you know, I just said I’ve got so much to offer.
Like I’ve got lots of performance experience, I’m a singer, blah blah, blah and some guy wrote, yeah, that’s what they always look for when they’re looking for a DJ in a pub.
And I was like, well since when do you have to send a full CV of what you do when you’re DJing in a pub?
But the main thing I think is actually doing kids parties because I’m a lot of people will plan an entire kids party if anyone is kids, entertainers, you will.
I’m pretty sure if anyone’s listening will do exactly what I do.
I have a rough idea, but I can’t have a plan because kids are so unpredictable and so, so are parties for adults as well, especially when they’re drinking.
I kind of feel like if I can handle kids, I can handle drunk adults.
There’s not much difference to be honest.
And I think it, I think that’s part of it.
But also, you know, it got me the confidence to announce because I’d be like, right, well now everyone you’re going to sit down when they do the cake.
And I’m quite good at engaging kids so I kind of feel like from that aspect that progression made sense.
Becca
00:10:46.020 – 00:10:55.460
I think that makes perfect sense.
Okay, so at what point in the story then was LMC born as a brand, as a website, as a wedding dj?
What happened?
Lianne
00:10:55.620 – 00:12:03.910
Okay, so I think it was a conversation.
I was so, so I have, I have adhd.
Might not probably surprise a lot of people.
Creative entrepreneur, that’s kind of, that should be almost on the checklist I think if you’ve got adhd.
So I for a while was going as ADHD Jay, but then I found that there was someone else and I was like, oh, okay.
And literally there was just a discussion going around.
I think we were having a barbecue at my parents house and my brother said like, why don’t you just go like lmc, like just your initials?
And I was like, oh, do you know what?
I actually quite like that.
And then I just had to figure out of a way to it and do just not make it just lmc because otherwise people be like, oh, what does that stand for?
Whereas if I have it sort of written out, it’s it, it is me, but it’s also its own thing, I think.
I don’t know if that makes sense.
And then I guess I progressed.
I was just kind of at the beginning just like I’m just doing events, I’m just trying to get booked because you just want to get booked, you just want to get work.
And then recently I’ve been branching more out into weddings, but I’ve kind of got my own branding for weddings and my own branding for like maybe like corporate stuff or like club stuff though.
It was just meant to differentiate between the two.
Becca
00:12:03.990 – 00:12:09.270
Yeah, makes perfect sense.
So have you done your first wedding?
When did you do your first wedding?
How did that come about?
Lianne
00:12:09.350 – 00:13:04.000
Okay, so I’ve done three weddings actually so far.
So my first one was in February.
They booked Me on last minute musicians.
I think in January it was very last minute and I had to go.
So I’m in Southampton.
I had to go all the way to Taunton.
But they were, they were lovely.
Like they were really, really relaxed and I’ve been lucky.
All the three weddings I’ve done have been the most chilled people.
They’re more chilled than parents at organizing their kids.
Second birthday.
It’s quite interesting.
So.
And that.
Yeah, that was in a. Oh, it was in a school, but it was in the library and it was really nice actually.
It was part of the school that they do sort of rent out for weddings.
So yeah, it was.
I was very nervous, don’t get me wrong, I was nervous.
But there was quite an experienced sax player there, so he was really helpful.
The other issue I had was they booked me for live vocals and DJing and I went aphonic the week before, so completely lost my voice and I. Yeah, it was, it was not good.
So I had to do a very reduced vocal set.
But I got through it.
Becca
00:13:04.080 – 00:13:10.160
Excellent.
So you’re kind of branching out.
You’re newer into the wedding industry.
You said you’ve done three weddings, so where did your other two come from?
Lianne
00:13:10.720 – 00:13:48.460
Another one came through.
I think it was hitched, actually.
Even though I haven’t paid for a.
A listing on there.
They just, they must have looked right through.
But they just said they really liked how I worded what about myself.
And they were like, they wanted a festival style wedding and they said like we just got the impression that you would be quite relaxed and you would just go with the flow.
And that was that.
That at A Field with a View, it’s called In Winchester.
And then my other one, that was actually through a venue that I covered for another dj and we’ve become friends now, but he often sends work my way if he can’t do it.
And that was through him.
And that was at the dancing venue called the Dancing Man.
So that was a nice one as well.
Becca
00:13:48.460 – 00:14:44.340
Now I want to circle back to something you said right at the beginning in your story because you talked about opera and how hard it is to get into opera because it’s a very male dominated space.
A lot of the.
Well, in terms of the positions are male and it’s.
It’s hard when there’s only two female roles.
And yet you’ve joined a wedding industry which is very female dominated.
The wedding industry is hugely full of females, but the DJ space is the opposite.
And this really came to life for me recently because I’ve Been in the wedding industry over a decade.
I’ve spoken at events all around the world and I love how female heavy it is.
There’s a real mix of genders.
And then this year I got booked to speak at the DJ conference Pro Mobile, which I loved.
But oh my goodness me, it was me and a lot of men.
I, I was really shocked to walk in and to be in such a minority because not used to it.
And it really brought home to me in person.
Wow, there’s so few female DJs in the space.
Why do you think that is?
Lianne
00:14:44.500 – 00:15:49.120
I think, I think historically like people just obviously equality for women has gotten better, but it’s, it wasn’t really a thing until this sort of the protest more so in the sort of 60s and 70s really.
And I just think classically it was a male dominated thing like can.
When you think about radios, like announcements back in say the 1920s and 30s, how many of those announcers were female?
Like I would have to look into that.
I can’t give you a figure.
But when you look at, when you listen to a lot of the historical like radio shows, it’s mostly male voices.
So I do wonder if it’s just kind of trickled down through the years like that.
And there also there are a few biases as well.
Like some men still say that women only do well as DJs if they get the boobs out.
I know plenty of male DJs with boobs and they don’t get their, don’t get their boobs out after that.
So you know, there’s that.
And I think that also some people think that female DJs aren’t as skilled as well as, as men.
Yeah, there’s kind of just a few biases.
Becca
00:15:49.120 – 00:16:44.910
I think it’s just wild to me though because even as you’re saying those things to me, my brain is just exploding thinking well, what a ridiculous thing to say.
Like of course you’re let not any less or more skilled.
You’re just, I know different and there’s nothing to do with gender.
I mean you could have a male DJ that’s absolutely terrible.
And we’ve all come across some of them.
You could have a male DJ that’s incredib incredibly talented and it would be the same in the female space.
Like I don’t see gender being a thing.
But the comment about you can only be a good DJ if you get your boobs out like that.
Again, that doesn’t surprise me because you know the only kind of negative towards female comments I’ve ever heard in the wedding industry are sadly from among the DJ community.
And I think, you know, something’s got to change.
I know some really great female DJs who are incredibly talented and it’s a great space to come into, but I can see that it’s also an intimidating space to come into.
So what have been some of the personal challenges, challenges you face?
Have you faced any personal challenges?
Has it been difficult to enter the DJ space?
Lianne
00:16:45.150 – 00:16:50.750
Do you mean as in, as a wedding DJ or as a woman or sort of, or just anything?
Becca
00:16:50.830 – 00:16:52.190
All of them, all of the above.
Lianne
00:16:53.390 – 00:18:32.860
So I. I don’t know.
There’s more.
So there is a thing happening at the moment.
So more people are wanting to book female DJs, but sometimes it’s a token, you know, you’re the.
You’re the token hire.
So I saw a post recently, they were like, oh, we’ve got a main DJ at Isla White Festival, we want a female dj, the support dj.
And I got in contact and I quoted what I thought was a fair fee.
It was like 12 hours a day.
What I’ve quoted was a fair fee.
And then they’re like, oh, could you do it for any less?
And I was thinking, but what is the main DJ getting paid?
I, obviously, I’m not the headliner dj, but I need to be paid for my time for 12 hours and I’ve got basically hop on as and when the main DJ is off.
And I actually felt that I would be doing more DJing per day because he can just go away.
But as I wouldn’t have that option, I would always have to be there to step in when he wasn’t there.
Whereas I don’t think I could say to him, oh, I’m just going to pop off now, could you just jump on?
So that.
That was one of them.
So again, I suppose not feeling like a token hire is one of the things that I’ve mentioned.
But also like people on Facebook always asking for DJ recommendations, like.
So I would say 98 of the people commenting on men, I could probably name you on my.
On one hand, how many female DJs, I regularly come up as recommendations, even from people.
I think the other issue is, I suppose if men, if men are working in a predominantly male space, they’re always going to recommend their friends, aren’t they?
And most men have male friends.
I think that’s one of the other things where it might.
The other reason why it might be male heavy is friendship referrals and stuff like that.
Yeah.
Becca
00:18:32.860 – 00:19:37.940
But it’s difficult, isn’t it?
Because actually, if we’ve got less women in the space, then there’s less women to be there.
And I think, like, really, we need to encourage more people to come into the industry and, and realize, you know, there is a great industry here.
Why shouldn’t we have more female DJs?
Why shouldn’t that be an opportunity that you explore?
Why shouldn’t you bring that to the forefront?
Because it’s a great thing.
And actually, the more people we see doing it, it’s a bit like women’s football.
My daughter is heavily involved in female football.
Oh, that’s amazing.
And it’s the same, right?
So, yeah, the more they see, the more they do.
And now she’s grown up in a world, she’s nine years old where, where she doesn’t see female different as a football, as any different to male football.
Now, I can promise you, those men on Facebook, I see the comments all the time, not about her, but just about female football in general.
But actually the next generation coming through see something totally different.
And I think, I guess for.
For true change in this space, it needs to be the same thing.
Like younger women, other women coming into the space need to see that there’s a place for them.
Because if they can see you can do it, then why shouldn’t they do it too?
So visibility is so important.
But, you know, it’s that chicken and egg, isn’t it?
Of.
Well, there’s not many of us, so it’s really hard to get.
Lianne
00:19:38.400 – 00:19:38.600
So.
Becca
00:19:38.600 – 00:20:41.020
So how do we do more to do that?
There’s another area, though, that I really want to touch on just briefly because it might be triggering for some people.
But I think it’s important because another stat that I found in that survey, the census from the musicians that I looked at earlier, was that 33%.
Okay, 33%.
One in three female musicians reported that they had been sexually harassed while working, which blew my mind.
But again, going back to the comments you made earlier, it’s not a million miles.
I was recently at UK Wedding association meeting and we had a whole discussion.
It was across a wedding industry meeting and we had a whole discussion about sexual harassment in our industry.
And it was the first time I’d really heard that being brought up in an educational space.
And then I came across this stat again.
And I thought, we’ve got to discuss this again today, because it clearly is something that people are facing they should absolutely not be facing.
So I guess my question to you is, is it something you’ve experienced and what should we be doing about it?
Lianne
00:20:41.020 – 00:22:27.650
As an, as an history, I think I might.
I don’t know if I. I don’t know.
I don’t know how I can explain it.
I’ve never faced it from a physical standpoint.
Like, I’ve.
I’m lucky.
I have possibly faced it in other.
In other areas of my life, but not so much DJing.
But I have had it where, like, men have just been hanging around the DJ booth, for example, I get a lot of men complimenting me on my looks, which is.
Is nice, but it’s not always necessary.
And.
But when it’s.
I find it worse than it’s very drunk men.
And I suppose I feel that I can’t be assertive because I’m like, I’m here to do a job.
But I sometimes just want to say, can you just go away?
But when you’re in a sort of area where there’s not any security guards or anything like that, like on the door, I’ve kind of just had to just stand.
But I, I’ve just never felt comfortable enough to go, can you stop?
Can you go away?
Whereas I feel like if that was a man, that wouldn’t be happening.
But I, I don’t know because I kind of feel like we’re in 2026.
Like, people are aware of these things.
You know, men should know better.
It’s probably not just men doing it.
I’m sure some men are getting harassed by women, but people in general should know better.
And I’m like, if.
How have we managed to get to 2026 and this behavior is still happening at such a high level and proportionately more towards women as well.
I just, I, I don’t understand social media that.
It’s discussed, it’s brought up, we’re discussing it right now.
I’ve seen similar figures to yourself.
So, you know, and I guarantee if I tried to post this in a, I don’t know, say, like a Facebook wedding group and just say, look, please bear in mind, blah, blah, blah.
But I would probably just get people coming at me and having a go at me and saying, this is not true.
And people, denialism is just a massive.
What do they call it?
I think denialism is endemic in, in our population, I think.
Becca
00:22:27.810 – 00:25:23.400
Yeah, and.
And it’s difficult because it is happening.
And this discussion that we had was before was really interesting because, you know, we’re talking about the stats with musicians, but the female photographers sharing stories about things that had been said to them, things that, again, as women, I think sometimes we just kind of brush off or we just think, oh, it doesn’t matter.
But actually, when you share them in that space and you’re talking about it to each other, we’re all kind of shocked.
And actually some of the men in the room were most shocked, you know, because they don’t necessarily have those comments.
And they were shocked to hear that their peers in the industry were having things said to them or having, you know, being touched or being said inappropriate things to them.
And even in 2026, it is still happening.
And I think as an industry, talking about it is really important.
Both.
You know, we’re not saying that, you know, men are all terrible.
Absolutely not.
But what we are saying is we are still sometimes facing these situations.
And actually there should be spaces, you know, within the venue with a wedding planner.
You know, as a photographer, there should be people you can go and speak to if a guest is causing you an issue.
Like, if someone is, you should know and you should be told who that person is.
And you should be able to kind of, kind of quietly or silently reported, you know, I’ll tell you another story.
I’ve just flown back from Orlando and I was on an airplane and I was sat in an exit row.
And so, you know, the air hostess, whatever, was stood right by me.
She sat opposite me to, you know, when we were taking off.
Yeah.
And just before takeoff, when passengers were coming on, a male passenger came on and he started talking to her right in front of me.
And he was so inappropriate again.
I couldn’t believe it was 2026, just the things he was saying to her.
And it was so.
It’s difficult because it’s so gray.
Right.
He didn’t say anything that you’d go, right.
He needs to be arrested.
But he was just saying things, oh, you look really good.
I hope you’re going to come and serve me through this flight.
You know, it just made me feel really icky just even hearing it.
And he walked off.
And my instinct was just to say to her, are you okay?
And she just said to me something like, oh, yeah, we just have to deal with it.
And I thought, we shouldn’t just have to deal with it in 2026.
Now, I did hear her go and speak to her supervisor.
She actually switched sides of the plane and went and said the other side.
I’m thinking, thinking, what’s worse than now being having to be stuck in this tin can in the sky for eight hours overnight with this guy that’s just been inappropriate with You.
But we should all, as solopreneurs, also have a route.
Right.
We may not have a supervisor, but we should know who in that venue is responsible for safety and who in that venue is responsible for the guests.
And, you know, we can put in our contracts with our couples things around.
You know, if.
If your guests show us any of this kind of behavior, it’s down to you to deal with it.
Or, you know, we can put things like that in our contract.
And I think we do need to get better at talking about it.
And you’re right.
If you talk about it publicly, you’ll get all sorts of backlash and people saying all sorts of things.
Trolls on the Internet.
But actually, we are a female heavy industry, and I think we should be having these discussions Both as female DJs, but also photographers, planners, florists, you know, people working alone.
Lianne
00:25:23.640 – 00:25:24.280
Absolutely.
Becca
00:25:24.440 – 00:25:42.930
Spaces, especially when people are getting drunk.
So it’s, you know, it’s not the most joyful thing to talk about, but I think sometimes it’s the most important, important things to talk about.
Now, we talked earlier as well in my introduction that you did a bit of digging into some of your local supplier lists.
Yes.
I would love to know, why did you decide to do that in the first place?
Lianne
00:25:42.930 – 00:27:34.790
You know, it’s a really good question.
My brain goes in all sorts of things, all sorts of ways.
And I think I was just kind of.
We were talking about shoestring budget.
I was thinking, well, getting.
Being a recommended supplier, you don’t pay for that.
So it could be.
It could be a route to kind of getting.
Getting more work and getting more recognition.
And it wasn’.
The fact that I was like, I just want to go, hey, can I be a recommended supplier?
And then they’d be like, yeah, sure.
Like, one of the venues I approached, I’d actually organized a Princess afternoon tea there earlier this year for kids.
And it went really well.
They were lovely.
They were.
I worked with another venue last year, and that was a nightmare.
So I found a new venue, and I could not, like, criticize any part of the service that they provided me.
So I was like, look, you know, you.
I’ve worked with you now.
You know, I’m reliable.
You know, I do a good job.
Like, how.
How would I go about becoming a recommended supplier?
And they were like, oh, well, we don’t really want to.
We’ve already got people that do what you do.
They obviously don’t have a singer and DJ, but they have a singer and a couple of DJs, and they just Said, like, we don’t want to upset them.
And so I was thinking, right, well, what’s the, what’s the process?
What.
What are the.
What other suppliers are recommended?
And I think that’s how.
How I got into it.
And I was just looking and I was thinking, if these are actually mostly women, and I, I couldn’t find anyone with a female, an evidently female name.
So there was like, say, Dave, independent dj.
Probably not a woman.
Steve, independent dj.
And then you might have had like, agency names like Amazing Discos.
And you’re like, well, I don’t know if that is run by a man or a woman.
But there was just no, clearly, sort of, what do you call it, entrepreneur DJs that were.
That were women.
I guess that was it.
That’s just where my trail of thought went, I think.
Becca
00:27:34.790 – 00:28:26.590
Okay, so you did, you did the digging, you looked at the list.
You thought, there’s not many females.
Now here’s the challenge.
Okay?
So, yeah, and I’m gonna throw it right back to you because, you know, I know, and people listening will know that just getting on a supply list of any kind of it, you know, male, female, anything is a real challenge.
And, you know, it takes a lot of work to get on there.
On the other hand, we’re saying we want to see more representation.
We should be having options.
We want to see female DJs on some of these lists.
How do these venues then navigate this without it looking like tokenism?
Right, because they could listen to this now and go, oh, we ought to have a female DJ on, Or do you want to be our female dj?
But that kind of comes right back around to what we were saying earlier is like, you’re just there for a box ticking exercise.
So, you know, where do we think?
What do venues need to do better?
Is it that we as an industry need to do better?
Is it that as the female DJs need to be.
Be speaking up for themselves more?
Give us some thoughts.
Lianne
00:28:27.550 – 00:30:07.750
It’s.
I don’t know, I kind of feel like.
I don’t know, it’s a real struggle.
Like, there’s obviously some reason that female DJs haven’t been able to build the relationships with the venues that male DJs have.
But again, I don’t know why.
And also the other thing is, the other way to get recommended by a venue is to get couples to book you.
And it can be independently from the venue.
But again, how do you, when you’re struggling to get visibility, like, how do you convince couples to book you as well.
It’s just, it’s just, it’s just a circle.
But I don’t think anyone who has, you know, worked hard enough and gotten such a great reputation that they’re now a recommended supplier, I don’t think any of those people should be taken off.
I just, I wonder if venues could have like a trusted suppliers and maybe upcoming suppliers.
And that doesn’t necessarily.
And they could actually say, look, these are people that have maybe come to our venues a couple of times.
We don’t have like a massively long standing relationship with them, but we are really passionate about giving newer people in the industry some visibility, something like that.
But again, it’s just, I don’t know then that might annoy the suppliers that are already there.
But there does seem, seem a little bit of, a little bit of gatekeeping.
Not necessarily consciously.
And I don’t think all these decisions are conscious either.
I just think they’re long, long sitting systems and processes that work.
And I kind of feel a lot about, a lot of the wedding industry is very much about playing it, playing it safe because people want reliability and want what, what they know is going to work.
Becca
00:30:07.830 – 00:30:15.900
I absolutely love that idea about having rising star suppliers on the list though.
So any venues listening?
I think that’s a great concept.
I would say it was, I pitched.
Lianne
00:30:15.900 – 00:30:41.980
It to that venue, to the venue who I asked and they said that would just annoy our existing suppliers.
And I was like, but I would just, I would just market it as an up and coming.
And you don’t have to say that you endorse all the suppliers.
It would just be people that I’ve personally vetted or even I’ve worked with.
Sometimes I do work with newer people and it would be people I would reach out to, but they, they were just like, no, we, we wouldn’t want to do that because we wouldn’t want, want to upset our existing recommended suppliers.
And I was like, oh, okay, well,.
Becca
00:30:41.980 – 00:32:43.230
To that venue I, I have a message for you because I think a venue seriously.
And you’re thinking that we, we need to look at the perspective as well, because who are we there to serve?
Are we there to serve people who’ve been on our list as a supplier for a long time, or are we there to serve our couples?
And if we’re there to serve our couples, actually is there benefit in giving people fresh ideas, fresh perspective, different diversity in the kinds of people and backgrounds and ethnicities and religions and all of the rest of the things so that we can give people choice because actually, you know, we’re not serving the.
Unless they’re paying you a lot of money behind the scenes that we don’t know about in commit condition.
Like why are we so worried about them?
If they are amazing and doing their job, then of course they need to stay on that list.
That doesn’t mean more people can’t come into the mix.
That doesn’t mean we can’t see new exciting voices as well.
You know, another story fresh from being in Florida.
I noticed when I was in Florida, I’m on both Uber and Lyft for taxis and both platforms.
While I was out there, I hadn’t used them for a while.
Now have a female option whereas it as a female, female user it now you can turn it on to prioritize you getting female drivers.
And I was like, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the men drivers aren’t good.
But actually in some situations, sometimes actually I would feel more comfortable traveling alone in another country to have a female driver.
And that has now become an option.
And you know, yes, it’s a different situation.
But there may be some people out there who specifically want to work with a certain gender because for whatever reason that it makes them feel more comfortable.
And as a venue or as a planner, we should have different options up our sleeve.
Yes.
We don’t just want you on the list because you tick that box.
Of course you need to bring something different to our, to our couples.
But actually sometimes having a variety, having options is a good thing.
And having something different.
Like I guarantee that a lot of those DJs on that list definitely don’t do live vocals, definitely don’t have an opera background and definitely don’t bring the same kind of energy to a party that you do because you’re different, not because of your gender, just because of who you are and what you do.
Lianne
00:32:43.470 – 00:34:40.980
Yeah, absolutely.
I think.
And also a lot of DJs don’t come from a performing background.
A lot of them are just, they just like music and they’ve just, they, they’ve just kind of gotten good at it through experience and years.
So I mean, I can’t say that I’ve been doing DJing for 10 years.
No, I haven’t.
But I’ve got a lot of knowledge in other areas that really support my, my DJing.
Absolutely.
But the other thing is about, you know, if you, if you’ve got a couple of another culture, you know, they might not want a standard, I would say a standard white person dj like they may want.
Well, I might want A different, different race.
I might want a black DJ because they might have a better knowledge of the type of music that we like.
Like, we can’t just keep putting all couples into one box thinking, oh, wow, they’re all gonna like Mr. Brightside.
They’re all gonna want to listen to Sexes on Fire.
I’m like, no, I.
The weddings I’ve done have been clear examples of that.
Like the wedding, the festival wedding I did, they wanted loads of, like, Afrobeats.
So I was playing like reggaeton and dancehall and maybe a bit of Mumbaton.
And then later, then they.
A lot of the younger people left the dance hall.
Then the other older generation come on, they’re like, oh, could you play some ACDC and Rolling Stones?
And I was like, yeah, go for it.
I’ll play it.
And then the younger ones came back and I was like, right.
And then they asked for a bit of disco.
And I was like, well, that’s great, because everyone.
Everyone loves disco.
So I was putting on a bit of like, Jackson 5, Earth, wind and Fire.
And then the bride I knew, like, drum and bass, but they had said like, maybe drum and bass nearer the end of the evening.
So the last sort of 25 minutes, I then had to whack some drum and bass on for the bride and stuff.
But that’s what I mean, they weren’t.
That was a way wedding that I also.
We had some people from the Phil.
It was a Filipino wedding, so karaoke played a big part of it because that is huge in their culture.
And they were really liking a lot of the kind of the reggae ton, which features some more Latino sounds.
So, you know, I just had to be prepared.
But that’s why I think sometimes I’m good for that because I like everything.
So I’ve got a little bit of knowledge of different types of music and.
And stuff.
But, yeah, that’s.
Not everyone just follows.
Not everyone just wants the same thing.
Thing.
Becca
00:34:41.060 – 00:34:56.979
Yeah, absolutely.
And for too long, we kind of put couples into a this is what all couples want box.
And we’re seeing now more than ever.
I mean, you can see it all over social media.
People want their own thing.
They want to bring their own personality, their own vibe.
They want their own agency over choice.
They want diversity.
And so as venues, as planners, as people in the industry, we should have.
Lianne
00:34:56.980 – 00:34:58.260
They should be diversifying.
Becca
00:34:58.420 – 00:35:04.900
Diversifying and widening our own networks and mixing with different kinds of people.
Because that is going to make you better at your job.
Lianne
00:35:04.980 – 00:35:05.380
Yes.
Becca
00:35:05.380 – 00:35:42.720
Now we’re going to move away from gender for a moment.
And if you are one of my lovely male DJs listening, please know that we’re not hating on you today at like you’re amazing at what you do.
I just think there’s time for a discussion about this.
But I want to change subject to marketing because you are newer into the industry and I think it’s really interesting for people to hear from you because there’ll be a lot of people who are also newer into the wedding industry listening to this podcast and one of the things you said has been a struggle is trying to be visible on a shoestring budget, trying to make things work.
So I would love to know what have you been doing to help yourself?
What have you found effective to get more visible without spending loads of money?
Lianne
00:35:42.800 – 00:38:42.610
Okay, so I’ve had to basically become a full time content creator for myself.
So at one point I was running, I was running technically three businesses because I also style wigs.
But that’s a completely random thing that I do that in thing with my princess company.
But yes.
So social media is really important.
I’ve tried to make sure that I’m monitoring trends in the wedding industry so that I can do a post about that and also sometimes just monitor social media trends and then trying to make that trend relevant to your, to your niche basically.
But yeah, social media is really important.
I have been doing.
A lot of people do.
I don’t love doing it, but just posting to local Facebook wedding groups, but not the same ones every week and not to everyone all the time because a lot of couples are in the same so they might just see your post in every single group and it looks a bit spammy.
So that’s another thing I’ve been doing.
I was getting quite.
People are always looking on Facebook for DJs but it’s the same, it’s the same recommendations over and over again.
And the people that are always getting recommended are the most visible as well.
And you’re like, oh, it’s so frustrating.
That is another thing I’ve been doing.
I’ve Also, I’m doing one.
One wedding fair.
I budgeted for one.
It’s cost me £200.
I’m in the process of buying a house and I need a new car so I don’t have lots of extra money.
So I, I’ve.
I’ve sort of looked through the wedding fairs and thought this one is probably the one that’s most aligned to my brand and the sort of people that I want to attract.
Sending one wedding fair.
And I also have signed up to guide, you know, guides for brides.
They have got quite a.
They’ve got the cheapest monthly kind of boosted listing.
It’s still not their highest one, but it was like, it works out about £19amonth when you include VAT.
But out of that one, you also get free invitations to their, like, networking events.
And so I’ve signed up to go to a couple of those and the lady, I think her name’s Annie, she was really lovely, she said, look, come along to our networking.
It’s normally like £95 because you’re paying monthly, you come along for free.
And even if I can’t get in front of couples, getting in front of other suppliers is as beneficial, I would say.
So that’s the other thing I.
You can pay for listings, but only do it if you can.
And I would wouldn’t recommend paying for the most expensive ones.
The other really key thing is search engine optimization.
So a recent study done, I think, or like a thing done in America, I think it was like 500 vendors.
Most of their business still comes through Google from their website.
TikTok is like 4% apparently.
But more people are using TikTok now for, for their like, mood boards.
So instead of going on Pinterest, they’re going on TikTok.
So that’s why social media is.
But yeah, SEO and making sure you’ve got a great, a great website.
To be fair though, I see some very busy DJs with horrific websites.
Becca
00:38:42.610 – 00:38:55.450
So, yeah, but they’re very good at the networking and the word of mouth and they’re established and actually, you know, I always say word of mouth is one of the most powerful forms of network of marketing.
Sorry.
And networking and getting yourself out there.
Lianne
00:38:55.690 – 00:38:56.410
And it’s free?
Becca
00:38:56.410 – 00:39:45.890
Yeah, absolutely, it’s free.
Or it could be really low cost.
And actually, you know, going back to everything we said throughout this conversation, getting yourself out there, networking, meeting more people, getting more visible, talking to more people, that is what ends up with people recommending you onto these Facebook groups.
That is what helps you open doors into these venues and to show people what you can do and who you are, you know, and so actually, you know, everyone listening, the one thing you should be doing is getting out there and meeting people face to face.
Because, yes, you can chat online, yes, you can chat on email, but the biggest breakthroughs will come when you’re in person and people could meet you and see you and hear about what you’re doing.
So, yeah, absolutely.
Networking, I’m a big advocate for it.
And the stuff that guys for brides are doing with their networking is, is excellent.
So it’s well worth looking into it.
So Leanne, what is next for you?
What are your plans over the next few months?
Lianne
00:39:46.690 – 00:40:49.170
So obviously I’ve got the two.
So I’ve got the two networking events regardless of brides.
I’ve got.
What is it?
The wedding fair on the 13th, on the 12th, I’m actually part of.
It’s.
It’s not paid, but it’s a festival in Southampton.
It’s called Music in the City and all local musicians are there.
So I’m actually doing my first kind of public live vocal dj, DJ set because most people either book me as a vocalist or a dj.
Some people can’t quite grasp that I can do both.
That’s another issue I’m finding now is being a multi disciplined entertainer.
Like some people are like, so, so what do you do?
And I’m like, well, it says right there what I do.
Anyway, so that’s another thing that I’m doing.
I’ve got another wedding in November, I think.
I think just, just trying to get my name out there, I think, and just do more things.
I’m also trying to organize some kind of unusual, like they say, rave concepts with some local venues.
So again, I’ve just got to chase them up and just trying to get my name out there.
That’s it.
That’s it.
Really.
It’s just.
Yeah.
And moving house, obviously.
So.
Yes.
Becca
00:40:49.570 – 00:41:12.630
Well, for those of you that are listening, go and follow Leanne, go and see what she’s doing because it’s been really interesting to talk to you, Leanne, right at the start of your journey to hear about how you’re trying to break through these barriers, trying to, trying to change the concept and show.
There are other female DJs.
You know, I know at least one other female DJ in my community and I’m sure she’ll reach out and connect with you, but I’ll make sure I put all of your links, your website, everything like that.
Lianne
00:41:12.630 – 00:41:13.070
Thank you.
Becca
00:41:13.070 – 00:41:18.430
In the show notes and just tell us how to spell LMC because people will just be thinking it’s the initials.
Lianne
00:41:18.510 – 00:41:20.150
That is E, L, E, M, C,.
Becca
00:41:20.150 – 00:41:31.540
I. Fabulous, Leanne, thank you so much.
Before I end the podcast, I always end my podcast with the same question.
So I’m going to give that to you now.
And it’s this.
What’s one thing you personally wish you’d known sooner in your business?
Lianne
00:41:31.860 – 00:41:48.500
I suppose I wish I’d known to budget more for marketing early on, I think that would be the thing I would definitely wish I’d known more of.
So hopefully if anyone’s thinking of starting, just, just set aside a little bit of money to help boost you at the beginning of your marketing.
That’s what I would say.
Becca
00:41:48.500 – 00:41:57.870
Yeah, absolutely.
Leanne, it’s been such a pleasure chatting to you.
Thank you so much for your time, for being so open and candid.
If people want to chat to you, what are the best people platforms for them to find you on?
Lianne
00:41:58.590 – 00:42:11.310
I think probably Instagram I think is the best one.
Obviously I’ve got my website.
I also have WhatsApp, but my mobile is on my website.
So you can always feel free to WhatsApp me.
But I would say Instagram is kind of my, my preferred platform.
Becca
00:42:11.310 – 00:42:34.050
Fantastic.
And if like me, you’re intrigued about how being a DJ and a vocalist at the same time works, there are videos on your website which I went and watched because I wanted to understand how it works and they’re awesome.
So do and have a look at Leigh Anne’s website.
Go and watch it.
If you don’t understand how she’s doing both at the same time, well, go and watch it and you can see some great examples.
Leanne, thank you so much.
It’s a pleasure to connect.
I wish you all the best in the future.
Lianne
00:42:34.450 – 00:42:36.610
Thank you.
Same to you.
Thank you so much for having me.
Becca
00:42:36.690 – 00:42:58.550
What an interesting conversation with Leanne.
I think it’s really interesting point to look at this male dominated space and how females enter that space and it’s not necessarily about gender, it’s about opportunity and visibility and I think, I think that was a great conversation.
If you’ve got thoughts, if you’ve got questions, if you’ve got feedback, reach out to me, but please don’t troll me.
We don’t appreciate that.
We’ll see you all next time.
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