Behind the decks
Martin Long has been DJing for 25 years. He has played Pacha, Turnmills, Scala and Number 90, held a residency in Rimini, Italy, and taken the party onto the Thames with boat parties. He now runs Long Play Sound, DJing weddings, corporate events, boat parties, anniversaries and birthdays across the UK and abroad, including weddings in Morocco and Italy.
His core genres are disco, house, soul, funk and indie, and he is equally happy playing pop, rock and classics when a room wants them. He plays on Pioneer CDJs and turntables.
How Martin approaches a night
Martin doesn't play fixed playlists. Every booking starts with a planning chat about timings, must-plays and no-plays, and then the set is built around who is actually on the floor. The skill he learned in clubs, reading a room and keeping a floor moving, is the same one that makes a wedding or a fiftieth work.
Why the music business background matters
Alongside DJing, Martin has spent two decades working in music royalties and licensing, at PRS for Music, EMI, Warner Music Group, AWAL, Universal Music Group and BMG. It means he knows records from both sides: as catalogues, rights and releases at work, and as floor-fillers at the weekend.
What Martin writes about
Martin writes the guides on this site, covering what to expect when you hire a DJ, how to plan the music for a wedding or party, and what goes into a quote. Each page carries his name and the date it was last updated.