7.1: LIVE EVENT PROMOTION

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Live Event Promotion?

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The Role of the Promoter

In simple terms, the promoter is the person putting the gig on. It could be someone completely independant, or it might be a band member or DJ. It could also be the venue manager or someone who works there. Whoever it is, the principles remain roughly the same.

The economic question which generally motivates the choice of event is that of profit. Will the event generate enough income for the promoter to be able to pay the costs and arrive at a profit status?

The philosophy behind the decision to promote a band is far more complex than this. When a promoter enters the process of selecting a band there are several crucial decisions which must be taken. These are often linked to the promoter’s philosophical or economic experiences within the music industry, and to others which come from outside this experience.

THE 3 ESSENTIALS OF EVENT PROMOTION

There are generally 3 things which are needed in order for something to be regarded as a gig or concert or night; an ARTISTE, a VENUE, and a DATE.

Along with these essential ingredients there are a host of others which will vary in importance from event to event. These are: PA or sound equipment, lights, tickets, fliers and posters, etc.

The artiste you choose to put on at an event must be able to attract a crowd big enough to cover your costs at the door price you set. If not, you will need to do some very good promotion in order to sell enough tickets, or get enough people through the door if you don't have tickets. On a local level word of mouth may be sufficient for this. Usually however you will need to be aware of how popular your artiste is through the local music press, etc. Have they played in your town before? Did anyone turn up?

• What takes precedence over any other factor is awareness. Has the promoter ever heard of the band? This statement is one that is often exploited by the agent if the band is new and creating a buzz but has no significant punter loyalty. The agent, in theory, may prey on the unsuspecting promoter, lulling him/her into a false sense of security and thus off-loading the band at a vastly over inflated price.

• The band’s economic viability. The promoter has to ask whether the band will sell.

• Personal taste. Does the promoter actually like the band and feel that it is the right genre of music to put into the venue or city that is being promoted in?

The idea of promoting a band and style of music that the promoter enjoys has always been one of those leading philosophical, ethical and moral questions often discussed in music circles. It is seen partly as a duality with little compromise, or at times, it has been seen as an extravagant loss-leader for the promoter. If profit is the main motive the promoter should be led by market forces and punter needs rather than personal taste and choice.

Personal choice is a temptation you must overcome if making enough money to continue promoting is your aim. The institution of personally based band promotion decisions have resulted in the demise of many concert promoters and promotion companies, especially in an economic climate where the promoter has to be very careful about the economic viability of each attempted promotion.

When selecting a band in each different musical genre, the same rules apply. A great deal of thought and research should go into the final decision of whether to promote a band or not. The decision has to be based on several key factors.

• Has the band been around long enough to have built up an audience large enough to sustain a tour of the length planned?

• Is the band at present a new club favourite?
• Has the band attained a cult status?

To make value judgements, the promoter must first find out as much information as possible. This will come from the agent, record shops, other promoters and the music press.

The type of information needed by you, as a promoter, includes the number of dates planned for the tour. If only 5 dates are planned, or there is only one, and the band is reasonably popular, it may not matter to much about a reduced local fanbase. This is because if only a few dates are planned, an audience will travel to see the band in question. Linked with this is the amount of publicity are receiving at the present time. You need to establish whether the current publicity will be sufficient in the run up to the concert to ensure a capacity audience. If the band have already built up a large following, you should ascertain whether or not too many dates on the tour to ensure an audience that will cover the costs of the promotion. These dates may include some areas on close proximity to the venue in which your promotion is taking place. This may mitigate against ther audience coming to your promotion. If this is the case then further negotiations with the agent may be necessary to ensure;

• that your concert is the only one in the area and

• that there are not too many dates on the tour.

If it is impossible to negotiate on these matters then another band or venue are alternatives.

An aspect that is often overlooked during a promotion is the total amount of real costs incurred. Romantic as it may seem, promoting is not an easy task. It is made up of several hard economic facts. The first is that on the suface of an event, a promoter looking at a promotion from a romantic rather than an objective viwpoint may feel that he can afford to do the promotion. However, underneath this facade, the general economics of the whole event may not seem so viable. An event consists of not only the band costs, but also the hall/venue hire and associated expenses, which may include public address systems (PA), lighting, staffing, crew, hospitality and security. There are also marketing, promotion, ticket and press costs that may not be included in any original calculaton for an event. The sum total of these costs may be well above the amount the promoter can afford to pay out for the show.

Any promoter must make sure that s/he has done their homework carefully, and knows the costs of promotion down to the last penny. A contingiency budget should be included in case of an error or oversight.

When selecting a band the promoter must be aware of the music category that the band fit into, ie its genre. S/he must also be au fait with the magazines and periodicals that pertain to this genre, as well as radio and telvision programmes. Fitting together an economic and media picture of the band is essential. This alone could be the key reason for choosing the band. A call to several local record shops to see how the band are performing with cd sales could be another indication of whether a promotion will be viable. Calling other promoters around the country to get their ideas on the band and a skim through the last two months’ major music magazines can all help to build up a picture of a band’s economic viability for a promotion. The future of music is very transient, and few people really know what is going on in this industry. If the band is selling a high number of cds in Britain or another country, or the record company is about to pour x million quid into a promotional drive, it may be a good time to book the band.

Another key area of musical logistics to examine is whether new product will be released before the band goes on tour. New product may mean increased sales for the promoter, provided it is in the right time frame. This would span four weeks to two months before the band are due to tour. The tour would specifically coincide with the product release for two reasons:

• The consumer who purchases the product may want to see the band live.

• The tour may initiate customers, once they have seen the band, to purchase the product.

A tour immediately after the release of a new product may only increase ticket sales if the record company, agent and promotional marketing machine are fully behind the band.

The choice of band genre can often be affected by the geographical area and demopix. For instance, it is well known that heavy metal and rock sells well in some places but struggles in others. Therefore a seasoned promoter will have built up an audience profile over a number of concerts to try to establish what types of music best serve a community.

Depending on the press, popularity and longevity of the band, the catchment area for the venue will change. For example, a local band will probably pull a crowd from only within their town or city. A national band may pull from an area of 40 miles. However, an international band, or a band of a specialised genre, may pull from all over the country, or even abroad.

To weigh up these economic and philosophical questions can sometimes be hard for those promoters trying to make ends meet while trying to provide a quality service for the punters. If the punters do not receive a quality service then the promoter and venue will suffer in the long term.

It may not be the promoter who ends up selecting a band. Sometimes the band will ask their agent if they can play at certain venues. These venues may be where they have been treated well in the past or where the band know they will be marketed properly. If this occurs then there is little leeway in the pricing of the band. Negotiations with the agent could result in a reduced fee because the band may agree to drop the price in consideration of the sevice given on prior visits. It has often been known that if a venue persists with a band that do not pull in a lot of punters initially but then become big crowd pullers, the band often remember this action and ask to play at the venue in recognition of loyalty during their rise to fame. In a way it is giving the promoter and the venue a little of the success they have achieved with the help of such a venue or promoter.

Venues vary in size and type quite alot. Even the ones which are of most interest for putting on concerts on a relatively low budget have differences between them. Important things to consider when choosing a venue for a budget concert or event;

Is the size right for your promotion?

This doesn’t only mean is the venue big enough, it is very important indeed that you don’t choose a venue that is too big. A room that is half empty can make an event look bad even if there are enough people to cover all the promotion’s costs. As a result the band or DJ may feel that the gig is a downer because of all the floorspace still showing when they play. The same goes for the audience. Choosing a smaller venue would have made the event seem fuller, meaning the artiste and the audience will have a better night - and will consequently be keener to come back in the future -, and the smaller venue is likely to cost much less in hire costs, including the venue itself, the PA and the lights, and there would probably be less expensive security need for the smaller venue.

Is the location of the venue right for your promotion?

A sizeable proportion of the venues used for putting on bands and DJs are in or close to the city centre. While there are thousands of pubs in the country it is relatively rare to hold a ‘happening’ event in the middle of a housing estate. Of course there are many local pubs and social clubs which do have live events held in them to the great joy of the local punters, but these tend to be cabaret style acts mostly associated with cover versions or comedy. You would normally expect, in Nottingham at least, to be putting on events in and around town in one of the many pubs and clubs which offer themselves for hire.

Does the venue have a sound system or shall I hire one?

Some venues do make the effort to provide a PA for bands to use. These are the pubs and clubs which like to have the reputation of being a popular live venue. There are some popular live venues, however, which don’t have their own system, thus making it necessary for the promoter (you) to provide one. The question is; If the venue has one, is it good enough? and; The venue doesn’t have a PA, what shall I hire? This really depends on what you’re doing and what kind of artiste or music is being played, but the most crucial thing to consider is the size and shape of the room. Generally the bigger the room, the bigger the sound system needed.