By
Colin Thurston
The live music industry has had a rocky time over the last decade for all sorts of reasons. Look beneath the surface, however, and you might be surprised to find a wealth of live music events in your area. With summer nearly here it won’t be long before the festival spirit kicks in; now is the perfect time to get into organising live music events.
Know your stuff
Research is vital to the success of any kind of event, and live music is no different. There’s a whole lot to think about: the acts, the venue, the equipment, income generation; the list goes on! I’ll cover a few of these below, but a good grounding in events management from
an accredited training course can really help you to feel confident and in control – increasing your chances of success. Want to get started sooner rather than later? Try a
weeklong foundation course to quickly boost your skillset.
Start small
It’s exciting to think about one day organising the kind of large-scale events you’ve enjoyed in the past, but by starting small you’re giving yourself a chance to learn your trade in a less risky environment. Building your practical experience counts for a lot. It’s also one way of
making great new contacts that can be the key to success later on. For now, you want to think locally rather than nationally. Find out what’s going on in your nearest large town or city: a good local entertainment guide, either online or in print, can give you a great overview.
Finding acts
So now you’ve got a clearer idea of what’s going on and where, the next step is to find musicians! Whether you’ve a friend with an awesome band or you’re planning to go and scout for new talent, here are some top tips:
- Find acts within similar genres – you don’t want a solo singer-songwriter to open for your brother’s metal band, however hilarious you think that would be.
- Three (or four) is a magic number – for local gigs you’ll want to have more than a headline and a support act to make sure you’re drawing in enough people. Not too many though: you’ll run out of time (or space)!
- Budget for travel expenses – many smaller acts are happy to play for free in return for the chance to sell CDs or other merchandise, but providing for their travel expenses is a gesture of goodwill that will make them feel appreciated. Happy musicians = better music!
Finding a venue
Still got that local entertainment guide? Super! You’ve got a list of the busiest, most popular venues in your area at your fingertips. Reality check: to get into many of them you’re going to need a solid track record for organising great live music events. But everyone has to start somewhere – and we’re starting small, remember? Small bars, clubs and pubs are your friends: if you can guarantee them a boost to drinks sales on a normally slow night they’ll likely be happy to give you a shot (a chance, not, you know… an actual shot).
Promote!
Yes, your acts will probably tell their fans to come along, but they’d like you to put the word out too. It’s vital to get your event in that local entertainment guide, and put up posters (even if they’re cheaply homemade) where music lovers will see them. Don’t forget
social media: and get your acts to share any events or posters you upload to increase their reach. A busy night is a great night for everyone involved and sets you off on the path to greater success!
Image by Vinch under the Creative Commons license, via Wikimedia Commons 
