You’ve got the venue booked and the band on board, now all you have to do is promote the gig. Concert promotion can be a tough job – there is a lot of work to get done, and often there is not much time in which to actually get it done. The job gets even harder if you’re a new promoter. If the stress of getting a show off the ground is making your head spin, take a deep breath and check out the information below, which will walk you through it.

One note – different kinds of shows require different kinds of promotion, and as the gigs get bigger, so does the promotion job. These tips are best for new promoters and smaller gigs.

Here’s How:

Gather the Materials: Before you can start promoting the gig, you need the materials in place. Gather the following so you’re ready to go:

If you don’t have one already, take the time to build a database of local media contacts (email, fax, phone and street address), as well as publication deadlines for local papers.

Make the Contacts: With all of the material in place, you can build a promo package to send to local papers and radio stations that advertise local gigs. Include information about the wheres/whens of the show and ticket price, as well as information about the artists playing the show. If the bands are available for interviews in the run up to show, make this known in your press release. Make this initial contact as far in advance as you can (at least eight weeks in advance is ideal). Don’t worry that you’re contacting people too soon – you’ll be following up with these contacts later.

Do the Legwork: Granted, this isn’t the most fun part of promotion, but it can’t be helped – head out to the gig venue and every place else in town that allows people to hang posters, and place yours front and center. You can send posters in the mail and ask places to hang them for you, but don’t count on it actually happening. If you want to be sure your gig is being promoted, then you need to go out and do the dirty work yourself.

Follow-ups, Follow-ups: As the gig draws closer, keep the lines of communication with the press open. Send out a few emails to your mailing list reminding them of the show. Make some phone calls and see if you can get a local journalist interested in writing about the show or the bands. How often you should be doing these things depends on how long you have between the time you book the show and the big day. At the very least, make sure that the show is listed in all of the local gig guides and send out an email to your mailing list the day of the show reminding everyone what’s happening.

Extend Invitations: One great way to increase coverage of your show is to offer guest list places to journalists. If you can convince them to run a preview or review of the show in exchange for a spot on the list, great, but even if you can’t, go ahead and let ‘em in. You’ll be able to cash in on the good will you’ve created here in the future. If you want to increase your promoter cred and get other bands in your area to turn to you for future shows, extend a guest list spot to them as well.

Tips:

Plan for Next Time: If this is your first show, create a mailing list of your own by getting people to leave their email addresses at the door. This way you will have another channel for promotion in the future – you’ll be able to communicate directly with the people who want to come to your shows.

Be Realistic: Sometimes, you can promote and promote, and still no one seems to want to turn out to the gig. All you can do is spread the word – you can’t force people to attend. Promoters often find themselves in the crosshairs of the band after a bad show, but take it with a grain of salt and be realistic about what exactly you can pull off. If you did everything you possibly could to promote the show, then maybe you don’t need better promotion techniques – maybe you just need different bands.

Don’t Neglect your Other Duties: Promotion is actually only part of a promoter’s duties – don’t forget you also have to take care of things like working out a financial deal with the venue and the bands, making sure all of the technical requirements are met, planning the timeline of the night of the show and so on and so forth.

What You Need:

* Posters
* Promo CDs
* Press Database
* Mailing List

For more education on careers in the music industry, check out: http://www.music-career-guide.com

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There is a lot of talk on this site about the importance of playing live to building up an audience for your band, but what if you have never played live before, and the prospect of taking to the stage has you quaking in your boots? There is a place where you can get some on-stage practice under your belt without braving the crowds at a big show – your local open mic night. Open mic nights sometimes get a little a bit of a bad rap, but not every open mic night is associated with earnest performances of poorly written pseudo-beat poetry. In fact, many towns have established open mic nights that are great places to catch the best up and coming local talent, and if you need to hone your stage act, these nights can be just the place to build up your comfort level on stage in a supportive environment. The crowds that turn up to see open mic nights are genuinely interested in hearing new music, and there also tends to be a good sense of community between the musicians taking part. Once you feel like you know how to own the stage, those same musicians you meet at open mic nights could be the contacts you need to get on your first concert bill.

Open mic nights are also great for new musicians. They also offer band who are old hats at playing live a place to try out new songs and experiment a little bit with their sound. If you are trying to move your band out of your local scene, hitting up open mic nights in another town is a good way to get a foot in the door with the music scene in that area. All in, open mic nights offer you the chance to practice your live set and build your confidence – plus, they can be a lot of fun. If you have written off the open mic night as an option for your band, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.

Written by Heather McDonald

For more education on careers in the music industry, check out: http://www.music-career-guide.com

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