Concert Venues

How To Promote A Concert The Creative Way-Don’t know how to promote a concert? Well that’s probably not unusual because there really isn’t one method you can use for each concert or event. Concert promoters make a fortune doing this for a living so certainly you can’t expect my humble little price of the internet to be able to tell all, but I can offer some tips and ideas.

I used to promote seminars, not really concerts but when I helped a friends band get some publicity and promotion it seemed to work. I got some new tips from a book and they seemed to help to.

First – think about who your target audience is. What other concerts / gigs / events would they go to? We gave out flyers at other gigs in the area where other bands in the same musical style played. Hence our target audience was there and an easy target. One of the bands even announced our concert for us at the end of the set.

Second – flyers. Okay, I should have made this the first point – I was just testing you!. Try to put them up / hand them out where your target audience will see them (take a hint from the first tip) and make sure you don’t just litter the place and aren’t posting them anywhere illegal. Make sure they will stand out, so colour is good, but expensive. You will be able to get many more leaflets / flyers out there if you buy black and white. It may be an idea to go to the local college and see if you can get a graphic design student to design a leaflet for you in exchange for free tickets.

Thirdly – get on the web. Myspace has a great music section, and it can’t hurt to promote your concert here. Maybe link to a Youtube video of your band playing, or put clips from your last performance if you have a video of the event.

Fourthly – most local papers have a what’s on guide or events page. Make sure you have a listing here which is often free. Is your concert newsworthy in any way? Try contacting the paper to see if they will do a write up. Are you playing for a charity or worthy event? Are there any unusual circumstances around the gig? On a slow news day the paper may just get your photo in the paper and give a small write up. Try getting a free mention on the radio as well.

Fifth – Alice Copper was played in London. To promote the gig he had a big truck drive around with an advertising board on the back. The truck “happened” to break down right in the middle of London, and caused traffic jams that made the news. People in the UK saw a big picture of Alice Cooper right on there TV screen, and soon everybody knew Alice was playing a concert in the UK. Now, I don’t suggest you do this, but be creative. What about putting stickers promoting your event on coins, pasting flyers to your vehicle and leaving it parked in a busy car park where lots of people will see it. Try putting stickers on any mail you send out – you’d probably be surprised how many pairs of hands that mail goes through!

I think that is enough for know to wet your appetite. As a final thought, think about your budget. It is very easy to spend a lot of money promoting a concert if you don’t know how. I’ve learned from some of my mistakes which is why I bought the book – I try to learn from other people’s mistakes these days.

If you really want to know how to promote a concert and get the full range of techniques I suggest taking a look at the book as well.

How to Survive an Underground Rock or Metal Concert-Underground indie rock or underground heavy metal shows are not like mainstream rock shows. Security isn’t paid to protect you, but to protect the club from you and to kick you out if you damage anything or act like you’re on drugs. If you want to enjoy the music, and it is some of the most vital music in rock, you’ll want to follow some basic rules:

* Bring nothing but your wallet and keys. If you get frisked by security, or someone else does something stupid, you don’t want to be holding anything. Leave the drugs at home or get a hotel room nearby with your friends, and taxi over.
* Don’t drink until you’re obliterated. If you want to have a few beers, who’s going to complain? But know your limits. That fun stunt you thought wouldn’t make you look like a drunk idiot will make you look like a dangerous drunk idiot to security, or to the guy who decks you with a haymaker because you were being a drunk idiot.
* Mosh? Going into that pit is like signing a contract that says you’re not going to blame someone else for causing you bodily harm. It can also be a load of fun. The rules are: try to bounce other people off you, not hit them. Forgive others when a misplaced elbow makes chin contact. And finally, if someone falls, pick them up before they get trampled.
* Security guys are underpaid and are used to every excuse in the book. The time to make peace with them is before an incident starts. If two guys start fighting, back up and make it clear you’re not involved. If the guy next to you suddenly coughs cocaine all over the stage and starts barfing blood, do the same thing.
* I recommend showing up early to get a good parking space, and leaving nothing visible in the car at all. Homeless people sometimes take a shine to your old sweater if it’s a cold night out, or wonder if those fake Oakleys are real.
* Suppose something goes really wrong, and the cops show up. Even if you have a grudge or well-reasoned complaint against our law enforcement officers, now is not the time, when they are outnumbered and surrounded by a potential riot. Be polite, sit down quietly away from any incident locations, and get out as quickly as you can, because if mayhem happens, they’re going to start taking people out.
* Club personnel are in this job because it’s a lifestyle, and don’t get paid much. It won’t kill you to be polite, but don’t be a chump. State your request, be friendly, and move on.
* The bathrooms may be a disaster before the show, but they’re usually a compost pond by halfway through. If something needs to happen in your excretory tract, make sure it happens before you arrive at the show.
* How to make a band happy: bands get paid the least for CDs and tshirts you order online from a third party store, a little more for CDs and tshirts you order from the label, still a bit more from tshirts and CDs you buy at the club, and a little bit more for tshirts and CDs you order from their web site. What makes them the most cash is when you find them after the show and buy the shirt or CD from them there, because they don’t have to pay the club or label a cut.

Follow these basic instructions and you’ll be a productive and happy member of the audience, and no harm will likely come to you. Think of it as a new form of etiquette for places where you might not expect standards to apply, but because they’re inherent to human behavior, they do.