Become a Concert Promoter
A concert promoter is someone who schedules, markets, and organizes concerts. Essentially, a promoter takes care of all the behind-the-scenes work at a music show, from recruiting the act to providing security. As an integral part of the music business, concert promoters operate at every level from the smallest cafe to the largest stadium. Major concert promoters, like the legendary Bill Graham, can make millions of dollars a year; most make somewhere around $60,000. In recent years, the collapse of the record industry has made concert promotion one of the central aspects of the music business. These steps will teach you how to break into the profession and start promoting concerts for yourself.
Steps
- Get a job with an employer involved in organizing concerts.
- This could be a concert promoter, a talent agency, a band manager, or a concert hall.
- Gain experience with the day-to-day logistics of putting on a concert.
- You will need to learn how a band is contacted and signed for a show, how concert venues are booked and rented, what goes into marketing a show, and how to hire staff for the night of the event.
- Learn everything you can about the financial side of promoting concerts, from artists' fees to ticket receipts to the percentage that a concert promoter or venue takes.
- Make connections with artists, their management, and with local music business professionals.
- If you plan on promoting concerts of a certain type of music, meet as many performers and managers in that field as possible. Focus on the city or region in which you want to work: get to know the owners and managers of concert venues, talent agents, record label representatives, and radio station managers.
- Learn how to market a show.
- Depending on the size of the concert and the act performing, you will need to use a variety of marketing strategies, such as posting flyers, buying radio advertisements, hosting ticket giveaways, and using social networks.
- Get to know sound technicians, security professionals, and other people in the area who can work as ushers and concession staff at concerts.
- Because you need to hire many one-night employees for putting on a concert, it is a good idea to have an idea of your labor pool. In some cases, you may need to hire these people at the last minute.
- Seek out a position as a concert promoter for one or more concert venues.
- In addition to working on their own, many promoters hold an official position with a concert hall or stadium. Having such a position means that you do not have to worry about booking your own venues; however, your profit margin will be less.
- Begin promoting your own shows by starting small. Put on shows by acts you have already worked with, and keep the logistics to a minimum.
- Develop a larger base of support as you begin to put on larger and more frequent shows. As your business grows, you can start to draw up standardized contracts and maintain a more stable revenue flow.
Tips
- Concert promoters earn their money by taking a cut of every concert, usually just a percentage of ticket receipts minus the costs of putting on the show. On occasion, a promoter will be paid a fee by a venue or a talent agency.
Warnings
- Because promoting concerts is an incredibly unreliable business--you may make lots of money one week, then lose your entire investment on the next show--it is important to have plenty of experience in the field, and to begin promoting only once you have a substantial amount of capital with which to start your business.
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