“Music Venue Maintenance: 4 Areas For Owners To Focus On” plus 1 more

Music Venue Maintenance: 4 Areas For Owners To Focus On

Posted: 25 Oct 2018 07:03 PM PDT

A music venue needs to be maintained in order to attract your customers to the big event. There are areas that you should focus your efforts in order to make your venue more appealing. Here are some of the projects that you should tackle as the owner of the venue.

Improve Lighting Conditions

Over time, lighting can start to degrade and become less effective. Look into installing new track lighting so that you can make your venue as versatile as possible. This could include things like making the lighting have the ability to become a spotlight for the stage area, adding more fixtures in varying shades to the dance floor, or anything else that will make you a more popular place for people to book their next event.

Upgrade Sound System

The quality of sound makes a big difference when customers are deciding to go with your venue. An updated system could put you ahead of your competition. This could include adding items that would make it easier to project the sound to all the areas of your venue without having to sacrifice the quality of the sound. There are a variety of options that would allow you to achieve this goal without having to overspend on your budget.

Focus on Repairing Existing Features

Don’t forget about keeping your venue maintained to the standards that are required as well as those that will attract your customer base. For example, some music venues have garage doors which make it easier for the band to load and unload their equipment. By performing regular garage door repair, you can keep it in good working order. This can also help ensure that you can use this unique feature as a selling point for bands that want to perform at your venue.

Invest in Safety

Safety precautions are also imperative when it comes to keeping the doors of your venue open. This includes making sure that emergency exits are clearly labeled and that there are tie down mechanisms if you have a moveable stage. You don’t want to be labeled as a venue to avoid if an accident were to occur. This could dramatically impair your ability to get back up and running if safety violations are noted during the course of the investigation.

There are other areas that can improve the quality of your venue. Focus your efforts on these tips to get your started with the process so that you can generate the revenue for future modifications.

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How To Approach Venues About Booking

Posted: 23 Oct 2018 07:09 PM PDT

Booking shows can be difficult, especially if you don’t have an experienced booking agent working with you. If you are lucky enough to have an agent, it can be a game changer. A good booking agent can help find bigger opportunities, increase your earnings, and fill more dates. Agents are scarce though, and there are way more talented artists around than there are reputable booking agents.

Most artists start out booking their own shows early on in their career. This can be a time consuming and sometimes frustrating process. There is a lot to consider like finding the right venues to play, scheduling dates, and striking a fair deal. Knowing how to properly represent yourself to venues and get booked is an essential skill for independent artists. There is no definitive playbook for getting gigs, but here are some things that can help get your foot in the door.

Play With A Purpose

Before you start reaching out to venues, do your homework and have a plan. Figure out where you should be playing and why you want to play there. Ask yourself how each opportunity will benefit you and fit into your overall strategy. Seek out opportunities in the right venue at the right time in the right market and for the right price.

Right Venue

Choosing the right venue means one that aligns with your genre of music and one that is an appropriate size for how many people you can draw. If you are a 4-piece rock band, you probably don’t want to play in a small coffee shop that usually books acoustic singer/songwriters. You also shouldn’t be playing in a big music hall or theater unless you can draw enough people. It may sound cool to play in a bigger venue, but if you can’t fill it, it will make you look bad and the venue will lose money.

Right Time

Picking the right time to play a show is also important. Pay attention to day of the week, time of year or seasonality, other events that are happening, and timing of your own music releases or other notable milestones. In a perfect world you would be playing Saturday night on a beautiful summer evening where you’re the only entertainment in town. Of course you won’t always be that lucky, but aim for dates that work for both you and the venue.

Right Market

Picking the right place to play is more than just the venue, but also the market or city you are in. It doesn’t make sense to drive across the country to play to an empty room in a city where no one knows you. Choose markets carefully and develop them strategically over time. Developing your home town is important, and then work your way out to nearby cities or other locations where you know you have fans and listeners.

Right Price

Price is another key factor to consider. This includes the ticket price for the show and also your own compensation. Know what you are worth to the venue and to your fans. Think about the size of the venue, whether you have played in the market before, and price sensitivity of your fans. You will likely set ticket prices differently for a show in New York City than you would for a small college town. Make sure you are also being compensated fairly. Being able to sell more tickets should translate into earning more money for your performance. Pay attention to the terms of the offer you’ve received as well. Make sure you are getting a fair deal whether it’s a flat guarantee, percentage of ticket sales …or just free drinks.

Crafting The Perfect Message

There is no silver bullet to get an instant response from a talent buyer, but there are a few best practices you can follow. It is hard enough to even get a talent buyer’s attention. They get flooded with booking requests every day. So when you do have their attention, make sure you are getting your point across and making a clear case for why they should book you. When contacting a venue you should present yourself in the most appealing way possible, communicate with the right tone and format, and be concise.

Flaunt What You Got

Provide the best information you have available to the venue. Obviously they are going to want to hear what you sound like, so be sure to link to somewhere they can listen to your music. They will also be paying attention to your marketing presence and the quality of your live show. Take the time to keep your social media pages updated and highlight any recent major achievements or press coverage in your message. It is also a good idea to provide links to high-quality live performance video. Additionally, any past show history or ticket sales in the market would be great to include. The main goal is to highlight your most positive qualities to be attractive to the venue’s booker. Don’t be afraid to brag, but definitely don’t lie about your stats.

Be Professional

Your message should be sent with the appropriate tone and format. Be professional. Use complete sentences, and don’t ever come across as arrogant or entitled. You will get a better result if your message has a more respectful tone. The format is important too. A lot of business is done over email, but some talent buyers may want to communicate over the phone instead. Make it as easy and frictionless as possible for the talent buyer to review your message. They will be more likely to respond to a message that is to-the-point and has all the key information easily accessible.

Tying It All Together

Packaging all this information into a well-crafted message can be an art form in itself. Keep your message direct and concise. At this point you should know what you want, so be purposeful with your request. Prove that you are the right fit for the venue, and suggest available dates that work for you. Try to condense the message to make it as concise as possible. It should only take a few sentences to get your point across. Your music and other links will speak for itself if the talent buyer wants to find out more. Finally, don’t be afraid to follow up multiple times. Be persistent, but not annoying. If you are truly a good fit for that venue, they will be in touch.

Artists that are at the right stage of their career and are fortunate enough to work with an agent will likely benefit from the additional opportunities that an agent can bring. If you are looking to work with a booking agent, we would be happy to hear from you. Drop us a line on our contact us page!

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