How To Promote a Successful Concert

Keep your concert lifted up in prayer from the beginning. Remember that this event isn't just another concert, but a life-changing night for those attending. Seek the Lord's guidance in all the decisions you make regarding it! First Things First: Before you do anything else, it is important that you confirm all of the following items: 1. Check with other area churches, radio stations, and promoters for conflicting events 2. Confirm your concert hall in writing 3. Confirm the date and artist in writing with the respective Management or Agent 4. Confirm that the Christian Radio station will support you. Be prepared to pay for radio advertisement Thoroughly read artist's rider and contract and be sure you can fulfill all the terms 14 Weeks Prior to Concert: 1. Order tour posters, mailers, tickets and flyers from a reputable source. (For more information on this, call the management of the artist). Remember that you can absorb the cost of your promotional pieces and tickets by getting a local business to use the backs of tickets as a coupon, or by placing logos on your promotional pieces. 2. Also see if your local Christian radio station would like to partner with you. Sometimes by placing their logo on your promotional items, they will give substantial discounts for on-air advertising and underwriting. 3. The most important thing you can do is to start a "word of mouth" campaign immediately. Get on the phone and call churches, Christian clubs, etc. and get the word out about your event. This is very effective and helps get the "buzz" going. Do this right away! 4. Acquire mailing labels from a company like Williams Direct (Telephone: 620364-8431) and purchase mailing labels for a regional church mailing. Be sure to use their CHURCH mailing list, as Williams Direct maintains master mailing lists for some of CCM's top selling artists. Their list is an interdenominational listing, which guarantees that ALL denominations will be represented in your mass mailing. Williams Direct can assist you in designing a mailing list that will be most beneficial to your concert. We recommend that you mail at least two to three times the venue capacity. If the venue holds 500, send between 1000- 1500 mailers. 5. Be sure you contact all local youth ministries and youth pastors to make sure they place your concert on their calendar of events. 6. Set up ticket sales at bookstores and churches. List them on your promotional materials. Inform all outlets that you will pick up the receipts and excess tickets no later than the day before the concert. Inform your stores that even if they sell all of their allotted tickets UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should they tell their customers the concert is sold out unless you personally tell them to do so! Thirteen Weeks Prior To Concert:

1. Mail out your mailing to all the churches in your area. Use volunteers to help with your bulk mailing or you can contact a Company like NuPrint or DSI; they offer mailing services to Promoters for a very reasonable fee. Twelve Weeks Prior to Concert: 1. Distribute a flyer advertising your concert to all major church youth groups in your area. Also, provide flyers to interested churches for insertion into their church bulletins. If they cannot insert a flyer, check to see if the churches in your area would be willing to print a brief mention of your concert in their bulletin. Flyers also need to be distributed to your ticket outlets, and a poster needs to be displayed in a prominent location in the selling outlets. Order flyers from NuPrint or DSI. (If 'you're using a professional publicist.) Pro-vide them with the following information: 1. Venue name 2. Venue street address, including city and state 3. Show time 4. Ticket prices (specify ticket breakdown... e.g., $9groups/$12advanced etc...) 5. Local phone number for ticket information 6. The name of the radio station(s) you are doing your primary promotions with. Include the call letters and phone number. (Be sure to include area code) Also include the name of your contact at the station. If any stations or newspapers contact you directly, please supply them with all the details of your concert Eleven Weeks Prior to Concert: 1. Distribute tickets to your outlets. We recommend that you work with Christian bookstores and churches in your area. Be sure they are adequately supplied with tickets, flyers and a poster. Make sure that the poster is hung in a prominent location where it will be seen. Eight Weeks Prior to Concert: 1. Arrange to partner with your local Christian radio station and start running spots/underwriting announcements.... approximately 20 per week is recommended. Ask them about contesting and product giveaways. See if they would be interested in giving away tickets, CD's, cassettes and "prize packages". Most stations will jump at the chance to center a huge promotion surrounding a concert. Be sure to work with your local station. The amount of "free" promotion they give you each time they giveaway tickets on the air, will offset your expense of supplying them with a reasonable amount of free tickets. I suggest at least 20 pairs of tickets ... Product is available through management or the station can contact the Radio Promotions Department at the artist's Record company. We recommend that you begin a radio campaign at least Eight weeks before your concert. We also recommend that you air between 3-6 spots or more each day. Be sure to start your radio promotion early on .... You can always reduce spots when you sell out your concert. Also, provide the stations in your area with all the information regarding your concert. They usually call these a PSA, public service announcement for their community calendars. Please remember that waiting too late to begin your radio promotion will adversely affect your ticket sales. Although radio advertising does cost, it is an incredible means to effectively communicate with the concert goers that will attend your concert. Six Weeks Prior to Concert:

1. Follow up to see that your local radio station received promotional giveaway product. Including ticket giveaways. Contact artist's management about a radio interview. This should be scheduled by week four. Four Weeks Prior to Concert: 1. Start running the second "flight" of spots/underwriting announcements with your local radio station. Approx. 20 per week up to your show date or until the tickets have -sold out! Radio spots Should remain airing until the day of show unless you sell out your tickets. We also suggest sending out a second mailing to "concert goers" in your area at this time. Lists are available from Williams Direct. 2. Place concert posters in prominent locations throughout your community. We suggest local grocery stores, arcades, malls, Chick-Fil-A restaurants, and any Christian owned businesses. Be sure posters are still up at your area bookstores and in churches. 3. If you have received an In-store request from a local bookstore, please refer them to the performers Management team for processing. Three Weeks Prior to Concert: 1. Arrange for a volunteer to call all major local youth groups to remind them about the concert. This is a very important part of the last minute promotion of your concert. Even though you may have already contacted your local youth pastors and youth workers, please go ahead and give them another "reminder" call. Be sure to mention that you have group rate tickets available to groups of ten or more. Connecting with your local churches is a vital link to the success of your concert. Week of Concert: 1. Be sure that all ticket monies and/or tickets are picked up from the outlets no later than the day prior to the concert. This will give you time to make an accounting of all tickets sold at advance and group rates. Group rates will not be applicable at the door nor should any tickets not already paid for be held at the door. It is uncommon for people to call, ask you to hold 30 tickets, and then not show up or appear with just a few people. 2. If you have not already discussed arrival times and last minute details with artist's road manager, call him to confirm appropriate arrangements. 3. Be sure to have hotels reserved and prepaid in the artist's name. There is often confusion at the desk so be sure that artist's name is correctly spelled out, and if possible, a confirmation # is assigned and given to road manager. Day of Concert: 1. Be sure that your crew will be at the pre-determined time. The hall manager should have the building open and ready for set-up. 2. Brief ushers and staff on their duties and least two hours before concert time. Be sure they are aware of the fact that due to recording contracts, no tape recorders or video cameras are permitted in the hall without written approval of the record company or management. 3. Photographs are not permitted. 4. Meet with your road manager to cover details on set-up and load-out as well as sound check, etc... 5. Please have tables set up at the rear of the auditorium and several people available to help with sales of records and T-Shirts, etc.

6. Have an expense record sheet completed (door sales can be added following the concert) and receipts on hand so you can settle up quickly in percentages are involved. 7. Meal(s) for artists and crew 8. Prayer time with artists, crew and counselors usually takes place an hour or so prior to the concert. Doors usually open to the public 30 - 45 minutes before concert time. 9. Pass out mailing list cards to get the name and address of all who attended so you can send flyers to them in the future. After the Concert: 1. Please be sure that enough crew members are present to help artists with load-out 2. Send thank you notes to all volunteers and counselors 3. Pay all your bills

How To Promote Your Independent Record Label - New Music And New Artists
Bell Time Records - we have discovered quite a few ways to promote our independent record label, new released music and new artists. Having your business information available to your targeted audience is the main key. There has to be visibility! One of the best ways to make your business information visible and available, is to connect with others who are already visible and available! That's right, seek and search out other websites that will allow you to become linked to their website...it works! For every person who comes in contact with a website you are connected to, will definitely boost the chances of your website being viewed also. I found that by asking various website owners permission to link their website to yours will often time cause a website link exchange to take place...good deal huh? You bet it is! Just remember this, it's all about visibility! You will be surprised how many other website owners are willing to exchange links. So let's get on board and start seeking out friendly website owners who wants the same accomplishments for their website as you want for yours. Just think about

traffic, visibility, and new website links all linking back to your website...Wow! I wish somebody had of given me insite on this information a long time ago. You can find a tone of potential websites that will link up with you by seaching the various Article Directories easy to find through just about any search engine. It's easy, just go to a search engine like "yahoo" and type in "article directories", and watch all of the article oriented websites you will have at the place of your finger tips. Use these avenues to get connected with other website and to improve your popularity with the major search engines. Sincerely, Michael Bell, stabilitypresson@yahoo.com

How To Promote a Gig

From Heather McDonald, Your Guide to Music Careers. FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now! 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 this guide, 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 Difficulty: N/A Time Required: Ongoing

Here's How:
1. 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:

o o

Promo CDs from the band Band bios and photos

Posters for the show - these can be generic posters from the band with a space at the bottom for you to write the details about the show or posters you have made specifically for your gig o Press release for the show 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. 2. 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. 3. 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. 4. 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. 5. 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:
1. Don't Forget the Band:

Encourage the bands on the bill to do their share of promoting as well by advertising the show on their websites and sending out an email to their mailing list. 2. 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. 3. 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. 4. 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

Article print-out from MIO | www.mio.co.za

Reprint rights: http://www.mio.co.za/index.php? page=licensing BROUGHT TO YOU BY PREFIX TECHNOLOGIES

IRIS - Music distribution has a new player

Written by Phathu Ratshilumela | Published on November 22, 2005 Independent Record Industry Solutions (IRIS) has formed with the intension of assisting independent record labels and artists reach their target markets at reasonable rates whilst providing the best service. The distribution company has so far managed to put 40 production and record companies under its wings, and we thought it is a good idea to invite General Manager Neil Darroch over for a drink to find out more! Currently, IRIS offers its service to companies like The

Sheer Group, USM, Next Music, Electromode Music, Groove Luv, Bonsai Productions, Coleske, Beautiful Music and T-Bose, to mention the few. Within a few months operating Darroch said that the services offered by IRIS compete with those from the major distributors. Adding weight to the prospects of IRIS is the fact that the majority of the people working there have been in the music game for some time, with a huge pool of music business knowledge. Though IRIS is still bedding down the basics of a distribution company, the company has a no-frills approach to its internal setup, ensuring all resources are deployed toward getting quality product to the market as affordably as possible. Darroch, who has worked for Gallo Music, said IRISs main role is to push projects into all major music stores across Southern Africa. As a business, you need a strong sales team, a team that on Monday will go out and sell the product. He went on to point out that IRIS survives through the distribution of music records. Due to a large number of people who want their records on the shelves of music retailers, it forces IRIS to be particular about product selection, not just taking any product that comes its way. IRIS is prepared and willing to help people see their music distributed nationally but people still need to understand that we are not a charity and cannot distribute projects we dont believe in. We dont want to take a risk of going out and sell something we are not confident about because we also need to look after our own credibility. Though IRIS is essentially providing the back-room function of any record company, those of you who have records that reckon can be a force in the market; IRIS is willing to try and assist you. Like any other distribution company, IRIS can deal with both record labels and independent artists. Darroch believes that it is much simpler to knock on their and get into discussions with IRIS about a distribution project than any other distribution company. Are they worried about digital distribution and the future? Not really. Darroch said he thinks there are lots of opportunities for the digital market but that other media formats still have much scope in South Africa. SAs new emerging market has started to adopt the CD and DVD format while on the other side Cassettes are still a huge market for the industry. I think at this stage it is still not at a level where IRIS needs to panic about a digital market. Darroch reckoned that though IRIS has begun on a great note, there are a small number of challenges that still need to be done to improve their operation. The company has positioned itself as a distribution entity that offers high quality services, some of which have not been provided in this way before. MIO wishes IRIS the best and hopes it will accomplish its long term goals. It is vital that alternatives for distribution are available to our young industry, and a competitive market with new entrants like this bode well for the future perhaps we can even start to see music prices coming down! Contact IRIS on info@iris.za.com or (011) 579 1470.

Introduction
Whether youve got a new album, an upcoming show or your band is just starting out its important to get noticed. Knowing how to best market your band is an important part of building an audience and packing the house for gigs.

Instructions
Difficulty: Moderate

Things You'll Need

Plenty of paper Tape and/or stapler

Copy machine
Computer A file transfer program Internet access

Steps

1
Step One
Design flyers. One way to get into the publics mind is to continually remind them of your existence. To this end youre going to need to come up with a catchy, funny or controversial design for a flyer or poster to represent your band and its sound. Make them black and white for more affordable marketing.

2
Step Two
Copy and post flyers. Copy several hundred of them for distribution. Divide up the city into different areas to be hit by each band member. Its important to keep the audience in mind when posting flyers. You will want music fans, so record stores and music shops are always good ideas. Venues and bars where people regularly see shows are also good ideas. You may want to think about public spaces near high schools or main pedestrian walkways.

3
Step Three
Get an online presence. In this day and age youre going to need something people can find when they remember your name but cant recall anything else about the band. Most groups find social networking sites to be advantageous as the cost is free, the interface easy and the traffic high.

4
Step Four
Create media kits. Whether youre trying to market your band to local media or national publications youre going to need a way for them to learn about the group. The media kit should include the basic information about your band. Include the names of the band members and what they play along with a brief description of the bands sound. Include photos in this document and try to end up with a one page pdf you can easily email to the media.

5
Step Five
Distribute your sound. In addition to the media kit youre going to want potential reviewers and journalists to be able to listen to the songs the band has created. Use a file transfer program to either send them a link where they can download the songs or send an actual cd to their physical address.

Hi there man ... It all depends on wat sort of studio u wanting . Is it for a band or is it just for urself.If it is for a band u gonna have to do loads of work . U will have to have individual rooms for each instrument eg: a room just for drums or just to sing in . Then u will need a room were the recording gets done , this will cost a bit as u will have to pay for PC's mixing desk etc.

If u wanna do a studio just for urself and not to record band or bigger groups in then its easy.Just get urself a PC with good specs. and loads of memory cause reason and other production softwae tend to take loads of CPU usage .And get a keyboard (if u wanna make that sort of thing ) and dont forget a pair of studio monitors .

Monitors are important so pick the right 1.They each have different features which will determine the sound coming out . if u looking for good bass response then go for the Alesis

KRK Rokit 5's or 6s ( very good stuff ) ranging R3500 - R5000 or any other Alesis (which is good aswell )

All the best in ur studio