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Features
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| Mindbenderz talk ‘Lord of the Rings’ and fishing, as well as the creation of their new album ‘Celestial Gateway’! | | Iono-Music artists One Function, Eliyahu, Invisible Reality and Dual Vision talk Robert Miles, kids, dogs and vinyl, while we chat about their current releases! | | Luke&Flex talk influences, the Irish rave scene, why Flex wears a mask and Play Hard, their new EP out now on Onhcet Repbulik Xtreme! | | Lyktum expands on his new album ‘Home’ – talking about his love of storytelling, creating new harmonies and the concept behind his musical works. | | Pan talks getting caught short crossing the Sahara, acid eyeballs and tells us Trance is the Answer, plus shares his thoughts on his latest release 'Beyond the Horizon' - all from a beach in Spain! | | Miss C chats about living with the KLF, DJing in a huge cat’s mouth, training her brain and the upcoming super-duper Superfreq Grande party at LDN East this Saturday, 16th September! | | NEM3SI$ - I Live for the Night – talks superficiality, psychopaths, and bittersweet success, ahead of a plethora of evocative, emotional, and passionate upcoming melodic techno releases! | | Psy-Sisters Spring Blast Off! We talk to DJ competition winner ROEN along with other super talents on the lineup! | | Blasting towards summer festivals with Bahar Canca ahead of Psy-Sisters Spring Blast! | | Shyisma talks parties, UFO's, and Shotokan Karate ahead of his upcoming album 'Particles' on Iono-Music! | | SOME1 talks family, acid, stage fright and wolves - ahead of his upcoming album release ‘Voyager’ on Iono-Music in February 2023! | | The Transmission Crew tell all and talk about their first London event on 24th February 2023! | | NIXIRO talks body, mind and music production ahead of his release 'Planet Impulse' on Static Movement's label - Sol Music! | | Turning the world into a fairy tale with Ivy Orth ahead of Tribal Village’s 10th Birthday Anniversary Presents: The World Lounge Project | | The Psy-Sisters chat about music, achievements, aspirations and the 10-Year Anniversary Party - 18/12/22! | | A decade of dance music with Daniel Lesden | | Earth Needs a Rebirth! Discussions with Psy-Trance Artist Numayma | | Taking a Journey Through Time with Domino | | New Techno Rising Star DKLUB talks about his debut release White Rock on Onhcet Republik! | | PAN expands on many things including his new album 'Hyperbolic Oxymoron' due for release on the 14th April 2022 on PsyWorld Records! | | Psibindi talks all things music including her new collaborative EP 'Sentient Rays' on Aphid Records, her band Sentience Machine and 10 years of Psy-Sisters! | | N-Kore talks Jean-Michel Jarre, unfinished tracks and fatherhood! | | Celebrating International Women’s Day and Ten Years of Psy-Sisters with Amaluna | | A Catch Up with John Phantasm ahead of his upcoming set at the Tribal Village 4 Day Outdoor Event in Kent 6-9 May 2022! | | 'The Maestro that is Tristan talks barn owls, Shazamming and keeping it Psychedelic ahead of his upcoming performance at the Tribal Village 4 Day Event in Kent 6-9 May 2022! | | DJ talk with Psyrenzo ahead of his debut set at Tribal Village, the Steelyard this Friday 14th January 2022! | | TENZO aka Overdrive talks freely about launching his new act which will be showcased at Tribal Village, Steelyard on 14 January 2022! | | A long overdue catch up with JourneyOM ahead of his next Tribal Village party this Friday 14th January 2022 at the Steelyard, London! | | Goa based party animal and artist extraordinaire Nirmal talks punk concerts, metal sculptures, flying and rippin' it up on a High Tide! | | DJ Wired talks to us about the Rise of the Hope and parties, ahead of his upcoming set at Tribal Village on 14th January 2022! |
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How To: Be a Promoter in six easy steps - Part 1
Reported by Latex Zebra
/
Submitted 10-10-07 18:48
Promoting could be called one of the hardest jobs in clubbing, long hours, no training and scant reward unless you get it right continually. As one part of long running Brixton clubbing institution, Zoology, Latex Zebra has ridden the ups and downs of the promoting game. Now as part of our How To series he’s put down some of his knowledge for anyone thinking of putting on their first party.
Looking out at the end of the night and seeing a still packed dance floor screaming for more as the lights come on is always a great experience. Now, if you are running the show then that experience is nearly sexual. You made these people stay out all night. You have kept them in the club past closing time. You have promoted a successful club night.
But it’s what you do before the event that will make the night a failure or success. There are quite a few things you need to know before setting up a party but before we get to those handy hints and tips that no one tells you, let’s look at the motivation to promote in the first place.
Why do you want to promote? The usual reason is you're a budding DJ, struggling to get sets and throwing your own event is the perfect way to get your name out there. This isn't a bad reason; many a DJ has launched their career this way and has thrown a hugely successful party as well. For others they might see a niche in the market. No-one seems to be putting on any deathcore events in your home town, despite the fact that the "WE WANT DEATHCORE IN KINGSTON UPON THAMES" petition has over 7,000 signatures. This again is a good reason.
Another is you think you can make some money, this is a bad reason. Not because it is impossible to make money promoting, making money can be done despite what many say is a decline in the scene, as long as you are shrewd. Setting out purely to make a ton of money is not the mind set you need to set up a dance music event unless you're planning an RnB night in Hounslow. However a good party will pay for itself over time and usually leave you more than enough for the bus fare home.
Now, I should point out, there is obviously no magic promotional wand you can wave that guarantees success, if there were, we'd all be doing it. What is being offered here are tips learnt the hard way and if you choose to follow them and then lose £500 I don't want you hanging around outside the 414 to give me a thrashing one Saturday morning. Promotion is a risk, a bloody big risk, in both financial terms and in shredding your ego type terms. It can however, as mentioned at the start, be incredibly rewarding and that’s another good enough reason for many.
OK, disclaimer done, on to the meat of the subject
So, you meet one of the above criteria and are ready to give it a shot, first things first is money! How much have you got and how much are you prepared to lose? Saving specifically for an event is extremely sensible and if you are really brave you could get a loan. Spending the two grand you saved for a car is not the way to go as if things go tits up you've got no club night after a few tries and no car either. Once you know how much you have to spend you then have to find a venue and start looking at line ups.
I've read somewhere on the forums of these pages that a launch event will always lose money. All I can say is that is utter nonsense. The first Zoology had about 190 through the doors, we paid all our bills and were laughing. The next two events we lost money on but it all equalized over time. If your launch party fails you've not promoted it properly, not got enough support, picked the wrong venue or have put something on that few people care about. With that in mind let’s focus on certain aspects now.
Venue
Picking the venue is one of the most important things a promoter has to get right. It needs to be the right size for the amount of people you think you can get in, have all the equipment you need, be affordable and also not be a sh!t hole. Another extremely important factor is walk by trade. This means people who will wander past on their way home, see the queue and think "I think I shall pop in here and have it large for a while!"
Having a plush venue that you can't find with a TomTom or Nepalese Sherpa is not going to be conducive to a packed party unless you have a hell of a lot of mates coming and/or you promote the hell out of the venue too. The mate’s thing is worth taking note of as well. For your first event the likelihood is that it will be made up of a lot of friends so work out how many friends you have that are interested in coming and use that as a guideline. The likelihood of you needing anything over a 300-400 capacity event for a first party, unless you have serious money or backing, is unlikely.
Before you book the venue see if it has a website, look at the kind of events it runs. If it is known hard house your chill out event will probably freak out any regular crowd the place has and p!ss off the owners as well. Good owners will question the music policy before letting you book.
Look at the costs and see that you can hire the venue and break even or pay the bills even in the face of a severe wash out. Most venues ask for a deposit to ensure they don't get stiffed on the night and making sure you can pay them is paramount. The order of money should go - Venue - Overheads (Equipment Hire, flyers if not paid in advance. Things like that) - DJs/Staff - You! When you have found a venue that fits all your requirements, you can afford it and it's available when you want it. Go for it.
Planning Equipment or Decorations
Most, if not all, clubs will have the required equipment and staff needed to run your event smoothly. As a rule you will want 2 Technics 1200/10's turntables (as industry standards these appear nearly everywhere), 2 CDJ CD players (though don’t necessarily expect Pioneers CDJ’s) and 1 Mixer (again the make and capabilities can vary). Hopefully you will have some lights and the means to control them as well. You need to make sure that the club provides licensed door staff (security) and find out whether you are required to do the door (taking the money) or if they have their own staff to do that. If they are doing the money then you need to make sure you have a chat with the people doing it to ensure they can haggle if required to get large groups in and things like that. Haggling on the door is something you'll be faced with so you need to have a plan of action for when it happens. Groups will always want discounts, and rightly so. You still might someone on the door to control guestlists and count numbers through the door. If you need to hire anything from staff to equipment then it is probably worth extending the time you give yourself to promote the event (as detailed below) so you don't get left in a last minute panic trying to find a 7 foot Transvestite to do your guest list for you.
Anything that is not being included that you've been told is included, as per contracts or info on the web, should be discounted off the hire price. Don't be scared to be tough with people as you are a customer and have rights, at the same time don't be an arrogant plum. Show some respect as these people have likely been doing it for years.
If you are dressing the club or having it done professionally make sure the club knows what you are doing, there are health and safety laws that means some things can't be done. Your indoor firework show in a venue with a 10ft high roof may be spectacular, but it will also kill everyone on the dance floor and leave a small crater where the venue once stood. On a serious note though make sure things like backdrops are flame retardant, even in these days of non smoking there are still regulations to be followed. Once you know what can and can't be done, ensure there is enough to get to the venue to do it all before the party starts. There is nothing worse than walking into a venue and watching people still stapling up backdrops or attaching lighting rigs. Give yourself more time than you need.
When do I put it on?
There is no rule in place. Beginning to promote an event 6 months before it starts isn't a bad thing though you could drive people up the wall going on about it for that long, not to mention being a nervous wreck by the time the party actually arrives. For a small party give yourself at least 2 months, so with that in mind get a venue sorted as per above. Also take into account magazine listings deadlines (as mentioned below) as it is worth waiting a bit longer to put the event on if it means you can get listed in MixMag and TNT for example.
Now you need to think about when you are putting the event on. This doesn't just mean the day of the week, this means times as well. You don't want a party with poor transport links shutting at 3am and leaving people stranded. You also don't necessarily want to go on till 6am if you know that a massive after party starts at 4:30 and the venue you are using is a known feeder club for it. Common sense should prevail but in most cases, dance music events run from 10pm till 6am and on a Friday or Saturday. Which night is the best? No idea. There are equal arguments for why one night should be more popular than the other. Fridays because you are straight out of work, raring to go and you also get more time to recover. Saturdays are seen as the real party night when everybody goes out; the more people there are out, means the more people you might get in. You should see what other events playing the same music style are running too. Doing a house event just round the corner of the Ministry of Sound might seem like promotional suicide but if you've researched well enough, know it is likely to be a roadblock then you could well get their spill over crowd. Instant crowd for little effort!
With sensible planning and time allowed even an event with a line up people have never heard of can still be well attended. But don’t rush out to put on your first event just yet as coming up in the second part of this feature, we’ll cover The Line Up, Promotion and The Main Event.
Photos courtesy of the HarderFaster archive. Not to be reproduced without permission
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Other Features By Latex Zebra:
From Little Acorns to Mighty Oaks - How Chilled in a Field has grown
Bar 414 unveils a new dimension with Base Mosquito
Brandon Block gets Funky 414 London!
Dissecting Scot Project
The HarderFather speaks! Meet him yourself at the HF vs The Residents Xmas Party
The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable.
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and nice read 