Promoter's Commandments II: Thou Shalt Not Expect People To Come Just Because There's A Show

Hey, kids. Due to getting back late on Friday from a day trip I didn't do the post I thought I would. So this is the second in my “Promoter’s Commandments” series. Yep, I have a series. drummerthoughts is epic, I tells ya.

Unless you’ve booked Elton John because there are a lot of tasteless people in the world (that’s for fans of the other blog…kidding!), chances are you won’t be able to just throw up a couple of posters and wait for the crowds to start rolling in. Most lay-promoters are people who are either in a band or who love music and aren’t in a band, so it makes sense that they are friends with musicians and want to book local talent. This is great. But you have to realize that unless your goal is to get the ten or fifteen people in your scene to show up (HINT: It shouldn’t be!) then you need to do more.

You’re the promoter: your job is PROMOTION. That means hand fliers, posters, and cold-calling every newspaper, radio station, magazine, etc. you can think of. I did some promoting for two Runaway gigs, one in Hamilton, one in Kitchener. I had to call six newspapers to get mentioned in one, and I called five radio stations and got mentioned on none of them. This is a very crappy and demoralizing part of the job, because most people will treat you like dirt for bothering them. If it’s a pretty underground show look to your local alternative weeklys, as they’re usually apt to cover any show that’s happening (and you have a good chance of getting an article rather than just a mention in “Upcoming Events”). No point in not trying the majors, but don’t be surprised to get stonewalled.

The age of cyber-networking has made things a lot easier to advertise, but there’s a false sense of security in this sort of thing. Like I said in my first Commandment, a good general rule is to use your own experience as a measuring stick for setting up your show. How many group/event invites do you get on Facebook or Myspace that you ACTUALLY read? And of those that you read, how many do you ACTUALLY respond to? For me it’s in the 75% region, and that’s only because I don’t get many. Don’t get me wrong, definitely set those things up as a “hub”, but that’s not enough. You should personally invite as many people as you can via email, messages, phone or talking in person (weird, I know).

Bands, always always ALWAYS make sure to ask the promoter what she or he plans to do to promote the show. This is, in my experience, the easiest way to separate those who are interested in having a good show from those who are content to set up a sound system and drink with their friends in the other band. And if the promoter is “looking for your help” with promotion, make sure you’re getting a flat rate AND a percentage of the door, because you are now doing two jobs.