1. Concert Production Chapter Sixteen

2. Who should pay the bills if a concert is unprofitable?
Start Thinking . . .
Brainstorm all the factors you believe that contribute to a successful, well-planned concert.
Who should pay the bills if a concert is unprofitable?
What motivates you personally to buy a ticket?
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 11th Ed.
© 2016 Sherwood Publishing Partners

3. Chapter Goals
Gain awareness of alternative ways concerts may be sponsored, financed.
Learn realistic concert budgeting.
Acquire understanding of how contracts may be negotiated with artists, talent agents, venue managers, and service companies.
Discover effective concert promotion techniques.
Learn production planning and methods of back-timing.
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 11th Ed.
© 2016 Sherwood Publishing Partners

4. Concert Production Live music leaves a vast economic footprint
Boosts record sales
Increases demand for merchandise
Three key players in the concert promotion industry:
The event promoter
The artist’s manager
The tour-booking agent
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 11th Ed.
© 2016 Sherwood Publishing Partners

5. Concert Promotion National promoters (NPs) Local promoters
coordinate tours
need local promoters
negotiate share of net receipts
Local promoters
recommend venues, seating arrangements, promotional tie-ins
Numerous responsibilities for promoters
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 11th Ed.
© 2016 Sherwood Publishing Partners

6. Concert Promotion A Promoter’s Big To-Do List
Ticket promotion and sales
Organizing merchandising
Sponsorship deals
Stage setup
Engage and supervise some event staff
Financial accounting
Event safety
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 11th Ed.
© 2016 Sherwood Publishing Partners

7. Getting Started
Competitive pressures have led to consolidation in the concert promotion industry, but . . .
Still room for small start-up promotion ventures
Some book acts on their own before established promoters take an interest in them
Others serve on their college campus’s entertainment committee
Others put together performances to raise funds for a charity or other organization in need
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 11th Ed.
© 2016 Sherwood Publishing Partners

8. Getting Started The Cost of Doing Business
Initial investment of cash is required
Promoters need cash to cover their expenses before the first ticket may be sold
There may be fees associated with establishing a concert promotion company
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 11th Ed.
© 2016 Sherwood Publishing Partners

9. Booking the Artist
Promoters responsible for booking the full lineup of artists
opening acts should be suitable for the headliner’s audience
should not overshadow the main talent
Contracts spell out how headliners and opening acts are presented in advertising and promotion materials
“Promoter of record”
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 11th Ed.
© 2016 Sherwood Publishing Partners

10. Making an Offer The agent The offer Who represents whom? Preliminaries
What are artists’ fees and available dates?
What are the possible venues?
What does the venue offer?
What is the venue’s potential?
The offer
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 11th Ed.
© 2016 Sherwood Publishing Partners

11. The Art of the Deal Negotiating artists’ fees Potential versus reality
Flat fee or split-point (profit sharing)
Deal points
Ancillary revenue (parking, concessions)
Defining acceptable expenses
Potential versus reality
Net potential = gross potential – unsold/free tickets
Don’t assume SRO!
Written agreements
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 11th Ed.
© 2016 Sherwood Publishing Partners

12. Useful as a recipe for what the venue and promoter will do
Contracts
Face page
Technical rider
Deal breaker if requirements are excessive
Finer points open to negotiation
Useful as a recipe for what the venue and promoter will do
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 11th Ed.
© 2016 Sherwood Publishing Partners

13. Production Planning Back-timing of tasks
Promoters can find it daunting to make sure that all the many required tasks are performed correctly and in the right sequence
See Table 16.2 on page 288 for a sample list of tasks that must be back-timed for a production on a college campus
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 11th Ed.
© 2016 Sherwood Publishing Partners

14. Marketing Online and mobile Radio and television
Artist and venue websites
Online ticket sales
Ads on third-party websites
Radio and television
Television advertising can be used to reach a broad audience, but otherwise can be wasteful of promo dollars
Radio is cheaper, with a narrower demographic focus, a combination that often makes the medium a good advertising vehicle
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 11th Ed.
© 2016 Sherwood Publishing Partners

15. Marketing Direct mail and e-mail Print media
Mailing lists tend to be small
Syndicated print mailing lists include thousands or tens of thousands of consumers
No postage and paper costs with , but consumers are weary of promotional barrages
Print media
Newspapers and magazines tend to be too broad
The main print buy is the “alternative” print media of free weekly newspapers
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 11th Ed.
© 2016 Sherwood Publishing Partners

16. Advertising Production
Increasingly, artists themselves control production of commercials and print advertising
Nationally touring acts typically employ one set of advertising materials that can be used for all their concerts, with minor customizing for a local venue and date
Professional production companies typically produce higher quality commercials
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 11th Ed.
© 2016 Sherwood Publishing Partners

17. Publicity and Public Relations
Nonpaid marketing function includes
issuing press releases
providing news outlets with video and audio clips
generating favorable news coverage by making artists available for press interviews
Postering/street teams
Placing posters in prominent locations with heavy foot traffic
Temporary hires wearing identical clothing placing posters and passing out fliers
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 11th Ed.
© 2016 Sherwood Publishing Partners

18. Record company sponsorships Radio station sponsorships
Venue and corporate sponsorships
College sponsorships
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 11th Ed.
© 2016 Sherwood Publishing Partners

19. The Future of Live Private concerts Live virtual reality
“Live” events transmitted as cable pay-per-view, to movie theaters via closed circuit, or via online video
3D hologram performances
Electronic substitutes will never take the place of live artists
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 11th Ed.
© 2016 Sherwood Publishing Partners

20. What is a split point, and how does it affect a promoter?
For Further Thought . . .
What is a split point, and how does it affect a promoter?
What possible complications could arise from venue or corporate sponsorships?
What are a promoter’s options for filling up a venue when ticket sales are weak?
Music Business Handbook and Career Guide, 11th Ed.
© 2016 Sherwood Publishing Partners