VENUE FACT SHEETS

© 2005 MusicNSW

MAXIMISING YOUR INCOME

The key to maximising your income from original live music is in communication – the more widespread the message, the more successful your event will be. Keeping expenditure down will, of course, maximise your income — you can achieve this through being well organised, arranging advertising deals and encouraging everyone involved in the event to help get the message out.

Marketing

Marketing of live music events is extremely important for all parties. It is imperative that people are attracted to your venue to enjoy the entertainment and spread the word that it’s the place to be. It is in the interest of the venue to make sure there is adequate knowledge of live music events — artists will also engage in their own advertising in most cases but it shouldn’t be assumed they will and should be clearly communicated what kind of promotion is being undertaken by you. Whether an event is in metropolitan or regional areas there will be some opportunity to advertise…it is important to ascertain what type of advertising works for your venue – press, posters, handouts, radio, internet or even television – and if you are advertising on a regular basis what kind of deal you can arrange to keep your costs down.

Publicity and Press Releases

Depending on your needs and staffing it may be in your interest to hire a publicist for your venue. A good publicist will have strong established contacts throughout relevant media (press, radio, tv etc), will be an excellent communicator and will know how to get your venue’s message out in the most effective way.

Whether you or your publicist is in charge of publicity you need to make sure a press release is sent to the media to let them know what’s going on at your venue. There are a few important things to remember when putting together a press release. Have it finalised and sent to the media AT LEAST ten days before the event – know the media deadlines. Make sure the venue’s name and contact details are prominent, include all event details – including who, what, where, why and when, and ensure the release is brief (no more than one page) yet informative and interesting. The more interesting the information about your event the more likely you will get editorial. Important: Don’t forget to ask for editorial (especially if you are advertising) – don’t expect editorial to just appear!

A regular, recognisable advertisement in your local press will draw people to the ad for their information of what’s on at your venue — approach the advertising department for regular deals. Ascertain what press works for your venue and the live music you provide – you may find its the free music or community press, community or local newspapers or relevant magazines. Advertise with whoever you feel will target the right market for your venue – approach them for more information.

Community radio stations need support as much as you do so make contact, introduce yourself and see what kind of support they can give you and vice versa. Building the community will build knowledge and support for your venue. Commercial radio is an option but not a cheap one. You will need to contact your local relevant station for advertising rates and other information.

TV

This is definitely not an income maximising option in metropolitan areas — unless you have a very large venue! Regional television however can come up with packages to help to promote smaller venues as well as larger events.

Internet

If your venue has a website — which is a great promotional tool all round — adding a list of upcoming shows is a handy guide for patrons to easily locate events they would like to attend.

A venue mailing list is a very cheap tool for promotion of upcoming shows. Most artists use this tool themselves as a means to notify their fans of their shows – this can also work extremely well for a venue. It allows the venue to notify all relevant media, community groups and other interested parties with one email.

Venue Visibility

Don’t Make Empty Promises

Don’t promise to promote an event in any way if you are not going to follow through – this will impact badly on the event, the artist and the reputation of your venue – word of mouth is a very powerful tool.

Further Information