Night Club Promoting - ?

Former Member · May 2003

Can anyone tell me what exactly it means to be a nightclub promoter and how you get started?

I love organising events where people have fun and enjoy themselves, and have participated in helping organise charity events, a get together for people from the Lycos website, etc, but would love to organise a regular night in a club that is a really decent night out.

I knew one guy once that told me you find a club that does well on Friday and Saturday but not rest of the week and persuade the manager to let you promote the club for a monday for instance, you print the flyers, hire the DJ, etc and then keep what is made on the door whilst the owner gets the profits from behind the bar?

Is this the case? I'm just wondering cos when I met this guy he was working as a security guard during the day (and said he was doing the promoting on the side)

Also how does one promoter differ from another?

I'd also like to know if there's secret agenda to keep out certain people from the clubs .. what I mean was months ago I pulled up at some traffic lights and there was a board advertsing a nightclub, said who the Dj was, how much, date, etc and the name of the club.. but didn't say where the heck it was or have a contact number or better still easy to remember website address. So I had no idea how to find this club!! It seem many flyers I 've seen printed are exactly the same, long list of the promotions people like it was a movie, but very little info on how to get there.

Former Member · May 2003

I promote hard dance alnighter dance parties out in NZ, we go head to head against all the major parties (such as Fevah NZ, Zebedee and Decadance) every 2 months, I run an event called 'N2O', we've run 3 events so far - a launch party, the official paul glazby preparty and N2O Nitro which attracted over 600 people.

N2O Nitro Photos:
http://www.twisted.co.nz/gallery/viewalbum.php?albid=171
http://www.hardhouse.co.nz/photos/n2o0103/index.htm

My next event is called 3Some on the 20th June at Cube Nightclub (a venue that the week prior is supporting Andy Farley), I'm providing all DJs and promoting through the radio (I present my own show) and selling tickets via Ticketek.

TheSite Diary - http://www.thesite.org/magazine/real_lives/

Basically you need to approach venues and find out if they are for hire, make sure you get a contract and you will have to pay a hiring fee (the venue I'm hiring is costing me about 500 pounds) - the venue I have includes sound rig, lighting, doorstaff and public liability insurance - again at mates rates, next step is flyers - basically I design these myself and get them printed at 1000 for 140 pounds. Next to deliver them out, I also advertise through the radio (we're doing 30 ad slots a week for 3 weeks at about 240 pound - remember tho normally this would be nearly treble the price but I work at the station)

All DJs on the night all get paid too, out here in NZ its only about 40 pounds an hour, I play myself so it takes away some of that cost. It sounds a lot, but I'm charging about 7 pounds on the door and by careful calculation as long as I reach under half capacity of the venue I will break even....

Heres a little industry tip if you decide to follow suite:

Capacity / 2 x $Entrance = $Budget

So, if we do the maths here

600 / 2 = 300 x $10 (Entrance) = $3000 Production Budget

That way you always break even and make some money to pull over bigger names and things for future parties...

Any other questions let me know

Former Member · May 2003

some tips

Start off small, the mistakes are cheaper. I started off in a bar that held 70 people max.

Use local dj's or mates ,they will help spread the word as no-one wants to play to an empty floor.

Promoting with others can help with costs and getting things done.

Check out the opposition see what they are doing, what you like/dislike etc

Think of a good name and use it with the charity/other events your doing, when you start promoting people will remember.

This works well - when people attend your nights, ask them where they found out if you can and get email addresses so you can contact them direct with the next one and develop your own database.

Good Luck

Former Member · May 2003

Re: some tips

Originally posted by BlackArab
Start off small, the mistakes are cheaper. I started off in a bar that held 70 people max

Yeah have to agree there, events I'm running now cost me into the thousands. What events do you run mate?

BlackArab has a good point, what your essentially doing with a night is creating a product.. keeping the product running for a period of time and building on your product will ensure a regular crowd and a trust thats associated with branding.

People buy/go to certain brands because they trust them, take a Fevah UK club night for example - the DJs may play very similar music down the road, but people go to Fevah why? Because of brand power, trust and having heard reports from others. Its something you can build on as you go along.

Another point is think big and outside the square, set yourself a target and don't let other peoples "you'll never do that" pull you down, remember branding is a gradual process but over time people will warm to your style and way of thinking and you'll soon have quite a following.

Former Member · May 2003

My dealer knows a promoter who ended up burning down his record shop for the insurance because he had got into debt putting on parties. Shame really because they were really good.

Former Member · May 2003

First off..I wouldn't bother doing a clubnight if it's your first time because it's quite a challenge if you've neva done it before. Start small and grow. Use your local village/townhall and make it a one off..a night to remember and then build it from there. Don't bother putting out flyers in your local music shops because half the time they will be ignored amongst other 300 flyers sat next to them..Use word of mouth and tell all your mates, mates, mates. The best party's (I don't mean clubnight's) are when everyone knows eachother. Invite all the girls you know because where there's girls there's boys..And there proberly be more lads turn up if they know there's a shed load of females in short skirts. Also get all your gay mates to spread the word because these guy's know everyone whos' anyone.

You can get a half decent sound system for about 400 quid but if your in a smaller venu then you'll only need somthing small. If your mates are in a band you could see if you could use their PA.
Also if you have got to bring your own setup see if you can get money off the place your using as you gotta bring your own gear.

As for DJs? Best to get a friend, or a friend of a friend because they proberly won't charge anything or if they do it'll be very little.
Don't try and make a hugh amount of money..as I said just start small. Also if your selling tickets make you sell them upfront as the dropout rate will be a lot lower than if you see tickets on the door.

Hope that helps..Altho I proberly when't iff track a tad.

Former Member · June 2003

That's a good point about selling tickets in advance - people will go to an event if they've already spent the cash for it in advance.

I did spot a really good band at a local pub - so got their contact details.

I quite like the idea of putting on live music as opposed to DJ - it just seem to have a whole different life when things are live. But I guess that also makes things more expensive and more complicated?

Former Member · June 2003

I'd say far from it, with a DJ you need to make sure there are the bits that go with that, lighting etc. However with live it can be very simple indeed.
If you going towards that angle then I would try and find a pub that has a room for that sort of thing, thats probally the best angle I'd say.

Former Member · June 2003

Why not do both, the more people involved the merrier as everyone invites mates along. Having a band as well as DJs could make your night stand out from the rest. OK the profits will need to be split further but the experience you will gain and the connections made will be worthwhile. Collectives in Bristol over the years have resulted in Massive Attack, Tricky, Roni Size, Krust etc in fact I remember standing outside a club handing out flyers alongside the last two, ten years ago.

Former Member · June 2003

ps unsigned bands often play for low rates. The exposure to a new audience is more important at this stage than short term gain.

Former Member · June 2003

That's true about unsigned bands but...If their good you'll pay about 300 quid for them.

Former Member · June 2003

Have any of you heard of the church in London it's a sunday event that takes place each week at midday and gets Hundreds of people turning up.

To be honest I wasn't really impressed - it starts at midday but nothing happens for ages and then the on stage entertainment begins, once it gets going it's good but most of the audience participation involve making fun of the people int he crowd rather then having fun with the peolpe.

Are there any similar things to the church in London or anywhere else in England?

Former Member · June 2003

why dont you contact those clubs you'd like to promote and see what they have to say on the matter

Former Member · June 2003

Theres a book called the 'Music Industry Manual'. It covers promoting your own nights. Its available on 'Hard to Find Records' website. I think it covers all types of music and gives advice...is quite expensive though!

Click here for info

Former Member · June 2003

Originally posted by jacaranda
why dont you contact those clubs you'd like to promote and see what they have to say on the matter

The clubs I'd be interested in do pretty well as it is. But only on Friday and Saturday. One club I got do has something on a MOnday night but it's crap!!

However there is one club near where I used to work that I believe is available for hire Tuesdays to Thursdays.

There are 1000's of office workers in that particular area and I think with the right event something could be done to put on a great night.

A guy I knew ages ago that did promoting got a place to promote on a Monday night but it was also a resturant and thus anything he promoted had to be after 11pm.

That wouldn't work in this case as most of the people I'd want to target would be in bed by then.

Ideally if I was promoting in this place something starting from 7pm to 11pm I think would be what i'd be looking for. Gives most peopl enough time to enjoy themselves and catch the train home.

Former Member · July 2003

if you wanna do it yourself, get a LOT of info first, or work with someone else. the example of the poster you saw is probabloy just bad advertising.

where abouts are you and what kind of night are you looking to promote?

the main costs as others have said are the actaul club, flyers (if doing someothing relatively big - i run 5000 flyers for £100), and the cost of the line up or acts.

also, getting any big club on friday or saturday is basically impossible, as generally the manager will have their own ideas, or the place could do absolutely nothing and be absoluely rammed anyway ~(unfortunately

)

hope helped a bit

Night Club Promoting - ?

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