Promoters Question

Ikoda

Ikoda

Well-Known Member
Guys (and dolls) who are promoters... how hard is it to start a club night?

I've been wanting to start my own for about a year and a half, and have some vague concepts about how to do it, but thought I'd ask as I believe a few of you have been involved running nights.

Any pitfalls I should be worried about?
Any general knowledge you could impart?
 
be a major part of the scene you want to do the party in . ppl dont take chances on small nights very often. you need to know on friendly terms 50+ pplwho you think would come at least and here in lies the problem between dj and promoter. Making flyers doesnt make people come unfortunately. Its really sad , but true.

If on the other hand you have been going to loads of parties , know all the regulars and their mates and talk about ding something different you can generate interest etc and go from there.

no im not promoter , but i know plenty of dj's who have put on parties and subsequently become promoters because they had to be. Buckley probs knows a thing or 2 about this as will Chewie maybe
 
I'm hoping with the move down to Brighton, I can expand my friendship group (It's non existent up here), and from that, get a night rolling.

It's all about who you know, not what you know. But what you know does help. (Atleast, that's always the impression I've got)
 
Ikoda said:
I'm hoping with the move down to Brighton, I can expand my friendship group (It's non existent up here), and from that, get a night rolling.

It's all about who you know, not what you know. But what you know does help. (Atleast, that's always the impression I've got)
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Make sure you have a good few thousand capital to begin with and prepare to make a loss for the first few parties. I'm happy to pass on some advice Ikoda PM me I did the promoting game for 2 years and some good and bad times.
 
i ran a night in liverpool for 6 years that started with us putting on a party for our mates and ended up with us putting a gig that took a year to sort in Liverpool Cathedral! And I am now back running something much smaller on a infrequent basis (next gig is tonight actually!)

There is loads of advice and tips like, but i would say the most important thing is - do it for the right reasons. You won't make loads of money, you won't become a highly paid DJ out of it. Do it because either a) you really want to put a party on and/or b) it is the only place you have got to showcase your DJing. It is hard work (especially if you get to a stage where you dealng with agents, booking flights etc etc - but that is long way off initially!)

As Marc said - you have to know people that will come. Club nights build monmentum - but it is key that you can get a decent amount of people to the first couple of shows, then, as more people come that you don't necessarily know, they will see its a good night ie a busy night, they tell their friends etc etc etc etc.....

One of the main reasons that our night became as succesfull as it did was because we got our faces known at all the other small nights that were happening around the city (at this time Liverpool was awash with small nights, which is no longer the case) and we built relationships and friendships with the other promoters and the people that attended these nights. Building these relationships is key to making the night work.

Obviously promotion is key - dont think you can print 5000 flyers and chuck them into shops/bus stops/wherever and that is your promotion done. You need, particuarly now, to be clever with your promotion. There is a fine line between using facebook/twitter well and people thinking you are an annoying t*at on there cos yo are bedgering people all the time. Think of an angle that you can use and use it.

Money wise - i wouldn't necessarily agree that you need a couple of grand behind you to start a night. At some point, as the night grows, you will need cash to pay for bookings etc etc but at the early stages where you wont be booking any 'name' dj's anyway you don't need too much.

Venue - Very important. If possible find somewhere that is unique to your night....a venue that maybe has never been used before for a club night.....most of our shows over the years were at a Underground tunnel that is a National Heritage Centre by day! The only thing to be aware of though is venues that aren't music venues won't have any kit at all in them....meaning big cost for sound, lights etc etc...so maybe not a good idea for the first few shows.

Lastly - don't try and do it all on your own. Doing it with others is so so much better for loads of reasons - it spreads risk financially, it shares the workload and most importantly....one of the best feelings you can have is standing at the back of the booth next to your mates/fellow promoters, whilst the DJ you have booked sends a packed dancefloor nuts.....you think 'we did this'.

Good luck Ben - if you need anything give me a shout!
 
I did a Wednesday night techno knees-up in around '99 in Brighton at what was then known as Coba (I think) on the seafront.

Was hard work getting people in but interest grew after a while.

Exhausting keeping it going though and hard to stay inspired.
 
onemore said:
Money wise - i wouldn't necessarily agree that you need a couple of grand behind you to start a night. At some point, as the night grows, you will need cash to pay for bookings etc etc but at the early stages where you wont be booking any 'name' dj's anyway you don't need too much.
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My point about the money is related to who you book. If you don't book a named dj you will struggle (unless you know 50-100 definites who will attend the first party) and hence why you need a lot of capital. Also, unless you find a nice club manager who is willing to lend you the venue for free then it's going to cost you. Add to this flyering/promotion costs and it all starts mounting up...
 
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I have a mate who has been "trying" to get his night going for about two years now. He plays dnb and dubstep but everything mentioned on here he has already told me. It is tiresome at times and he loses money on most of his nights, although Nottingham is known to be crap when it comes to EDM(god I hate that term :D). They have a lot of their own sound system and lights now so they can go anywhere that will let them play for free and have packed a few places out and paid a few DJ's but it isn't easy and he spends countless hours working on it to try and make it work. He wants to become a paid DJ and producer long term, but even now he has a residency at Stealth which is Nottinghams only real club playing underground EDM he doesn't get paid. He does it for the buzz and hopes it may lead somewhere in the future.
 
What kind of monies are spent on venue hire?

Looking at doing a night in Brighton. Would have to start off slow and work my way up, couldn't afford to put on any big names (and by big, I mean the likes of Kyau & Albert, Rank 1 or the like, not Armin van Buuren & co)
 
i think you may struggle with trance in brighton from my experiences of my mates who went to uni there. then again because there isnt much of it happening you may be able to find a niche and i hope so
 
This is something I've always been interested in myself and I have a little bit of experience having helped with some events while I was at Uni.

We set up a Clubbing Soc at Uni and put on some events. We did a psy-trance one at this little bar in Bristol, mainly because this girl we'd teamed up with was mad into psy-trance. The first one was a huge, huge success - we made loads of money out of it. But it was only after the 2nd one completely bombed that we realised what the deal was. Basically, because it was the girl's first event, literally all her mates had turned up to support it. The DJs were all free, the bar didn't charge anything and just took drinks money. The 2nd one, she booked a DJ that was pressing for some payment and all her mates had more important things on their schedules.

I also went to a few similar trance nights here in Chester and they were reasonably well attended given the tiny size of the venue. But they stopped after a while too and in a lot of cities there doesn't even seem to be much of a market for nice place to chill with some proper EDM music.

A friend of mine is thinking of doing a trance event in London to raise money for charity. She's obviously really nervous about the whole thing. In the end, she's relying on all her friends coming, and bringing their friends, and their friends, and the DJs spreading the word and getting their supporters to come etc. If it makes any money, it might only be because it's a charity thing.

I think on a very basic level, when you're starting up, you need to know good DJs who will play for free, a club/bar owner interested in the 'scene' at large and not just his bank balance, and a huge bank of friends that will support at every turn. Not easy.

As I say, it's still something I'm really interested in. I still have it in my head that I will move to London eventually, so if you want any help putting a night on in London, Ben, then I can DJ and bring 15-30 people straight off the bat.
 
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Ikoda said:
What kind of monies are spent on venue hire?

Looking at doing a night in Brighton. Would have to start off slow and work my way up, couldn't afford to put on any big names (and by big, I mean the likes of Kyau & Albert, Rank 1 or the like, not Armin van Buuren & co)
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He has so far negotiated a free venue if the bar take xxx amount of pounds in the till. Then they used to charge £2 entry or free if you are on guestlist on facebook.
You would think getting the uni crowd in would be easy? There must be a few hundred there who would enjoy your kind of music.
 
MiniMarc said:
i think you may struggle with trance in brighton from my experiences of my mates who went to uni there. then again because there isnt much of it happening you may be able to find a niche and i hope so
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A friend of mine has designs on putting a Techno night on in Brighton. Must admit I have my reservations ... any thoughts on appetite for that round there these days ?
 
mashednlovingit said:
My point about the money is related to who you book. If you don't book a named dj you will struggle (unless you know 50-100 definites who will attend the first party) and hence why you need a lot of capital. Also, unless you find a nice club manager who is willing to lend you the venue for free then it's going to cost you. Add to this flyering/promotion costs and it all starts mounting up...
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Fair do's.

Though you will struggle to book a 'name' dj on your first show or first couple of shows.

Venue wise - there is always a deal to be done with the owner. you just have to peruade him he is getting bar cash that he wouldn't have got without your night and therefore that needs to be reflected when discussing hire costs..
 
I think Barbie and Robder are probs the people to speak to concerning brighton but my experience with the uni crowd was dubstep , drum n bass etc was most popular. i think housey stuff could be a go too. theres a quite a big squat / free party scene down there which i guess has more psy trance and underground bass stuff going on. im just not sure where 'club' trance would fit but then there it is for the taking. Techno i think could be good with the right venue if you got a crowd onboard and word went round but i think it would have to be a great all round party as opposed to there being loads of techno heads that would go anyway. if that makes sense
 
onemore said:
There is a fine line between using facebook/twitter well and people thinking you are an annoying t*at on there cos yo are bedgering people all the time. Think of an angle that you can use and use it.
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Amen. Well said that man.

I have (unfortunately) had to deal with many poor promoters down the years, and with the boom in social media their product (and indeed productivity) has declined as their usage of facebook has increased.

The key is getting out on the street, talking to people and building a brand from scratch with a USP - like any kind of product really.

It's the hard balance of finding something appealing to a wide enough audience, but at the same time not replicating something already on the market...

My advice would be - don't try to run before you can walk - find a credible promoter, and become a lackey, learn the ropes. Especially seeing as you'll be in a new town. You will find and learn things you never thought you'd need too. This will also help you build-up a network & database.

Get your face out there and known. Create a reputation for yourself as a hardworker, working for somebody else.

Then when the seeds are sowed, take a dive and begin your own events. Start small, don't expect to make a profit in your first few outings, keep it personal, but accesible, keep it passionate - and if you do make any money, reinvest it back into the promotion.

Also- piggy-back promo-ing - find another event which is currently experiencing an increase in popularity. More than likely, they will be looking to move to a larger venue (potentially with more rooms/arenas), so you can then put yourself forward as a DJ on the line-up, or even hosting one of the B-rooms.
 
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1. First one's easy - they won't all be so don't spend all the profit on gear for everyone at the afterparty:oops:

2. Start small and get some help

3. Once you get a bit bigger expect everyone you've met once to ask for guestlist

4. An already formed community can be hijacked to be your punters. An online forum with DJs in it's members list might a decent start

5. Try and keep a lid on your own partying until everything is sorted for the evening
 
Buckley said:
1. First one's easy - they won't all be so don't spend all the profit on gear for everyone at the afterparty:oops:

2. Start small and get some help

3. Once you get a bit bigger expect everyone you've met once to ask for guestlist

4. An already formed community can be hijacked to be your punters. An online forum with DJs in it's members list might a decent start

5. Try and keep a lid on your own partying until everything is sorted for the evening
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always our problem!!!!!!
 
onemore said:
one of the best feelings you can have is standing at the back of the booth next to your mates/fellow promoters, whilst the DJ you have booked sends a packed dancefloor nuts.....you think 'we did this'.!
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Yeah. Nothing quite like being told people are having a brilliant time at your party too8)
 
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