Are You A Musician? Here's How to Plan For Your Next Big Event
Are You A Musician? Here's How to Plan For Your Next Big Event
Are you a musician? Being a musician is exciting. Some musicians practice music for the money, while others do it for fun or as a hobby. It doesn’t matter your end goal.
Every musician has a dream of performing in a big event. You may not realize how difficult it’s to come up with a successful event until you are in the position to organize one. Organizing the events isn’t a bed of roses. There are a lot of challenges along the way.
With instances like the coronavirus pandemic outbreak stopping all social gatherings, planning your event wisely is essential. This article will mention pointers that should help you plan your next big event successfully. Continue reading!
1. Select a Perfect Date
A large number of people in the UK love to have fun, now and then. The place is known for its great venues frequented by big names in the music industry. You would want your next event to be like that of Adele that happened in 2016. You should know that reaching there doesn’t come magically. You need to put in some work. Entertaining over 150000 fans isn’t that easy.
Among the many things that you ought to put into consideration is the event’s date. When are more people likely to turn up for the event? This is one crucial question you should ask yourself. Your calendar should tell you everything. On many occasions, people are likely to turn up for events when they are free from work. So, holidays can work perfectly with your event.
Remember, almost everyone is working day and night to make ends meet. Therefore, you should always choose an ideal date. A weekend should also be fine as your fans can easily turn up, enjoy your music while drinking, and not mess up with their weekly duties. Also, it would help if you chose a day with fewer activities concerning the entertainment industry. For instance, if you fix your event when an international musician is coming over, some of your fans may choose the other concert over yours. Therefore, always go for a day that won’t see your audience divided.
2. Plan Equipment and Tech
Sound and lighting systems in a concert are crucial elements. Good thing for you, many companies specialize in all equipment you may need for your event in the UK today. When it comes to finding an Audio Visual Hire Company, it will help if you went for one with almost every equipment you require for your concert. Getting everything as a complete package saves you the hassles of dealing with different companies, some of which may end bailing on you at the last minute.
Whenever you find a perfect equipment company, the chances are that they may provide you with a technician to operate the equipment. This means that you won’t have to waste time learning how to use different equipment instead of perfecting your music.
If you invite other artists to your concert, it will help if you asked what equipment they need and which of them they will be bringing. Asking the questions saves you from having to hire gear that wasn’t necessary.
3. Choose Your Venue
You have a dream to perform for your audience. What next? Among the top things to consider is the venue to bring this dream into reality. As mentioned earlier, there are many venues in the UK to consider. However, finding the right venue isn’t that easy. Many factors have to be considered. For instance, what’s your target number? Every venue has its maximum capacity, so you have to pick one that can accommodate all your fans.
Another thing to consider is the cost of booking the venue. You should pick a venue within your budget. When you go for an affordable venue, this means that you won’t incur losses in case tickets aren’t sold as you had planned.
The location of a venue is also a crucial factor to have in mind. Here, it would be best if you viewed things as an audience. Don’t pick a venue that people will find hard to access. Going for a place where people can easily access without picking a cab is a perfect choice.
Also, an ideal venue should have the necessary amenities and features that make the event comfortable for everyone. For example, you don’t expect your audience to stay under the scorching sun and still enjoy your music. If you schedule your concert to happen during the day, it will help if the venue you pick has a shade where the audience can hide from the sun. If possible, go for an enclosed structure, enough for your audience. Washrooms are also a must-have for any event. If the ones available in your preferred venue don’t seem enough, then you may have to hire portable toilets for the day.
When it comes to finding a perfect venue, you must know that most venues are ever-busy. Therefore, it’s essential to make your booking in advance. Early booking prevents last-minute surprises. Besides, when you book early, you are left with more time to focus on other essential things to make your concert a success.
4. Set Your Budget
How much are you willing to spend on your concert? Planning a successful show can’t be done off the budget. Everything must be included in the budget to avoid overspending. The money you are planning on spending dictates most of the decisions you will make during the arrangement. You don’t have to spend every coin you have. Many musicians have put gigs in the back room of pubs and still made a name out there. So, there is no need to spend beyond your limits. On many occasions, musicians get blinded by the fact that the turn up will be high and assume that the extra money will be returned. It would be best if you didn’t plan on what is yet to come. If your budget doesn’t match what you intend to make on the door, the chances are that you will lose all your savings or even end up with loans to clear.
5. You Need Security
Imagine planning an event, and luckily the tickets are all sold out. Say, for instance, you have over two thousand fans attending. You may not know how scary this may sound until that time the crowd gets over-excited or chaos erupts. Controlling such a huge crowd isn’t always easy. Security during the day of the event is, therefore, paramount. Your audience has to feel safe during the event, which can only happen when security guys are all over. There are private security companies out there and who specialize in events. You can source their services for the day, and that’s depending on the number you are expecting and how your venue looks like.
6. Be Smart When Setting the Ticket Prices
In the modern world, almost every individual is looking to save every penny that comes his way. However, going to a concert once in a while won’t harm you. If you are looking to attract a huge crowd, it will help if you set the ticket prices to something that they can afford. You don’t expect a sold-out status while your tickets are beyond the obvious. Another thing, your ticket price should match what you have on the table. Only charge what you are worth. If your music is good, the chances are that your audience won’t feel pain paying for any amount you state.
When setting the ticket prices, it’s advisable to create multiple tickets to give your audience a choice. Here, you can have regular tickets, VIP, and VVIP. This helps increase the chances of reaching a sold-out status.
Also, successful event organizers always insist on rolling out the early bird offers, which come at a lower price. With early offers, the chances are that many people will rush to get the tickets, and the money collected can be used to make the event even better. Besides, judging from the early sales, it will be easier to tell how your event will likely be.
7. Marketing is Key
You have something good planned for your fans. Everything has been organized, and you are now waiting for the big day to make it happen. How will your audience know what you have in store for them? How will they know about the venue and the dates? Unless you tell them yourself, you can’t expect them to come out of the blues. Here, marketing is vital. Thankfully, with the growing technological advancements, sharing the information out there is easy. You can create a good poster for your social media pages. Sharing the posters there means that you will easily attract your followers.
If you don’t have a considerable number of followers, you may consider hiring the services of social media influencers. These are individuals with a significant following and who can help get the word out there. Through their help, you are likely even to reach a fan you never had.
Apart from social media, you can as well create an advert on radio and TV. The fact that almost every home has a TV and radio means that you can reach many people through the adverts. Advertising can be a bit expensive, but it’s worth every penny, and that’s if you do it wisely.
8. Get Insurance
When it comes to preparing for an event, it’s good to prepare for the best. The big question is, what if something terrible happens? Say, for instance, what if the stage collapses, and equipment gets damaged, or someone is injured during the concert? In many instances, you will be held liable for the mishap. How about you cover yourself from the unexpected? It sounds like a genius idea to get insurance cover for the event. Covering your events will save you from having to pay for things that you had not planned will happen.
9. Get the Necessary Permits
Nothing is annoying as having to deal with the authorities during the day of the event. This can end up ruining everything, especially if you don’t have the necessary documentation. You can avoid this from happening by acquiring all the needed permits to hold the concert. Obtaining the permits is straightforward. However, it’s advisable to do that in advance to avoid the last-minute rush.
10. Know the Weather Patterns
No one will be willing to come to your show on a rainy day. Even if your concert is staged in a closed structure, rain and cold can ruin the whole experience. Therefore, when planning your event, you have to check the weather calendar first. An ideal date should be when the weather is favorable for everyone, which means that almost every fan will attend.
Remember, most people will be coming to listen to your music while enjoying some beer and good food. You know well how the rain or even the hot sun can mess everything up.
11. Plan Your Space Well
You have already booked your venue and got the supplies for the sound and tech equipment. What next? Your next important step should be to organize everything depending on the space available.
Where will the stage be positioned? Where will the VIP guest stay? Where will the regular fans stay? Will the stage be visible for every audience? These are some of the many questions you should ask yourself when planning the stage.
On this, you can have a specialist come and design a plan for you to make things easy. With a properly arranged space, the chances are that everyone in the audience will leave satisfied that the experience is worth the ticket price.
Planning a big event is every musician’s dream in the UK. It’s not something that comes easily, and that’s why most musicians opt to have a professional event organizer do everything for them. However, if you are daring enough, mentioned in this article are ideas that should point you in the right direction. By following the tips shared, you will find the preparation to be smooth. One thing to note is that planning for a perfect event doesn’t guarantee success. Whatever music you give to your audience is what does. Therefore, before you even dream of something big like a music concert, be sure that your audience loves your work.