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[Dave Rickard]

Stuart Hogg wrote on Thu, 19 August 2010 10:13

Dave Rickard wrote on Thu, 19 August 2010 16:23 Sometimes being the hero/martyr helps the future sometimes it just wastes times and resources, because the first-time amateur promoter will never have a second event... still, you never know. I think a lot of our responses would depend a lot on the attitude of the promoter. It's hard to make a decision based on a hypothetical situation floated on a forum. When you can talk to someone and see the whites of their eyes it becomes easier to judge their intentions and make an appropriate decision. I'd agree that busting a gut for a hopeless event that has no chance of repeat business might be a bad idea from a commercial point of view. However you never know who could be in the room - one of the bands could be on the verge of being signed, or the bass player in one could be manager of a local venue, etc.etc. Word of mouth is incredibly powerful, and very hard to predict or control.

Excellent point.  The audience can never be fully known.  I've often been surprised by compliments, in the weeks following a show, by people I didn't know were even there that night.  That has helped grow my business.

Sometimes I get approached to do an event with "as little as possible" because of a lack of budget.  Doing the gig poorly just to stay within an inadequate budget can harm my reputation, so I try to filter out those situations.  Or bring more to the show than I'm being paid to.

Last spring I was approached by a non-profit group doing a benefit.  No budget, but significant tech needs.  When I asked my contact if they had tried to get any corporate sponsorship he said he never thought of that.  He approached a few companies and got the money he needed for PA, publicity, logistics, etc.  He had more money than he had imagined.  

It was a very successful event.  Had they stayed within their original vision, it would have been unsuccessful.

[Tim McCulloch]

Dave Rickard wrote on Thu, 19 August 2010 11:44

Stuart Hogg wrote on Thu, 19 August 2010 10:13 Dave Rickard wrote on Thu, 19 August 2010 16:23 Sometimes being the hero/martyr helps the future sometimes it just wastes times and resources, because the first-time amateur promoter will never have a second event... still, you never know. I think a lot of our responses would depend a lot on the attitude of the promoter. It's hard to make a decision based on a hypothetical situation floated on a forum. When you can talk to someone and see the whites of their eyes it becomes easier to judge their intentions and make an appropriate decision. I'd agree that busting a gut for a hopeless event that has no chance of repeat business might be a bad idea from a commercial point of view. However you never know who could be in the room - one of the bands could be on the verge of being signed, or the bass player in one could be manager of a local venue, etc.etc. Word of mouth is incredibly powerful, and very hard to predict or control. Excellent point.  The audience can never be fully known.  I've often been surprised by compliments, in the weeks following a show, by people I didn't know were even there that night.  That has helped grow my business. Sometimes I get approached to do an event with "as little as possible" because of a lack of budget.  Doing the gig poorly just to stay within an inadequate budget can harm my reputation, so I try to filter out those situations.  Or bring more to the show than I'm being paid to. Last spring I was approached by a non-profit group doing a benefit.  No budget, but significant tech needs.  When I asked my contact if they had tried to get any corporate sponsorship he said he never thought of that.  He approached a few companies and got the money he needed for PA, publicity, logistics, etc.  He had more money than he had imagined.   It was a very successful event.  Had they stayed within their original vision, it would have been unsuccessful.

Dave makes a very good point.  Sometimes we have to show a client how to get their needs paid for.  I tell them it's far easier to get a sponsor for a specific, particular need than it is to get a generic event sponsor.  Sponsors like to know exactly what their money is paying for.

I also discuss banner and signage placement opportunities for production sponsors so they wont do silly things like put stuff up in front of the speakers or too close to lights.

Helping a client find ways to pay your bill is always a good neighbor thing to offer.

Have fun, good luck.

Tim Mc