5 Best Tips for Starting a Weekly Music Showcase

 

Not only should classical musicians be able to play well, they must also be able to promote and plan their own performances… But among those people who start to work in concert planning after studying music, many of them seem to quit because they were overwhelmed. They put on dark, plain clothes and stand in the dark behind the stage watching their friends and colleagues whom they studied with, perform on stage under the spotlight. And it’s overwhelming to watch that. It’s hard to let go of a dream you worked hard for. – Cha Young-In, Do You Like Brahms? (Kdrama)

If you love music, chances are, you’ve learned an instrument or two, undertook voice lessons, and can actually belt high notes when out with friends to Karaoke. But some of us, however well we like music are best being behind the scenes. ^_^ Just like confused teenagers who still don’t know which career path to take, it might get overwhelming.  If you are one who loves music and also wants to work in the music industry to help talented musicians, being a music producer, an event organizer, or concert planner might be a good path.

To help with such a decision, here is a list of some things in relation to starting a weekly music showcase.

What is a music showcase? It’s an event combining public performances (like a festival) and industry conferences and sometimes trade events. These events give  musicians, bands, and music enthusiasts exposure and also helps a region to enhance their culture, economy and also get some visibility.

Starting a weekly music showcase is a great way to provide a platform for local talent and to immerse yourself in the local music scene. It’s also a great way to try your hand at event coordination. Here are five tips for starting a weekly music showcase that will streamline the process for you.

Decide What You Want the Event to Be

It’s best to sit down and have a solid idea of your intentions before committing to the process of organizing a recurrent event.

Do you want to set up something that appeals to a wide swath of age groups, that will draw in a wider public? Are you interested in showcasing eclectic groups of all types? Do you want to appeal only to a particular subculture or group of people, like a showcase exclusively showcasing classical artists?

These are all things that you should decide before doing anything else.

Budget

As the event organizer, unless you have financiers willing to put their foot forward and fund the event, you’ll be footing the bill for most. That means booking an event venue, arranging for any type of food and drink, and the cost of paying bands to perform at your event. Luckily ticket prices can offset the cost, but not by much, given that a fair price for a local event hovers around $8 to $10 dollars per ticket, and a venue can only have so many people attend.

Book a Venue

You might think that booking a venue before finding and booking the entertainers sounds off, but that isn’t the case. The venue is likely to make the biggest dent in your wallet, and also dictate the size of the audience. It will also tell you what kind of acts you can hire, depending on their equipment availability and amenities.

Is it close to transportation so that attendees can get there easily? Does the venue have low ceilings in brick walls, which are known to be ideal for sound reverberation at comedy nights? Does the seating availability match your anticipated audience and promotional budgeting? Is there a preparation space (known in the biz as a Green Room), bathrooms, a bar? You’ll want to consider all these things when choosing a venue so that both the entertainers.

Find Talent

There are numerous ways to seek out local and nonlocal musical acts, ranging from word-of-mouth around town, to specific searches in search engines. One of your best bets is to look into talent booking apps and search “entertainment near me” to find performers that are ready for hire. The biggest tip to provide in the arena of booking acts is simply to get yourself out there and develop familiarity with the local music scene, not only to see what bands you will hire, but to see what the audience is looking for in the area.

Advertising For Weekly Music Showcase

While social media is still the hallmark of event promotion in the modern age, you’ll still see print posters taped up to utility poles in cities and towns, alike. While it’s best to make event pages on social media platforms like Facebook and invite as many people as possible virtually, it’s also beneficial to make a poster to hang up around town.