Protected: Concert Production
Concert Production
“The show, like life must always go on…”
While the sale of recorded music has struggled mightily for years, it’s a different story for live concerts.
Although hardly immune to the vagaries (unexpected change) of the greater economy, live music has an enormous economic advantage over recorded music. A fan must generally pay hard dollars to enjoy a live performance by a favored act, while an unauthorized shared download or a free stream puts little or nothing in the artist’s pocket.
Music concerts generate over $6 billion in ticket sales in North America, according to the trade magazine Pollstar, not including the value of resale of tickets on the secondary market and many acts not touring nationally. Add to that sum other ticket re-sales, corporate sponsorships, and the economic spillover for supporting vendors and restaurants, and the vast economic footprint of live music becomes obvious.
-Besides generating substantial revenue from ticket sales, live concerts boost record sales. Live concerts also increase demand for artist-related spinoffs, such as T-shirts, posters, jewelry, key chains, and books.
-Concerts and the sale of ancillary products are so critical that major recording companies are reluctant to sign an act that doesn’t also have a compelling stage presence. And if the label does sign the act, there’s a good chance it’s part of a broad 360 deal that yields the label a healthy piece of the box office.
Three key players move and shake the concert promotion industry, the event promoter, the artist’s manager, and the tour-booking agent.
Concert Promotion
- Concert promoters take the risks, pay the acts, market the shows, and sell the tickets, organize the sale of artist merchandise, assisting in securing sponsorship deals to support tours, arrange stage setup, provide event staff, financial accounting, complying w/live-event safety regulations.
- They risk not making more money from ticket sales and other revenue sources than they will pay out in expenses.
- A half-century ago, the industry was characterized by a patchwork of local and regional promoters, but by the mid 1990’s –and even more so in the new millennium-consolidation and centralization became the story.
National Promoters (Live Nation, AEG)
- They coordinate national tours for major artists.
- They need Local Promoter’s expertise for best venues, seat prices, local promo opportunities. They must find reputable local promoters with good reps quickly.
- They negotiate a share of the net receipts-box office income minus expenses. Out of this they pay the local promoter. Contracts between National Promoters, local promoters, and artists must be precisely drawn to make sure the expenses charged against gross income are allowable and accurate.
Getting Started as a Promoter
Some have acts of their own that they book b4 big promoters take interest.
Others are students serving on their college’s entertainment committee.
Others put together a performance to raise funds for a charity.
Cost of Doing Business: Few startup businesses run without an initial investment of cash, and concert promotion is no different. Promoters need cash to cover their expenses before the first ticket may be sold and expenses start with renting concert hall, printing tickets, securing liability insurance, and hiring ushers. Also, making advance deposit payments to talent.
- Also, riders for talent (luxury trailer, Dom P).
- Needs to know the crowd, extra security?
Booking the Artist: people want artists w/ heavy radio airplay, those from TV, or those w/ strong followings.
–Opening Acts: suitable for headliner’s audience, and shouldn’t overshadow the main talent.
The Agent: As one of the three key players in the concert promotion industry, artists agents negotiate on behalf of music talent. Because agents work on commission, their job is to present the offers that reap the greatest possible fees.
2 Opportunities To Make Agent Contacts:
- Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP)
- National Association Of Campus Activities (NACA)
Preliminaries: Artists’ fees and available dates, what is venue’s potential (seating + ticket costs).
For standing room only concerts, experienced promoters budget around a 60% house (extra 40% is gravy).
Artists’ Fees: Sometimes just flat fee, sometimes flat fee + % of ticket sales (OR you sell X # of tickets, keep $ after #).
Gross Potential: The capacity of the venue (the number of seats that can be sold) X the value of
an average ticket.
–Net Potential: This value (minus) free tickets for artist’s guests, media, & free promotional giveaways.
- Expense Sheets: P280, 16.1
- College Production Planning: Pg. 288, 16.2
An organizational tool listing all details of an event.
- Contact info, stage details, lighting, sound, dressing rooms, loading dock, performance licenses, union jurisdictions, tech rider/rider, and backline.
- Time table of what to do/when to do it, leading up to day of concert & even in the days after concert concludes.
- Marketing: online & mobile, radio/TV, direct mail/email, print media.
- Artists will often insist on ad mats (reusable print materials, approved by the artist) as part of their contracts’ riders.
- Publicity & PR: A non-paid marketing function that includes issuing press releases, providing news outlets w/ video/audio clips, & generating favorable news coverage by making artists available for press interviews.
- May be worthwhile to hire prof publicists w/ contacts in the press.
- Postering: placing posters in prominent locations w/ heavy foot traffic (restaurants, night clubs, malls).
- Street Teams: can give out fliers to pedestrians (esp. @ concerts!) in an attempt to draw attention to the concert.
- Sponsorships: record companies, local radio stations, venue/corporate sponsors and colleges.
