Having run a studio and played in a band for 47 years, as well as running several music festival over the years, and promoting our own gigs, I thought it might be good to pass on some of the things I've learned over the years on the subject of gig promoters. This post is primarily aimed at relatively inexperienced bands playing original material, looking to build a profile.
The first thing to consider is "why do we want to do a gig". This may sound like a silly question, but there are many reasons a band may want to do gigs and you should consider what you are trying to achieve before you leap headlong into the world of gigging. If you've never gigged before, it really is a good idea, if you can, to do a couple of low profile gigs to try out material and see how the band gels, before you launch out on the wonderful world of gigging. My band, The False Dots, started gigging in 1980. We were still at school. Our first two gigs were self promoted shows in the local church hall, the third was at our school. The wisdom of this became apparent when our lead singer didn't show up for the first gig. Just imagine if we'd been playing for a good promoter. Our fourth gig was supporting a band called Way of The West, who had a Radio 1 single of the week! It meant we were used to playing live and were able to do ourselves justice. I really think it is important to know the band works before engaging with professional promoters. We also played a couple of parties for mates, that we didn't consider 'proper gigs' at the time, but actually enabled us to build a following.
When you feel you are ready to start stepping up, there are three things to consider. The first is whether the promoter is right for you. Often, the best promoters specialise in a specific genre of music and work to put on a bill where bands complement each other. If you play Metal, then look for someone who promotes Metal, if you play Reggae, look for a Reggae promoter, etc. They will understand that you are a new band, and should be sympathetic. Some venues use different promoters on different nights, so it is important to ensure that you get the right one. I would always advise going to the venue and checking out the setup, when you are starting out. Speak to the bands, the door people, the sound person if you can. See if the venue has posters up. Check the socials to see what effort the promoter has gone to. If the promoter has done nothing, then they will most likely do nothing for you.
Promoters will ask you how many people you will bring. They will also expect you to bring them. This is not them being arsey, they are running it as a business. If you bring no one, then they won't rebook you, unless there is a very good reason (tube strikes etc). If you can persuade your fans to buy advance tickets, this makes a good impression, but don't be bullied by promoters demanding pre-sales. If the promoter has a "cancellation clause", where they can pull the gig and not refund your fans their ticket, then do not take the gig under any circumstances. They should confirm the timings well in advance.
Often bands pull a far bigger crowd for their first couple of proper gigs. Mates will come a couple of times, but to grow your fan base, you need a lot of hard work. Make sure you tag the promoter into your socials. If they do not repost your socials, then they are not doing what they should. If you post 100 times a day, then they won't but they should post some of your postings. Also tag in the other bands on the bill. Make your postings appealing to fans of all on the bill. That way, you may get a few fans of the headliners coming early. The promoters should support this activity.
With regards to money, the promoter should be clear and transparent as to what you will receive. This is usually a share of the door, often for people who sign in for you. Promoters have to cover their costs first, so it is not unusual for a minimum door take to be required before you are paid.
To sum up. A good promoter will
* Make all terms and conditions of performance clear up front.
* Put effort into making the line up work for all bands.
* Put effort into getting fans along via posters/leaflets/socials
* Pay you as agreed
* Communicate properly
A bad promoter will
* Mess you around on timings.
* Threaten to cancel the gig if you don't sell advance tickets.
* Make no effort to make line ups work.
* Not be interested in your actual music.
* Hassle you on the phone and change arrangements at short notice with no reason.
The False Dots have mostly played for good promoters, who support us and are reasonable. The bad ones we've played for have been a nightmare. We have fulfilled the gigs, as I consider it unprofessional to cancel them, but we have told them to jog on, when approached again. It is also worth saying that we've done gigs for good promoters that didn't work out. This was usually because the venues were at places we couldn't pull a crowd (notably one at the Tunnel Club in Greenwich on a Tuesday night, where two people came). You lean from such things. They waste everyones time. Now we tend to play in Camden, Islington and around Barnet as we can pull a crowd and do festivals etc, where there is an audience that we can reach. Make sure that wherever you play, it fits into a plan to grow the band.
And lastly good luck. The False Dots are part of the Band Up network of Independent bands. This was us performing at Fabwick in Hackney. Check it out as it is the best resource for new unsigned bands looking for gigs etc.
