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A lot of musicians have the talent but often have trouble getting booked.

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A musician will practice their craft for hours upon hours and the best way they can achieve their kicks is to perform the music they have practiced for an audience. This is also the way a lot of musicians make their living. Whereas hiring a booking agent or promoter to do this job for you, I have found success staying in control of my own shows. By in control, I mean that I host my own shows of which I manage and execute myself. This puts me in charge of basically everything. There are many benefits to this concept as well as a few pitfalls and today Id like to talk about how to put on a show. This formula can be used for most types of shows , from music to burlesque... A few minor details will change, but the overall formula has been successful in many places in my personal experiences.

1. Venue

The very first step to this process might be obvious. You need a place to put on your show. If you live in a city that hosts a lot of music, you might already know a few music venues. This can be a challenge, but finding the right venue takes some thought. If you are a newer musician on the scene, or this is your first show, I would recommend trying a smaller venue. It is better to sell out a room that holds 100 people and have it look packed rather than selling 100 tickets to a 1000 person room and the venue looks empty. We all want to play the big venues sure, but be sure to limit yourself to a show that you can pack. Musicians have an ego when it comes to this concept for some reason. Stop. Get rid of that ego and book a smaller venue. I usually pick a venue with a nice stage setup, a bar for people to drink, and a nice dance floor. Most of the venues that host music will often have a sound setup and a crew already. This is always worth discussion with the venue owner when booking a venue.

2. Sound

A good sound guy who has a good system can make or break the show. As previously stated, most venues have someone in house who does this. If the venue doesnt have a setup or sound guy, its time you hire one. This can be costly. I try and find a venue that will have a provided in house sound guy, and I pay him out of pocket when leasing the venue. Sometimes this can be free, sometimes it costs a pretty penny. Its worth negotiations but a lot of times the venue has this set. Be sure to ask about the sound guy and what the stipulations on this are.

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3. Tickets

Ticket sales ensure that you will have guests. This is something a lot of musicians argue over. They feel as though SOMEONE ELSE should promote THEIR band. Do you want them to write your music too? hahah maybe hold your dick when you pee? This is a misconception. You will have to find strategies on selling your tickets OR hire someone to do this for you. HIRE HIRE.....let me say it again HIRE SOMEONE... meaning you have to pay them because promotion is work. Dont be lazy. Order your own tickets from www.stubwire.com and sell your own tickets. If you find someone to help this is just extra sales for you. Take responsibility for your own shows. After you order physical tickets from stubwire you can also get online ticket sales from services such as www.eventbrite.com .... do this.

4. Supporting acts

You need some bands to share the stage with. Obviously you want to pick good musicians within a similar scene or genre. Although sometimes a good mixed genre show is awesome. Hiring local talent is business. You will have to ensure they will benefit from this show just as you will. I have learned good business is where everyone feels as though they won. The way to do this with other musicians is to hire them based upon stipulations that are fair. Whether its splitting tickets with them.. or letting them keep all ticket sales and splitting the door. BOTH parties need to be getting paid for their work. The percentages are you up to you. It took some time for me to find a good middle ground where everyone felt like this was fair. Do some testing. Dont be greedy.

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5.Crew

You need a crew. These are people you will be paying from this operation in order to perform services for you. These services include but arent limited to a door guy, security, a stage manager, vendors.......these sort of things help bring the show together and make it a professional effort. I usually hire people who are close to me to do these jobs. Trustworthy friends or family... ESPECIALLY with running the door. This person will be handling potentially thousands of dollars. Be sure you have a way of tracking money and tickets being ripped that come through the door. A good system will take time to develop but I found that just paying the employees well helps to keep them honest. Sometimes venue provides certain staff... I allow this at my shows with the exception of a door guy. The door guy is always my employee or we have no deal on the venue.

6. Awareness

This is simple. Start posting about it on social media. Start telling friends.. Have the bands who are playing alongside you do the same. The more that you can get the event buzzing without paid promotion, the better. There is tons of ways you can do this and it just takes simply being creative. I would hold competitions giving our prizes or free tickets in exchange for shares. We used Canva.com to make cool fliers to bring awareness to the show.. EXHAUST THESE EFFORTS. Take full advantage of all free promotion you can get... even if its as simple as word of mouth.

7.Ads and promotion

This is the last step. Take initiative to purchase some ads to promote the show. Whether you spend 20 bucks or 100.... ads are pretty important when it comes to reaching an audience that you normally wouldnt reach. You can use the flier or some sort of means to inform people about the show. It needs to be enticing because sometimes you only have one opportunity to catch someones eyes. Using facebook, instagram, and youtube can help. Facebook offers a very sophisticated ads program Do some research the bussiness facebook accounts and be sure to reseach ads on facebook. It seems like something that is simple ... trust me .. its not that simple. Go see for yourself.

Throwing a show can be challenging... it can be frustrating... but at the end of the day.. YOUR career is in YOUR hands... If you push the show and organize the formula to where it works for you, then you will have a good show. I hope this helps you guys out with putting on shows. It at least can help you create your own formula. This formula worked well for me. There is a ton of detail that is creative and will be up to you to figure out. But this will definitely guide you. It is always a pleasure talking with all of you on Steemit! Upvote this post if you find it useful and follow me for more music tips and content.