This was the theme of the first ever Off The Record festival, a new event by the team behind Liverpool Sound City and Kendal Calling that took place in Manchester’s Northern Quarter. It attracted a wide range of delegates who enjoyed a daytime conference including a series of panel talks by experts in the industry from media outlets, festivals, event management and promoters to ticket agents and more. These experts gave insight and advice on how new talent should go about getting their break.
Once the conference was done, it was off to the TicketWeb-sponsored party at Dive Bar and then on to some of the great venues in the Northern Quarter to check out a host of new and emerging artists from around the country.
So how do new bands and artists go about getting themselves a record deal? Here are some of the thoughts from the experts at Off The Record: Nick Fraser of Ogensis and Jeff Thompson of Unconventional suggested to their panel that more smaller bands and artists should take the initiative and book gigs themselves, which lauded agreement from all.
Miriam Rahimov of Mean music gave some good insights on how to be successful when putting on a gig, as follows:
Find a venue and a date
Shop around and look for venues that are known for music firs,t such as Manchester’s Soup Kitchen or Ruby Lounge, as they are likely to attract new music fans that will be interested in hearing your music. Try and find venues in city centres because it’s easier to draw an audience when transport links make the venue easy to get to.
Venues have long booking periods so get in early and give yourself plenty of time to promote the show.
Build relationships with the venue bookers, get to know them and work alongside them and the venue owners to promote your show – the more tickets you sell the better for everyone! If you do a good job, and they like you, then they bump you top of the list next time.
Find a ticket agent
Speaking of ticketing, our very own John Talbot suggested that bands should sign up with a ticket agent early on in their career. By doing so bands are in complete control of their tickets as well as the data they generate which can be used to promote their new shows and music too.
Ticket agents have a wealth of customer data that can be utilised to promote new music – this is something that TicketWeb really prides itself on: helping new artists and grassroots venues develop their audiences and promote their events too.
Find support acts
So once you’ve got your venue secured and put tickets on sale it’s time to find support bands. It’s hard to fill a room on your own so look for support from other bands that are at a similar level. Simon Zaccagni from Silent Radio suggested that if you have bands at a similar level you don’t have to have a headliner per se – they all can be headliners because you’re selling a 2.5-hour experience, so be sure that all bands can live up to fans expectations.
Market your event
Now it’s time to market your event! As mentioned a ticketing agent can offer some free marketing and exposure for your event, but you also need to invest in your own marketing. Social media is a great free tool and your content should be fun and engaging. Get your fans and friends to share what you post to get organic social media support. Also ensure support bands are plugging away on their social media pages and bringing fans along too. Be creative, speak to local radio stations, newspapers and bloggers and invite them down to review your show.
Plan
So it’s getting nearer show day – make sure you have everything planned down to a tee on the days leading up to the event. Consider how to get equipment into the venue, the schedule of the bands playing, when they need to be ready for their sound check. Plan every little detail to ensure that it operates well and that your fans have an enjoyable day.
If you are interested in selling tickets for your own event, contact a member of the TicketWeb team at [email protected] who will be happy to help you
Story by Benjamin Garner
