Attending a music event is often a favourite thing for people to do over the summer. But with ticket costs for major festivals on the rise, a large proportion of fans are being priced out of going.
Instead, they opt to attend smaller events, featuring local acts and (normally) cheaper food and drink.
Thinking about running your own music event? Check out our previous blog for a few ideas on how to plan one successfully. Once you’ve got the event organised, here are a few music event management tips to make sure it runs as smoothly as possible.
1. Think about marketing—before, during, and after
Organising a music event can be a very stressful and tiring thing to do. You want to make sure that all the effort you’ve put in has been worth it. There’s no better way to do this than through effective marketing — before, during, and after the event has taken place.
Before
Prior to the event, you need to keep your attendees excited about coming. This means regularly updating them with line up announcements and related information. Likewise, you’ll also want to attract more people to come to the event. Providing updates and fresh content through social media is a great way of engaging with the wider public.
During
During the event itself, film as much as you can: audience reaction shots, live recordings of the participating artists, and swooping shots of the venue itself. You could even hire a cherry picker or scaffolding tower to get those high-angle and swooping shots you often see in films and on TV.
You should also think about the “Instagrammability” of your event. Create areas of your venue where attendees can take and post photos. Or come up with a Snapchat filter and event hashtag that your guests can share.
After
Having a catalogue of the above film snippets can really help when marketing your future events This is because it will provide attendees with content to share, which will give your event or website more exposure.
2. Keep your carbon footprint down
Climate change is no secret. Atmospheric carbon dioxide is increasing, sea levels are rising, and ice caps are melting. With that, many people are becoming increasingly aware of their carbon footprint, wanting to sustain the planet.
So, why not do the same at your event? Implement a range of eco-friendly techniques that will keep your event’s carbon footprint as low as possible. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
Go ticketless
Design an event app for your guests to use, so that they don’t have to worry about printing their tickets beforehand. This will save you and your guests both time and money.
Use biodegradable cups
It’s no secret that there’s often a lot of drinking involved at music events. By using biodegradable cups, you can ensure that you and your guests do your bit to protect the planet. Inebriated guests are also less likely to walk miles to find the nearest recycling bin, so make sure your venue has lots available.
Hire local food trucks
Hiring local food trucks keeps transportation costs down, which will make a big impact on your event’s carbon footprint. Plus, if those food trucks also use local produce, you’ll be helping the local economy out as well.
Stick to energy efficient lighting
Music events tend to have a lot of lighting, from fairy lights in tents to on-stage lighting. By using energy efficient lightbulbs and solar-powered lighting options, you’ll do your bit for the planet and also save money on energy bills.
3. Organise your acts well
A music event is often only as good as its acts, so it’s important to nail your line-up. Not only that, but you also need to organise the order of your acts well. You wouldn’t want a mellow acoustic singer-songwriter playing on a lively Saturday evening, for instance. You’d want a much higher energy band or DJ on instead.
Organising your acts is much easier said than done, as there’s a lot to think about. Music event management is no walk in the park.
Put yourself in your guests’ shoes and think about the order you would like to see your acts playing in. Also, make sure to leave enough time for set-up, soundchecks, and breaks for participating musicians in between acts. No artist likes to rush their preparation.
Reverb Nation in particular has a location-based filter, making it easy to find and contact acts in your area.
4. Use good quality equipment
It’s all well and good to have the perfect setup for your event. But without the right equipment, it could all go terribly wrong. You need to think about the size of your venue and implement speaker set-ups to suit.
Similarly, you need to ensure you have enough good quality microphones, cables, and other sound equipment available. You want each of your guests to be able to hear the acts, whether they’re at the front of the stage or the very back.
Furthermore, while most acts will bring their own instruments and equipment, it’s often a good idea to have your own general music-making accessories as a back-up in case of an emergency. For instance, a stock of guitar strings, straps, drum sticks, capos, or plectrums to fall back on can be a big help to a participating musician.
