Does anyone have any tips, pointers, warnings, etc. for booking and promotion of a local band?
(Disclaimer: I’m a promoter) The first thing you need to do is identify your audience. If your act is an experimental rock band, what kind of scene is there in your city for that kind of music? Do people go to experimental/avant-garde shows? If not, why not? If they do, how old are they? How much do they pay? How many bands are usually on the bill? Start going to live shows. Go to a punk show, a metal show, an industrial show, a rock show, etc. See how the audience is treated by the venue, and what the standard concert-goer-experience is. Figure out what you want to improve upon. As for the shows themselves, there are two ways you can go about getting your band gigs. 1: You can shop them out to other promoters/venues as an opening act/headliner. In this case, you’ll (hopefully) get paid, get told what time load-in and soundcheck are, and you pretty much just have to show up and perform. 2: You can throw your own shows. You’ll be responsible for booking the venue, hiring a sound tech, d
