The Ultimate Guide to a Successful Music Event

Mic check, one-two, one-two. Welcome to the ultimate guide to a successful music event!

A band will typically play for 30–90 minutes, and then the show’s over. But for you as an event organiser, the show starts way before the band’s set and doesn’t end when they go off stage.

What you’ll learn in this guide:

• What to look for when booking bands and venues.
• All the ways you can promote your concert or festival.
• How to prepare the venue for the bands and audience.
• Different ways to maintain hype around your event afterwards.

1. Planning your music event

While researching music venues can seem like a walk in the park, it’s not always as easy to find the ideal bands for your music event.

Here are the four main points you should think about when you organise a music event:

Musicians

Research and book talented and reliable musicians who can draw a crowd and sell tickets.

Venue

Book a venue that has adequate space for your music acts and their audiences.

Riders

Collect information from the acts about their technical requirements and anything else they need.

Budget

Calculate how much you need to pay the performers and venue to create an event budget.

Remember to negotiate with both the acts and the venue so you have enough money to promote the show and sell some tickets.

What to do now

You can read more about how to research, shortlist, and negotiate with musicians and venues in our guide on planning a successful music event.

Further reading: How to Plan a Music Event: 5 Steps to a Successful Gig.

2. Promoting your music event

Promoting music events is something that most bands aren’t very good at. As an expert event organiser, you won’t make that same mistake.

Follow these steps to make sure that you’ve covered all advertising bases:

Visuals

Create some stunning visuals for your event using your own logo and images from the bands.

Flyers and posters

Have some flyers and posters printed so you can hang them outside the venue and other places with a footfall.

Artist promotion

Ask the performing acts to help you promote the show on via their own channels and networks.

Ticketing

Make sure that there are as few steps as possible between discovering your event and purchasing a ticket.

Social media

Create an event page on Facebook and promote the show on other social media platforms.

Paid ads

Use paid ads in relevant magazines and on social media websites to boost your reach.

Event listings

List your music event on all the free event listing sites you can find online.

If you don’t have the budget to chase all these avenues, then focus on the ones that will give you the best return on your investment.

What to do now

You can find out more about each type of promotion in our guide on how to promote a music event. Read it by clicking the link below.

Further reading: How to Promote a Music Event: 7 Top Tips.

3. Hosting your music event

You’ve sold a bunch of tickets (hopefully all of them) and now it’s time to meet the expectations of the attendees. Time to step into the role of an MC!

Here’s what you need to do on the day of your music event to make sure it’s a success:

Technical equipment

Prepare the venue and ensure that the stage, lighting, sound, and seating is on point and ready for the audience.

Staffing

Ensure the event is properly staffed with a sound engineer, extra technical staff, security on the door, and someone to sort ticketing.

Schedule

Have a schedule of what is going to happen on the night, and print out copies for everyone else.

Toolkit

Bring a toolkit that has spare guitar strings, XLR cables, instrument tuners, earplugs, electric tape, magic markers, and towels.

Riders

Make sure you have everything you need for the band’s backstage room, including drinks, snacks, and phone chargers.

Back-up plans

Have back-up plans for when things go south, like a band cancellation or bad weather (for outdoor events).

Communication

Keep the communication between you and everyone else clear by having a group chat or team briefing.

What to do now

If there are parts you’re still not sure how to handle, then head over to our in-depth guide on how to host a music event.

Further reading: Make it Alright on the Night! 8 Tips for Hosting Your Music Event.

4. Following up after your music event

Once the festivities have died down and the last rock star has left the building, it’s time to pack up. But after you’ve packed up, it’s time to maintain the hype online for your next gig.

Here’s what to put on your post-event to-do list:

Feedback

Ask your gig attendees for feedback on how they experienced the event so you can improve the next one.

Relationships

Take the opportunity to build your professional relationships with the bands, the venue management, and any vendors you hired.

Customer retention

Use your mailing list and social media to offer your guests incentives (like a discount code) to come to your next concert.

Giveaways

Another way to build some buzz is to offer prizes for the best event photo taken by the audience.

What to do now

There’s a myriad of ways you can stay in touch with people after the event. Check out our detailed guide on what to do in the follow-up phase.

Further reading: Following up After a Music Event: The Hows and the Whys.

Wrap-up

You’re now so well-prepared for putting on your music event that the audience will be begging you for an encore.

Key takeaways

Let’s look at some of the key points in this article:

• Find reliable and talented bands that can help you sell tickets.
• Exhaust all your options when it comes to promotions—both online and offline.
• Do a full technical rehearsal on the day of the event so everything runs smoothly.
• Follow-up after the gig to build your professional relationships and retain your customers.

There are many music promoters in the UK, but you’ll be head and shoulders above the competition if you follow these steps to a successful music event.