Promoting Techno Events

I got this idea off another post and although I'm not a promoter (used to do a bit many moons ago), I think it would make a really great discussion as to how much promotion you have to do to make a 'sucessful' techno night (ie one that breaks even and perhaps even makes you a little bit of money to save you getting a 'proper' job ;) )

As far as I can see htere are only a handful of techno nights in the UK that are sucessful and although they book alot of the more 'expensive' dj's, they have to have got to that stage of being able to do that somehow. It's not about suddenly being able to afford big names, it's the fact that they've built the night well, used the right channels to make people aware of their nights.

I think about The Orbit in Leeds and how they got to that stage of booking all the best world DJ's. They were a sucessful night in my eyes... The problem I felt with them is that they stayed with the same old same old to a certain extent, but hey, who am i to critisize?!! That place went OFF!! Anyway this isn't about The Orbit, it's about what you reckon you need to do to become a successful promoter and what avenues are out there to enable you to do it....

Looking forward to your replies ;)

These days it`s real tough (particularly london) if you want to do something that avoids the same old names.
Venues are few and far between and expect a turnout of 3 - 500 on your first night.
Flyers, Magazine Ads, Record Shop Adverts, Mailing Lists, Radio ads, internet promotion, Cd promotion, all these help, but nothing works as well as word of mouth and starting small with a venue willing to have patience and work with you.
For quick success, like anything, having a nice wedge of cash behind you is the most important thing unfortunately. And basically, in london, if you book certain names, you can almost guarantee a certain turn out. People in London go out with the attitude of "cmon then, impress me", and are generally pretty lazy and very habitual about where they go.
I`d like to hear about how it is outside of london, as I am thinking about quitting this place and going somewhere else.
I actually have a fantastic new way of promoting that I am putting some money behind, but it is something I can`t really talk about until the business is set up, as someone will steal the idea as soon as they find out about it.

we are putting our nights on in bristol at the moment @lakota the club are well behind us which is good thank god
we are postering all over the place flyering bristol and all surrounding areas 20'000 flyers the internet boards and word of mouth people are always telling us the good points of our night the atmosphere the attatude is all good we just need to get the numbers in as we have been going for a year know spending shit loads but not making it back but i think the tyde is changing as we have kept going and the club are helping out
to so any hints/tips put them up i would love to know ;)

one thing i remember well about the orbit, is seeing their flyers all the time in sheffield, sometimes you would see more promotional material for them,than you would for some of the clubs in sheffield

Well, I think it has to be a multitude of things really.

Lots of plugging, a good venue, good dj's, not always big but good, variety in the night by this I mean a good, planned out line-up with warm up sets building through to the end, good report with clubbers, making sure you cater for them etc & listen to them.

Dont charge the earth for entry :lol: Offer perks too, the odd resident cd etc, be a clubber aswell as a promoter if that makes sense, but thats just my opinion ;)

the art of producing a successful party is a science. it starts with knowing the 'lay of the land' then building your event on whatever foundation is available.

imo nothing is stronger then positive word of mouth. you can piss pound the pavement with flyers but if no one is talking then thats a problem.

dont be scared of creating a little hype and controversy. just be friendly about it. party peopel love drama, its their currency, their money for showing their connection with 'the scene'

also and i know im going to get flamed for this--- regardless of genre of music the sucess of a party(and not a music concert) is hinged on WOMEN.

1000 guys in a room listening to dj's is an audio review. 50/50 guys girls is a party. even if its a hardcore/shranz/banging techn party, nothing is better than watching a cute chick 'aving it.

i been organizing parties for many years and go on about this subject forever.

I definitely agree with the notion of "be a clubber as well as a promoter". With all the time and effort that goes into running a successful event, sometimes it's easy to forget the fundamental reason why most people go out clubbing or partying... to have FUN!

In addition to what's already been said - as well as big names, it's also good practice to play DJs from other promotions, as they will often bring a batch of fresh faces to your event.

Also, surround yourself with enthusiastic people! It's all about positive notions - being cynical is far too easy ;) [/quote]

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Originally Posted by Internal Error Records

also and i know im going to get flamed for this--- regardless of genre of music the sucess of a party(and not a music concert) is hinged on WOMEN.

1000 guys in a room listening to dj's is an audio review. 50/50 guys girls is a party. even if its a hardcore/shranz/banging techn party, nothing is better than watching a cute chick 'aving it.

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If you can bring women, the men WILL follow. I learned that rule from promoting various events in Toronto. There is no need to flame for that comment. IMHO, it is quite valid.

One other thing that a promoter needs is a good team of people to help all the aspects of the night go smoothly. Promoters, people to handle VIPs, a flyer team, and some good hosts help too.

i think flyering just the surrounding area is not enough at all.... i think all the major cities need to be hammered, Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester etc etc because people are willing to travel for a good night, really let people know the night is on, get big posters up in these areas too i think thats the most important thing

Posters, flyers, pirate radio, ect are all important advertising, but nothing beets talking to people at other parties, word of mouth is best, and having enough mates to fill the club helps. have broken even on a few parties in southend, but never made anything.

www.droidbehavior.com :lol:



perhaps ill get more into this subject a little later. right now gotta get ready to hit the streets though in preparation for drumcells bday...aka LARKIN

Myself, Clarkus, Daviec off here and a couple of others have been running a monthly night (ReFresh) in Glasgow city Centre for the past year and have had a really good year, so far we've had Ade Fenton, Chris Finke, DAVE the Drummer up to play Techno-Wise.

The reason the night is successful is combination of that it has 2 rooms, (the other playing Trance) and that the crowd we get in are really open minded (The Trance fans love techno really though I think :p).

We alternate between having Techno Guest and Trance guests on a bi monthly basis (Trance-wise we've had Darren Christian and local guys like Simon Foy, Mark Sherry).

The first thing to do is make sure you have enough mates to break even on your first night!

Also hit the PR trail, we Flyer just about everything in Glasgow and its a pain in the arse sometimes (like missing the last half hr of Hawtin & Villalobos last Fri) but it's good when you get the numbers in. As well as Flyers we've managed to get a guestlist competition everymonth on Simon Foy's Beat 106 radio show (Covers the whole of Scotland), a couple of featuires in newspapers, a feature in the clubbing section of one of those boy racer type car mags.

The be a clubber as well as a Promotor is bang on too! One of us is always desperate to give away cds lol

At the end of the first year we're now hosting one of the rooms at the Arches at new year in association with >>insideout which is the biggest night up here which is still pretty unbelievable.....The rest of the line up is in the other rooms is Trance (Guy Ornadel etc) but we'll see how they like some Wittekend & Natus when Clarkus is on in our room :rambo: :lol:

Another thing I'd say is don't miss an opportunity to do some pr ever...

errrr... *cough*
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...chno_front.jpg

F*ck I just coughed up a flyer for the sister night we're starting up to ReFresh lol ;)

Leon :lol:

www.refreshclubbing.co.uk
www.technolab.co.uk

Shameless plug :lol:

Been doing nights for over 3 years but looks like council are about to stop us, dB restrictions and moaning neighbour the reason, unless we use the in house joke of a system!! Mark is our last indoor Dj in jan for now so guess its outdoors when it warms up!!.
But back to the point thou, get your mates etc on the dancefloor and create some atmosphere early on and this will carry the night. So many times arrive at club / party and no atmosphere loads of peeps about but no 1 dancing etc Once it starts it works for itself..
Bring local Dj's in as they will bring a crew (hopefully) and stops it getting repetitive, same residents everytime..
give flyer for next event at end of night as if peeps enjoyed they know when next is.

Jack (U-like Soundsytem)

Getting the ladies in is a definate if you want a good night. 100 blokes in a room...dull dull dull. choo choo!!!! Trainspotter hell...

I have been involved in a few nights, but hardly in a major way, the stress levels are horrible. I enjot helping out prmoters doing V stuff or playing back rooms.

Bringing me to another point, having two rooms is a must, employing 'party' DJs is very important - sure the odd 'name' is very good for business, but you must make very very sure that the residents are talented people, without this a promoter will miss the whole point of and event. If you get clubbers to love what the residents do for them they will keep coming back. They get an association with the DJs they see every week/month , if its one they enjoy they'll come back.

Innovate - make sure that there is something in the club that catches peoples attention, it doesnt have to be a massive thing. A games area with a ps2 has been done before and works wonders, in other words eliminate boredom in all its forms :clap:

in the modern club, visuals are a must (shameless plug - PM if you need a VJ for your night! i work cheap (ish) ...seriously...give us a shout) they give people something to look at and can be used to build an ident for the club..logo animations etc)

The most important thing (IMO) is a co-operative manager/owner. Make sure you treat them seriously and let them know that you are for real. professional relationships only - contracts (i know i know - scary shit) are there for your protection as well as his, and if they dont want to sign, back off cos things could get bumpy. This isnt to say that there are plenty of working and valuable gentlemens agreements, or owners who love what you do - its just i err on the side of caution when it comes to money....

sorry for the rant..

Hope this helps someone.

When your main DJ has just finished playing and needs to get to his next gig in a hurry, try not to be preoccupied throwing up in a fire escape due to self inflicted over-indulgence..... Shows a general lack of professionalism...

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Originally Posted by Analbumcover

When your main DJ has just finished playing and needs to get to his next gig in a hurry, try not to be preoccupied throwing up in a fire escape due to self inflicted over-indulgence..... Shows a general lack of professionalism...

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Wasnt you by any chance? :lol:

When I started doing Pure Filth, it was basically because there was not really any techno in Nottingham any more, and I had a bag of records I wanted to play. So we sorted out Filth so we could get a play out once a month and also have a decent party to go to.
I always tried to mix so-called 'big' dj nights with locals and other unknowns so there was a draw with the name but at the same time those who were starting out could also get a chance to play to a crowd.
I did it all on the dole so classy promotion was pretty much out of the question. I found that when we started a lot of the time, it was down to word of mouth in order to get people to the party. Gettting a base crowd into the night, as opposed to drawing peeps by having a 'name' on seems to have worked in the early days and meant that you could tick over nicely.
Then Analbumcover took over, moved the venue, had a few quid to back himself up with and hey presto - the new look Pure Filth in a new club with prominent names in techno playing regularly. My opinion is that Filth was fine when I did it in a smaller venue when we started out, BUT it needed fresh input my Analbumcover to increase its longevity. If Filth wouldn't have been moved then it may well have died rather than lasted this long.
So essentially I think that you have to keep moving with the way things change. New input is always a good thing, so long as it keeps with the ethos of what you are trying to do with a night. As the old saying goes, 'mutate to survive.'

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Analbumcover

When your main DJ has just finished playing and needs to get to his next gig in a hurry, try not to be preoccupied throwing up in a fire escape due to self inflicted over-indulgence..... Shows a general lack of professionalism...

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analbumcover wont be impressed with this, but this just has to be shared with the rest of the world..

heres a picture 5 minutes before the dissapearing down the fire exit moment...

Sorry Dom ;) :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :doh:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...d/100_2111.jpg

this guy sure knows how to put on a techno night though..

GOOOD LORD THE PICTURE IS HORRENDOUS :shock:


hehhe just kidding :lol:

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Originally Posted by viagratek

hehhe just kidding :lol:

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no...it really is horrendous :lol:

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Originally Posted by Small Paul

Then Analbumcover took over, moved the venue

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I'll think you find the move wasn't so much to do with me, and slightly more to do with the guest DJ on our last night at the Old Angel getting slaughtered, getting in a fight with the bouncers, getting thrown out of the back door, all the time screaming "you can't throw me out, I'm the guest dj", shortly before an, as yet unidentified by the police, assailant threw bricks threw the venue's front windows until the venue pulled the power on the sound system and threw us all out...

It was either move or pay for the windows, so we mutated over to Blueprint....

Bloody hell, I didn't know that!

The night we run in Cardiff is nearly five years old now - I started it with a friend called spencer - although he took over running it about 6 months after we started - I just play and help out with bits and bobs now.

I think the most important thing initially is the crowd that builds up via word of mouth - no amount of flyers or hype is going to sort this really unless you live in outer mongolia and there are thousands of techno lovers living in ten mile radius who've never been to a gig...not the case in cardiff. We had a base to work from as we were both residents at an acid techno night called ID where they used to book guest dj's so we weren't starting from scratch. The most important thing to us is the vibe - do the people who pay money to come through the door feel happy? do they feel part of something special that consists of close knit community? Is the sound system up to scratch? if not we need to hire some more in. for us it's not about the venue (we've been through about five or six - some legal some not) or necessarily about the guests (although obviously it helps).

Another way to keep it fresh and busy is to stick to a core of residents, but then also continually rotate some slots to local guests who will bring some new peeps with them and some will hopefully come back for more. Also more than one room helps - we have D&B in the other room - this seems to work well with techno. Then there's the flyers, forum, email, posters, it's really a question of making the initial break and then continually staying on top of it.

whats worked for us....been going over a yr now and its getting bigger and better. :lol:

1. We did free partys for a few yrs prior so built up a good following.
2. We focus on pushing through the cream of the "lesser known" acts... we are sick and tired of these big name folks that arent really anybetter IMO-ther loads of folk id rather see than mills. Think our following respects us enuf now to trust any guest we get will do the job....i also think its nice for them to come to a club and hear someone theve never heard of b4.....and they walk away like yes that dude was good.....then techno will progress and not stick with the same old faces yr in yr out.
3.The door cost is really low(we are free party headz at heart)... we charge 4/5 but if we hav flights for a guest its 4/6...also that means guset are playing for not that much ££££...because they WANT TO.
4. we hire in extra sound system and 3 lasers and have a guy controlling em...makes the club experiance a bit "crazier"
5. WORD OF MOUTH IS ESSENTIAL.
6. We have alot of our own crew that will always support us.
7. WE dish out cds at the end of every night so that is really good promotion(both for us and the night).. usually do 150 but for our birthday we did triple packs x 150. Also sometimes the month b4 dj XXX we will hand out alot of dj XXX cds(as long as there cool with that but most are-ther techno)
8. Also got the club to give us drink promos which help make folks night cheaper.
9. Get a web site and stick up mixes and live recording from guests and residents.
10. And last but not least- having sekonz as yer resident...hell rock any techno dj under the table. ;)

oh and anutha thing that help i think is we are techno luvers not just promotors....like as soon as im finished my set i hit the dance floore with the rest of them nuttaz......

canny wait till dirty bass in under 2 weeks...its gonna be a merry xmas.

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Originally Posted by Analbumcover

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Small Paul

Then Analbumcover took over, moved the venue

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I'll think you find the move wasn't so much to do with me, and slightly more to do with the guest DJ on our last night at the Old Angel getting slaughtered, getting in a fight with the bouncers, getting thrown out of the back door, all the time screaming "you can't throw me out, I'm the guest dj", shortly before an, as yet unidentified by the police, assailant threw bricks threw the venue's front windows until the venue pulled the power on the sound system and threw us all out...

It was either move or pay for the windows, so we mutated over to Blueprint....

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Yeah, fair play mate - the good old regulars making the night run smoothly eh? To be honest I forgot that was a reason for moving, but it made me chuckle to be reminded of it though :lol:
But you were gonna move it anyway weren't you? I thought that the boucers had been giving you jip before the unfortunate incident with a certain 'guest' dj and the subsequent window affair? Aah, the heady days of the old angel...

Oh yeah, and Dom? Nice pic mate, you look very healthy, hee hee :lol:

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Originally Posted by gumpy green

whats worked for us....been going over a yr now and its getting bigger and better. :lol:

1. We did free partys for a few yrs prior so built up a good following.
2. We focus on pushing through the cream of the "lesser known" acts... we are sick and tired of these big name folks that arent really anybetter IMO-ther loads of folk id rather see than mills. Think our following respects us enuf now to trust any guest we get will do the job....i also think its nice for them to come to a club and hear someone theve never heard of b4.....and they walk away like yes that dude was good.....then techno will progress and not stick with the same old faces yr in yr out.
3.The door cost is really low(we are free party headz at heart)... we charge 4/5 but if we hav flights for a guest its 4/6...also that means guset are playing for not that much ££££...because they WANT TO.
4. we hire in extra sound system and 3 lasers and have a guy controlling em...makes the club experiance a bit "crazier"
5. WORD OF MOUTH IS ESSENTIAL.
6. We have alot of our own crew that will always support us.
7. WE dish out cds at the end of every night so that is really good promotion(both for us and the night).. usually do 150 but for our birthday we did triple packs x 150. Also sometimes the month b4 dj XXX we will hand out alot of dj XXX cds(as long as there cool with that but most are-ther techno)
8. Also got the club to give us drink promos which help make folks night cheaper.
9. Get a web site and stick up mixes and live recording from guests and residents.
10. And last but not least- having sekonz as yer resident...hell rock any techno dj under the table. ;)

oh and anutha thing that help i think is we are techno luvers not just promotors....like as soon as im finished my set i hit the dance floore with the rest of them nuttaz......

canny wait till dirty bass in under 2 weeks...its gonna be a merry xmas.

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couldnt have put it better myself....altho FuK-NuTs clearly the best mwhahaha, nae kidding we both whore that place to the max with
a great build up off techno from the fluffer side to the evil side...

all points valid.... :clap: :clap:

even had a mad punter asking for jakN cds after UtI on friday while flyering.... :cool:

good lads sekonz and FuK-NuT.

you've got a really good attitude, sounds like a wicked night you've got there.

would love to make the journey up someday. :cool:

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Originally Posted by kitten

good lads sekonz and FuK-NuT.

you've got a really good attitude, sounds like a wicked night you've got there.

would love to make the journey up someday. :cool:

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cheerz kitten...its been a mad ride so far but all worth it , absoloutly
no regrets wots so ever...hears to many more!!! :clap:

where are u from kitten?

doh....manchester...lol

give us a shout if u plan to come up for a wee holiday...;)

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Originally Posted by kitten

good lads sekonz and FuK-NuT.

you've got a really good attitude,
:

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sometimes ;) then other times im an arse..

usually with fuknuts maw...keep stealing her purse.


na seriously...cheers...hope you can make it one day...if so geeza shout and we'll sort you out with some xtra cheap entry ;) seeing as youve travelled so far....you should tho cos the jakN crowd are just fukin nutters..in a good way

i'm from northern ireland actually, living in manc now.

hopefully can make the journey up sometime in the new year :cool:

Interesting thread,

Just had my first involvement in this and it went pretty well.

It's definately about engaging with the people you want to come to your night, you can't go around shouting "Techno Techno Techno" at people and hope they'll come.... they're probably thinking about 2 Ulimited or how much Eminem hates Techno.

We gave away a free CD to the first 100 through the door,
all locals artists on the CD, a selection of which were DJing and playing Live sets on the night.

I don't believe you need big names to rock it, it's perfectly possible to build your own names locally through CDs, website and producing good music.

People respect a producer much more than a DJ because they believe they are actually doing something. It's a good idea to tie this artistic edge in with it all and get some nice flyers on the go, it's a student town down here and they all loved the flyers, it at least puts your logo and images in their mind. Pink luminous hard trance flyers will not have this effect.

Keep the door entry down, and maybe offer a cheapy before 11, the more people in early, the better the warm up DJs will play, making people come early next time.

I'm gonna stop before i run out of breath and keel over!
cheers
Udy.