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Writer's pictureKyle Phillip

The Festival Approach

Updated: Jan 31, 2023

I am no expert in this field but learned quite a bit from the 20 Rap & RNB showcases I did from 2018–2020, starting in May. The first one was so nerve wrecking, but it became more and more comfortable with every show. Being on the concert committee for my neighborhood summer events gave me some very valuable knowledge as well. I think you will find this write-up helpful if you are thinking about throwing music events/showcases; or any kind of event for that matter.

Going back to myself being on the concert committee; you really want to get involved with as many music related committees and groups as you can. People in these circles typically play music or know something about the music business. They can also refer you the right people whether it be the artists, venues, sponsors, etc… for your first show. Networking and going to events within your genre will really help as well, this is where you will find your target audience (artists, promoters, fans, small business owners) to start piecing together your plan of attack. The music industry is small so make sure you make great first impressions; show you are serious, ambitious, and genuinely interested in their work.


From my experience, finding dedicated artists and the venues was the most challenging. This became much easier as I networked thoroughly and got a few shows under my belt. A lot of the artists stayed in rotation as they had great experiences and really saw the vision as to what I am trying to accomplish for the greater good of the city. You want to always put the artist first, make them feel comfortable and appreciated. I setup a red carpet and artist lounge so they got the VIP treatment they deserve.

Now to finding venues; this still can be a little of a challenge at times. In my city of Milwaukee, WI, hip-hop isn’t viewed as bringing in the best crowd as lets say, a rock cover band. It’s hard to land the venues that already have nice foot traffic on a Friday or Saturday. If you find a good one, I say stick with it for a few events if you can, it’s always nice to have a spot locked down. But on the flip side make sure you rotate spots so they don’t get stagnant, you want your crowd to stay curious. If you have to pay the venue at first don’t be afraid to as long as you can justify it and will make it back at the door. Make sure you go over door money with venue owner, who provides security, their sound setup, and any rules they have you should keep in mind.

Now that you have your venue and artists, time to start designing flyers and promoting. We really like to emphasize to the artists that we all need to promote hard together so the show turns out the best it can be. Make a main flyer and individual ones so they can promote it like its their own show. Although we do print up some physical flyers, most promotion is done online these days. Pending your budget and sponsorship money, run some ads on your social media pages linking to the event page. Add your it to online event calendars popular in your area; everywhere your event can be posted, post it! It’s numbers game, the more people that see it, the more people will come.

Make sure you have an end goal in mind on how big you want your events to get. Think festivals, think Summerfest, think Coachella; the sky really is the limit if you stay hungry, innovative, and consistent. Now go out and make it happen, the world is yours!
 

If you want more useful information like this that can help elevate your music career, click download below to grab a copy of my new 19 page EBook!




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