Indie Ambassador

In this week’s episode of Indie Ambassador TV, Ben sat down with our trusty Northeastern Co-op, Aidan Rush to dissect the process of booking, promoting and executing a big hometown show.  It's all here; building the lineup, approaching local press, marketing, selling merch and settling fairly at the end of the night. Episode 4 is solid, so press play and take some notes!

“People love stickers!” -Ben Maitland-Lewis  (as Vince Offer)

Episode 4 Quick Tips:

By now it's probably evident that we believe a band's live performance should be a top priority and we will stop at nothing to break it all down for you. Whether it’s an EP release party, your first legitimate headlining gig, or simply a solid show at your favorite local club, you should be sure to pull out all of the stops. In the long term, all of these tips can be used for weekend warrior and national tours too. Read the quick tips & leave us your best or worst local show stories below!

• If you get full control of the night’s line up, make sure you book bands that will please the promoter and your fans. This can be a tough act to balance, but doing so will leave your fans with a memorable night and the promoter with pockets full enough to invite you back as soon as possible. Building solid relationships with local promoters is more important than lining your own pockets at the beginning stages of your career.
• Do your research on bloggers and members of the press before inviting them to your show. Once you think you’ve picked people who are likely to give your performance a positive review, send out some well designed personalized invites detailing the night’s show and offering incentives for their attendance, such as free tickets or a free drink at the bar.
• One of the most commonly overlooked methods of cheap grassroots promotion is street performing. Playing some tunes in a high traffic area is bound to give you tons of impressions and the opportunity to spread word about your upcoming show.
• Create contests to grow buzz around the show. If the prizes are exciting (like a free ticket or t-shirt), your fans will be emotionally invested in the outcome and are more likely to talk about it and participate.
• If this show is a release party of some sort, only get physical CDs pressed if you have reason to believe you’re going to sell the majority of them or if you have some extra cash lying around. A cheaper and more engaging option is to purchase download cards that can be sold, exchanged for email addresses or given out for free at your merch table.
• As far as clothing is concerned, make sure you have a variety of options available if possible. Two or three t-shirt designs with different colors may be harder to fund, but will go a long way in increasing merch sales.
• When divvying up the money pool between bands at the end of the night, be sure to give a little more to any band that a) came from out of town or b) put in a little extra leg work on pre-show promotion. People remember when they are rewarded fairly, and are more willing to want to work with you in the future.

Aidan Rush, & Chris Cave contributed to this article.