The Music Promoter

1. Freelance Musician
Starting your business
Music Promoter an entrepreneurial role
www.musicstudentinfo.com
Chris Baker

2. Freelance Musician

3. Freelance Musician
The following exercise centers on the role of a Music Promoter
•Using the Internet take 20 minutes to remind yourselves about
the Music Promoters job role
•Keep a note of your findings
•Feedback your results to the group

4. Freelance Musician
Music Promoter:
One of the most entrepreneurial roles in the music
industry
Role:
To sell as many tickets as possible and deal with
advertising and organisation of a single gig to an
international tour

5. Freelance Musician
Music Promoter Job Role
•Book artists to perform live at particular venues
•May negotiate with artists / booking agent direct
•May be responsible for one venue, a festival or several
venues
•Provide artist with venue, ticket facilities and basic
security arrangements and guest list

6. Freelance Musician
Promoter Role Cont.
•Provide (as agreed) equipment, personnel, mixing desk,
engineer
•Provide (as agreed) backstage facilities, dressing rooms, toilets,
meeting and VIP areas
•Provide insurance cover against injury or death caused to
members of the public
•Provide (as agreed) working permits for performances abroad
•Provide (as agreed) backstage and technical riders

7. Freelance Musician
Music Promoter / The Job
• Very long hours
• An office job by day and out to venues in the evening
• An entrepreneur
• A promoter buys up all the tickets for a date/gig/performance
cheaply and then tries to sell them to the public at a higher
price
• Can be very lucrative if established with popular live acts
• Can be very high risk

8. Freelance Musician
Promoter Exercise / 30 Minutes
•One of the worlds most well known promoters is ‘Brit’ Harvey
Goldsmith
•The other very well known promoter is American Bill Graham
•Using the internet research these TWO promoters (find out
how they started, who they promoted, memorable events they
promoted, quotes from artists about them, are the still working,
their philosophies about the music industry)
•In addition research a ‘present day’ promoter and the artists
they promote
•Feedback your results to the group

9. Freelance Musician
Promoter Exercise ‘Starting My Business’
You are about to start your own business as a
gig/concert promoter. In order to prepare yourself for the
launch of your business, you need to research the financial
and self-management issues that you think might arise.