Putting Together and Financing Your Own Concert

Financing one’s own concert is a topic that interests me. I thought this would be encouraging, informative, and intriguing for an independent or unsigned artist. For some independent or unsigned artist, having a concert would probably be the last thing or their “to do” list.  I realize that most are focused on simply making music, putting their music out there, and getting people’s support. I also understand that some independent or unsigned artist may feel like they do not have the funds to do something like this. Of course, they may be looking from the stance of an artist that is already signed.

When I think about signed artist that have concerts, I see the big sold out shows; Ticketmaster is always a company that comes to mind. I even see the not so big shows but still the venue is sold out. That may discourage an artist, who is not signed, but I am here to tell you that you can do what they do. I mean you have to start somewhere, might as well give it a try but be smart about it. One may be wondering who am I to give advice on a subject such as this? Well I am definitely no expert but research and passion can take you a long way. I have a love/hate relationship with the entertainment field and therefore I am determined to bring a more positive and encourage note to it in the future. I have had some small events and I have also research and studied event planning but of course nothing to big, but at the same time I am not talking about big right now. I am just talking about making a concert happen!

So what would be the best steps to work towards financing your own concert (in my opinion)? First, I would say getting an idea of exactly what kind of concert you want it to be. You could have a benefit concert, a fundraiser, you could have a concert with different artist or you can simply just have a concert featuring YOU (how great would that be right?) So after you decided that what is the next step? Well the next step would be to develop some kind of budget, figure out what you are willing to spend because that’s normally how the event is going to take place. Start researching venues (which is the next step) that are in your price range and of course get people to help you. You can also ask for businesses support, it never hurts to ask. Some other things that are important to consider are how many hours the concert is going to be, how many people you expect and would like to show up, if you are charging figure out the amount that you are going to charge, and figure out how you are going to advertise and promote.

So now you may be saying that sounds like a lot but if you actually plan things out it really wont seem like a lot. Of course there is going to be hard work, when you are pursing your dreams you have to work hard but you will LOVE doing it and it will be rewarding in the end. I recommend planning at least 6 months to a year in advance. I believe that is a good time frame to prepare, plan, and execute the plan. So you many be saying is it really that important to have a concert and I will tell you that yes it is and here is why! Having a concert, especially for an independent or unsigned artist, builds support.

Yes you may already have the support of your family and friends but what about the people in your community? Do they know about you? What about the people in your state? This is an opportunity to invite people in your life and allow them to get to know you and what you are doing. Because if you ever get signed, there will be no invitations into your life, people will just bulldoze their way in and it may not always be positive.

Think about shows like American Idol and X Factor, they give the contestants a chance to go home and visit but not only that, once they get there they have a concert in their hometown. The thing about this is once they have been on the show for a while and they come home they have wayyy more support than they did before they left, they have people coming to their concert that they do not even know. Now it is easy to say ok Nicole, these people have been on television though BUT it’s the same thing! Most of these people were just like you and me, they were sitting at home saying man I want sing, I want to rap, etc and they decided to go try out for a show and they made it.

Now you may be one that says I don’t need to go on a show so there you go then, the only difference is that you didn’t go on the show but you can still have a concert and you can still gain the support of your community as well. You have to let people know that you exist and having a concert is a great way. So you may not be able to have it at a big expensive venue well maybe try a park district, a community center, your old high school, an arts center, there are plenty of places that you can use. You just have to do your research.

So maybe you want to sell tickets and you say well, I can’t do Ticketmaster (which actually you could do Ticketmaster for a fee) but there are many other great low budget systems just like Ticketmaster that you can use. You might be wondering how I know? Well, I have tried them for myself, check out sites such as Event Brite , Show Clix or Ticket Leap , they are great sites that you can use for FREE to sell tickets.Of course you can sell tickets offline as well. If your low on funds you can use social media sites such as Facebook or Twitter to promote, you just have to know how to use them!

Of course you know I wouldn’t leave you without sharing what other people had to say on this subject. I did come across three articles that I found useful, How To Set Up And Organize A Small Outdoor Concert, Organizing Concerts, and How Concert Tours Work. Feel free to check them out! I hope that someone was encouraged by this, remember you can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens you.