Concert Promotions – The Big Dream
Concert promotion is an integral part of the music business. Concert promoters are the people that get the performers scheduled to perform at a Venue. Concert promotion isn’t to be taken lightly or entered into without sufficient backing in terms of finances and experience. Some people dream all their lives about putting on a exceptional get together featuring top skill. Concert promotion is a demanding career that requires meaningful attention to detail. In order to be an effective and successful concert promoter, a high level of organization is vital.
Concert promotions are typically a 5 percent net margin business. Not exactly a sexy bottom line. Concert promotion is a risky and low-margin business. In Q2 07 — traditionally, the spring and summer are the strongest for the concert business — Live Nation squeaked out operating income of $36 million on sales of $1 billion. Concert promotion is a unusually ugly business. Everybody seems to jump on the promoter for everything.
The final individuals who catch the heat are the performers, although many times the problems surfacing at a scheduled concert can be laid at their feet. But the bottom line is there would be no concert in the absence of the performers. So what’s the opening that the performers are going to be held responsible. Now while it wasn’t a concert per se, the show during the infamous super bowl half time show by Janet Jackson when there has been the costume problem, the crap that flew because of that has been laid at the feet of the artists. I personal ly think it did nothing but improve Miss Jackson’s appeal and give her career a little kick in the pants.
Whichever way you look at it, budding young concert promoter hopefuls are going to have a tough time breaking into the ample time. But there is plenty of opening for a young aggressive business type to work on a Local level and hone his or her skill. It’s a fact that people love music. And music of all types. As proof of that I provide up the fact that in our Local area, every year there is a ample Accordion festival. Yes I said, Accordion. And it draws scores of fans. And I am not talking about 40 fans sitting on a couple of benches. people come from all over the country to perform at the concert. And on top of that, music buffs from all over the country travel here to attend the festival. Go figure. Next time you see an individual eating a bratwurst……who knows, they can be a ample accordion fan.
Concert Promotions is a fascinating business and has a seemingly magical lure to a lot of people, but it’s a extraordinarily tough road to travel. There are a lot of other jobs or careers that offer better chances of success, but the cachet connected with the music business is just too strong for a lot of to resist.