how to promote a show (was: Re: Voices of Masada, et.al)

[smr71+@pitt.edu]

I'm going to be a total jerk here and say that part of all of this is 
that the shows are not being publicized/promoted enough to get the 
kinds of crowds they might have a year or three ago.  This is in no way 
at all intended to be an insult or criticism of the promoters who are 
taking the initiative and putting together concerts in Pittsburgh -- 
without them it would be a far sorrier state -- but having organized 
shows that succeeded and shows that have failed (financially) alike, it 
seems like there is a lot more that one can do to get people out than 
has been done in some cases.

First of all, the DJs at Ceremony really owe it to the scene to play 
songs by bands whose shows are coming up and to announce them.  Even if 
it's not really their bag.  If promoters politely and kindly but 
forcefully pester them, the DJs have no excuse not to bite the bullet, 
play a 4 minute song, and say on the mic, "Hey, that song was by 
CoffinSex UK, who are playing at the Garfield Artworks this Thursday.  
And I've got a free CD for anyone who has actually had coffinsex!"   
See?  That's promotion.  It's spreading the word, getting the music 
heard, and insuring the strength of the scene.  Live show attendance 
and Ceremony attendance are not independent figures.

Putting up 4 posters a week before a show is also not publicizing.  
Putting up 150 tasteful and striking posters on the South Side, 
Oakland, Penn Ave., Squirrel Hill, Regent Square, South Side Works, 
Bloomfield, Shadyside, and downtown is.  Hit all the record stores.  
For heaven's sake, hit the CMU campus and make sure that WRCT has your 
event on the calendar.  In fact, give them a CD of the band you're 
bringing in along with a note saying when they're playing and where, 
and that you'd appreciate any airplay the station could give them.

Many of these options are practically free.  All they cost is a little 
time and printer ink.  The bands will send you free CDs if you ask 
them.  Advertise on this list, on MySpace (there's now a pghgoth group 
there as well as the Ceremony group), on Livejournal (not just in 
pghgoth, but in penngoth, in pgh_events, pittkiddies, pittsburghscene, 
etc.), and it's pretty easy to build up your own mailing list too.  
Just have a sheet at your shows that says "Sign up if you want to be 
informed of future rad music."

I know it's a pain in the butt to do all of this, and on occasion it 
will still not bring you huge crowds, but I promise that if all of this 
were being done for the shows that have happened in the last 6 months, 
there would have been more than double the attendance at many of them.

Lastly, don't be afraid to put bands together on a bill, or to bring in 
local openers that have a following.  Criss Angel was looking for 
Pittsburgh shows a year or two back.  No one booked him, but while 
promoters snubbed him, his street team went nuts and he now has a 
nationwide following and a cable TV show.  Camera, who used to be 
LowSunday, is still around, and I bet you could get them for less money 
than they would provide in revenue.  Look around and you'll find deals 
that will boost your show money.

Advertise a crrraaazy dance contest.  Give away tickets to your show on 
WPTS.  If you give away one to a kid who wasn't planning on going, 
he'll bring two friends with him to feel more at ease, and suddenly you 
have another ten or fifteen bucks in your pocket.

Always have flyers on you.  When you pass a hip looking counterculture 
kid in the street, just reach out and hand him/her one.  You can print 
them out yourself and use the paper cutter at kinkos.  It's free.

This is how it was done when shows were getting 400 people in 
attendance in Pittsburgh.  I hate to be mean, but I think that a lot of 
the issues nowadays have more to do with underpromotion than with 
sluggish crowds.  Yes, audiences are stupid, lazy, selfish, and poor, 
but that's why you have to work so hard to get them to come out.  I 
dragged people kicking and screaming to see the Dresden Dolls 18+ 
months back, and I know that for example that night made a *lot* of new 
fans.  It was tremendously rewarding as a promoter to see people get 
into something new, and had I just put up some posters at an outdoor 
kiosk at Pitt that said "Bella Morte show on Friday," it would have 
been a very different story.

So yeah.  Whoever said "If you build it they will come" was not a 
promoter.  Stop blaming the scene and start working harder.  The scene 
is there for the [m/t]aking.

-Alex