Creating a nightclub promotion company

[Aaronmcooper1]

Good evening.

I was just wondering if anyone could give me advice on how to create my own nightclub promotion company or maybe even having my own night at a nightclub.

I've promoted for nightclub before but really don't know where to get started. Like how do I get contracts from nightclubs and how does the nightclub paying the company I create work?

Thanks,
Aaron

 

[Richard1989]

From what i have heard in the past (although it may vary)

If you have an idea for a promotional night, you would just contact the GM of the nigthtclub and put in your "pitch". The nightclub that i worked in before pretty much did it like this (When i spoke to the GM as i had a friend who wanted to have a night there, the GM said just tell him to contact us and tell us their idea), and they would come to an agreement that for example the promotions company would keep all of the revenue ticket sales / entry fees, then the club would get everything from the bars.

Some may be open to discussion but it depends on the contract you have with them, one company i know of takes all of the ticket sales + a small percentage of bar sales too, but they pay the club x amount per month to use the premises.

The best way is to just email or make a telephone call to the club and ask for the GM or deputy GM i think. Just straight forward.

It is a very diluted industry, it would depend where you are and who your market is. For example in Cardiff - the student nights during the week days seem to be getting quieter and quieter as the fees and living costs for students go up and up so they have less money to go out and party like they used to. There are two or three established nights and thats it. Weekends are the main nights but the club wouldnt generally go for a promotions company on a weekend unless they were struggling and you brought something new to the table (i would think anyway)

The other thing for a promotions company to look at is are you going to hire the right staff for the job - do you know people good enough for it already? Some promotions staff i have seen just like to take their promo wrist bands and walk the streets aimlessly whereas the club next door has an active promotions team running up to taxis to pounce on the potential customers. In the agreement you could try to get the club to use their own promotions staff unless you are confident with your own.

In terms of being paid, the only thing i could say here is from what i have witnessed, most things are just cash. If anything goes through the tills that the promotions have agreed with the club to have a cut of, the club gives them this in cash too. Other than that i cant help you there im afraid.

Hope any of this helps..

 

[Richard1989]

I just also remembered during my long night of sleeplessness:

Certain clubs probably most have a certain time of year some start as early as February where the promotions company puts in a bid / pitch to the club about events that come up during freshers week / fortnight for students

Over the next few months the ideas get developed and meetings take place to whittle away the ideas until one remains who gets a night.

It might be worth writing to / emailing the clubs to find out if they still do this and when for them it takes place as freshers can be a great time to make an entrance and make a stance to create your promotions brand

 

[Gouki]

Different nightclubs will have different set ups. Many nightclubs look to run their events internally as then they get to keep more money for themselves. I think you need to ask yourself why does the nightclub need you? If they are busy on the weekends then they are most likely going to give you dead days, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Friday and Saturday I imagine they won't have problems getting people through the door.

Are you going to be risking your money on the event and keeping the door money? So you pay the security, DJs, promotional costs and the nightclub keeps the drinks money. Many venues that are looking for more niche night club events will offer their venue for hire but they keep the drinks and you keep the door money. Some clubs offer a door split so you get 50% of the money and they get 50%. The more popular nightclubs will either be doing events themselves or already have established promoters that they trust with their weekend dates.

First you have to establish what you mean by promotion? Do you mean flyer distribution and managing social media networks? If this is the case then I would imagine it to be a fixed fee. Do you want to hire the venue and build your own clubbing brand that can move from venue to venue? In which case I'd imagine you would want to go for a venue hire and you keep the door money. A lot more risky but with a higher reward.

If you got anymore questions let me know.

 

[Aaronmcooper1]

I'd like to hire the venue and build my own clubbing brand. How would I go about this ?

 

[Gouki]

That's the million dollar question! First thing is you need to identify your market. What group of people are you aiming to appeal to? There can be many distinguishing factors, ethnic group, age, venue, type of music. So you could be running a house music night where people come to hear house music. However there are plenty of nights catering for this so to distinguish them selves further by hiring a DJ, this can be a good move if your night club brand isn't very established as you use the name of the DJ to draw people to the event. However house DJs that can draw a crowd can be £1,000+ and then you have to deal with egotistical DJs and the agents will be weary about booking their DJs to you if you are unknown. Another thing you need to be aware of is what sort of people normally go to the venue you want to hire. No point putting on a golden oldies night at a venue that attracts 18-20 year olds.

The best thing to do is draw on your own network of friends at first, put an event on aimed at them. This way you can draw on your mates to turn up and fill the venue up. I've seen people that have quickly built up a reputation for doing parties because they are very popular people and have a large network of friends. They hire a venue of 200 capacity and fill it with their friends and builds from there. You are better off to begin with having 150 people in 200 capacity venue than 150 in a 500 capacity venue. Empty venues ruin the atmosphere of the event.

So first of all think about what sort of event you want to do and who is the target market.

 

[Aaronmcooper1]

I was going to say house music! Love a bit of deep house. And I like the classy look, not anything like raving and ranting nights out! I also like the fresh white look, so I was thinking maybe white parties. Now the only problem is getting a venue, how would I go about that? Contacting the nightclub I mean. I've got art and design qualifications! So even better on the posters and leaflets front! I'm in Hertfordshire too, so we only really have the big clubs and bars scattered about. Also, thanks for your help, you're really helping me here!

 

[Gouki]

I'd just email the venue and say you are interested in putting on an event. Do you have any dates available. One thing you should be aware of the summer is notoriously difficult to put on clubbing events because people go on holiday or spend their money going to festivals. Not sure if this would effect the market you are aiming for too much. You should have 1 month of promotion minimum. You might be able to negotiate a deal with them, it really depends on the venue itself. One thing to be aware of is does the venue normally charge to get in ? If not they might not be keen on you charging money on the door. I would personally look to go for a door split for the first event because then you minimise your risk. Even make it free to get in so you can build a rep and a network.

One thing I would ask myself is is there an actual market for 'classy house events' in hertfordshire? I personally have no idea, but not much point looking for a venue there if there isn't even a market for this type of event. Is there a venue you and your friends go to a lot that you could put it on in? Maybe you already know the owners or he knows you and your group of friends because you go in there a lot.

 

[Aaronmcooper1]

I got you, there's definitely a market for a classy house night in Hertfordshire, dressing up classy and nice is the best way to dress and act now. Everyone I know go miles and have to get minibuses to get to the nice classy places because they're right on the border of London. Now if I could bring that into Central Hertfordshire, that would be a big night.

 

[Gouki]

Ok well if you have a network of people to come and by the sounds of it you want to do something big. If you got the money try and book a headline DJ to validate your night and give people something that is instantly recognisable. It will make your event a lot easier to sell, people like it when they look at a flyer and see a DJs name that they know. Only get someone you think people might have heard of. If you think you can sell tickets without a headline DJ even better but on your first event where no one knows you it might be more tricky. Be aware though most DJs are booked 6 months in advance so if you are looking to do an event in 2 months the best ones were probably booked out ages ago.

I would also get some hard copy tickets printed and use these to try and sell to your friends. If you know other people that can sell tickets then this is good too. Tell them if they can sell 6/7 tickets to their friends they can come for free. Go and meet them and drop them off 10 tickets, don't pressure them too much and if they sell under the amount you said if its only a few under let them in for free anyways. You will soon work out who is shifting the most tickets and give these people special treatment some free drinks free entry etc keep these guys sweet in any way you can. Getting popular people to sell tickets is always a good idea and if you can get girls too. They always sell to more girls and this can over come the too many men problem a lot of nights suffer from.

If you are doing something quite big I would give it a 2 month promotion period so people have time to prepare and make the date free. If anyone has a birthday that week or around then offer them 2 free tickets because they are guaranteed to bring at least 6-10 more friends with them. You can check on facebook who out of your friends has a birthday coming up around that date on the using the event calendar. If i remember correctly it should tell you who has a birthdays on certain days so go through all the days the week before and even after and make a list of who you can approach.

 

[Aaronmcooper1]

That's brilliant! I really appreciate you helping. I've got everything I need to know I think! Thanks for your time helping me

 

[Gouki]

No worries and good luck