This section will can help you wrap your head around the scope and timeline of your production:

For A Closed Show*

Leave a few weeks before to research and reach out to the right act for your community event and to negotiate the performance fee with the artist/agent-

Week 8

• Finalize and Sign the deal memo with the artist/representative; be prepared to sign the contract within 10-15 days.
• Begin the P-1 visa process/Book Flights/Accommodations/Transfers/Build Final Real Budget
• Organize and lock in your production team; scout, finalize suitable venue.
• Make initial targeted outreach to key tastemakers, sponsors, and media partners
• Don’t forget to build your break-even analysis to ensure your target numbers for the show

Week 7

• Create artwork for poster, approve and clear final layout, design.
• Sign contract and transfer initial payment to artist/representative as well as sign contract with venue and operators (rental, tech) to secure the music hall and date.
• Create press release and send out blast to all key media and sponsorship partners
• Coordinate marketing plan and sponsorship outreach, as well as online social media campaign (facebook, myspace, blogs, etc)

Week 6

• Liaise between the act’s sound/tech representative to ensure that your stage manager understands the full sound and light needs of the performing musicians, and that all the necessary back line is available and “rentable” for the production.
• Build a payment schedule for all outsourced venues to ensure you have the appropriate cash flow, and that the venue operators, marketing, tech rental people know when they will be paid, (5-21 days after the event) but this changes from show to show.
• Work with your PR team to secure features and interviews of the the act in the upcoming month, build a press and advertisement schedule, announce your face book event, and start hitting blogs, and community lifestyles with posters, flyers, etc.
• Work out your method of ticket sales, and create a point of sales that is easy and convenient for people to purchase advance tickets.

Week 5

• Put tickets on sale in your community- inform the artist/representative that tickets have been put on sale and reassert any lingering issues with the production and the aritist.
• Go over your budget again, making corrections (additions & subtractions)- be sure that what you originally calculated, is actually what you will be spending, making or investing.
• Take key meetings with sponsors/local business  and work to sell additional sponsorship rights, as well as blocks of tickets in advance (even for a discounted rate)- you will be leveraging your risk in the long run.
• Develop your guerilla marketing campaign- be creative and plan on impacting all niche and overlooked target demographics’- you’ve laid the ground work to create that buzz, now its time to create a frenzy of excitement in your community as a “not to be missed” event.

Week 4

• Develop the tentative itinerary for the artist from roll in to roll out- contact the artist/representative to get additional material- personal message from the artist that you can blast on youtube/facebook- to continue the buzz, service all media outlets with additional promotional material, new single, video clip, news worth mini press release about the artist and the event.
• Plan a listening party, and service local Dj’s with the artists’ single to begin promoting in various bars, clubs, schools, music classes, synagogues, youth movements, etc.

Day of Show

On the day of the show, you may feel the need to deal with many micro- managing issues. Try to resist this urge as by now you should have a right hand wo/man dealing with all the small things. Your job is to make sure the technical production is ready by the time the act heads to the venue for their sound check.

Being able to delegate and foresee any major issues is paramount to ensuring a smoothevent. Making sure the show begins and ends on time is crucial to keeping your crowd and the act happy.

During the sound check, you should do a run-through with the band’s tour manager of the evening, and introduce all relevant members of your  team to both the venue personnel and performing artists. Before the soundcheck begins be sure to prepare the green room, and last but not least, brief the security and the box office on any pertinent information, especially logging last day ticket sales, and click through’s as it pertains to attendance.

You need to know exactly how many paying customers came through the door and to ensure that any guest lists or comp’d tickets were accounted for before the doors open.