The Performing Arts Center Experience for Local Musicians

It may seem like a daunting prospect for local musicians to rent a venue for a performance.  But it doesn't have to be.  

Booking a venue can be a relatively simple process.  

At the San Angelo Performing Arts Center, for example, we would like to support local musicians as much as possible and help them make the leap from playing gigs at local businesses and branch out to having their own concerts in a venue.

Here are some initial steps to follow:

1.  Contact the venue.  At the San Angelo PAC, for example, you may contact Yukio Kuniyuki, the Executive Director, to schedule a meeting and review the rental process.

2.  Ask Questions.  Make sure you ask about the venue rental, labor costs, ticketing fees, cleaning costs, and insurance requirements.  Ask for the technical specifications for each venue to understand what's available for sound and lighting.   Find out what the venue will do to advertise or promote your event.  If you plan to sell merchandise, ask whether the venue will keep a percentage.

3.  Visit.  Tour the venue so that you have a good understanding of the space at the front of house (lobby), stage, and backstage.

4.  Policies and Procedures.  Check to make sure you understand the venue's policies.  Many venues have restrictions for smoke machines, open flames, and pyrotechnics.  Additionally, some venues may receive Federal or State funds that prevent certain types of content at a performance.  

5.  Plan your event.  This consists of the following:  

    a)  Pick your date, it should be a minimum of eight weeks away so that you have time to advertise and sell tickets; 

    b)  Set the base ticket price before fees are added.  The ticket price is important because it will cover most of your show expenses related to the rental; 

    c)  Create your marketing materials.  We live in an age of Name, Image, and Licensing (NIL), it is important to have your brand and marketing ready to go for ticket sales and marketing.  You need to have images for Instagram, Facebook, and videos for YouTube and TikTok; 

    d)  Make sure you have insurance (typically you can get event insurance from a local provider), make sure you're licensed to play other people's music, and make sure you have your tax information together.  

    e)  Get the band together and rehearse.  

6.  Performance Day!  Normally, if you rent the venue, you will have it for the entire day.  This allows you to load-in, perform sound check, rehearse, and then perform.

    a)  Perform for your fans!

    b)  At the end of the performance, you will settle the event with the Executive Director or a delegate.  The great news is that if you have good ticket sales, you will normally be able to cover the rental expenses and receive a check for the night.

    c)  Load-out.  

Things you will eventually need for other venues that you can start compiling:

1.  A technical rider.  This outlines all your requirements and is particularly important if you will be represented by an agent.  It allows the venue to anticipate labor, equipment, and other requirements ahead of the performance.  More importantly, it allows you--the artist--to create similar experiences at each venue.  A technical rider includes things like:

    a)  If you are a solo artists, consider your backline requirements. 

    b)  Hotel, travel, or per diem requirements.

    c)  Theatre requirements such as sound, lighting, etc.    

2.  A professional website that has downloadable marketing materials.  These materials should be kept current.  Anything over 3-5 years old is difficult to use for marketing.

3.  A load plan for your truck or trailer.  As you get more experience and begin touring, you will need to have a good load plan for your equipment.  Not only does it safeguard your equipment from damage, it also helps with load-out.

Hopefully this has been helpful.  Stay tuned for other blogs that go into greater detail regarding some of these topics.  

We encourage all artists who have a passion and dream of performing to reach out to us!  We're here for you.