The music business is complex and there are many pieces to the puzzle. Music promoters are one of the many cogs in the monumental wheel that is the music industry. They are vital to the process as they aid artists to get their music heard across the world.
In this article, we will take a look at what a music promoter is and their role. We will also look at how to be a music promoter and the qualifications you need. Be sure to stick around until the very end so you don’t miss out on any key information.
What Is A Music Promoter?
A music promoter is someone who publicizes and promotes performances. Music promoters organize gigs, book bands or artists, etc. Additionally, they advertise the shows to bring in paying attendees and consequently make profit.
What Is The Role Of A Music Promoter?
The role of the music promoter is that they work with an artist or a band manager to plan an event. They agree to a date and look for an appropriate venue.
The promoter will negotiate any fees for the artist. Once they have done this, they will then publicize that event through many means. This includes radio, television, digital, or email advertising. The music promoter ensures the artists have everything they need offstage and on, from hotel rooms to sound checks.
The promoter typically creates a contract that outlines the terms of the agreement. This includes the fees owed to the promoter, date, and time of rehearsals. Also, the length of the band’s performance and any other demands.
A music promoter usually works in a regular office and could potentially have an assistant or a team. Some promoters will work in person while others will do most of their work online or over the phone.
How To Be A Music Promoter
If you want to work in music, being a concert promoter could involve just jumping in the deep end and booking your first show. If you want to work in larger venues and with larger artists, you may have to work with an established company and work your way up the company ladder.
Here, we look at two different paths to becoming a music promoter.
Work For A Promotion Company
Music promotion companies, such as AEG, normally handle promotion for big-name artists. They tend to plan festivals, stadium/arena shows. Or perhaps they may work for specific music venues, and handle all of the promotion of shows for that location.
If you learn the basics from a promotion company, you can work your way up to becoming the lead promoter on events. You may also specialize in advertising, accounting, or some other facet of putting on an event.
Some of the pros and cons of working for a promotion company include:
- Being able to work on major events/with big-name artists.
- Often more lucrative than indie promoting.
- No personal financial risk for shows.
- May have to work with music genres you don’t personally enjoy.
- Can be a hard business to break into.
- May take a long time to climb the company ladder.
Working For Yourself / Indie Promoting
Sometimes, getting started in concert promotion is as simple as booking your first show. There will always be musicians looking to book a show. All it takes is a few successful shows to make your phone start ringing off the hook with calls from people who want you to put on their show. Some of the pros and cons of working for yourself/Indie promoting include:
- Getting to pick and choose the shows you want to work on
- You are the boss from day one
- You may carry the majority of the financial risk of a show
- Lots of responsibility and wearing many hats, all of which require a large time investment
- Advancement can be difficult—you may end up in a cycle of promoting small club shows that don’t allow you to make a lot of money
What Qualifications Do You Need To Be A Music Promoter?
There isn’t a formal education requirement to work as a music promoter. However, some form of qualification could always help.
A route you could perhaps take would be to complete a post-secondary course that covered skills in business, promotions, and marketing.
You could do this by completing a four-year marketing degree or even going to a local community college.
How To Become A Music Promoter Without Qualifications
If you are able to, try and secure music promotion internships with event management companies. This will also help you gain experience, and can also lead to a paid job.
The best way to become a music promoter is to start organizing your own events. Scout your local area for up-and-coming bands. You could go to venues like cafes and bars and see if they are interested in live events. Make sure you announce yourself locally – if someone is searching for music promoters near me, you want to make sure you’re on that list.
Look into equipment hire and other aspects of events like security. You might not break even the first couple of times. But if you’re successful, you’ll be working as a paid music promoter in no time.
Where To Find Music Promoter Jobs
There are many music promoter UK jobs dotted around on the internet. It is a good idea to check job boards and get in touch with your local music community.
Music Promoter Salary
The salary you earn as a music promoter will vary.
In the industry, if you are employed, you could earn between $30,000 and $50,000 a year depending on your skill.
When you are self-employed, you will usually earn a percentage of ticket sales, or a promoter’s fee, depending on the way you decide to run your business.
More often than not, a music promoter takes a percentage of the profit made by the event
Music Promotion With Мusic Gateway
When it comes to music marketing, we promise to deliver tangible and REAL results using industry and innovative marketing techniques. Our team comes from world-leading music marketing companies, businesses, radio and TV stations so they know their stuff. Allow us to accelerate your marketing, drive real fan engagement and growth.
We help to get your music heard & grow your audience by working directly with independent music curators worldwide. Our approach is tailored to suit each artist, carefully planning each campaign to deliver results. With 30 years of combined industry experience, leverage our powerful network of influencers & professional tastemakers.
- Spotify promotion (playlist pitching to targeted curators, optimisation, organic growth in streams, monthly listeners, followers & more)
- Music video promotion (in-depth keyword targeting, guaranteed organic views, playlist partner promotion & more)
- There are lots of options to suit your audience: Apple Music promotion, Amazon Music Promotion, SoundCloud music promotion
- Many more other online music promotion services
Check out our music promotion services today!
Now You Know How To Be A Music Promoter
So there we have it! We have taken a look at everything you need to know about how to become a music promoter. We’ve looked at what they are and their role in the music industry. We’ve also taken a look at the avenues you can take to pursue music promotion.
So, what do promoters do in the music industry? Well, with the help of music promotion techniques, they aid artists to grow and play music for us, the people. That is why they are so important, they are an essential conduit for the public’s enjoyment of live music.
Are You A Musician Or Artist?
Get Free Music Distribution and find opportunities to get your music in film, TV, and more through sync licensing. Plus get Music Supervision, Music Publishing, Music Marketing, Artist Development and utilize our Free Artist Websites. Finally, you can amplify your music to those that need to hear it music promotion and professional sharing tool. Try all of this out for yourself by joining Мusic Gateway. Get your free trial, no strings attached.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE:
