Talking with promoters

Perhaps one of the hardest things of livePA is not necessarily the performance aspect of the entire process, but rather the hassles and headaches that one must often have to deal with when setting up a show.

I myself am no expert at setting up a show and discussing with promoters. Certainly even the other authors of this blog probably have more experience then I do, but here are some of my insights from my experiences of setting up a show.

First off, more often then not the promoter, club owner or whom ever is a human being just like you and I. If your generally dealing with an indie or underground event organizer then they are probably going to be pretty cool cats when it comes to talking with you and communicating. The whole process might be much more informal then what you might see at higher end clubs or dance events. That all being said these underground people also probably do not have the contract or payment guarantees that are necessarily associated with a higher event either.

One of the hardest things I have and still deal with is calling people up out of the blue to try to get information on performing at an event. Generally I like to start my communications off with an email because it is less obtrusive. That email sort of sets the person up for a phone call later so they have some notion of who you are, even if they do not call you back from the original email you sent. As a general rule of thumb I like to try to contact in both email and through the phone when discussing shows. The phone call allows you to really discuss details with the person as well as be able to get a overall perception of what that promoter is as a person. The email however has the distinct advantage of leaving a paper trail in a sense. It is all to easy for someone to go back and change what they say they would pay you, or what your time slot was in a show if you do not have it written down somewhere. While ultimately you cannot force the promoter to do anything and you probably won't be suing them over the little amount you are probably getting paid, the email at least gives you leverage if an argument does develop.

Communications generally beyond that are largely up to you as an artist. How you yourself handle the situation and what your personality is like will determine a lot of how things progress.