How to succesfully throw a qaulity event?

[muziik]

Hi, Im new to the business, but not to the culture. I was wondering if anyone could give me some pointers and help me out a little here... I will be starting a national company that will not only produce quality events,but also, video productions on dance styles, electronic dance music, art, graphic arts, as well as cheap promotion services. Basically to get a foothold in the community, I am asking for financing techniques, how to get dj's to spin, and where are cheap places to rent some space. Are website is < WWW.THELIKQUID.CJB.NET >. Any and all help will be valued, Thanks guys!

[groovinkim]

Originally posted by muziik
I am asking for financing techniques, how to get dj's to spin, and where are cheap places to rent some space.


well..

- how much do you need financed?
- how much space do you need?

[muziik]

Im going to need:
Sound System
Decorations
Security
Lighting
Refreshments
Venue (200+ persons)

Space: A big enough venue so that atleast 200 person(s) can get their groove on the dance floor, Im looking to throw an all ages event if that narrows down the venue that I can use.

Financing: Im possibly going to get a job at a bank so that I can bring the money and equipment in. I will need as stated below about 1G to succesfully pull this event off to me and my customers standard needs. If anyone has anywork for me at an event let me know, Im a hard and dedicated worker.

Im trying to make this an all day event, most likely on a saturday during the daytime hours to midnight so that that dancefloor is groovin and also so that we have a crowd (and no one gets tired and leaves).

I already have a couple dj's set-up, Im looking for more so if anyone on here is tryin to get a spot and possibly become a resident dj or even just premier, to my future multimedia production company holla at me...its all going down this summer. So we are looking at about 1G, but Im going to see if I can keep it under $750, if possible? Im seeking more feedbeack from experienced heads on the boards, Thanks.

Just to not this is an ideal event, not something that is officially going down. But possibly with your help you never know?

P.S. Im becoming a dj myself, on my own label, I will post my mix set soon...(dnb,trance,nu) --- www.freewebs.com/likquid

[natemc]

$750?

Thats not enough, for venue rental your looking at that much if not more, depending on the place, then depending on your sound needs rental would be from $300 to thousands. Security depending on location would have to be paid by the hour and they don't come cheap. Then you have to pay the DJs & Talent, plus front the money for water and crap your going to sell. This is assuming you have a business license.

Doing all ages makes it even tougher in some cities.

Depending on who you know, you could do it under a grand but your not going to get good local talent for cheap, and you gotta have talent that people know otherwise they won't show up.

Just getting flyers printed is going to be around $100 for crappy kinkos ones.

[~Sluty~Scooby~]

[i]$750, if possible?

wow.... if that was the case I would be doing a show a week.. hahaa

[**BISCUIT**]

Originally posted by ~Sluty~Scooby~


wow.... if that was the case I would be doing a show a week.. hahaa

Werd....

[anniemal]

Yeah, you're going to need a LOT more than $750 to show a successful show. Even $1000 still isn't enough unless you have major hookups with everything.

[DJMystic79]

Originally posted by *PiNkGeMiNi*
Yeah, you're going to need a LOT more than $750 to show a successful show. Even $1000 still isn't enough unless you have major hookups with everything.

what she said...:)

[hy5]

Good idea man,I think its way easier to get permits if it runs daytime hours.You guys should listen to this guy he has some good ideas.

[dj heavyweight]

Originally posted by *PiNkGeMiNi*
Yeah, you're going to need a LOT more than $750 to show a successful show. Even $1000 still isn't enough unless you have major hookups with everything.

yea annies right on here....you nedd at least 2 g's just for a mediocre party...but if you want to do it up proper, you'll prolly need somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 thou....

[Cethe]

not to devalue the statements of my esteemed collegues, but how does money spent equal a quality show?

I've been to many shows done under $1000 (mostly donated stuff & time & venue, etc) that were much funner (& therefore more quality to me) then some events where 10's of thousands of dollars went into the productions before the first flier went out.

again i'm not really trying to devalue your thoughts & input. but money does not always equal quality show. and vise versa.

now, to get a show going you need venue, dj's & fliers. how ever you can get those three things done & workable, then you got a show. the quality comesout in the end, with your love & hard work.
(my 2 pennies, or more depending :D)

[muziik]

Thanks for the feedback guys I appreciate it.

1. Now I do understand what you are all saying about the money vs. quality etc. But if some of you or others, lets say, lend me some speakers under your supervision, in return you would receive a cut out of the money made that night and your food will also be paid for (not catering, but requests can be made). So now you've helped manifest an event and it was fun and worth you while. Now Im sure you may be thinking ok well what if my equipment gets damaged somehow, gets lost/stolen or something of that nature?

All I can say on that is we will mark down on who is in ownership of what all the credentials saying it is yours, we will all sign contracts regarding various aspects of our equipment and the venues etc, which to me is re-assuring. (Contracts will be developed by the workers, to fit needs and so on).

2. What visual/graphic aspects of the event and promoting?

This question is easily answered. The visuals can be taken care of by setting up somewhat cheap but reasonable decorations. I can provide strobe-lights, black lights, and possibly some basic lasers. I also thought it would be cool to get a projector so that we can show one of those animated type of deals on a wall or something (just an expensive idea).

The graphics:

The graphic arts can be done by me or some of my friends who know adobe photoshop 7.0 and are close to pro. I dont think using serious flyers would be neccesary at all unless we have some big name artist coming to the event (e.g. dieselboy, dj micro). Something basic that is durable (plastic covers), that gets the message through is all we need, it will most likely be color to catch the attention of the eye (In marketing there are certain colors that catch male and females attention quicker). I myself will go out and promote with the flyers as well as on nwtekno, and on other various websites about 3 weeks ahead of time on the streets, and 10-12 weeks ahead of time on the internet so it has time to settle in and flow the net.

----------------------------------------------

3. What about the Dj's?

Ok ok, the Dj's, hmm....well I had this thought that this ideal events name would be "Rise Sessions: Premiere Sets" something close to that. The title right there gives you an idea and leaves you curious to see how it will turn out (in my opinion). Now heres the catch, the dj's playing / premiering would auditong for a spot in the event of 1-2 hours possibly 3. The auditoning dj's would de-briefed on what the event was about (legal issues, equipment, time charts, food, transportation, etc.) <---- Assuming that they get the spot.

4. Now what about the money?

Well the Dj's playing that day/night will most likely not get paid if anything. The reason for this is that they are being given a chance to play at a event for free, without hassle, bad vibes and anything else negative that comes their way. So to summarize the dj will get to premiere and be heard. The dj(s) will be taken care of in the following: food, transportation, photographing and reasonable personal requests.

5. Ahh, at last the venue, anyone have any cheap suggestions?

The venue will hopefully be able to hold 200+ to 500+ people and will have bathrooms with running water, and a must are safety exits and all standard fire alarm systems etc. Our customers and employees are to be safe at all times. Now with that said! I love to dance and I always want a good dancefloor, (unlike studio B, which has rugs and weird grip floors), if any of you have been to Club Sky which is'nt faboulous but their dancefloor is basically what we are looking to have.

6. Basic rules:

No Smoking, No this is not because I smoke but because for those who dont smoke it sucks and leaves you feeling like crap. Im not going to lecture you guys on this because Im sure you all ready know but 2nd hand smoking islike us sticking our mouth on a diesel exhaust pipe.

No Drugs / Weapons:

Big duh here, drugs will have us volunteers, employees, venue and possibly you looking real bad. In result it may make my company name harder to rent etc, and possibly banned from other venues, we want good reputations here so there can be cool, fun, goodvibin' underground events every once and a while. I have also heard that during events everyone is most likely being filmed, which is most likely true so lets smile for the cameras.

7. Security, security security...

Well I know this is going to be expensive. I will do my part to research what I need to, to find a good deal out there, here in Seattle of course. If anyone knows of any cheap but resonably quality security let me know, thanks!

8. All ages...damn teen ordinance.

I am familiar with the Teen Ordinance Dance bill / law. I will look into this and see what my options are at that point with this ideal event.

9. Vending:

If anyone wants to vend I will set up a way of contacting me whent his event is official. There will be official vendors and un-official vendors.

Official vendors: Us, selling You cheap refreshments, and some organic / healthy products and maybe some junk food, I will be taking ideas and requests here too.

Un-official vendors: Other organazations or groups that will be advertising, selling or promoting whatever it is that causes them to do so, approval required before hand.

10. Ughh, at last!!! Pricing.

Pricing for the tickets will be reasonable, $10-12 cash. Once paid their will be free re-entry to the event, and maybe there can be some free-give-a-ways (e.g. local cd-mixes, t-shirt tosses, and refreshments).

Now that I have gone over all that let me know if I have forgotten anything so I can break it down to my prospective for all y'all. I will also make some t-shirts in XXL for the employees / volunteers so we know who is on-site and with us. Remember this will be a daytime event to the evening, possibly late night. Remember if we all pitch in here we all can make this happen, it doesnt just have to be equipment it can be just about anything...Once again thanks you guys, as you can tell Im pretty serious about this too, so lets get some serious feedback, so the scope of the event can be developed!

My Mission Statement:

Our mission is to provide high quality productions and access to the essential elements of the underground dance culture, scene and community. We simply want to consolidate the people in the culture, and provide excellent service. We hope to create a memorable experience for every individual who attends one of our events.

[Pooka]

We have done successful shows for under $500 and even had great reviews:

http://www.nwtekno.org/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=32097&highlight=chehalis

To be successful just figure out how many people you ACTUALLY (be realistic) can get to show and stick to your budget. If you dont have the money to lose, dont throw the show.

Be creative, it doesnt take lots of money to decorate, hit up thrift shops, goodwills and such for supplies. Its amazing the things you can get for cheap or to create decorations with. Start creating decor early, as in many weeks or months before that way your not overwhelmed the week of. You will have way to much other stuff to worry about the week of than your decorations.

Finding a venue is the hardest part, dont necessarily hit the popular spots, you are more likely to be harrassed by the cops by using the same spots as everyone else. Dont be afraid to check out granges, halls, vfw's, american legions, large coffee shops, art galleries. Sometime you can get these types of venues for under $400.

[~Sluty~Scooby~]

Originally posted by Pooka

To be successful just figure out how many people you ACTUALLY (be realistic) can get to show and stick to your budget. If you dont have the money to lose, dont throw the show.

true to that... dont tell him if you dont have the money dont throw a show because 3/4 of the events in seattle arent breaking even so thats just going to push him right out the door. I have noticed that in the last 4 yrs promoting has gone done.. (it used to be every saturday night you would see every flyer for every event, now if i see about half of what i used too.) You also need to book talent thats going to draw you heads... if your talent doesnt draw heads why book them?

As for venue... start looking for something new. Kids love new venues.

[Pooka]

I wasnt trying to tell him not to throw it, just save some extra money up that way if it doesnt go as hoped you dont end up selling your car, get evicted, take everything to the pawn shop etc. Use your extra money (is there such a thing as extra money lol) not the money you rely on to live. Of course this is for those throwing small shows with their own money, doesnt really work for those throwing large events with financial backers and such.

[anniemal]

You know, Cethe and Pooka are right. It is possible to throw a show for less than $1000 or even $750 dollars. What I was thinking of is if you want to throw a show in Seattle and book a headliner (or even some of the "local headliners"). If you stay out of the city at [like Pooka said] a vfw hall or grange and have all local djs play and print cheap Kinko's flyers then it's possible. But if you're going to get enough people to come to make your money back is the question. And you probably still need to have hookups with things like sound rental etc (unless the venue has sound.. which most likely wouldn't be up to par for djing and a party). It'd be tricky to stay in that budget, but it's possible.

[muziik]

So did anyone actually read all of the above (10 Things) that I typed?

And yes, I would need some mad hook-ups to make this go down, If anyone is really interested in doing this you can contact me @ BeScene@thelikquid.cjb.net