As a prospective concert organizer, you are quickly faced with a task that seems somewhat huge and complex at the beginning. To make it easier for you to find your way into the world of concert organization, you can use a small glossary that explains terms that often come up. This may help you uncover stumbling blocks that you may encounter at the beginning of your new-found career.
Planning A Concert
Venue (Location)
This is the location. The people of the venue are your allies and co-authors of the event. You will be in contact with them when you plan your first or second or third concert. In the beginning, communication may be bumpy and you may feel a bit stupid if you ask the type of location for cables, a corner for the merchandise, and checkout staff.
In the beginning, nobody knows what is going on in a venue. What should definitely be clarified is the deal that applies to the concert. Is there a flat rate, how high is the rental price and to whom will the door revenue go to? And before it gets that far, it should of course be assessed whether the bands or DJs you have imagined for the evening can actually fill up the room.
Assessing the venue beforehand will also give you an idea of the type of transportation needed to bring materials and equipment to and from the site. Makes you want to consider hiring the help of removalists within the area or partner with a logistics company.
EPK (Electronic Press Kit)
An EPK basically consists of freshly shot photos, a short Biography, and some links to the artist’s music. The kit is sent to journalists, labels, bookers, and those who are just working and messing around in the scene. EPKs make sense because they roughly summarize the most important information about an artist. You have to assess for yourself whether you really need an EPK for what you are planning as an organizer or manager.
FOH (Front of House)
They have to go somewhere, the sound technician with his mixer and the lighting technician with his equipment. There is space for this in the FOH. A FOH technician ideally has a good view of the stage so that new conditions can be dealt with promptly.
PA (Public Address)
The PA system mostly consists of loudspeakers that cover the mid and high tones and subwoofers, i.e. basses. The PA should sound as evenly as possible to the audience. The FOH technician is responsible for this.
Certain basic knowledge of technology is definitely an advantage as an organizer because the most important thing about organizing a gig is that the technology is right and everything is there as agreed. Knowing what the individual parts of a drum set are called is not only important in order to be able to read tech riders and compare them with the existing equipment in the venue. Because speaking on a different, somewhat technical level with musicians really makes everyday life easier.