The Ultimate Guide to Concert Promotion and Concert Management: Strategies for Success

Concerts are back to being one of the key driving forces of live entertainment. With concert attendance steadily climbing, supply costs stabilizing, and fans supremely motivated to chase great experiences, we appear to be entering a golden age for live music promotion. Although competition is intense, promoters who can tap the record level of enthusiasm will be able to have a major impact on an industry that is clearly on the rise.

As we settle into a normalized atmosphere with lower turnover and a more dependable cost structure, promoters with reliable gateways to target audiences are in the driver’s seat. Music pros who can connect with fan bases and capitalize on trends will prove essential to their corner of the business. Promoters able to seamlessly balance event logistics with creative marketing campaigns will maximize their impact and ensure the success of the artists and venues they represent.

Consider this guide to seizing opportunities in concert management and live music promotion heading into 2024 and beyond.

Concert management and promotion amid a live music renaissance

Many music insiders have long feared that new technologies would undercut the industry they love. New-age tech like streaming and high-definition fan videos have made it easier than ever to get a slice of the concert experience without actually attending a concert. 

But now that we’ve made it to the other side of a global catastrophe, we’re seeing that the exact opposite is true. Even as music has become ubiquitous thanks to our many gadgets, fans are extremely motivated to participate in unforgettable live concert experiences.

Related: How to Determine What Ticket Price Would Maximize Revenue

The attendance numbers illustrate this trend in technicolor. Even with elevated prices, concert attendance around the globe—especially in the U.S.—continues to rise as younger generations get their first taste of live music. Concerts have reemerged as an irreplaceable form of live entertainment that is only encouraged by streaming and fan-made concert videos.

We’ve also seen audience expectations shift as ticket demand has increased. Concert promoters are expected to deliver a safe and immaculately planned environment that delivers the experience fans are looking for. Audience members are also splurging for VIP packages and are regularly looking for better access to the band, giving promoters plenty of ways to get creative. By focusing on community building and forging connections with the biggest fans, promoters on any level can turn today’s auspicious environment into a success story.

Tapping the butterfly effect of social media

Fine-tuning a social media strategy is critical to having success in concert management and promotion. But how do you know which outlets to work with? How do you create a dynamic campaign that hits your target demo?

The goal should be to encourage engagement—as always—but also to provide easy ways for fans to share information about upcoming shows. One of the very best (and easiest to master) channels is Facebook Events, which comes with a versatile suite of options that help you spread the word. The key is getting fans to add the event to their timeline, which quickly piques the interest of other fans and helps create a robust web of engagement.

Here are some tips to maximize your impact with Facebook Events:

• Make sure to use a Facebook Business Page that is separate from your main Facebook page.
• Write an engaging event description and title.
• Fill the page with photos, videos, and music samples.
• Encourage fans to RSVP for the event.
• Tactfully include information about other events that will appeal to the intended audience.

Other benefits of Facebook Events

Staying in tune with fans is easy when you’re successfully using Facebook Events. Not only can you see patterns of engagement, but you can put together a head count that should translate into ticket sales. The more events you promote through Facebook, the more reliable the figures will be.

Facebook Events also lets promoters set up supplemental events for both before and after the show. A virtual pre-concert party can be an excellent way to increase engagement, initiate merchandise sales, and create a fervor before the band hits the stage. 

Afterward, an Events page can be a terrific post-show hangout that lets everyone share their experiences. It will also be a way to promote your next event and encourage fans who didn’t make it to the show.

Promoting fan experiences and trends

Today’s entertainment world is all about giving fans a voice. Fans buy band merch and post videos because they want to be a part of the group. Anything a promoter can do to help fans share their experiences and mobilize the fan base is a positive. The best promoters not only facilitate experience sharing but guide fans in a way that enhances their impact.

Beyond your Facebook Business and Events pages, there are other ways to keep fans sharing experiences and generating buzz. TikTok is, in many ways, the immovable giant of live music promotion. Fans compete with one another to post the best possible videos of their concert experiences. 

This creates an enormous catalog of footage that a savvy promoter can use to show the artist or venue in the best possible light. Promoters who repost engaging fan footage on their own channels show they are in sync with the fan base while creating a valuable network of dedicated fans.

Related: Building New Revenue Streams for Your Live Music Venue

While TikTok is hard to beat for videos, Instagram has an exhaustless catalog of photos a promoter can utilize. The platform is especially helpful for finding concert fashion trends, which can be a game-changer. Today’s concertgoers love to coordinate with other fans and find unique ways to support the band. 

Promoters can discover trends and encourage fan content by showcasing it on their websites and social media outlets. They can even incorporate trends into merchandising plans, turning a fan-generated idea into revenue.

Have an excellent social media team to scout the fan base

You can’t be everywhere at once on social media, which is why it’s critical to have personnel dedicated to understanding how the fan base uses social media. Spotting trends and adjusting marketing plans becomes much more effective when promoters have a superb supporting cast. Combining real-time data analytics with savvy social media skills will help promoters stay in touch with the fan base and take advantage of valuable trends.

Networking with influencers

A promoter’s ability to cultivate a network of contacts is critical. The right influencer can provide a bulwark of support both before and after a show, increasing fan engagement at the crucial stages of your marketing campaign. 

Platforms like Twitch, Instagram, and TikTok are some of the usual suspects for connecting with influencers, but promoters have other outlets as well—especially on the local level. Popular clubs, bars, and restaurants that feature live music and local events are great places to reach influencers who can help a promoter connect with the target audience.

Taking logistics to the next level

Unleashing the strength of the fan base is critical in today’s live music scene, but it’s all for nothing if you’re not an expert at handling logistics. Being able to coordinate contracts and ticket sales, manage unique venue features, and ensure the smoothest possible event will set you up for long-term success. Fans, concert personnel, and artists should all walk away from the event feeling like everything was handled by a consummate professional.

One of the most important tools for today’s best concert promoters is automation. Automated calendars, reminders, contract generation, and more can give any promoter a significant edge. With a lift from automation, promoters can focus on maximizing fan engagement in the lead-up to the show. It also limits the possibility of human error, which translates into a more professional image and better events.

Making it easy to collaborate

Live music is now more collaborative than ever before. On stage, musicians from different genres are mixing to create unique sounds that bring diverse audiences together. Off-stage, concert promoters have figured out that co-productions can be an excellent way to expand their reach and/or organize shows that were previously beyond their scope.

To successfully collaborate with another promoter or music insider, your organizational ability must be top-notch. Anticipating problems and delivering an epic show is a must, but the top promoters also demonstrate their professionalism once the concert wraps. Delivering a smooth and efficient settlement process will encourage other pros to seek out your services again in the future.

When a show goes well, a promoter walks away with more than a healthy cut of the proceeds. A successful co-production builds your reputation and opens the door to exciting opportunities down the road.

Expanding your reach with the right management system

Missing out on an opportunity is one of the easiest ways to stall your concert management and promotion business. Unfortunately, many promoters are weighed down by convoluted bookkeeping and data management, limiting their potential just as the live music industry is accelerating. But with the right management platform in place, promoters can minimize the time they spend on the most monotonous tasks and focus on logistics, building contact networks, and reaching fans.

Prism’s music-first management platform is designed with the rigors of today’s modern music scene in mind. With real-time data analytics, superior contract generation, and a host of cloud-based solutions, Prism provides the critical support today’s promoters need to thrive within concert management. Give our demo a try today and see how the right music management platform can improve your business.