Expert Tips on How to Choose The Right Music Venue Booking Software

The ticket sales for 2020 were projected to reach 9.7 billion dollars in revenue, but the year didn’t quite pan out as expected. Thanks to COVID-19, venues have either shuttered or are hanging on by a thread. On the bright side, there is sure to be an influx of new shows that will begin booking after the long-awaited end to the pandemic. 

Your space must find the right music venue booking software to match the increased demand once the industry is able to return. The following tips will highlight the essentials you need to look for before choosing the right software to match your venue’s needs.

Software for Music Venue Booking

There are many traits you need to consider before purchasing the right software. You’ll need modern and uncomplicated software for efficient bookings. But, it must handle complex detailed events while remaining easy to use and intuitive.

Related: Mistakes You Might Be Making Without Event Management Software

Cloud-Based

The right software needs to have interconnectivity with other devices as well, so look for cloud-based software with 24×7 availability. Users need to be able to access data from any device from anywhere at any time to boost productivity and convenience. 

Customizable

Many venue management systems share similar software attributes, but they aren’t always customizable. In fact, quite a few are one-size-fits-all. In order to get what you pay for and pay for only what you need, your team should focus on what’s the most time-intensive aspects of their process, what features they most need and use, and what features they wish they had in a perfect world.

Calendar Management

If you’re bringing bands in and out, with opening acts, you’ll need to keep track holds and bookings, as well as when they will arrive at your venue. Music venue booking software with a robust calendar management system that coordinates this process and puts all of the information in one place.

This calendar should clearly project all holds and confirmations. This should include booking information for each available room. Managers need to contact and secure single-date or multi-date confirmations.

Artists can be informed and work with any adjustments in real-time. Once booked, the calendar should show the pre-sale and on-sale ticket statuses as well. 

When shows are confirmed, the software must also have options to send these confirmations. All parties involved need notifications of any changes made to the calendar or event location. Once the confirmation is set, any existing holds should clear.

Billing and Invoices

The system should include ways to handle different invoices or PDF generation. The billing systems will be different for each artist so deals need negotiation in a swift but organized way.

The software needs to condense potential offers that can be sent to artists and promoters. The split points and percentages require calculation, and things such as external promoter profit should be able to be calculated on the fly.

So, the software should provide a section that allows you to create and manage these offers. This will allow a preview of these offers and allow simple management systems to send these offers.

These kinds of systems also benefit from having a printable preview of the contract. If an artist accepts the contract, you should generate a template of all details and calculations.

Marketing and Sales Teams

Your software must unify other departments such as the sales and marketing teams. These departments can track budgets and ROI, work with the promotional team, and manage calendars within the same platform.

Marketing teams can use the analytics to track the profits of each show. They can see how these investments have paid off after each show. The team can also catch trends by tracking this real-time data.

Through the software management system’s data, a marketing team can see what is effective. These metrics can allow them to make informed decisions when they not only return to your venue but elsewhere.

The sales team can also gauge their workflow by having a connection to the ticket sales. They can generate reports and make projections on future events, this information can influence different departments when building events. The software needs to be tied to the ticketing platform you use as well to give you real-time insight into how sales are moving.

Once these shows are booked, each party can close a contractual settlement. The sales team can reach out with ease and approve invoices or payments. Both the deal terms and ticket sale percentages can be listed with the invoices as well.

More importantly, contracts should have an option for customization. Invoices should contain itemization options as well. Once they’re filed away for future tax purposes, management can share them in an accessible way. The ticket data can be automatically calculated and shared with all management involved.

The team’s private finance security is also important here. While there is an external budget that the sales team and artists share, there must also be a private internal budget that can hide the venue’s expenses.

Budgeting and Sales

Many venues must take into account the costs of equipment and man-power it takes to deliver a soundscape. Each musician has their own unique set that requires certain necessities.

The software must take into account the budget needs for each artist. The best software allows you to visualize your production budget and what you need to itemize to develop your artist’s show.

This can occur while keeping track of ROI in real-time, or while tracking client’s profitability and trends concerning the growth of your venue. If you can tie that budget with the profits and be able to file it away in an organized way, it will help the growth of your venue.

Once the management team has constructed a show, the promotional teams can embed these events. This can include affiliates, blogs, partners, and publications.

Support

Regardless of the software you choose, the company should provide direct support via a chat-line or a phone-line. It’s also important that the company provides access to sales reports and how to improve the net profitability.

Much like a successful band, great music software relies on effective communication and collaboration. The software should keep a historical record of each meeting while giving stakeholders a set organized deadline.

Music Venue Booking Software

With the rise of competitive rates and bookings, the venue with accessible terms and organization will get ahead. The post-pandemic return of shows will be exciting, but the eagerness to return will be met with chaos without proper organization.

Fans want to keep shows alive and the rise of music venue booking software will unify teams once touring returns. If you want to keep bands rolling, fill out our form to schedule a demo on our pricing page for further consultation.