Let’s Start with the Artist(s) | Artists are booked by booking agents (sometimes just called agents). Some artists may be booked by a manager or even book themselves. But whoever is booking the artist, their goal is to make the artist money. Making money should be your goal too—yes, even if the event is primarily a ministry event. After all, you want to be able to do it again, right?

The price you will pay the artist for their performance is far from the only cost directly associated with the artist you have chosen. Almost all artists require additional expenses–like hotels, food, or sound equipment. Some require travel too. Those costs can be quite high, as some artists have a whole team that travels with them to support the show.

When you first call the artist’s agent, they’ll quote you a price or price range. Feel free to bargain with them and try to bring down the price. An agent might be willing to lower his cost if the concert will be on a weeknight, or if the artist needs to fill a date during a tour. For example, an artist headed from St. Louis to Columbus might be willing to make a stop in Indianapolis for a Thursday night show. You can likely get a discount for taking that date. But also know that you might attract fewer attendees on a Thursday night.

Choosing a Venue | There are many things to consider when choosing the venue for your concert. They include:
Acoustics
Location
Price of the venue
Whether volunteers are included with venue costs
Number of seats

Sometimes the technical requirements of the artist you choose will help you eliminate some venues. In most cases, churches are great for concerts because the cost is lower than that of a commercial building and you can use volunteer labor. But if your artist has special requirements–like an especially large stage or an unusually elaborate configuration of sound and lighting–you may have to look for a venue other than a church.

The location of the venue relative to the market area is also a big factor. People will be less willing to drive a long distance to a concert on a weeknight than on a Friday or Saturday. It’s also a good idea to choose a venue that’s used for similar concerts so your attendees are familiar with the venue.

The venue should be large enough to accommodate the expected crowd, but not so large that you end up with lots of empty seats. Artists and attendees prefer shows that are sold out or almost sold out: the energy in the room is much higher when 90-percent of the seats are filled. If you’ve ever been to a concert where there are only 300 people in a 1000-seat room, you know it’s not as much fun.

CLICK “4” FOR THE TICKETING PROCESS

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