Creating the ultimate Gig and Event flyers
Feb 6th
Flyer’s are a very effective method of promoting your nights to people offline, they also have an easy way of finding their way to your target audience by being left at Venues, Bars, Clubs (the usual places). Getting your Flyer’s to the right people is important, but getting people hooked into reading your flyer with interest can be difficult. The nights i used to run i tried a number of methods, designs and ideas when designing my flyers, so this article will highlight the mistakes i made and the barmy ideas that worked!
Planning is important when creating a flyer you have a few things to consider –
Flyer size – A4/A5/A6/A7 and Business Card size. When i started i went straight for the A5 size, until one day when someone give me a flyer advertising a car wash. This flyer was a5 aswell and i decided to keep hold of the flyer. I folded up, creased it and ripped it trying to get it into my pocket and when i did it went straight through the washing machine, i then had a light bulb moment. Why not make your flyer’s Business Card size? Now obviously this means all text, images and artwork have to be smaller, but if you design them to be double sided you shouldn’t have a problem. When handing out these flyer’s i noticed a lot of people slipping them straight into their wallet and i never changed back to a5. Not only did more people hang on to the flyer’s but they are also a lot cheaper to produce.
Color and Fonts – Lots to choose from, but i suggest you use the principle Keep It Simple Stupid. Nice Bold Text in an easy to read font and nice vibrant colors. I have seen many flyer’s with crazy looking fonts and unusual colors. I have good eye sight but i struggle to read some flyer’s, consider people who don’t have good eyesight if they cant read the text they wont know what your advertising. Another point i would like to make is that when you hand these flyer’s to people you are taking their attention away from their busy lifestyles, if they cant read the entire flyer within 20 seconds and make a decision whether to keep it or bin it, they will just throw is straight in the bin.
Images and Photos – These provide a good summary of what your flyer is about, i highly recommend you add some form of image to your flyer. If nothing else they make the flyer look more interesting. Be careful what images you use, make sure they are relevant to what your advertising.
Design for your Target Audience – If your designing a flyer for a Punk rock night then make sure it’s obvious in the color, font and design you use. Somebody should be able to walk past your flyer and have a rough idea what it’s about within a split second of looking at it.
Themes – Keep it topical! I once generated lots of interest for a gig purely by theming the flyer. The event was taking place next to Portsmouth Harbour used heavily by the navy. The Event night took place the day after the anniversary of D-Day, so i used a military theme. Purely by having a photograph of a navy boat on the flyer, they went like crazy!
Selling Points- Before you start designing your flyer you need to jot down 3 selling points, 3 points that will make people want to come to your event. Once you have these, you need to make sure these 3 points dominate your flyer design and can be clearly seen above everything else.
Include the important information – Once your flyer’s go to print there is no time to correct any errors. Make sure your flyer includes the following information. Venue, Venue Directions, Time, Dates, Participating Bands, Cost and any special discounts that the flyer offers.
Proof Read, Proof Read, Proof Read
Quick Tip: If you have room, always promote your other upcoming Gigs. If someone can’t make this one, they might be able to make the next one!
A simple summary is to use your common sense, make it attractive to as many people as possible and don’t forget people who might have disabilities. Keep it fresh and make sure it jumps out at people. Most people use Photoshop to design their flyer’s, if you don’t have Photoshop then i suggest using Gimp which can be found at gimp.org
Other Source of Information
Red Bull Reporter – Music Academy touches down in London with 30 nights of Events
Feb 3rd
Red Bull Reporter
February 7 – March 12, 2010
The Red Bull Music Academy brings its full programme of artists and events to London for the first time ever in February, hosting a truly unique and diverse festival of sonic innovations in the city’s most inspiring venues. Honouring the past, while keeping a scalpel-sharp sight on the future, the five-week series of cultural collisions will bring something for anyone who ever was or ever will be interested in keeping the pulse of the latest sounds sweeping the globe.
The line-ups feature legends in their own right, ranging from Soul ll Soul, Goldie, Carl Craig, A Guy Called Gerald, to the Heritage Orchestra, Moodymann, The Scientist, Roots Manuva, Red Bull Music Academy alumnus Flying Lotus, and many more. They’ll share studios and stages with the Academy class of 2010, 60 of the hottest young tune slingers from all around the world. The sparking frictions, where different fractions meet, the very moments when people from the most diverse backgrounds come together and creativity materializes: This is the very essence of the Red Bull Music Academy.
Red Bull Reporter is giving wannabe reporters the chance to experience some of Red Bull Music Academy’s amazing events. Check out the assignments on offer below. Reporters will be chosen around a week before each event so get applying!
Vice magazine & The Red Bull Music Academy Special
Tuesday 9th February (evening) at The Old Blue Last, Shoreditch
REPORTERS WANTED: 1 x writer and 1 x photographer (over 18yrs old)
Vice Magazine’s music editors present their favourite female artists
from the roster of Academy participants at the infamous Old Blue Last in East London.
Red Bull Reporter is looking for a writer and a photographer to head East and cover this Red Bull Music Academy event. You will hear participants from Australia, Greece, Mexico, Peru and Spain and more and review the evening – let us know which artist inspires you the most and we will get you some time with her.
Check out the assignment listing and apply here: http://www.redbullreporter.com/2010/01/red-bull-music-academy-at-the-old-blue-last/
Book Slam – The Red Bull Music Academy Edition
Wednesday 10th February (evening) at Shoreditch Town Hall
REPORTERS WANTED: 1 x writer
Join Red Bull Music Academy and Book Slam, London’s only literary nightclub, as they explore London’s counter culture with a night featuring underground poets, authors, comedians, DJs and live music.
Red Bull Reporter is looking for a writer to attend Book Slam. Not only will you get the chance to hear readings and performances from some really cool writers, you will interview two authors Dreda Say Mitchell & Alex Wheatle on their latest works and what inspires them.
If you have a genuine passion for culture and think this assignment has your name on it, check out the assignment listing and apply here:
http://www.redbullreporter.com/2010/01/book-slam-the-red-bull-music-academy-edition/
A Day in the Life of the Red Bull Music Academy
Friday 12th February at Red Bull HQ
REPORTERS WANTED: 1 x writer (over 18yrs old)
The story of Red Bull Music Academy is a unique one and we want a Red Bull Reporter to come and experience it from the inside. 60 of the hottest up and coming artists from all over the world are coming to London to learn from and create with legends like Soul II Soul, Goldie, Carl Craig, Roots Manuva and many more.
On this assignment you will be able to check out a lecture or two, chat to some of the participants and tour the Academy and head to the dedicated event in the evening.
Check out the assignment listing and apply here: http://www.redbullreporter.com/2010/01/a-day-in-the-life-of-the-red-bull-music-academy/
The Red Bull Music Academy Presents 3-D Soundclash
Thursday 18th February (evening) at The Royal Albert Hall
REPORTERS WANTED: 1 x writer
Take an iconic location, add Martyn Ware’s 3D Audioscape and you have some kind of audio version of Avatar . We’re all aware of music’s power to transport us to another place and Red Bull Reporter are searching for a budding young music journalist to take us and our readers on this journey.
The historic and beautiful Royal Albert Hall sets the scene for this assignment so if you have a passion for music and truly new experiences this could be for you.
Check out the assignment listing and apply here: http://www.redbullreporter.com/2010/01/the-red-bull-music-academy-presents-3-d-soundclash/
Red Bull Music Academy x A Taste of Sónar
Fri 5th March & Sat 6th March (evenings) at The Roundhouse
REPORTERS WANTED: 1 x writer and 1 x photographer (over 18yrs old)
Sonar is back and Red Bull Reporter needs a writer and a photographer to head to the taster event in London!!!
Since its inception in 1998, the Red Bull Music Academy has built an
unparalleled reputation for unearthing those studio wizards who shape our musical
future. Flying Lotus, Hudson Mohawke, J-Wow of Buraka Som Sistema, Aloe Blacc and Mr Hudson have all been students at the Red Bull Music Academy at some stage of their remarkable careers.
This is why, for the very first time in its longstanding partnership with the Barcelona-based festival, the Academy has been commissioned to curate the emerging talent stage at Sónar’s taster event in London.
Check out the assignment listing and apply here:
http://www.redbullreporter.com/2010/01/red-bull-music-academy-and-a-taste-of-sonar/
The Red Bull Music Academy presents 12×12’’
Thursday 11th March (evening) at Scala
REPORTERS WANTED: 1 X photographer (over 18yrs old)
The Academy pays tribute to London’s thriving scenes, hardcore
and beyond, by inviting twelve landmark producers to the stage who all present their biggest anthem that helped shape a new generation in sound.
Red Bull Reporter are looking for a photographer to capture the strong visual element of this event.
Check out the assignment listing and apply here: http://www.redbullreporter.com/2010/01/the-red-bull-music-academy-presents-3-d-soundclash/
Further reading:
Redbullreport.com
Red Bull Music Academy
Rbmradio.com
Latest opportunities from Stiff Promotions
Feb 3rd
Fresh out of the email box, here is the latest Gig opportunities from Stiff Promotions
As an added incentive to the live performance opportunities, those bands
drawing in excess of 40 people (solo artists 20 people, duos 30 people) to a
Portsmouth show will be offered a slot on an ‘out of town’ gig (e.g.
Brighton, Guildford or Southampton) as an additional reward over and above
ticket sales payments and free bar rider incentives. More details on
confirmation of Portsmouth support slots.
If you’re not already a ‘fan’ (odd concept admittedly!) of the Stiff
Promotions Facebook Fan Page then
if the mood takes you it would be lovely to see you join as we don’t operate
a personal Facebook account.
Please read fully before replying – thank you!
February
Tue 9th – Eliza Doolittle – Cellars, Portsmouth (1x band slot and 1x
acoustic solo/duo slot)
Myspace
Genre: Pop/Soul/Singer Songwriter
“Soul-felt pop in the old skool sense with a little fruit, spice, sugar &
nuts – a tasty combination” – BBC London
Superb voice and lyrical content, managed by the same group of companies
that look after Radiohead and signed to Parlophone (home to Lily Allen)
March
Fri 12th – Kids Love Lies – Cellars, Portsmouth (2x band slots)
Myspace
Genre: Indie/Pop
“Strop pop palpitation… a sub 3-minute rush of Pretty Girls Make Graves
style post hardcore sweetness” – NME
Regular Radio 1 play, Great Escape and Camden Crawl appearances and recent
Artrocker single of the month
Tue 16th – Lupen Crook – Cellars, Portsmouth (2x acoustic solo/duo/band
slots)
Myspace
Genre: Indie/Pop/Alternative
“Utterly compelling” – NME… ”Indisputable genius, sublime stuff” – The
Fly… “A bewitching talent” – Uncut
Utterly captivating, agitated pop that will make you flinch with expectation
Tue 18th – Kyla La Grange – Cellars, Portsmouth (2x acoustic solo/duo/band
slots)
Myspace
Genre: Indie/Pop/Songwriter
Superb singer songwriter being developed by Field Recordings – the same
management company that run Radiohead and Faithless!
Sat 20th – The Kabeedies – Cellars, Portsmouth (1x band slots)
Myspace
Genre: Indie/Pop
Glastonbury, Latitude and Summer Sundae veterans, ‘Rumpus’ voted No. 9 in
Artrocker’s Top 20 albums 2009
Also regular Radio 1 play, Glastonbury and Latitude appearance and this is
one of a handful of UK appearances on a European tour
Thu 24th – Acoustix – Square Brewery, Petersfield (2x acoustic solo/duo
slots)
Genre: Multi-genre
Get an acoustic fix of original material from some of the area’s developing
artists and accomplished performers
An opportunity to showcase new material to an appreciative audience
April
Sat 3rd – Leigh Mary Stokes – Cellars, Portsmouth (2x band slots)
Myspace
Genre: Indie/Pop
“… like tea and crumpets before work, roast dinner at your mum’s and
listening to your iPod on the bus”
Previous festival appearances at Bestival, Southsea Fest and Wight Air now
regularly touring the UK
Thu 29th – Polly Paulusma – Upstairs @ The Square Brewery, Petersfield (1x
acoustic solo/duo slots)
Myspace
Genre: Singer songwriter/Pop
“The most literate songwriter of her generation” – The Independent
Heart-stopping shows supporting Bob Dylan, Jamie Cullum, The Divine Comedy,
Marianne Faithfull and Coldplay.
May
Sat 1st – Minnaars – Cellars, Portsmouth (1x band slots)
Myspace
Genre: Indie/Pop
“Dancey & direct; very impressive stuff” – Artrocker… “Right now we’re
loving Busy Hands” – NME
2009 appearance at Leeds and Reading festivals, huge BBC Introducing
support… a superb live band
What to do next
Firstly, visit the main Stiff website at Stiffpromotions.co.uk
to check out those slots you think you
might be suited to – each date has plenty of biog about the touring act.
Check:
· Your style complements that of the headliner
· You’re Portsmouth/Southampton/Chichester/Winchester based
· That, out of courtesy to other venues and promoters, you’re not
already playing in Portsmouth in the 2 weeks either side of the show
· You have the ability to market your show successfully and with
professional commitment to your existing audience – national agencies &
management regularly ask for recommendations
Please do not call or text – however well intentioned – it simply doesn’t
suit the way we work when putting together shows. Thanks.
If all the above is looking promising then drop me a line with the show
you’re interested in together with a line or two about why you feel you’d be
a good match and your potential audience draw (it’s not called the music
‘business’ for nothing I’m afraid) – and we’ll take it from there!
Starnow.co.uk where talent gets discovered
Feb 2nd
StarNow is the world’s leading website for online casting calls and auditions. We currently have 2098 casting calls on the site and 666 of those are in our musicians category. We partner with several music competitions including TopoftheOx, Live and Unsigned and Open Mic. Musicians can upload audio and video files to their online profiles and can contact other musicians through the site.
For more information please visit Starnow.co.uk
Protecting your Music – Bands, Groups and Musicians
Feb 2nd
Copyrighting and protecting your creative work is very important these days.
Creative work can be protected in various areas through copyright and related rights which can be applicable to the extent they exist and are set down in proper form, principally:
1. Copyright in the music, i.e. the musical score and arrangement.
2. Copyright in the lyrics.
3. Copyright in artwork used for album covers and the like.
4. Copyright in set/costume and lighting/sound designs.
5. Copyright in sound or video recordings of performances.
6. Copyright in pictures, photographs, materials created for promotional purposes such as artwork, advertising copy, and brochures, and graphic designs generally.
7. The performance right which accrues to musicians in respect of their right to receive remuneration for any recordings and broadcasts of their performance. However, session musicians for example are usually required to contract on the basis of a one-off fee in return for which they give up any future claim.
8. The recording right which exists when a person has an exclusive recording contract with the performer(s) concerned, which thus entitles that person to prevent anyone else making or using a recording of the performance in question by such performer(s).
9. Moral rights which authors may have to be identified as such and to be able to prevent mistreatment of their work.
The initial owner of the copyright in a musical work is generally its author/creator, except for example in the case of an employee where ownership of copyright will be vested in their employer in the case of any work created under their contract of employment, or in the case of a sound recording its producer (i.e. the person by whom the arrangements necessary for the making of the recording are undertaken – so that a recording studio is not normally the copyright owner if it does nothing more than providing facilities for the recording to be made), or in the case of a film the producer and principal director (or their employer).
The initial owner of the copyright can assign (or license) or be obliged to assign (or license) his or her copyright to someone who has commissioned them to produce the work in question. For example, a photographer will be the first owner of the copyright in the photographs, but a customer can make it a condition of placing the order that the photographer assigns all copyright. If nothing is agreed as to copyright, the customer is likely to have at least an implied licence from the photographer to use the photographs for the purpose for which they were commissioned (but not to make further copies or use them for other purposes).
To see this post in full please Click here
Rock Music Crowns Music Competition
Feb 1st
Another Music competition for Unsigned Bands, details below.
Music Crowns are proud to announce the launch of the 2010 Rock Music Crown. Entries are now being accepted for the competition that will be judged by some of the biggest names in the industry.
ENTER HERE: Rockmusiccrown.co.uk
Become a fan at the following link – www.facebook.com/rockmusiccrown
PRIZES INCLUDE:
- Appearance in nationwide television advert for Channel 5, Sky One, Channel 4 and Living TV
- £1000 website package
- 1 Year PR & Management Contract
- The ROCK MUSIC CROWN Trophy!
+more
Starting your own Music Magazine or Zine – Self Published and Funded
Jan 30th
The reason for me posting this article is because of my previous post on “Weak 13’s Nick Townsends impressive approach to promoting his Band”. Nick successfully started his own magazine promoting his local Music scene along with his Band. I was very impressed by Nick’s spirit and thought i would create a follow up on how to create your own magazine.
Time to ask yourself a few questions before we get started
Do you have hours of time each week to commit to publishing your magazine?
Do you think you can produce enough content to make it worth while doing?
Do you have plenty of volunteers to help you write content?
Can you use a computer?
Do you have basic knowledge of Graphic software?
Can you write?
Do you have money to self fund the magazine?
These are all really important questions that you need to consider before committing yourself to starting a magazine.
All ok? on to step 1
Step 1)
Like any Business or product that you want people to use you have to solve a problem. Since this is a Music Website lets focus on starting a Music based magazine. What problems can we solve? is their a niche genre that currently doesn’t have a magazine? Does your local Music scene need a magazine? You need to decide what problem you are going to solve, if you don’t then why will anyone read your magazine? You will also need to consider a catchy name, a nicely branded theme / logo and of course the amount of pages and how much each edition will cost to print. Which brings nicely onto how much your going to charge for the magazine. I suggest setting the price at a cost level, most black and white paper based zine’s can be produced for around 80p each these days depending on the size and content. I suggest spending a few hours researching similar magazines, finding out what content they include, how many readers they have and how much they charge for each magazine. It might also be a good idea to find out who prints the magazines. Another point you should consider is how often will you be releasing your magazine, below are the most common release dates.
Weekly, 2 weekly, Monthly, 2 Monthly and every 6 months. I suggest Monthly as a start up magazine.
Step 2)
Preparation is important! If you have rushed through step one without doing your research and without any idea of what your magazine is about, what it will look like or what content will be included then you might aswell give up now. Preparation is they key to most successful projects, you need to be ahead of the game at all times. I suggest working about 2 issues ahead which gives you plenty of time to correct any problems that may arise. You need to start getting together juicy stories, pictures, events and anything else your going to be included in the magazine. It might also be a good idea to get friends involved as columnists (i write for many of my friends small publications), they write the content so you don’t have to. Most people like to express their opinion and if your going to offer them the opportunity to voice their opinion to a few hundred people at a time then they will likely jump at the chance.
Next Steps coming very soon!