Who Are "Presenters"?

"Presenters" are those individuals or groups that present or promote performing arts events, such as program directors, executive directors, festival directors, or club owners. The breakdown of different types of presenters can seem convoluted, so I will narrow them down and use, say, a solo or small music ensemble as the artist searching for performances.

SMALL presenters include: coffeehouses, restaurants, house concerts (booking usually by other artists sometimes), libraries. The presenter profile is:

Small
--coffeehouse or restaurant owner
--staff
--not consistently accessible
--constantly changing
--not booking decision-maker
--not performing arts professional
--genre not well defined
--no budget

MIDLEVEL presenters include: clubs, bars, coffeehouse circuit, school productions. The presenter profile is:

Midlevel
--club booking agent
--club owner
--small non-profit org/volunteers
--not easily accessible
--not performing arts professional
--genre fairly well defined
--has no presenting budget/charges at door

FESTIVAL presenters include: outdoor and indoor festivals & cultural events. The presenter profile is:

Festival
--organization/booking committee
--festival program director
--some for-profit, some non-profit org/volunteers
--accessibility varies
--usually performing arts professionals (i.e., they know what they are doing)
--genre very well defined
--has presenting budget
--annual event

BIG presenters include: performing arts centers, theatres, huge festivals, corporate events. The presenter profile is:

Big
--program director or executive director
--PAC board
--difficult if not impossible to contact during the year (only accessible at conferences)
--performing arts professionals
--genres fairly well defined
--larger presenting budget

More descriptive elements of presenters to come. Some of the questions that will be covered are
1. What's a presenter's mission & responsibility?
2. What exactly DO they do and how do they do it?
3. How do I interact with various presenters? Are their temperments all the same?
4. Are they all honest and forthright? Should I be honest and forthright with them?
5. What are the important things I need to know about presenters specifically (trends, budgets, when they are booking, their funding, etc.)?

Cheers.

Bear Claw

Making a Business Plan for a Career in the Performing Arts

Why is a business plan is important to have? Again, your approach to the performing arts has to function like a start up business. In order to have the best chance for success, an artist has to have a clear vision of the business purpose, a strategy to attain short & long-term goals, an idea of where the artist wants to be over time. A sound business plan is a road map (which can be modified over time) that helps an artist have a clear direction of where they want their prospective career in the performing arts to go and what she/he clearly wants to achieve. (See graph.) You will be spending a great deal of time and resources on your venture—a business plan reduces the amount of guess work and increases a better sense of timing and logistics.

Key Features:

Relationships—The business of the performing arts is all about relationship building. Presenters (mainly in the larger market) will only engage artists they know and trust. Strategies of how to build your relationships is a key element in your business plan. There are several websites that list venues in the smaller markets, festivals, and you can often get up-to-date presenter lists from your state arts council free of charge (California is one of the only exceptions.). Attending booking conferences is the BEST way to develop and foster relationships with presenters. There are several types of booking conferences, from state consortia to regional to national. And don’t limit yourself to just performing arts. There are festival vendor conferences, NACCA (National Association of College Campus Activities), and several corporate events conferences.

E-marketing—More and more artists and presenters are using the internet to communicate. It is a healthy medium, and is the cheapest and fastest way to reach the largest demographic of presenters and the public. An artist MUST have web presence. (There will be another in-depth post about e-marketing facts and tips.) Make your website easy to navigate with as little clutter and flash as possible. If you have streaming video, that’s a plus.

Database—While part of your e-marketing, your database should be functional and constantly updated so that you have accurate information about presenters. There will be a post in the future devoted entirely to "E-marketing--what you need to know in the new era of communication."

Product—Do you have DVDs or CDs? If not, you will need these to market yourself. Don't budget on this part of your plan. The more polished and professional looking product you create, the better your chances of landing bookings.

Capital—The hard reality is that you have to spend money to make money. For many start up businesses, it often takes years before you will see profit. You need to budget & plan appropriately so that you don’t put all your resources into THAT part of your business plan that is less strategic than other aspects of your plan. More posts will follow on the topic of "avoiding pitfalls in spending."

Markets—Know your market of presenters. You will develop lasting relationships with presenters if you know something about their venue before you actually meet them. This will also help you determine which markets are appropriate for your plan. Presenters will more likely return your call or email if you know something about their venues. If there is a particular festival or club that you are interested in pursuing, make sure your genre matches the venue’s preferred genres (i.e., if you are part of a native American dance ensemble, don’t try to pursue a booking at a rock music club or bluegrass festival.)

Next post will focus on Markets & the different players within them. I've left out info on other aspects of your business plan, but I will cover them in future posts.

Cheers.

Bear Claw

Getting Booked on Your Own in the Performing Arts

Are you an artist, artist in an ensemble, or someone interested in representing artists professionally? Are you at a point where you would like to perform professionally? Are you just getting started, and are wondering how to make a living as a performing artist?

First, to successfully make a living in the performing arts, you have to treat it as a business. Secondly, it’s important to know the various markets that exist (street, coffeehouses and small restaurants, clubs, festivals & community events, performing arts centers, theatres, corporate). Third, don’t undertake the journey in the fog—the more you prepare yourself and become knowledgeable about how the business of the performing arts really works, the more likely you will be able to navigate through it and avoid pitfalls.

Whether playing for tips at a coffeehouse, or performing in a 1,000-seat performing arts center, the performing arts is a profit-driven business where the “bottom line” is the de facto catalyst for deciding who gets booked. You must think of your artistry as a commodity that is going to be sold by you or your enterprise. (We are assuming that you feel confident about your performance enough to present it on stage.) There is a deluge of artists in America that want to be discovered. It is a virtual sea of supply; yet the demand is limited. Therefore, you have to stand out to a presenter. (A “presenter” is someone who presents performances much like a “promoter.”) The best thing you can do to start is make your promotion kit as complete, professional, and unequivocal as your budget allows. Your kit should include: a bio, references, color 8x10 headshot or band shot, press (if any), previous venues performed at, a simple tech rider, business card, cover letter, CD or DVD, return self-addressed stamped postcard (which should ask if they would like to opt in to your mailing list or email newsletter), any professional brochures or professionally made literature. The more professional and polished you appear by your promotion kit, the more likely you will get the presenter’s attention. One never “walks” into the entertainment industry; rather one has to “blast” into it.

Note: With the soaring price of postage, it is advisable to not only have a website, but an online press kit which includes everything in the promotion kits you will mail.

Decide which market(s) to pursue. Find out where other artists similar to you perform. Be realistic in your expectations about which types of venues you are ready to perform in. DO NOT under any circumstances mail off an unsolicited promotion kit. Call or email the booking contact for the prospective venue first. Keep in mind that for the smaller markets (coffeehouses, clubs), presenters receive hundreds of unsolicited kits per week. You also need to call one week after sending your kit. DON’T WAIT FOR A CALLBACK. It’s also important to know that larger presenters (especially festivals, community events, PACs and theatres) often throw away unsolicited promotion kits without ever opening them. (Some even have huge dumpsters outside of their building for these types of kits.) Try to only send solicited promotion kits by making contact with the presenter first so that they know you are sending them one. Otherwise, you will be wasting value time and resources.

In terms of the venues, concentrate on your local region first. Getting bookings that located too far from your base may not be cost-effective. Keep a 4-6 hour driving radius to start. If your base is in the Midwest or western states, the radius will be much larger.

Pertinent Questions: How much should I charge for my performance? The presenter never returns my calls, so where do I go from here? How can I tell if a particular venue presenters the type of music/dance I perform? Should I begin by performing for tips?

Next Blog Topic: The Markets—what they are and how they work

Cheers.
Bear Claw