Concert production communication for bands and their managers. Do you know it all?
Tech riders have been around probably as long as the entertainment industry has existed in its conventional way.
Riders are a technical and non-technical brief for the whole production. The mindset is that they are important but it doesn’t always reflect the way how people act when handling them.
David Lee Roth wrote in his autobiography that Van Halen requested in its rider to not bring brown M&M’s. It may seem silly to be so specific but the previous experience with communication failure made the band more cautious. During one gig, Van Halen’s equipment sank through stage, completely ruining the used equipment. It resulted from event organizers lack of attention to weight requirements prescribed by the band.
Every concert carries the definition of a project. That means a project has a certain start and end, it utilizes various resources, there is a set goal, it involves risks etc.
When it comes to any kind of a project, the first decisions made are the most crucial ones. Firstly, because they have the biggest effect on the final outcome. Secondly, the more the project moves to its final destination, the less you can change the decisions that you made first. Or you can, but the question remains — at what price?
As riders act as briefs for the concert and many first decisions are based on them, rider creation should be the top priority when starting concert pre-production.
Keep in mind that concert organizers are not always stereotypical mistake makers as if they are lazy or not attentive. If the receiver needs to understand the sent message, it has to be composed by the sender in an understandable way.
By looking over your own riders you can ensure that every detail can be read out clearly by the organizer. This can give a headway to their best possible execution.
Who are we to talk about it?
Ridline team is creating a collaboration software that teams up bands and concert organizers.
We have anayzed over 100 tech riders so we advise you to read our connecting post about seven most common mistakes that band managers or bands make when writing tech riders.
