Vincent Cammarota Host “Behind the Pulse” Podcast talks with Pete Moore co-owner of Seamless entertainment & The Entertainment engine podcast!
Talking about humble beginnings playing pro-football to building music festivals & selling records!
I was recently invited to be a guest on the podcast show — “ Behind the Pulse”. So I got comfortable with a nice cup of coffee and had a great chat with the host and owner of the show — Vincent Cammarota.
Vincent is a Music Industry graduate with a natural sense of innovation, collaboration, and leadership.
Building bridges between artists and art lovers. UAB student in Barcelona, Spain Fall of 2018 — Summer 2019. Vincent has have worked on music festivals, radio, social media marketing, and e-commerce for the past few years.
Recently Launched the ‘Behind The Pulse’ podcast.
So, I was approached by Vincent a few weeks ago, to be a guest on his podcast, looking at Vincent’s background and a recent graduated from University while working in the festival LIVE sector for a few years now!
We hit it off well and started to speak about the LIVE sector, from selling records to how you build a festival from — A/Z.
The conversation was really insightful, to find out more click on the link below;
From the conversation with Vincent from “Behind the Pulse”, I thought to share some bullet points on where to start and build your own music festival or event!.
What is the reason for your event or festival?
You could organize a festival just for the sake of it. But the most successful events are built around a mission, a purpose. So, ask yourself: what’s the reason for this festival to go forward?
An event grounded in social purpose is MACROCK, the longstanding DIY culture festival in, Virginia. Since the ’90s, this event has promoted independent musicians and creatives for many years!
Budgeting for Your Artists & Bands
When building your artist lineup, you’ll need to consider the cost of each band or artist against what you expect to make and with all costs involved.
Never rely on your ticket sales to cover your event or festival — this is not a good call!
If you’re planning a free event, will you be able to negotiate any payment from the venue? Ticketed events are easier to calculate from this point.
Figure out how much you’ll charge based on your ideal lineup, but remember you are going to have to make offers for each artist — so make sure you have the right budget in-place to deal with this situation.
Making financial offers to management and the agent is a balancing act.
Never book more acts than you’ll able to afford, and don’t promise anyone a payment you cant make.
Some bands will be comfortable agreeing on a minimum amount with the promise that, if possible, you’ll add more. Other bands may not like that agreement.
Artists, Vendors, plus More
There’s nothing wrong with programming a straightforward lineup of bands and artists, especially when they’re really great live acts.
But adding extra elements to spice things up will really help define your festival’s identity.
Get creative and mix things around a bit with performance artists, installations, poets and readings, some food, various lighting combinations, and stage designs, etc.
Mixing your line-up with different acts is a tough balance to strike, but when done right, it will result in a healthily diverse crowd of fans with performers bringing their own followings.
With your mission in mind, think about what you could add that’s not necessarily related to music or performance.
Vendors, perhaps? Round up local artists and makers you think your crowd would love and have them pay you a percentage of their sales as “rent.”
Not only are you giving folks another reason to check out your festival, but you’re offering a consumer-facing platform for fellow independent artists.
This is where you can add more engagement at the event, too. Merchandise, merchandise donated by local businesses, food, drink, family area.
Find a Great Location
Keep in mind the scale of your event — how many days it will last, the number of performing bands and artists.
The obvious options, of course, are local venues already set up for live shows. Booking several nights in a row is a big commitment for any club, so it’s important to know your potential draw.
Don’t discount the option of using multiple venues, either. You could secure a sizable spot for the full-day lineup and a smaller one for a shorter opening night.
Festivals don’t have to be limited to existing clubs, either. Consider other places that could work for the event.
If you’re looking to organize an outdoor festival, you’ll need licenses based on your city’s laws. Some of this information is available online, or you can contact your local council office for special events to check prices and processes. It can be very costly.
Sponsors to help mitigate your event costs
If your festival is in need of extra funding, you may want to consider sponsors. That doesn’t necessarily mean you have to reach out to only the big corporations.
What are you planning to offer sponsors in return for the event festival exposure?
Pitching your festival requires details and projections — potential sponsors will want to know exactly how much advertising they’ll get in return to gauge their spending or in-kind donation.
You can offer logo placement on all flyers and posters printed (the more you’re printing, the more enticing the offer for the sponsor) as well as inclusion on prominently placed festival banners. Include them in your social media strategy, too.
Are you going to sell official fest merch? You could include sponsors’ logos there too, whether it’s the back of a T-shirt.
If you feel that your community is particularly supportive of your DIY festival event, let them help you build it with a crowdfunding campaign!
In return, what you ultimately want is money. If you’re looking at a venue or any place that sells alcohol, loop in management as you negotiate the offer, this will be a good call.
Larger companies have money for sponsorships and similar partnerships allotted within their corporate social responsibility (CSR) budgets, but they’re often hard to reach without an inside connection.
Look to companies that have sponsored other events in your city. Ask around for contact info.
Selling them on the opportunity for exposure to your crowd and other benefits for their brand is key.
Local businesses are another option, and one you shouldn’t overlook. Small, independent businesses tend to support other like-minded endeavors in theory and, when they can, in practice.
With small businesses, however, working together is a great opportunity to strengthen the local community.
Marketing Strategy
Promoting your festival is not unlike promoting a show, but the pressure can easily feel overwhelming.
There are more bands to pay, not to mention the success of the event, which falls on you and your team. Forget future sponsorships if things go terribly, by the way. No pressure!
If your marketing strategy is on point, you’re more likely to hit numbers that’ll make everyone happy, from the venue to the bands to vendors and even yourself.
Print at least twice as many posters and flyers as you hope to have people in attendance. Be thoughtful about where you hang them, and handing out flyers.
Try buying a bit of advertising time with a local radio station.
Boost your Facebook, Twitter & Instagram event early on, then again right before the fest for a final push. Try to plan weekly social media content in advance so you’re not scrambling to post something last minute.
In all of this, create a hashtag. Come up with something catchy if you can, or simply use the name of the festival. Include it in as much promo as you can to allow attendees, bands, and others involved to help promote
Prepare for the Actual Event/Festival!
Building a DIY festival is a detailed process. If it’s new to you, it may seem overwhelming.
If you stay organized, it’s more likely you’ll successfully check every box. Keep meticulous records of everything: your to-do list, agreements with anyone involved, money spent, deadlines in your timeline, and so on.
Commit your time and effort to realize the festival you imagined, and you’ll likely find organizing feels a lot more natural.
I am certainly looking forward to the concert and festival when we are able to all attend in a safe way, fingers crossed!
By Peter Moore
