The AAA – access all areas – pass is the revered token that denotes hip rock n roll success. You either have one, or you don’t. Having an AAA pass means you are in the band, in the crew, or are so close to the band they deem it necessary for you to have the … Read more
Are you playing your first green-field music festival or outdoor show this summer? Not quite sure how it all works on the other side of the ‘Artists Only’ sign? Don’t worry; help is at hand. In an extract from my book on playing your first music festival, I am going to give you my tips … Read more
Facebook made its Facebook Live feature available to all not long ago, with the ability to stream video to Facebook Groups and Facebook Events from your iOS or Android device. So, if you have a group set up for your fans, or you have an event coming up soon, you can create a ‘Live’ video … Read more
“First three songs and no flash” is the catchall restriction applied to professional photographers given passes to take photos from the pit (the space in front of the stage between the stage and the crowd safety barrier, if there is one). This basically means that after three songs, the photographers must exit the pit and … Read more
Audiences can be very ignorant about the fact that the show is finished. In my experience, you will always get a handful of people who will shout and plead for more songs. As a performer, you should try to resist the urge to play more songs just because someone asks for them. If you have … Read more
Artists I work with often complain that their management or record company gets their hands on the band’s guest list passes and tickets before the band members do. This is especially true of festival tickets and passes. Although I can see the band members’ point of view, I find this complaint to be short-sighted. I … Read more
Promotional activity (‘promo’) includes anything non-show related such as interviews, live acoustic sessions or meet and greets. These activities are often arranged (by the artist management or record company) to take place at the venue on a show day as it is easier for all the journalists and film crews to be in the same … Read more
I’ve been travelling around various continents as FOH and tour manager this summer. I’ve been part of some great shows and also witnessed some situations that needn’t have happened if bands, road crew and promoters had put a bit more thought into what they were hoping to achieve. I have listed a few tips here, … Read more
Playing a show will usually involve some kind of sound check. This check will take place before the public arrive and involves setting up your equipment, having the sound engineers place appropriate microphones and DI boxes, cabling everything into the mixing console and playing a couple of songs in order that the front-of-house engineer can … Read more
A Spanish club promoter and booking agency, WIP, apparently posted on its Facebook page that is was ‘banning Traktor’ from the clubs and events it promotes. (In case you did not know, Traktor is a hugely popular DJ controller software/hardware system as used by, well, everyone really). Although it seems Facebook post has now been … Read more
