By Tongi Mbirimi
Every music promoters has at some point suffered huge losses.
Many a times people have requested for a meeting with me so we can discuss how one can be a music promoter. Some have asked me to teach them promotion, the reason being in our part of the world there is no school / college that teaches people music promotion. Event management coursers are available at some institutions, they are helpful but, in this game, called music promotion, experience is the best teacher in our part of the world. My untold story today will focus on a few lessons I have learnt in this game called music promotion over the years.
- “You learn by experience and observations”, start with small events, learn the ins and outs and be consistent. I have atended alot of events as a fan and I observed other promoters hosting huge shows in Zim. I learnt a lot of things from attending gigs by Chipaz, Clint C&A ENT, Chris Musabayana, Josh Hozheri, HIFA, Max Mugaba, Simba Bodyslam, SIMMAD & DJ Dee Nosh
- Every event is unique, it comes with its own different dynamics. Target market differs with the artist you are hosting. A Dancehall crowd is different from a Jazz or Sungura Crowd and the event dynamics will differ, the spending patterns will differ, the ticket price differs.
- Any arising situation during an event use your own discretion and make quick decisions.
- Timing is critical. Covid-19 has showed us how critical timing is. There are a lot of unknowns ahead of us and around us
- The Golden Rule is manage your costs. I once did an event which had a full capacity venue and I still made a loss.
- Security is key for the patrons and the artists attending the event. Security at cash office has to be tight. I once did an event where all gate takings went missing. A daring thief stole the entire cash and ticket box.
• Promoters sometimes misfire and lose alot of money. Hakuna promoter asati amboita loss. Its part of the learning curve. When it happens lift yourself up and improve on all the areas you misfired.
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