DIY Touring & Promoting
By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to:
Conduct comprehensive venue research using multiple sources and strategies
Understand venue economics, decision-making processes, and booking cycles
Identify and connect with key decision-makers at target venues
Evaluate venue-fit based on audience, tech needs, and business model alignment
Build and maintain a venue network database
Develop effective networking strategies for building long-term venue relationships
Navigate industry protocols and professional communication standards
Every successful performer has venues that shaped their journey. These aren't just booking opportunities; they're the stages where you'll grow, the rooms where you'll connect with your people, and the partnerships that will sustain and support your development.
This lesson covers systematic venue research, professional communication strategies, and relationship building techniques that will help you secure bookings and develop ongoing partnerships with venues that are a fit.
Understanding the Entertainment Ecosystem:
Venues, Promoters, Agents, and You
Mapping Your Creative Journey
Before we dive into venue relationships, let's take a moment to understand the bigger picture of how the live entertainment industry works. Understanding the whole system helps you navigate more effectively and build the right relationships at the right time.
The entertainment industry has three key players who work together to bring live performances to audiences: venues (the stages), promoters (the risk-takers), and agents (the connectors).
As an emerging artist, you'll initially wear all these hats yourself, which isn't a limitation, it's actually a superpower that will make you a better partner and business owner when you eventually build your team.
The Three Pillars of Live Entertainment
Venues: The Stages
Venues are the physical spaces where your art comes alive. Theatres, clubs, coffee shops, festivals, and everything in between. They provide the stage, the sound system, the lights, and most importantly, they cultivate the audience communities that will discover and celebrate your work.
Think of venues as Community gathering places, oftentimes with their own culture, mission, and tribe of regular attendees. Each venue has cultivated a specific audience over time, and your job is to find the ones where your art naturally fits their interests and values.
Your relationship with venues: Direct, personal, and often long-lasting. You'll communicate with venue staff, understand their needs, and work together to create experiences their audience will remember. These relationships often become the foundation of a touring career.
Promoters: The Risk-Takers
Promoters organize events and take financial risks to bring artists and audiences together. They might rent venues, handle marketing, manage ticket sales, and coordinate all the logistics that make shows happen. Some promoters work with specific venues regularly, while others work across multiple spaces.
Think of promoters as event organizers who bet on artists they believe will attract audiences, if not now, then eventually. They invest their time, money, and reputation in creating successful shows. They're looking for artists who can help them build events that audiences will attend and remember.
In larger markets: Promoters often handle multiple aspects of show production, work with agents to book artists, and may promote several shows and tours across different venues and territories.
Agents: The Connectors
Agents represent artists and work to secure bookings with venues and promoters. They maintain relationships across the industry, understand market rates, negotiate contracts, and coordinate touring logistics. Agents typically work with artists who have proven draw and consistent touring activity.
Think of agents as professional relationship managers who know the industry landscape and can open doors that might be difficult for artists to access independently. They're paid on commission, so they're motivated to secure good deals for their artists.
When you might work with an agent: Typically after you've established a track record of successful shows, proven audience draw, and consistent touring activity. Most agents look for artists who are already generating significant revenue from live performances.
Why You Start as Your Own Everything
Wearing All the Hats
As an emerging artist, you'll initially serve as your own promoter, agent, and manager. This isn't because you can't afford help yet (though that might be true too), it's because this phase teaches you invaluable skills and perspectives that will make you a better artist and business partner throughout your career.
As Your Own Promoter, You Learn:
How to read and understand audiences
What marketing messages resonate with your fans
How to create buzz and excitement around your performances
The real costs and logistics of putting on shows
How to take creative risks and learn from both successes and failures
As Your Own Agent, You Learn:
How to research and evaluate opportunities
How to negotiate fairly while maintaining relationships
What venues and markets work best for your style
How to communicate professionally and persuasively
The true value of your work in different contexts
As Your Own Manager, You Learn:
How all the pieces of your career fit together
What activities generate the most return on investment
How to plan strategically for long-term growth
How to balance artistic integrity with business needs
What kind of team members you'll eventually want to hire
Why This Foundation Matters
When you eventually build a team you'll be an educated client who understands what good work looks like. You'll know what questions to ask, what red flags to watch for, and how to evaluate whether someone is truly adding value to your career. Plus, you'll never lose the ability to step in and handle these responsibilities yourself when needed.
Many successful artists continue to handle venue relationships directly even after they have agents, because these personal connections are so valuable to their career development and artistic growth.
The Venue-First Strategy
Starting with direct venue relationships makes strategic sense for emerging artists:
Accessibility: Most venues are open to hearing from new artists if you approach them professionally.
Control: You don't need to wait for agents or promoters, you can start building relationships immediately.
Learning: Understanding venue operations and local markets creates a foundation for all other industry work.
Track record: Every venue relationship becomes part of your professional credentials and referral network.
Communication skills: Learning to articulate your value prepares you for working with industry professionals later.
Career Evolution
As your career grows, you'll add team members who can expand your reach and handle specialized tasks.
The typical progression looks like:
Direct venue relationships (starting point)
Local promoter & marketing partnerships (as you outgrow smaller venues)
Regional booking (expanding geographic reach)
Professional representation (when volume demands it)
There's no need to rush through these phases. Some artists maintain direct venue relationships throughout their careers because they value the personal connection and control it provides.
Why We Begin with Venues
This course focuses on venues because they're your entry point into live entertainment. Master venue relationships, and you'll understand the foundation that everything else builds upon. You'll learn audience development, professional communication, and experience creation, skills that transfer to all other industry relationships.
Strategic Venue Research
Effective venue research goes beyond basic contact info. Each venue operates with specific programming goals, audience demographics, and business models. Your research should uncover how venues make decisions, what types of performances they prioritize, and how you can position yourself as a good fit for their programming needs.
Thorough preparation demonstrates professionalism and increases your booking success rate. When you understand a venue's programming history, audience preferences, and operational constraints, you can craft targeted proposals that address their specific needs and show how your performance would benefit their business.
Venue Research Techniques and
The Value of a Venue Database
Primary Research Sources
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This is where venues show their personality. Look beyond the basic info—notice their tone, their values, the moments they choose to celebrate. Are they formal or playful? Community-focused or entertainment-driven? Understanding their voice helps you speak their language.
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These tell the story of their audience's relationship with live entertainment. What do people pay? How quickly do shows sell out? What time of year are they most active? This data reveals not just numbers, but the community's entertainment habits and priorities.
Also is the venue collecting a facility fee? other hidden charges? Is that aligned with your businses model?
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These organizations often know venues unique quirks and systems. They can provide context about each venue's role in the community and their reputation among local artists.
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Reading trade publications helps you understand trends that affect your potential venue partners. When you can discuss industry challenges and opportunities, you become a collaborator rather than just another performer seeking a stage.
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LinkedIn isn't just for corporate jobs, it's where you can learn about the humans behind the venues. Understanding someone's background and interests helps you connect as people, not just business entities.
Advance Research Techniques
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Monitor venue social media accounts for:
Programming patterns: Notice what gets them excited. Do they post enthusiastically about intimate acoustic sets or high-energy dance nights? Their excitement tells you where your performance style might fit.
Audience engagement: The comments section is pure gold. How do their followers respond to different types of content? What creates the most buzz? This insight helps you understand not just who attends, but what moves them.
Booking announcements:
Pay attention to timing patterns. Some venues announce shows months ahead, others are more spontaneous. Understanding their rhythm helps you approach them at the right moment.Behind-the-scenes content:
These posts reveal venue culture. Are they a tight-knit family? Do they celebrate staff birthdays? Understanding their internal culture helps you fit in from day one.Audience feedback: Reviews and comments reveal the venue's reputation and what audiences truly value. This information helps you understand what standards you need to meet and what experiences resonate most.
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Understanding how venues present themselves online reveals their priorities and how they think about their audience.
Use tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs to understand their digital presence and what matters to them online.
This research helps you understand their marketing mindset and how you might collaborate on promotion.
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Identify booking agencies and promoters who work with venues in your target markets
Research other performers who play similar venues and study their booking patterns
Connect with venue staff at industry events, conferences, or other performances
Build relationships with local entertainment journalists and bloggers who cover venue events
Database Development and Management
Your database isn't just a spreadsheet, it's your relationship map, your memory bank, and your strategic planning tool all in one.
Essential Information That Builds Connection:
Basic details that help you personalize every interaction (Name, location, capacity, contact information)
Programming focus that shows you understand their mission (Types of events, frequency, seasonal patterns)
Decision-makers with notes about their communication style and interests (Names, titles, contact preferences, personalities)
Technical capabilities so you can propose realistic collaborations (Sound, lighting, staging, accessibility)
Business model understanding that shows respect for their sustainability (Revenue splits, guarantees, additional fees, Merch cuts)
Booking timeline that demonstrates professionalism and planning (How far in advance they book, best times to contact)
Audience characteristics that proves you care about their community (Demographics, loyalty, spending patterns)
Previous interactions that build continuity in your relationship (Contact history, responses, relationship status)
CRM System Setup: Choose a system that feels manageable and grows with you. Whether it's HubSpot's professional features, Airtable's customization, Google Sheets' simplicity, or Notion's all-in-one approach, the best system is the one you'll actually use consistently.
Challenge: Comprehensive Market Research Project
The Venue Discovery Journey
This isn't just research—it's the beginning of your professional relationships in a new market.
Phase 1: Building Your Foundation
Create your venue database, be curious!
Each venue has a story, discover what makes them unique and special to their community.
Find the spaces you’re excited about, hosting and curating programming you’d love to be a part of.
Phase 2: Deep Relationship Intelligence
Now dive deep, analyze the personality, culture, and community role of your priority venues.
Phase 3: Finding Your People
Identify the humans behind the venues. Learn about their backgrounds, interests, and professional journeys.
Venue Economics and Decision-Making Processes
Walking in Their Shoes
Before you can build genuine relationships with venues, you need to understand the world they navigate every day. Venue managers aren't just gatekeepers, they're entrepreneurs, community builders, and risk-takers who face real pressures and challenges.
Every venue has bills to pay, communities to serve, and dreams to fulfill. Understanding their economic reality isn't about becoming calculating, it's about becoming empathetic and informed. When you understand what keeps venue managers up at night and what makes them excited to come to work, you can approach them as a solution rather than just another expense.
Think of this knowledge as relationship intelligence. The more you understand about their world, the better partner you can be.
Venue Revenue Models Deep Dive
Box Office Revenue Venues: Where Every Ticket Matters
These venues live and breathe audience attendance.
Their success is directly tied to putting the right performers in front of enthusiastic audiences.
Understanding their perspective: Every empty seat represents lost revenue, but every filled seat validates their programming choices, and potentially means another dollar at the bar. They need performers who can draw crowds and create experiences that justify ticket prices.
How to be their ideal partner: Demonstrate your ability to attract and engage audiences. Share your marketing reach, fan testimonials, and previous attendance figures. Show them you understand that their success depends on your ability to fill seats.
Deal Structures
Revenue splits: Typically 70/30 to 50/50 performer/venue
Guarantees vs. splits: Some offer guaranteed payments against percentage of sales
Capacity optimization: They need to balance ticket prices with attendance to maximize revenue
Programming decisions based on: Proven draw, marketing reach, audience loyalty
Food and Beverage Focused Venues: Creating Experiences Beyond the Stage
For restaurants, bars, and cafes, live entertainment enhances the overall customer experience and encourages longer stays and higher spending.
Understanding their perspective: They're balancing entertainment quality with operational needs. The best performers understand they're part of a larger hospitality experience, not the entire focus.
How to be their ideal partner: Respect their primary business while enhancing it. Understand that your job is to create ambiance that encourages people to linger, order another drink, or bring friends next time.
Deal Structures
Minimum guarantees: Often require minimum food/beverage sales during events
Cover charges: Small entry fees with most revenue from concessions
Timing considerations: Events during typically slow periods (weeknight, early evening)
Audience behavior: Events that encourage longer stays and higher spending
Rental Model Venues: Professional Partnerships
Theatres, Art Spaces, Conference Centres, and Community Centres operate on a rental basis, providing space and services for a fee.
Understanding their perspective: They need professional, organized partners who understand formal contracts and operational requirements. Their reputation depends on smooth, successful events.
How to be their ideal partner: Demonstrate professionalism in every interaction. Provide detailed technical requirements, insurance information, and clear communication about your needs and expectations.
Deal Structures
Flat rental fees: Fixed costs regardless of attendance
Additional service fees: Sound, lighting, staffing, security
Liability and insurance requirements: More formal contracts and requirements
Professional service expectations: Higher standards for organization and communication
Grant and Donation Funded Venues: Mission-Driven Programming
Libraries, community centres, and some arts organizations focus on community benefit and educational value.
Understanding their perspective: They answer to funders, boards, and community members about how they use resources. Every program must demonstrate value beyond entertainment.
How to be their ideal partner: Align your presentation with their mission. Explain how your performance serves their community, provides educational value, or addresses their programming goals.
Deal Eligibility / Considerations
Programming mission alignment: Events must serve community benefit or educational purpose
Budget limitations: Often can't pay performer fees but provide free venue
Scheduling constraints: Limited availability, compete with regular programming
Documentation requirements: May need educational value justification or attendance reporting
Decision-Making Process Understanding
Who are you Talking to? What are their objectives?
Programming Committee Structures: Patience and Preparation
Many venues have formal processes that require patience and thorough preparation.
The human element: Remember that committee members are volunteers or staff who care deeply about their venue's success. They take their responsibility seriously and appreciate performers who respect their process.
Programming Committee Considerations:
Submission deadlines: Specific dates for proposal submission
Review criteria: Audience appeal, mission alignment, financial viability, marketing potential
Decision timelines: Can take 4-8 weeks for committee review and approval
Budget cycles: Annual budgets affect booking ability and payment terms
Individual Decision-Maker Venues: Personal Connection Matters
Smaller venues where one person makes programming decisions offer opportunities for more personal relationships.
The human element: These decision-makers often pour their heart into their venue. Building a genuine personal connection can lead to long-term partnerships that support both your careers.
Individual Decision-Maker Considerations:
Personal relationship importance: Direct connection with decision-maker crucial
Faster decision timelines: Can get yes/no answers quickly
Flexible booking terms: More willing to negotiate creative arrangements
Personality-dependent bookings: Personal chemistry affects booking likelihood
Other Venue Considerations Worth Noting
High season programming: Typically venues book proven draws during peak attendance periods to maximize sales. You don’t want to bring your hot act through town on a long weekend when everyone’s out of town camping or celebrating the holidays.
Low season opportunities: Might be more, or LESS willing to take risks during slower periods. Feel free to ask them directly.
Economic sensitivity: Local economic conditions affect venue risk tolerance and audience spending
Competition awareness: How your event fits with other entertainment options
Challenge: Venue Economics Analysis
Walking in Their Shoes
Understanding venue economics helps you become a better partner and collaborator.
Phase 1: Business Model Understanding
Categorize venues by their economic reality and decision-making pressures.
Or determine if your business is suited to one specific model at this time.
Phase 2: Market Intelligence
Research compensation patterns to understand what's fair and sustainable for both parties.
Phase 3: Strategic Planning
Create financial projections that help you make smart booking decisions.
Identifying Key Contacts and Building Relationships
People First, Business Second
Behind every venue is a team of real people with real dreams, challenges, and passions. The most successful performers understand that the entertainment industry is fundamentally a people business. Your career will be shaped not just by your talent, but by the relationships you build with the humans who program venues, manage operations, and create the experiences that audiences remember.
This isn't about networking in the shallow, transactional sense. It's about building a professional family—people who believe in your work, celebrate your successes, and think of you when opportunities arise. These relationships often become the foundation of a sustainable creative career.
Contact Identification Strategies
Understanding the Human Ecosystem
Every venue is a small ecosystem of people who each play crucial roles in creating successful events.
General Managers: These are often the dreamers who envision what their venue could become. They think strategically about programming and community impact.
Programming Directors: These are the curators, the taste-makers who shape the venue's artistic identity. They often have deep knowledge of music, arts, and entertainment trends.
Booking Coordinators: These are the organizers who make dreams happen through careful planning and attention to detail. They're often your day-to-day contact and key to smooth operations.
Marketing Managers: These are the storytellers who help audiences discover and connect with performances. They understand what resonates with the venue's community.
Technical Directors: These are the problem-solvers who make performances technically successful. They ensure you sound and look your best.
Research Techniques for Finding Your People
Think of contact research as discerning detective work. You're not just finding email addresses, you're learning about the humans you'll potentially work with.
Use LinkedIn not just for contact information, but to understand people's backgrounds, interests, networks and career journeys. When you know someone started as a musician before becoming a venue manager, you can connect on shared experiences.
Professional Communication Protocols
Initial Contact: Making a Genuine First Impression
Your first contact sets the tone for the entire relationship. Approach it like meeting someone at a party. Be genuinely interested, respectful of their time, and focused on how you might contribute to their success.
Research personalization: Reference something specific about their recent programming that genuinely interests you. This shows you care about their work beyond just getting booked.
Value proposition clarity: Explain not just what you do, but why it matters to their audience and mission.
Easy next steps: Make it simple for them to learn more or take action without creating pressure.
Follow-up Strategies: Building Relationships, Not Just Seeking Bookings
Every interaction should strengthen the relationship, whether or not it leads to immediate booking.
Timing respect: Understand that venue managers are busy people with seasonal pressures. Time your communication thoughtfully.
Value addition: Share industry insights, cross-promote their events, or provide helpful resources that benefit them regardless of whether they book you.
Long-term Relationship Development
Becoming a Venue's Go-To Partner
The most successful performers become trusted partners that venues think of first when opportunities arise.
Regular check-ins: Stay in touch with updates about your career development, new material, or tour successes.
Cross-promotion: Actively promote their other events to your audience, showing that you care about their overall success.
Feedback provision: After performing at a venue, provide thoughtful feedback about the audience response, technical setup, and overall experience.
Professional referrals: Recommend other quality performers who might fit their venue, establishing yourself as someone who cares about their programming success.
Challenge: Developing Your Communication Style
Finding Your Professional Voice
Develop communication templates that feel personal and authentic while maintaining professionalism.
Phase 1: Template Creation
Create templates that can be personalized for genuine connection.
Phase 2: Personalization Strategy
Develop systems for making every communication feel individually crafted.
Phase 3: Professional Standards
Establish communication standards that reflect your values and professionalism.
Evaluating Venue Fit and Compatibility
Finding Your Perfect Match
Not every venue is right for you, and you're not right for every venue, and that's okay! The goal isn't to get booked everywhere; it's to find venues where you can create meaningful experiences, build lasting relationships, and grow as a performer.
Think of venue evaluation a little like dating. Chemistry matters, shared values are important, and the best relationships benefit both parties. When you find venues that truly fit your vision and audience, magic happens. These become the places where you'll want to return, where audiences will remember you, and where your career can truly flourish.
Audience Alignment Assessment
Finding Your People
The most important question isn't whether a venue is "good" or "prestigious", it's whether their audience will connect with you.
Demographic Match Analysis: Understanding audience demographics helps you gauge whether your performance will resonate. Will they be comfortable commuting to the venue? Is it setup in a way where they’ll feel safe and welcome?
Cultural and Content Fit: Beyond demographics, consider the cultural fit. Do your values align? Does your artistic message resonate with what the venue represents in their community? Do you care?
Technical Capability Evaluation
Setting Yourself Up for Success
Technical requirements aren't just about gear, they're about ensuring you can deliver the experience your audience deserves.
Essential Technical Requirements: Consider what you need to perform at your best. Can the venue provide the tech for your optimal production (at a reasonable scale)?
Advanced Technical Considerations: Think about opportunities for growth. Does the venue have capabilities that could enhance your performance or provide new opportunities for audience connection?
Business Model Compatibility
Building Sustainable Partnerships
The best venue relationships are sustainable for both parties. Understanding compatibility helps you build partnerships that can grow over time.
Financial Structure Alignment: Be realistic about financial needs while remaining open to creative arrangements that benefit both parties.
Operational Compatibility: Consider whether your working styles and professional standards align. The best partnerships feel natural, transparent and mutually supportive.
Building Professional Venue Database and Tracking Systems
Your Career's Memory Bank
It’s worth considering implementing a system cataloguing notable interactions, relationships, and lessons learned.
Not just as a reference for basic info, but years from now, you'll look back at these records and see the evolution of your career, the relationships that shaped your path, and the venues that became part of your journey.
Database Organization
Organize your database to capture both hard facts and relationship nuances. Include space for personal notes, relationship history, and strategic insights that help you approach each venue appropriately. You don’t need hundreds of venues logged, 30 - 50 across the country creates a foundational web that will serve you for years to come.
Primary Data Categories: Structure your information to support both immediate booking needs and long-term relationship building.
Advanced Tracking Elements: Include fields that capture the human elements; personality notes, communication preferences, and relationship quality assessments.
System Maintenance and Updates
Keeping Your Relationships Fresh
Regular maintenance isn't just about data accuracy, it's about staying current with the people and venues that matter to your career. As well, contacts are constantly moving on to new projects, and might have new opportunities in their new roles.
Regular Data Hygiene: Set quarterly reminders to verify contact information and update relationship status. People change positions, venues evolve, and maintaining current information shows professionalism and keeps you up-to-date on your real time opportunities.
Integration with Booking Activities: Track not just contacts, but the story of your relationship development with each venue. If you’ve already been “passed” or “vetted” by a venue, you want to be able to tell a new booker your successful history in the room to expedite your access and avoid losing momentum.
Networking Strategies for Venue Relationships
Building Your Trusted Touring Network
Networking in the entertainment industry isn't about collecting business cards, Instagram Followers, or LinkedIn connections, it's about building a trusted network of people who support each other's success. The best network feels less like a contact list and more like a community of colleagues who genuinely care about each other's growth.
When you approach networking with authentic interest in others' success, something beautiful happens. You stop being someone who needs something and become someone who contributes value. This shift transforms networking from a necessary evil into one of the most rewarding aspects of building a creative career.
Showing Up with Curiosity and Care
Industry events can feel overwhelming, especially for introverted performers. Reframe these gatherings as opportunities to learn about others' work and challenges rather than chances to pitch yourself.
Conference and Trade Show Attendance: Attend these events with the mindset of a student rather than a salesperson. Your genuine interest in others' work will be refreshing and memorable.
Strategic Networking Approach: Prepare for events by researching attendees, but focus conversations on learning rather than selling. Ask thoughtful questions about their challenges and successes.
Industry Event Networking
Authentic Engagement in a Digital World
Social media and email can feel impersonal, but they're powerful tools for building genuine professional relationships when used thoughtfully.
Social Media Engagement Strategy: Engage with venue content like a supportive colleague rather than a desperate performer. Share their successes, celebrate their milestones, and contribute meaningfully to industry conversations.
Email Relationship Maintenance: Regular, value-focused communication keeps you top-of-mind without feeling pushy or transactional.
Digital Relationship Building
Referral Network Development
Building a Community of Mutual Support
The strongest professional networks are built on reciprocity and genuine care for others' success.
Peer Relationship Building: Build relationships with other performers, service providers, and industry professionals based on mutual support rather than competition.
Professional Reciprocity: Look for ways to support venue staff, other performers, and industry colleagues. Your reputation for being helpful and supportive will precede you.
Challenge: Your Relationship Building Campaign
Your First Networking Sprint
Launch your relationship-building efforts with intention and authenticity.
Phase 1: Thoughtful Outreach
(Week 1) Begin conversations with your priority venues, focusing on connection over conversion.
Phase 2: Community Engagement
(Week 2-3) Attend events and engage digitally as a supportive community member.
Phase 3: Long-term Strategy Development
(Week 4) Establish systems for maintaining and growing these new relationships.
Phase 4: Rank The Rooms
Create a system for identifying venues where you can build meaningful, lasting partnerships.
Criteria Development
Define what makes a venue a good fit based on your artistic vision and career goals.
Strategic Ranking
Evaluate and prioritize venues based on relationship potential and artistic alignment.
Booking Strategy
Create a approach plan that honours venue booking cycles and relationship development needs.