Launch a club night

Starting your own club night may sound like a major undertaking but it can be the simplest way to be your own boss and be enterprising in music.

Starting your own club night may sound like a major undertaking but it can be the simplest way to be your own boss and be enterprising in music. If you play your cards right, you could start off with 100 people in a room above a pub and end up a few years later with a global super-club franchise, if that’s what you want.

Whatever the scale of your ambitions, one thing is for sure, when you’ve pulled off a cracking party and the clubbers, bands, DJs and venue staff have all gone home happy, the feeling of elation and satisfaction is hard to beat.And if you’re left counting out a tidy profit too then what more could you ask for?

That said the late night world of club and gig promotion is full of pitfalls, so if you’re going to have a go, make sure you consider these 7 steps.

1. Build your team

Getting together with a few friends to put on your first party is a great way of spreading the risk, harnessing skills and resources and boosting the size of your network of people to invite. Imagine having one or more of you celebrating your birthday. It’s a great way of making sure you get a good turn out. Make sure you allocate and agree on who does what, who you want to attend and how many and of course the budget and how you will spend it.

2. Create your concept

With most cities in the UK offering a wide range of club nights for party-goers to choose from, it’s crucial to come up with a way of making your night stand out. It may be as simple as offering a style of music, guest DJs or live elements that are not already on offer, but increasingly, it’s the club nights that have a unique concept or identity that last the longest.

Huge successes like Guilty Pleasures, School Disco, The Jump Off, Silent Disco and Swap-a-rama Razzmatazz all hang on a simple idea that people can identify with and get into whatever the venue.

3. Find a venue

Talking of venues, getting the right place for you party is vital. Location, size, sound system, style of décor, friendliness of the staff and the facilities will have a huge impact on the success of your night. Make sure you get it right. Once you’ve found a space you like you need to negotiate a deal with the owner. Usually venues will insist on a mimimum bar take and offer to split the door.

Until you’ve proven you can pull in a decent crowd, the venue will play hardball. Once you are a success they’ll fight hard to keep hold of you, then you will be in a position to renegotiate.

Don’t forget to check that the venue meets fire safety standards and has the up-to-date certificates to prove it.

4. Security & door staff

It’s important during negotiations with the venue that you agree on who is running the door and guest-list. On the one hand you don’t want to be stuck on the door all night. On the other hand you need to make sure all of your friends get in and everyone is made to feel welcome and valued as guests. Security can often be a hidden cost that takes away the profits you could have made. Check that the security company has a local authority approval.

5. Book some talent

If you’re not going to be manning the decks yourself (and let’s face it you’re going to have plenty of other things to take care of on the night), then you’re going to need to book your DJs. In many ways this is the most important thing to get right. A well known DJ, particularly if they don’t often play locally, can fill a club all by themselves, but the cost can be sky high so make sure the sums add up. You may be better off shining the spotlight on the best undiscovered local talent, offering a residency and building up your DJ’s name in parallel with your club’s reputation. You are then more likely to get loyalty from the DJs and audience.

6. Get promoting

So you’ve got your club name and concept, your DJ, your venue and you’ve chosen a date far enough in advance to give yourself plenty of time to promote it properly.

Next step is to start promoting the gig. Think about who you want to come and how they make decisions. Then start designing and printing your promotional items, whether its posters and flyers, drink coasters or temporary tattoos. Make sure you also inform all relevant magazines and newspaper club listings editors. Don’t forget to set up social network pages and invite all your friends. Innovative promo stunts, drinks promotions and all manner of cunning activity can help build a buzz on the street.

7. Make it special

Everything that the discerning club goer would expect from your night is now in place. But you need to go the extra mile. What can you do to make the night an unforgettable experience and ensure guests keep coming back. Throw around ideas with your mates. Here’s a few we thought of: