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How to throw a good party....?
I've been thinking a lot lately about trying to get together with some friends and throw a one-off type of party and bring in a moderately well-known DJ to spin the main time slot. We were gonna take a loan out to try and get it all together. But it occured to me...I really don't have any real clue about what it takes....like in terms of selecting a venue and workign with them to get it off the ground.
Obviously you need to contact the DJ's manager and get it worked out, but what exactly has to be done in terms of getting the space to do it all worked out. I'm looking for a a guideline for the general process...including some general costs.
We're looking to do it in NYC, at a smaller place, but not too small...
Some of the names we were throwing around were...
Noel Sanger, Thomas Penton, Nathan Fake, Ozgur Can, Chris Micali, Chris Fortier...etc..
Thanks
first of all look for a place that suits your needs (space, equipment... etc).
insted of taking a loan try to get a sponcer...
print flyers with the name of the dj on it..
Don't over do it because if it has a bad outcome you won't be able to return the money.
as they say expect the worst but hope for the best
My advice is not to take out a loan. If you lose money - and that's a possibility - it's much better to not owe for it.
Loans = Real bad news...
A guy I went to high school with brought in George Acosta for a set at one of the worst clubs I've ever seen, took out a loan that was basically all on him, and when he didn't come close to making his money back he was close to $10,000 in the hole for the night after all was said and done.
This was, however, in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, so take that into consideration 
...
Cheers,
RJT
I've been looking to do the same thing, sans the well-known DJ. Start scoping out some clubs, and talking with various club managers. You'll probably get a cut at the door.
Have a good timeline setup, because if it's too soon, you'll risk the chance of it not being promoted enough(be it flyers/word of mouth, etc).
And ditch the loan idea, it's just bad news.
1) pick a venue. preferably a club that already has the furniture/security/staff/system/lights sorted out. you'll have to rent the club, there are normally two ways to go. a, where you only "rent the door", you get all the money from the cover price, and the club keeps the bar's winnings, or b, where you get the bar as well. here is where the real money is at. you have to provide the drinksof course, so you should check with the bartenders what the levels of consumption are on a normal night.
otherwise, if you pick some outdoor space, or a place normally not a club (lke a warehouse or whatnot), you can probably get it for a lot cheaper, but you're probably gonna have to deal with permits, setting up the soundsystem, getting a security force, setting up a bar, etc. it may end up being a lot more trouble than the little money you can save is worth. or perhaps even more costly.
2) book a dj. you should do this as far in advance as possible. try to get a date where he is close to the area, otherwise, the plane ticket may get you in the ass. unless he's on tour, in which case you may get a standard fee for transport (they calculate the costs of all the tours dates, and divide it in equal parts by promoters sometimes). you can get a tentative booking, which is a good idea, so that no one elses snatches the date you have in mind up. bear in mind you'll have to supply said DJ with food and shelter for the duration of his stay. if he's in town for a few extra days, show him around or something.
3) get sponsored. well. in large quantities. get as much money as you possibly can. your immediate goal is to be able to cover ALL your costs, so that everything made on the night is profit. here's a secret: throwing a GOOD GOOD party does not necessarily make money. it normally costs more than it makes. even if you can make 50grand from a party, you're nowhere if it cost you 47K. so get sponsored. ideally, make a profit out of it, so you're already one hand up before the night. target companies whos' target market are the people who might attend. common ones would be: Red Bull, Puma, etc. cellphone companies, alcohol manufacturers, hip clothes companies, bla bla. you basically take anything you can get.
4) advertise. possibly make a website. a dot com costs about 10 bucks for a name, and the server won't run you much if you'll just be hosting a couple of graphics and some text. display your sponsors' brands on the site. make flyers. many. get someone with talent to design it. put sponsors on it. offer these options to the sponsors during the meetings. take flyers to colleges, clubs, anywhere anyone might be interested.
thats basically what should do. if you have good vision, and know how to party yourself, you should be able to make a good night. it may be hard to get sponsors lined up on your first try, so you may even want to do this as a long term thing - do one night, and secure, under all circumstances that you at LEAST break even, and invite some people from each sponsor company, to show them what you can do. this will grease the wheels for next time, as they see you can haul a crowd.
don't expect to get rich on your first try. i basically invented the concept of a commercial afterparty here in my country, and at my first one, there were 350 people (not bad, considering the main event had about 1000, and we were in the middle of a tropical rainstorm), it went great, and i didn't even make 100 dollars.
good luck bro.
Contact clubplanet.com
hey, thanks for a lot of great advice. I have a question abotu actually booking the DJ....this is what I where I was thinking about putting a loan to use. You're saying it makes more sense to go out and find sponsors to put money down for that?
another question...I know exact figures can only be had by talking to the DJs manager, but I was wondering what ballpark figures would be for some of the guys I mentioned...I have a much bigger list here, but I tried to stay with DJs that were American as to cut down on the plane costs. And I take it you have to set them up with a hotel etc...
firstly you should budget.
write down everything your gonna need.
present that to the manager of the club adn he can tell you what you wont need i.e. security, bar staff, drinks, equipment etc.
make sure that you put the ticket prices at a price that even if a few people come (100+) you wont be completley fucked by not being able to pay the dj or manager.
drinks promos are a good way to get people in (buy 2shots get 1 free)
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| Originally posted by zizack hey, thanks for a lot of great advice. I have a question abotu actually booking the DJ....this is what I where I was thinking about putting a loan to use. You're saying it makes more sense to go out and find sponsors to put money down for that? |
Promotion Promotion Promotion that and looking for a venue that suits your needs.
as to DJ's, look into booking only a local NYC DJ. pulling in a DJ from another country or just out of state can get pretty pricey for travel costs, lodging and living costs. also their price for playing will tend to be more anyway.
try to get a local DJ who throws their own events in NYC and has a nice following.
definatly don't take out a loan. start small. look to just make enough money to cover the costs of the events.
and yes promotion is key. throw around more flyers than you need. bombared on email lists and stuff like myspace.
all this type of promotion only brings in a small amount of people, but you really have to overdo it.
your going to get most of your guests through your friends and your friends of friends.
also look for a nice club/bar that has a good local crowd that tends to go there no matter what night it is.
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| Originally posted by montie as to DJ's, look into booking only a local NYC DJ. pulling in a DJ from another country or just out of state can get pretty pricey for travel costs, lodging and living costs. also their price for playing will tend to be more anyway. try to get a local DJ who throws their own events in NYC and has a nice following. definatly don't take out a loan. start small. look to just make enough money to cover the costs of the events. and yes promotion is key. throw around more flyers than you need. bombared on email lists and stuff like myspace. all this type of promotion only brings in a small amount of people, but you really have to overdo it. your going to get most of your guests through your friends and your friends of friends. also look for a nice club/bar that has a good local crowd that tends to go there no matter what night it is. |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by zizack thanks for the reply. Well, I was looking into havign some local kids spin the party, but as openers and closers for a main guy like the ones I mentioned. The trance scene in NYC is non existent outside of the overpriced mega clubs. I thought it would be cool to bring in some smaller big named DJs that have never played in NYC before and basically have talented local DJs get some exposure by opening and closing. I'm not really too concerned with making a lot of money. I just want to do something a little different and see if I can pull it off. Question...everyone has mentioned getting a sponsor...what kind of peopel should I be getting in contact about something like that? |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by zizack thanks for the reply. Well, I was looking into havign some local kids spin the party, but as openers and closers for a main guy like the ones I mentioned. The trance scene in NYC is non existent outside of the overpriced mega clubs. I thought it would be cool to bring in some smaller big named DJs that have never played in NYC before and basically have talented local DJs get some exposure by opening and closing. I'm not really too concerned with making a lot of money. I just want to do something a little different and see if I can pull it off. Question...everyone has mentioned getting a sponsor...what kind of peopel should I be getting in contact about something like that? |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by zizack thanks for the reply. Well, I was looking into havign some local kids spin the party, but as openers and closers for a main guy like the ones I mentioned. The trance scene in NYC is non existent outside of the overpriced mega clubs. I thought it would be cool to bring in some smaller big named DJs that have never played in NYC before and basically have talented local DJs get some exposure by opening and closing. I'm not really too concerned with making a lot of money. I just want to do something a little different and see if I can pull it off. Question...everyone has mentioned getting a sponsor...what kind of peopel should I be getting in contact about something like that? |
or you could have a dj competition, as then the dj brings his/her mates to watch so you got atleast 50 people if 5 people enter, then promotoe with a dj on the night aswell
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| Originally posted by CosmoKid Probably the marketing department at the company. Zack. Good luck with this. You know about the party that my friends through a few weeks ago with Ben Lost. They lost a ton of money on that party. The venue was a cool one, the DJ is just about the level that you are looking to bring in. Maybe the timing was bad on it, but like 75 people showed up for it. It cost about $1800 for Ben and his travel/hotel expenses. 2 weeks before that was Steve Gerrard. They had about 110 people at that show. Steve was cheaper and is sort of a friend to the guy who threw the party. Most bigger DJs request certain euipment as well. They wont make due with an old gemini mixer and beat up cd player that some of these smaller clubs have. The tough part about throwing these parties in NYC is that a lot of people who are supposedly into this music are only really into the scene. They come out for the big names only, or the really hyped parties that "everyone is going to". They dont wake up from a Saturday nap and say "who is playing tonight that I should check out", they say "where is everyone going to be tonight." Of course there are exceptions. good luck. |
contact liqor companies, radio stations, energy drink companies, cell phone providers, anthing with moeny behind it that young people use.
oh and book Meat Katie and Mathew Dekay. For sure, have 2 rooms in the party. one for each 8 hour extended sets from both...
omgidie.
about those DJ selections...
all are very good, and right about up your alley, except for the first... you sure you know what Nathan Fake spins? i've only heard one set of his to tell the truth, but judging by that, and his productions, and the types of DJs that play his productions (i'm not talking about just Outhouse, rather stuff like his new Dinamo EP and such, his 'less accessible' tracks) he is NOT anywhere near compatible with trance DJs. some slightly abstract or borderline-techy prog perhaps, but even that's a stretch, as he goes more for electro/german techno/minimal/glitch/bleep techno and the like.
not to discourage you, i think it is a great idea, especially if you like his music, but you may get an unhappy crowd. many people think he is prog for some odd reason, go out, see him, listen to this crazy glitchy music, and say he was playing a shitty set. i'm generalizing from what normally happens when people go to see Holden thinking they're in for a night of trance or melodic prog... and Holden likes a little prog, Nathan, well, not so much.
just something to ponder before you make a decision. if i were you, i'd go for someone slightly more accessible, more well-known for his DJing.
Remy, Lemon 8, Ozgur Can and Matthew Dekay i think are you strongest choices, because IMO you simply can't go wrong, and they pretty much just seem draw a large crowd, with emphasis on the 2nd and 3rd choices.
haha, yeah, I know very much what he plays. I have two of his sets, and one is just kind of weird ambient music for the first half. I listed guys that i would really love to see play basically. and idk, guys from overseas tend to play a little harder over here, and I assumed that he'd be smart enough to realize if he was putting people to sleep. but I see where you're coming from though...there are better suited guys out there of course..
I know Remy would draw a crowd...he's killed it his last 3 times here and people love him. I've heard lemon 8 live before in the UK and know he'd rock it, but not sure if he'd draw major crowd over here. To my knowlegde, Dekay and OC haven't played NYC yet, so they would be a first which I thought was cool.
Thanks for the input.
| quote: |
| Originally posted by zizack Question...everyone has mentioned getting a sponsor...what kind of peopel should I be getting in contact about something like that? |
| quote: |
| Originally posted by Soliman Get in contact with the PR department. Don't forget to tell them that you are finishing a deal with another/rival company. When i planed a party i called pepsi told them i am finshing a deal with coca cola.. Always works |
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| Originally posted by Inertia loands = bad idea. don't play with your own money. and since the money is borrowed, and you're gonna have to pay it back, it technically is your own money. get sponsors to give you their money, and play with that. it depends on what DJ you get, but many times you can book them in advance without having to put the money down as soon. yes, you'll have to set the DJ up in a hotel, pay for his food, and whatnot. what you can do is make a budget of your absolute necessities. this is your real budget, the one you HAVE to cover. it is for your eyes only. then make another budget, but as bulked up as possible, without going overboard of course. this is what you present to sponsors. i'm not telling you to go in and lie to them, but you have to know what figures you NEED to cover, whilst trying to take advantage of as much money as they're willing to give to you. talk with a large drink company, one that manages various brands. in this country, we have 3 groups, that compete with eachother. each manages a vodka, whisky, soft dirnk, rum and bottled water brand. we would normally meet with each, and take the best offer. many times, one group will better their offer just to make sure no other group gets you. they may be able to set you up with an open bar. if they do this, you may jack up the ticket price. or, maybe you could do an "open bar till 1AM" thing, so that way, the initial open bar lures people in, and you still make winnings from the bar afterwards. that or maybe a welcome drink or shot or something. or drinks half off before 12. you figure out what's best for you. |
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