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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.
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check out my guest mix for OndaSonora Podcast (aug.2009)
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