I have been DJ'ing for a couple of years now and I have a regular gig at a local club. I have been thinking about starting my own club and was wondering if anyone has ever tried this and if so, what did you learn by doing it? Things like:

Sound system
Lighting
Financing
Promotions

Etc, etc...

Thanks!

___________________
Ronald said nothing. He flung himself from the room, flung himself upon his horse, and rode madly off in all directions.

LOL!!! u knwo how much money is involved.

___________________

quote:

Originally posted by 69 KrAzY G 69 LOL!!! u knwo how much money is involved.

LOL there ya go... Sorry, Barkmull, but unless you have very very deep pockets ...

I plan on making my millions in the Adult film industry and then making NYC's best superclub. Co-founded with Amit, Billu, and Matt (Taub) of course.

You don't need deep pockets, just guts and no fear of losing some cash.

Don't start of big, take a smallish club and build a following in a low risk environment. Stand out from the crowd, do something different, find a niche in the market and you are laughing.

My night is just moving to a meduim capacity club (500+), we are bringing in a top guest in December that has never played in my country before, the people want top hear him. We may lose money at this night, but I know the publicity gained from it will stand us in good stead in the future.

Promotion is vital, you have to be aggressive and consistent in this area. Market your night for the crowd you are aiming for. Ensure that all marketing is clear and concise!

Get contacts, you will need to find printers to deal with posters/flyers. Find a good PR team, something many overlook. Get a designer to create a brand image for your club. Contact DJ's and get friendly with them, some are willing to help an awful lot! Get to know the club managers in your area, speak to them and get your foot in the door for the future. Its always good to know who knows who in this business, perhaps the deciding factor in gaining this new venue was the fact that we knew other promoters running nights at this venue.

Good luck mate, you will need it!

whats your night called Acid? where abouts is it cos id be interested in going to it! pm me pls with more details!

___________________
This was a place of fun and madness that is sadly long gone now

All the best to all the UKTAs

08/01/16

Big Dave/little Dave

this all sounds alot like Rollercoaster Tycoon

hmm maybe some1 should make an game: Club Tycoon.. that wud be awesome

___________________
www.luukmaes.tk

im assuming you mean you want to start a club night, not start up your own complete club

those are 2 completely different things, and are in COMPLETELY different price brackets

if you're just wanting to start a clubnight, its not THAT expensive if you know where to look
a lot of places will let you have the the club for the night for free, but it will have to be 19+ (or whatever the drinking age is), and the club owner gets to keep the liquor sales, and you keep the door money...or the owner gets 25% of door money + booze sales or whatever

just shop around
try to find a place that already has decent lighting and a sound system so you don't have to rent one everytime you have your event

Thanks Acid Circus and Kid Lax!

What I want to do is start an actual club, not a club night. I think I am in a position to afford the building and a decent sound system. I am a little older than the "regular" TranceAddict, I think, and have had the opportunity to save some cash. The thing that kills me though is the price of a liquor license.

From what I have learned, in the US, they issue these licenses based on the population. So there are no more available from the local government. I would have to buy one from a private party and they range in price from $75,000 - $85,000. Unbelievable.

I guess I could sell some limited food at the club and try to fall in the restaurant category. That way I could get a seasonal beer & wine license, that I would have to reapply for every 6 months.

Has anyone else had these troubles? If so, what did you do to resolve them? I think it would be hard to appeal to the 21+ crowd if I did not have a bar in the club.

Also, there is no "trance" clubs in my area. They mostly play top 40 and such. Whenever I DJ at a club I try to sneak some trance tunes in my set. From what I can tell people seems to really enjoy it. I think there is a defenite market for a good trance club.

Also, I am married and I plan to make my wife the "owner" of the club. I think that would greatly enhance my chances of getting financial assistance from the government. Any thoughts on this?

___________________
Ronald said nothing. He flung himself from the room, flung himself upon his horse, and rode madly off in all directions.

okay well i don't know shit about US liquor licenses...but if you're planning on starting up your own club...

can i play opening night? if you pay for my plane ticket from toronto to alaska...ill play for free hahaha


my suggestion would be to just hold a couple club nights first..maybe at the club you spin at already... and see what the reaction is
when investing THAT much money, i think it'd be worthwhile to see if there is infact a demand for trance first...other than just a couple tunes during a top 40 set

kid lax has a good point there! if youve already got enough money put away for the building then good keep that just now! and try and run some club nights at already existing clubs, that way you will be making money whilst getting yourself a reputation for the kind of music you play and the crowd you want! and with the money from the club night you would be running you could put that away for an alcohol license, this means that when the time comes to buy your club and the alcohol license then there will already be lots of people that know your kind of muic and atmosphere from your club night, which in turn means you will already have a bit of a reputation and all you will have to do then is start promoting your club to the people that were not at your club nights! getting a regular following is half the battle so if you already have people from your club night then the club will be open and word will spread from the regulars and bingo before you know it you will have a well and truly established club on the go! good luck!

___________________
This was a place of fun and madness that is sadly long gone now

All the best to all the UKTAs

08/01/16

Big Dave/little Dave

Thanks Big Dave and Kid Lax, those are some very good points.

I have had a few club nights at a local club, where I play mostly progressive and psy trance, Astral Projection, Plastic Angel, Blank & Jones, Man With No Name remixes and such (please don't flame me if you disagree with my interpretation of those trance categories). They have been very successful and I think the clubbers like the new sound. Unfortunately, the owner of the club insisted that I call it a rave and play at least some recognizable crowd pleasers (Sandstorm, Ian Van Dahl, etc). I think he wanted to use the appeal of the media crazed word "rave" to lure new customers to his club. This is to be expected, I guess.

Anyways, I guess there is no way to truly know if a pure "club" will succeed or not unless you try it. I live in Fairbanks, Alaska and the overall scene up here is either country bars and meat markets. Luckily there is an Amry post up here with many soldiers from the larger cities, I think a club like this would appeal to them. I served a few years in the Army myself up here and not having a good club here is one of the most common gripes. If all else fails I can change the theme and make it a sports bar...just kidding..=)

And, Kid Lax, if I get this going and it is successful, you are on!

___________________
Ronald said nothing. He flung himself from the room, flung himself upon his horse, and rode madly off in all directions.