Overview
Hosting in-store music events featuring local musicians are a great way to connect with your community, make your location a destination and drive traffic. Ensure that the music style appeals to your customer base. Classical and jazz music is often well-suited for in-store performances.
Details
Live music can be a great way to make your location a destination. Several things to consider first…
- Do you have the right space to host the event, including performance area and seating for customers?
- Is this something your customer base would be interested in? Or would this help you attract a new customer base?
- Does your landlord/property owner allow live music?
- Are there noise restrictions in your neighborhood?
- Licensing: In the U.S., under copyright law, anyone who performs copyrighted music in a public establishment is require to obtain advanced permission from the copyright owner or their representative. If you’re going to have regular music events, you’ll need to register with the appropriate organizations like the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), Broadcast Music Inc (BMI) and Society of European Stage Authors & Composers (SESAC).
Pick Your Music
So you’ve decided you want to have live music in your location. Now what kind of music to have? Talk to your customers. What would they like to hear?
There are several ways to find your performers…
- Utilize local resources like local school/college music programs or an area youth center with a music program.
- Check your local Craig’s List Musician section.
- Check your local weekly events paper for who plays at other places. Check the classifieds of those papers, too.
- Ask your customers for recommendations.
- Post on your website and Facebook page that you’re looking for musicians.
Ask for a demo CD or the opportunity to hear them perform prior to booking a certain artist to ensure it’s appropriate for your customers.
Schedule Your Event
Consider whether you want to have your event monthly or weekly. You could pick a quiet time of the week or busy time to increase transactions of either. You could build a program around the music like a Sunday Brunch with Classical Music or have music on holidays.
Promote Your Event
Once you’ve picked your music and your frequency, it’s time to spread the word. Here are a few suggestions…
- In-store and out-of-store with signage and flyers/invitations.
- Provide the musicians with flyers/invitations as well, so they can promote the event to their fans.
- Distribute invitations to businesses and other places with potential customers as identified in your Trade Area Assessment.
- Send an eMail invitation to your eMail list and announce the event on your website.
- Promote via your Social Media channels.
- Send a Calendar Listing to local media to spread the word.
Make sure to take photographs of the event so that both you and the artist(s) can highlight the event afterwards.
Your Event
Also, ensure you’re staffed appropriately for the event and your location is in top shape for customers.
Consider offering food and drink specials during the event. And definitely sample products to encourage more purchases!
See the Making Your Location a Destination Guide for the comprehensive approach to this topic.
Photo Source: flickr.com/photos/superzelle/6394877887
