Here’s issue #9 of The Hum. In this issue we outline how artists work towards success and the many activities they must engage in. We also cover the data behind venues, how those metrics drive decisions, and what talent buyers look for when booking shows.
In our last issue, we spoke about data of interest to artists and growing their audience. We also launched our first musician survey, seeking to understand the experience of small and medium musicians. If you’re a musician, consider filling it out!
Check out our about page to learn about who we are and why we started The Hum.
Metrics of Music:
Part Four: Venues
Booking a show as an emerging artist can be a thrilling, sometimes mysterious, and oftentimes frustrating experience. On the other side of the stage, talent buyers at music venues navigate a complex world managing audience trends, venue performance, community engagement, and artistic vision. In this entry to our metrics of music, we explore the intersection of data, artists, and venues, leveraging insights from a recent talent buyer panel discussion in Chicago and research on key music venue metrics.
The panel, hosted by The Empty Bottle and Chicago Independent Venue League (CIVL), featured talent buyers from five established Chicago venues: The Empty Bottle, Metro/Gman Tavern, Thalia Hall, Cafe Mustache, and Sleeping Village. Their collective wisdom, combined with research we did on live music metrics, paints a clearer picture for how to successfully book a live show for both aspiring musicians and the venues they hope to play.
Data Drives Decisions: Metrics Matter
Venues rely on a web of data points to make informed booking decisions. Live music KPIs (key performance indicators) like attendance rate, ticket sales revenue, and bar sales paint a picture of a show's success or failure. A healthy attendance rate (typically 60-80%) signifies a venue's (and the acts they book) ability to attract an audience, while ticket sales revenue directly impacts their ability to support the artists they host. Bar sales, often accounting for 30-40% of total revenue, make up the bulk of what many venues survive from. Analyzing these metrics by event type, day of the week, and time of the year empowers venues to refine their strategies and maximize profitability—for example, a band that may not have the biggest pull, but whose fan base are known to heavily imbibe (based on past bar sales data) will likely generate more revenue for a venue than a band who can sell out the venue but whose fans consume few drinks at the bar.
The size of a venue is really important to consider when booking shows as a musician. Larger venues tend to have much larger overhead costs, like security, maintenance, staff, and utilities. This means that a larger venue’s ability to offer similar terms as a smaller venue is limited, these larger venues really do need higher attendance to make an event viable. Musicians—and their agents—should be keenly aware of these dynamics when planning shows and tours, as oftentimes a bigger venue doesn’t necessarily translate to a more financially successful show.
Beyond the Numbers: The Art of Booking
While data is crucial, the talent buyers stressed the importance of audience and artistic fit for any given show along with an understanding from artists about their vision around their proposed events or desired opening slots at any given venue. Their recommendations for artists revolved around professionalism and clear communication. A strong artist bio with links to music readily available showcases your sound and makes it easy for bookers to understand your genre. Past performance data, including audience numbers and sold-out shows, demonstrates your ability to draw a crowd.
The panelists also emphasized targeting specific shows. Researching upcoming events and proposing yourself as an opener for a band with a similar sound demonstrates initiative and strategic thinking. Respectful communication, using email as the preferred contact method, goes a long way in building positive relationships with busy talent buyers. Finally, honesty is key. Booking venues that align with your current draw size is essential. Building a track record of selling out smaller venues makes a compelling case for booking larger ones in the future.
Overall, clear communications, relevant data, and realistic expectations go a long way to book a show, generally, a good strategy should consider:
A Clear Pitch: Craft a clear and concise email introducing yourself and your music. Include links to your music, highlight past performance numbers, and propose specific shows you'd be a good fit for.
Embracing Data: Track your own audience metrics, like past show attendance, social media engagement, and streaming numbers. Understanding your fanbase helps you target venues with similar audience demographics and with room sizes you can realistically fill.
Networking & Collaborating: Build relationships with local musicians and explore co-headlining or opening slots for established acts.
Thinking Strategically: Don't undersell yourself, but also be realistic about your current draw. Book venues that align with your audience size and build your reputation organically.
We would like to thank the folks at CIVL, Chicago Music Scene, the Empty Bottle, and especially to Molly, Sho, Bobby, Alicia, and Jerry for sharing their insights and generosity with the music community.
Artist Verticals: How artists work
There are as many different definitions of “success” as there are genres of music in today’s world. Some artists are happy just being able to record a song, upload it to Spotify and share it with friends and family. Some won’t be satisfied until they are signed to a major record label. But most artists are somewhere in between. In this piece we’ll talk about how artists work towards their definition of success. What are the avenues they often take that lead them to growing their audience, and which tools do they use to get there. We narrowed it down to 9 core activities:
Part 1
For the first half of this piece, we’ll describe the core artistic activities artists engage in. While many of the activities are interlinked, the following exhibit the artist’s talent and motivation when it comes to making music.
Songwriting
In most cases, the road to success starts with a song. The song is the basic building block of artist production, without it there isn’t anything to sell. Songs can be written in a bedroom with a guitar, or, increasingly, on a computer using many types of programs. It goes without saying that artists must dedicate time and energy to create new material, even more so for collaborations and when writing as a band. Several artists must budget their time for creative activities with their other sources of income. Artists often rent or leverage a dedicated practice space where they can rehearse with band members or record demos. Depending on the city the artist lives in and what they can afford, practice spaces can be warehouse-style buildings where artists rent an empty loft and may share that same space with other bands based on a schedule.
The challenge: Songwriting and the creative process are dependent on available time. Artists may feel more creative in certain environments, times of the year, and with different collaborators. While songwriting can occur in one’s head, it also often requires instruments and self recording to evaluate the song as it takes shape.
Recording and Arranging
Songs can be played live at shows and on tour, which we will discuss later, but generally they will be recorded in order to be mass produced and reach as many people as possible. In order to record a song an artist will need to arrange the song. Arranging is the process of creating and fitting together the instrumentation for each distinct part in the song, like tetris blocks. When an artist is arranging they are creating the drum track, the guitar track, the vocal melody and harmony, and everything else around that. A solo artist may write and record all these parts themselves, whereas a band may divide these functions amongst band members.
After a song is arranged, it can begin being produced and actually recorded. This can take place in a studio, a bedroom, a garage, really anywhere recording equipment is present. An independent artist, i.e. an artist who is not on a record label or otherwise supported by the money and effort of a larger team, usually opts for an affordable mix of local studios, engineer friends, and home recording. Mixing and mastering come after the initial recording, and are often completed by different engineers.
The challenge: Recording, arranging, mixing, and mastering appear as the technical element to being a musician, but like many other aspects, it’s about building relationships and rapport. Artists work with studios based on an association with a sound engineer. They may have challenges aligning expectations or agreeing on the sound of the final outcome. Many identify a specific engineer that generated a certain sound for another artist and wants the same type of treatment. If the artist has a
Touring
While artists may play live shows throughout the process outlined here, touring is a major step for artists to grow their audience particularly when they release a new album. Tours can be the most profitable activity for artists since they make money from the show itself as a touring band (rather than the local band), and from selling merchandise like shirts or records.
Planning tours involves identifying venues in various locations that an artist and the tour can travel to sequentially and efficiently. High profile artists often use a touring company to organize the tour and ensure they have booked the necessary venues and lodging. They may travel in tour vans, by plane, or even private jet. Independent artists, on the other hand, often organize the entire tour themselves. From calling or direct messaging venues and artists they’ve performed with, to driving their own car to each venue, these artists juggle several tasks that may only be finalized once on the tour.
The challenge: Touring is dependent on several factors, but most importantly is locking in the venues and locations. Otherwise, the artist may waste time and money when they could be playing in an available venue in another town. For artists with a high demand for merch, gauging the correct quantity of each item, such as shirts, can be significant to the resulting amount of revenue earned. The factors for Live Performance also apply to touring but we’ll discuss that later on.
Live Performance
Live shows can happen anytime during this process without the artist needing to be on tour. Artists may work with local venues to book shows, or be asked by touring bands to help book a show and draw an audience. Artists work with talent buyers to work out the details (see the following article) and confirm a date. As mentioned in touring, live shows can generate revenue from merch sales and possible guarantees with the venue. Placement on a show bill is another factor artists should consider. Headlining a show usually ensures the artist has a longer set duration and is paid more compared to opening artists. Playing first can be memorable for concert goers who leave early, and can be an easier entry point for solo artists and independent acts.
For a live show the artist loads in several hours before the show, does a sound check to ensure the sound engineer adjusts the levels appropriately, and plays at their predetermined set time. Depending on how the show was organized, after the show they will work with the venue or band who booked the show to receive their payment (if any) for performing. It is often the case that, for smaller shows, local bands forfeit their earnings to the touring bands, knowing those artists are in greater need of cash while on the road.
The challenge: Live shows are seen by most artists as the most direct way to reach fans and express their music and their brand. But the lineup, as described above, and the ambiance can impact the quality of the show. For example, for a venue which has the bar near the stage, the crowd and conversation at the bar can distract both the artist and audience from enjoying the music. Alternatively, some venues, like museums, botanical gardens, etc., can add another reason for fans to attend.
We covered the first four activities of how artists work in a comprehensive manner not to shed light on new facets of what artists must do, but to explain the reality of the exciting and mundane complexity of making music today. We’ll talk about the remaining activities next time.