Printable View
I'm trowing a party for my birthday. After a couple brainstorm sessions it's getting rather huge. Lots of people here organize their own events or own a club or something.
Can you think of some general tips or stuff that didn't think of at first or something ?
Legal issues perhaps. I'm also trying to keep it low cost for me but also keep entrance and drink fees as low as possible.
You charge drinks for your birthday? That's bad luck :D
The plan is to promote the party just like a regular event. In other words also inviting strangers. They will have to cough up a small (€1 or 2) fee for entrance and exactly what the brewer charges us for beer is the serving price. My friends will be on the guestlist and will have free entrance and free drinks.
I did this because at regular birthdayparties with just friends there just aren't enough people to create a party atmosphere and if it's treated like a regular party there will be dancing.
Source: my firsthand experiences with both kinds of parties
Play an early set if you ARE playing. Enjoy the party after you've played.
where's our invites?!
not sure if the liquor laws are the same where you live but here are some things I'd look into:Quote:
Originally Posted by MyUsername
a) do you or the place your throwing this at have a liquor license? If this is taking place at someones house then selling alcohol is a bad idea.
b) also, there may be some laws regarding how cheap you can sell alcohol. you may not be allowed to sell at the same price as the brewery provides it for.
not sure if those same laws apply where you live, but i'd take a look just to make sure
Basically, most these things are often set by the venue. If you find a spot, throwing an "event" isn't always super simple. Depending on what you have, it doesn't have to be difficult either.
Basically, first things first, is finding a venue. This can be anything really, and is going to set everything up correctly. You'll be charged generally for use of the space, and around here at least, security is generally provided for by the venue itself (and cost is reflected). Sometimes if it gets large enough they may require an extra fee for a police detail (often if the venue has done this kind of stuff before, they can arrange for that as well).
Next is sound and lighting. You guys might have your own stuff, or the venue may have some stock stuff. You can also rent stuff from local companies / other event promoters. The amount you want of whatever will drastically change your overall cost. Also consider this if you're going to need to rent CDJ's/Turntables/Mixer as well, or if you are going to be providing that of your own accord as well. For a lot of bigger rigs that you rent, you also have to pay for a sound tech as well (and honestly, smaller ones whoever owns the gear should be on top of that, or you should be familiar with the house system).
As it's a birthday party, I imagine you'll have friends come play for free. But if you do want to have a bigger name come out, calculate that into the cost as well. Even if they are friendly, it still is a business and it's not a bad idea to pay people if at all possible. As they will be working during the party.
Really though, it's just a matter of putting everything together, and making sure you have enough people to cover costs. Realistically it's a gamble throwing any kind of event, and it's not something that people think of all the time. This shit gets really expensive, really quickly. And if you have bad turnout? The event organizers have to eat the cost.
Takes a while before my mail reaches new zealand.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jester.NZ
Wow, never knew this was a thing. This is definitely something I need to look into.Quote:
Originally Posted by IznremiX
And as far the DJ is concerned this is the hypothetical timetable.
20:00-21:00 I'm allowed in the venue. I set up my Technics 1210 w/ Korg zero 4 and a mate's pioneer 400 setup. I hook up the speakers (I 'm starting to think that I can't pull this off without a sound engineer, strangely tho I 've been at successful parties there without one) Is one hour enough time ?
21:00-22:30 I play for financial/practical reasons
22:30-00:00 Medisin: a lady drum&bass DJ with a thing for deep dubstep, she hasn't played much gigs at all and has as asking price "whatever you want to give me" I think I'll give her €20 + a few drinks since she has to drive quite a bit.
00:00-1:30 District 49: Dubstep DJ from the area, has friends in the town of the venue, is very familiar with the venue (asking price for a 2 hour set: €30)
1:30-3:30 Highwise: D&B DJ with the most experience of them all. He charges €25/hour
3:30-5:00 I play again for financial and practical reasons. And at 5 we have to shut down everything because it's the law.
cost: just under € 100 probably
If this is a birthday party, you might want to consider running the setlist pretty loose. I'm not sure what venue you're at, but if you can roll with friends who know how to set their stuff up, and some DJs whom you personally know, you can cut costs down to practically nothing. If you're set on booking some names you've never met, that makes things significantly more complicated, since now you've got a talent-promoter relationship you have to be able to deliver on. If you're running this tight with hired talent without experienced promoters or an SM, you're gonna have to double down in the management department to keep things running nicely.Quote:
Originally Posted by MyUsername
Tl;dr, fill the lineup with savvy friends, and trade tech for timeslots with event companies, if you've networked properly, you'll have a solid lineup that will run itself. Hiring talent just adds a layer of management that requires some experience to handle.
^I only have one close friend that is a DJ, and another guy I sort of know DJs but isn't crazy good actually. And I'd rather be enjoying the party with my friends then being separated from each other.
Also what is an SM ? Is it a set manager ? I'm a little bit afraid to google that one.
How do I contact event companies ? And isn't that more for general parties instead of a younger niche target audience ?