Amazing concerts change lives. Think about it: we’ve all got a couple of amazing gigs we can’t wait to bore our grandkids about. From the lights and the music to the crowd dives and encores, impactful concerts stick with us.
That’s what musicians and artists want to create when they take the stage — and although they want their audience to feel like every live performance is a spontaneous show of creativity, the truth is that organising a once-in-a-lifetime concert takes serious preparation.
As an event creator, most of that concert prep falls on you. That means budgeting, making venue adjustments, negotiating with talent, acquiring the right sound equipment, and everything in between — and that’s before you even consider ticket sales and footfall.
But don’t stress, we’re here to help.
At Eventbrite, we spend all our waking hours working to support event creators worldwide to put on amazing gigs. Our community of event creators is an incredible place to find inspiration, and we offer various tools designed to help you get the job done.
To get you started planning an unforgettable experience, here are some tips on how to set up a concert with success. From allocating a budget to carrying out sound checks, we can help you host a music event that hits the right key.
Why plan a music event in the UK?
If you’re a venue owner or an event creator keen to collaborate with an event space to organise concerts, now is the perfect time to kickstart event planning.
The UK live music scene is booming. Live music events are set to generate £1.58bn worth of sales in 2023, and they’re a great way to increase foot traffic at any venue. In 2022, the UK welcomed a staggering 14.4m music tourists. But it’s not just about introducing new customers to your venue or your events business.
Concerts are also an easy way to engage with existing customers and regulars. Concert planning is all about creating an experience for your attendees because they don’t just want to go to a show. Visitors want a high-valued experience, and an immersive gig offers exactly that.
There’s currently a huge range of support available for smaller, grassroots venues — so it’s a perfect time to start planning a concert. Cash grants are available from nonprofits like Arts Council England to help concert planners cover costs or experiment with new event formats.
Concert planning in 8 simple steps
1. Create a budget based on forecasted sales
3. Book your artist or band early
5. Equip for a show-stopping concert
7. Put safety measures in place
8. Use social targeting to promote your event
How to plan a concert in 8 steps
Now that we’ve covered why planning a concert is a great idea, let’s talk about how to throw a concert and what makes a successful event.
If you’re new to the concert planning process, don’t stress. Just follow these eight steps, and you’ll be able to put on an unforgettable show for your event attendees.
1. Forecast and fine-tune: craft a realistic budget
Whether you’re organising an in-person or virtual concert, setting a realistic budget should be at the top of your event checklist.
Your budget shouldn’t exceed what you plan to make on sales, so understand your outgoings before setting ticket prices — get the balance wrong, and you risk not seeing a return on investment.
💡Pro tip: Outline all your overheads, and be very specific on what costs you expect to incur. Consider things like:
- Will you pay performers a set fee or offer a percentage of ticket sales?
- Is this a large concert that’ll require you to bring in additional security staff, bar staff, or sound technicians?
- Do you need to hire additional equipment for live streaming the event?
- How can you add value to attendees while creating another revenue stream? Think printed T-shirts, hospitality packages that include a free meal or drinks from the bar, or a backstage VIP experience.
2. Plan your venue set-up
People pay to see the performers you’ve booked — but that doesn’t mean they don’t care about the appearance, layout, and overall vibe of your venue.
Event details like capacity, accessibility, facilities, and location are all key, and ignoring these considerations is just one of the common mistakes to avoid when making a booking.
Even for online or hybrid events, you’ll still need to ensure your venue set-up enables a high-quality, authentic performance for live streaming.
But making sure your venue is set up for the perfect gig experience comes down to what your community of music fans wants.
Your venue needs to accommodate your audience’s needs as well as create the right atmosphere to deliver a great guest experience. This is equally important for virtual concerts — after all, you want to recreate real-life experiences for attendees.
💡Pro tip: Create an iron-clad seating plan before selling tickets to make sure your guests get the perfect attendee experience. If you’ve never handled seating for larger events, don’t stress.
Want to create a custom seating chart for your venue?
3. Secure the spotlight: book acts in advance
Make sure you get booking quickly. Local bands often need a couple of months’ notice before they can commit. For larger events, like music festivals, bands can get snapped up on dates up to 10 months in advance. Organise next year’s entertainment well in advance.
Aside from the practical aspects, think about your audience’s musical tastes, particularly if your gig features multiple performers — do their genres complement each other? You want to ensure the line-up makes sense to people.
For in-person concerts, your performers can also help you choose the right event venue or make adjustments to your existing concert space.
For example, will your headliners draw enough crowd to fill the capacity? Will the band have the space they need on stage? Will the audience appreciate seats, or will they prefer to stand?
Pubs, bars, and clubs are intimate spaces that are perfect for fledgling acts, while larger theatres and music venues require one or several famous acts.
💡Pro tip: If you’re planning a virtual concert or hybrid concert, there isn’t a limit to the size of your audience, but there are still other factors to consider.
For example, if some of the performers live locally, it might be possible for them to use the same venue to stream their performances, making logistics easier.
4. Assemble a rockstar event crew
When you’re organising a concert, it’s important that you have team members with the right experience who understand your event goals.
Hire individuals who have experience in event management for music concerts. If your concert is virtual, look for people with the know-how to run successful online events. Regarding a live streaming a performance, you’ll want skilled camera operators, sound engineers, and lighting experts to capture high-quality footage.
No matter who you hire, from marketing and sales to logistics and security, it’s important to build a team that is knowledgeable and works well together. You’ll also want a trustworthy team that remains calm under pressure if anything goes wrong.
💡Pro tip: Attract the right people by posting detailed role descriptions on job search sites that clearly set out what you’re looking for.
Put the word out on relevant forums, too, and speak to your contacts in the music industry, as they might be able to put you in touch with the perfect professional(s).
5. Equip for a show-stopping concert
Making sure your event sounds great means asking the right questions when you book both the venue and the artists.
For example, what equipment do bands and singers need, and what power requirements do they have? Communication is key when working with sound engineers and a tech team.
Don’t wait for everyone to arrive before establishing people’s responsibilities and scheduling time for set-up and sound checks — especially if you’re hosting multiple performers. Instead, create a live gig set-up guide before the day, and share it with everyone involved.
💡Pro tip: For virtual events, audiovisual equipment is just as important. Use HD cameras, audio mixers, and clip-on microphones to ensure the recording is high-quality. It’s also a good idea to hold planning meetings to ensure everyone knows their role and avoid any glitches.
6. Mastermind your event logistics
Discussing logistics with the venue and performers will help you draw up a timeline or running order for the event, which includes when people (from musicians to bar staff and security) need to arrive or prepare for their livestream.
For in-person gigs, set a curfew, and be aware of when the venue’s licence ends in the evening.
💡Pro tip: Make ticketing easier when you use a platform where you can create multiple ticket categories and set the maximum capacity to avoid worrying about overselling.
That’s where an all-in-one events platform like Eventbrite can make your life a whole lot simpler.
When you set up a concert using Eventbrite, you’re able to create however many ticket classes you want in just a few clicks.
This paves the way for creating premium VIP experiences, and it empowers you as an event creator with the ability to put together an organised seating plan that’ll maximise space and provide a better guest experience at your event venue.
7. Safety first: concert-proof your event
It’s vital to ensure you feel confident that everyone involved, from performers and staff to attendees, will be well looked after.
It doesn’t matter whether you’re operating an outdoor venue or trying to capture a very specific event concept that might not cater to everyone. In the UK, there are serious health and safety regulations everyone in the events industry should follow.
This includes UK Government laws on crowd controls and electrical safety — but you’ve also got accessibility and inclusion to think about.
Under the UK Equalities Act 2010, your music event needs to have a backup plan ready in case ticket holders have visual impairments, hearing impairments, mobile disabilities, or learning disabilities. If you’re unsure where to get started, the Equality and Human Rights Commission offers detailed guidance for entertainment venues.
When it comes to virtual events, safety takes a very different form. To help protect your concert from ‘zoombombing’ by unwanted guests, consider password-protecting live streams and implementing a strict code of conduct.
💡Pro tip: If you want to know how to host a concert for a larger audience, liaise with on-site staff and security to handle on-the-day ticket sales and check in attendees.
Eventbrite’s timed entry feature can stagger attendee entry, with contactless ticketing helping to reduce the time it takes for event staff to check in concert goers, and reduce queuing and the need for crowd control at the entrance.
8. Amplify the buzz: targeted social promotions
Now you’ve mastered how to plan a concert event, you’ll want potential attendees to hear about it and book concert tickets.
But if you’re working with a tight budget, you need to think about making sure your event marketing plan uses a platform that can reach your target audience. Again, this is where Eventbrite can come in handy.
With Eventbrite, you gain access to over 50 ticket distribution partners and using integrations with Spotify, Instagram, Facebook, Songkick, and Snapchat, reaching out to a particular artist’s fan base has never been simpler.
Eventbrite’s Marketing Tools also allow you to optimise ads on social media platforms using A/B testing, geo-targeting, and scheduling recommendations to make sure you get the best return on investment for each boosted post.
💡Pro tip: To maximise your organic social media reach and create more opportunities for ticket sales, try selling your tickets directly on Facebook. Using Eventbrite’s integration with Facebook, you can seamlessly sell gig tickets without fans ever having to leave the Facebook app.
The process is simple. After creating your event on Eventbrite, all you’ve got to do is:
- Go to “Manage my events” and select your event.
- Go to “Marketing” and click “Add to Facebook”.
- Select Connect account.
- Choose the Facebook page you want associated with your event.
- Edit your event information (Eventbrite will automatically suggest content based on your Eventbrite event).
- Add tickets to your Facebook event.
That’s all there is to it! From there, your customers can instantly purchase tickets to your Eventbrite event using Facebook’s checkout system.
Get ready to rock your concert planning
Music fans can be a tough crowd to please, but with these tips every note of your event planning will hit the right chord.
Just remember to create a realistic budget, put all the right measures in place at your venue, and get an experienced team behind you to put on a once-in-a-lifetime gig.
When it comes to the big day, have fun with your fan base and make them feel valued. After all, their word of mouth could pave the way for successful future events.
