From gig etiquette to sound requirements, there are many factors to consider to host successful and ethical live music at your venue.

Just as we curate music experiences, venues hold responsibility for curating good working relationships with artists and ensuring that everyone has a safe, awesome time. Hosting live music can leave you with a long list of challenges to overcome. Besides advertising and ticket sales, what cements your status as a host venue with the mostest and keeps everyone coming back - including the artists lies in the little things.

Here are our top Dos and a few Don’ts for hosting live music at your venue. *Spoiler alert - a lot of it has to do with your artist relationships

DO: Nurture good relationships with your musicians

Happy Musos create happy vibes, which means happy customers, a pumping venue and word on the street that your venue is the place to be. When it comes to your relationship with live music, these guys are your most valuable players and should be treated accordingly. While a relaxed outlook was once considered acceptable, we aim to be the change we would like to see in the industry - which means going beyond the bottom line. The music community is large but compact, so if you want your venue to be a priority pick for the best artists, or have them promote your venue to their fans, your actions should be reciprocal. It's only fair to honour your performance agreements, liaise in a timely fashion and celebrate them by promoting them in return. You get what you give, after all.Speaking of which...

DO: Pay your performing musicians on time

Artists only see 12% of the profits made from their participation in the music industry. This number includes profits from live music events, music sales, and remunerations from music streaming platforms like Spotify. The cost of making music amounts to more than that earned for a local musician and as companies capitalise on the music-making process, like Spotify starting Soundtrap, because **cough-cough evil geniuses… It’s a struggle to make art and keep up a gig roster when you need money to do both.Just as you expect your musicians to show up on time and hit it out of the park for your venue, it’s only fair that you pay them efficiently for their time and craft. Make sure you establish proper award rates as well as any cuts from door sales or merch stands.

DO: Make sure your venue is accessible to artists and their equipment

The worst thing is showing up for a gig only to realise that you have to lug your drum kit up four flights of stairs or have to contend with an inadequate loading bay or parking facility when rocking up with your instruments for the gig. Equipment is expensive, and the prime vehicle for the livelihoods of an artist, so its manoeuvring and storage should be a priority. To set up, artists to ace their set, backstage prep should also be the smoothest part of the performance. It could be viewed as disrespectful and unprofessional if artists are advised to show up an hour before their set and then have to deal with uncleared DJ booths, no proper place to get ready, or to ensure safe storage of instruments in the performance's interim. Let them know about inevitable issues like little access to parking so they don’t have to park miles away and then sprint back for their set time after unloading through the front door because the back one wasn’t big enough. *These are all true stories by the way.And we don’t say this so you can shell out funds to pave a parking lot, because it’s not the issues that are the problem, it’s how you deal with addressing them so everyone has time to pivot.

DO: have reasonable set times and breaks for your artist

The industry standard for an artist's performance is 45mins per set for a two-set show or 70 minutes if they’re powering out for one set. Singing for any longer than 70 minutes can be detrimental to a musician's voice without rest and there’s only so much energy with which to thrash a drum kit before your arms fall off. Have a conversation with your artists to figure out what works best for the time of day and their capabilities. It might be a sunset gig that requires one banging set, or a chill night of jazz that can be spread in shorter sets throughout the night to build suspense and accompany sitdown dinners.

DONT: Take the security of performers and patrons for granted

As much as musicians love to interact with the audience, it is important to provide a performance space that is free from harassment and abuse; especially when situated in an unpredictable public arena. Make sure your security team is positioned close to the performance area, or managers are easily accessible to handle any artist issues swiftly. As fun as D&Ms are mid-DJ set, getting a drink spilled all over you in someone's relentless pursuit of song requests is not so fun- (got to admire the pursuit for tunes though). Similarly, having the booth get mistaken as a cloakroom and phone-charging dock, most musicians probably left their babysitting gigs for music gigs as soon as babysitting wasn’t paying the bills anymore.

DO: Make your venue accessible to everyone!

Whether it’s for people with disabilities to easily come and be able to enjoy a show or for gender and race inclusivity, venues are a place where musicians thrive by expressing themselves in an industry that celebrates each individual's unique identity. Major cities are a hub that gender-diverse, 'woke' individuals flock to, to find open-minded culture, among the top UK cities being Oxford, London, and Bath. That’s a whole lot of party!It’s your job as a venue to advocate this sense of pride and make everyone feel welcome, safe and represented when music fans or the general public stop by to support the arts. This includes having amenities that cater to the needs of different gender identities, understanding the use of individual pronouns, and hosting a community of musicians with diverse backgrounds, while advocating zero tolerance for discrimination or hostile behaviour.

DO: Promote events properly so people are aware they’re happening

You’d be surprised at how many events go unnoticed and unattended because people aren't aware that they're happening. Even if have a reputation within the community for hosting music, newcomers to the area may have just popped in for the first time and are not yet aware of the shows you promote on social media. Or maybe you’ve invested in venue flyers but haven’t let the online world know what’s going on. Whether it’s by word of mouth or your weekly email blast, don’t be shy to assume that everyone has no idea that you’re throwing a party. Ask your customers how they heard about your events, take social media polls, use bright colours, and fire up your google analytics. We out here!

DON’T: Make enemies with your neighbourhood

Keep your neighbours happy, and your community close by making sure to follow the local noise ordinances for the area surrounding your venue. You don't want to become the local hotspot for Police visits, angry neighbours calling to complain or a general noise pollutant that becomes the talk of the town. Keep the lines of communication open between yourself and the community so you can handle issues before they escalate to an awkward place. Have an acoustic professional come to check that your venue is qualifying with any state noise requirements and if in doubt, just insulate everything. Get your safeguards in check like noise reflectors, and limiter devices for monitoring sound levels and communicating with musicians before their performances.Introduce yourselves, and keep authorities in the loop when you’ve got big events coming up. Include your locals and advertise Afterhours numbers they can call if they have issues with loud noise. It’s hard for people to be mad at you if they can see that you’re trying to respect the peace. A locals' discount can sweeten the deal too.

DO: Work with booking Platforms like Surreal to find the artists that best fit your venue offering

Music-booking platforms are a great way to find new talent or discover alternative music if you want to make waves with a diverse music roster but don’t know where to start. Once you’ve set up a venue profile, either create your listing or search the profiles of artists in your local area and contact them directly. Besides cutting out the middleman, using a booking platform is an efficient way to book musicians at your fingertips and liaise with them while still benefitting from someone handling the contracts and invoicing for you. This allows you to spend more time planning your events instead of finding quality talent based on their availability and proximity.

DON’T: Forget to have fun!!!!

There’s a sea of advice on running the best events, but at the end of the day, if you’re having fun and your staff and musicians are genuinely pumped to be at work, then your audience will be having fun too. Dare to be different and try your hand at running something that your neighbourhood hasn’t seen before. The great thing about ideas is that if people can see that you’re excited, it gets them excited to be a part of your vision! We believe in you!

Joining the next generation of venues taking local music to the forefront of the U.K. entertainment scene? Check out our Complete Live Music Rundown for Venues to help you get started.

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At Surreal we help venues, agencies and entertainers manage live entertainment more efficiently through software - learn more here!

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