Fundamentally, hospitality venue owners and operators want to run a bustling and successful business.

Adding live music to the mix can establish your venue as a hub for local entertainment, instantly diversify your customer reach and create an infectious level of atmosphere that punters won't soon forget. In this article we break down five ways that live music can boost your business in 2024.

1. Live music instantly adds value

Not only is the live music economy of Australia alive and well, but it’s also a sector that continues to grow year after year steadily. In a hardcore digital era, there are not many things that it doesn’t account for in terms of entertainment. However, it seems that the one thing that you cannot replace is the thrill of a live gig. By bringing live music to your customers, you are giving them a significant source of entertainment, and adding vibrancy and excitement to the atmosphere of your venue. Live music lifts the vibe and instantly draws a crowd. Whether it’s because the music wafts out to the street and attracts passersby, or it provides a fun and distracting reason for your customers to prolong their stay past stopping for a pint of beer.

2. Make your venue multi-stream

If you focus on food or alcohol at your venue, adding another inducement may double your patrons. People may show up for the dining experience but stay for the music, which prolongs their stay. Or, they come for the music and end up eating dinner. Live music can also help complement those quieter nights, by drawing people to your venue, filling it out and lifting the vibe of weeknight dinner service.

3. Live music grows your customer reach

One way to successfully diversify or expand your clientele is by attracting fans of different kinds of live music. It’s as straightforward as it sounds. Just as people go searching for a great cheeseburger, devotees of live music, whether it’s classic rock or dance music, will come and try out your venue. Appealing to music lovers is a great way to bring in diverse customers. If you want to reach a specific demographic, using genres or performance types, like vinyl DJs that align with your brand image, is an ideal way to entice a crowd. For example, trendy millennials that love hip-hop and classic performance types like Vinyl DJs will come to check out your boutique brewery.

4. Attract online participation on digital platforms

Live music can expand customer diversity at your venue, and it can increase your customer reach online. If you use up-and-coming shows or music events on your social media channels, it can entice your patrons and give you a whole new level of online intrigue. It’s a pretty quick search world out there. You’ve got seconds to make an online impression to those browsing through Instagram or scrolling through local Facebook events to find a new place to eat, drink or boogie.

5. Enhance your venue image

Music has a way of accentuating and showcasing your business’ image. Visual elements like decor highlight the style of your venue. By adding live music at your pub, for example, you could showcase Australian pub culture, and be ahead of the game when it comes to bringing in local, new bands to the scene. At an upmarket restaurant or lounge, you can use classical or jazz artists, associated with a more sophisticated setting, to showcase the luxury of your menu and expensive décor. Hopefully, it may attract a more affluent clientele.A quick way to reach out and connect with new local talent is through the Surreal app. Link up with us and see how we can get your new live music schedule operational by taking care of the whole booking process - from talent acquisition to invoicing and payment.

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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