SHR5E018P~001 Case Study 24100883

Case Studies

Case study – Promoter – DJ Lubi

Being a promoter within the industry is a challenging an imperative role helping develop a hub to broaden opportunities for artists nationally and internationally bringing life to towns and cities. You are responsible for creating and hosting these events like DJ Lubi bringing Ezra Collective to Leeds (Brudenell Social Club, 2017). In this case study I will explore details on what goes into being a promoter with the management, responsibility, etiquette and considerations made to run a successful event. ‘It’s not always good times or always a success and easy. You go through tough times now and then. However, I love music and I love gigs, so I
wouldn’t change it for anything‘ (Jovanovic, 2025).

The face of an event is the presentation and suitability as the artist is wisely fitted to specific venues for example how an orchestra would be suited for a hall rather than a smaller live music social club. This helps target the specific audience who will attend the event. Working alongside the artist a suitable venue is determined and sourced. These events will be presented either on a one-off basis or a short line of 2 or 3 gigs at most in one location, any more and with a variation on location it goes into the territory of a tour manager. As a promoter the type of artist does not change the responsibilities that are taken on and the etiquette of handling an event. You must establish the cost of hire for the venue and gather a venue pack if available. Lubi explained (The attic, 2025) that his role is to ‘tailor events to the audience I intends to reach’ this involves taking more than just the venue into location but the surrounding variables such as parking, accommodation and public transport.

Using the example of The Attic with the event he ran promoting Fee which involves a venue with access mainly via walking which highly influences the demographic. ‘You must stay alert to changes in musical tastes and audiences‘ (Jovanovic, 2025), this is something that is constantly changing within the industry and a crucial element to keep in mind.

Building a profile as a promoter require day-to-day tasks. Writing press releases to publicise your clients music, organise publicity events, negotiate contracts, listen to new acts and build a demographic of artists for future shows, organise publicity and marketing (National Careers Service, 2025). Your working environment will vary from gig to gig and location to location as you move between office and venue tying you to travel-intense lifestyle. For the beginning years of the career you will be working freelance to build up within a specific scene and gradually increase the venue size/class.

With post event details there are on the day details which will need addressing such as technical requirements load-ins, soundcheck whilst also organising tickets, doors, set times, running order and load-out. Creating a smooth and effective planner (Apendix 6.). There is also the common initiative to allow for some leeway either side. Currently after speaking to DJ Lubi ‘Learn to adapt to changing situations, be it musical trends or the economy.‘ (Jovanovic, 2025) was the advice that was given as you cannot just have your head in the musical side of the business but have the economy in mind as that is where the majority of your profit will come from and if there is an economic crash or a descending trend you must recognise the impact that will have on your events, affects on your ability to put on shows and support emerging artists. Jovanovic has had to cut back ‘small grassroots gigs at small venues back next year by 90%‘ which leads to less exposure for emerging artists meaning the industry is more self driven than ever before making bands work more independently. This results in less opportunities for promoters to grow their career from the ground up however many opportunities can also arise as many bands will not be able to afford or be able to make enough profit for larger promoters.

Examples of places which run like this is Sela in Leeds which involves a weekly rotation of emerging promoters.

With addressing the venue a promoter will often fill out a contract form to settle the exchange of money made from an event. This will help with any potential legal issues if there are any breaches on the contract, this gives you even terms and creates a physical agreement for a fair settlement. This can also help layout the prices to estimate a total profit which ideally should be a 2/3 break even. for the event to be classed as successful.

Case Study – Tour Manager – Alex Balding

With being tour manager you have the responsibility of looking after the band, the efficiency and scheduling of the tour. You are now broadening your connections and networking to bring wider audiences and create opportunities. ‘As a Tour Manager I aim to create a culture where wellbeing for the touring party and for the planet is at the forefront‘ (Nathalie Candel, 2025). ‘Different countries have different customs and different ways of doing things‘ (Callum Read, 2020) and it is your responsibility to abide and respect these differences.

When organising venues you will be working on the same principals as a promoter however there may be more attention put towards the band to accommodate pressure they are under. Things like organising venues which include catering and green rooms is imperative for the musicians wellbeing. As the tour progresses this may help become ritual creating an environment to let the musicians perform to the best of their ability.

For accommodation some deals may include that ‘the promoter has to provide us with local grounds, hotel, etc, it’s mostly a case of me liaising with them to approve the hotel options’ (Alex Balding, 2025) as working along side promoters for each event gives you the ability to have more of a local understanding of the places you will be in.

There is little room for rest ‘Tour managing is extremely exhausting mentally and physically‘ (Callum Read, 2020). With a band there the days will be longer as there is more involvement with getting gear to the venues, soundcheck, gear difficulties and in general looking after everyone. ‘Often your average sleep time on tour is around 4-5 hours per night.‘ (Read, 2020) which will affect the mental state of everyone. It is a huge responsibility to take on and more often than not it comes with a rewarding feeling once it is completed. You are constantly adapting and learning from every experience gather more and more knowledge for the future.

Being on tour or the process of touring can slide to both sides of the spectrum as ‘if you have been working on an event for six months and then you lose money or you don’t make any money, you’ve essentially worked for free for six months, so it can be quite demoralising.’ (Balding, 2025) whereas it can be quite uplifting spending time with colleagues as you will get to know them in a more personal way.

Working with agencies can be greta as it takes pressure off of you and allows those with the specific skill set and experience to help, they will give you a ‘contract, outlining the terms of the show, how much money they’re going to get, what’s included in the terms, transport, accommodation, visas, production all that stuff‘ giving you a rundown and however sometimes the process can be difficult if not organised effectively making back and forth emails where information can be missed or mis-interpreted. You have to have a level head and keep information together and having clarity between organisers, promoters and agencies is crucial.

Speaking to Lubi who could be asked by a tour manager to promote a couple of shows around his area talked about the economic hazards and issues. ‘Something like right now and the cost of living crisis. The economy is flatlining due to things that have nothing to do with music‘ (Jovanovic, 2025). All these elements have an impact on earning as a musician, promoter and tour manager. However travelling with electronic artists is Balding’s specialty which he mentioned was a lot easier to have more efficient transport between locations as well as lightweight travel. Travelling with a band has many more considerations to be accounted as discussed.

Both roles have skills and tactics which cross over however there is much more at stake when going on tour and as a smaller artist you are a lot less likely to make a profit from touring than putting on a singular show.

Comparison

The venue of which I am putting on my event will be Howard Assembly rooms as it is most fitted for the genre :Jazz. This venue includes an alcohol licence as there is a bar inside the building and has 4.2% PRS fee from ticket sale (Tony Green, 2025). Venue hire comes to £800 and includes the pay of staff and technicians for the evening, this allows gives more freedom to the promoter at this venue as there are not many additional costs in comparison to other venues such as Brudenell which require a separate payment of staff on top of venue hire. For the expenses on printing come to 15p per ticket (Apendix 1.), e-tickets can be used as a substitute however we will have enough tickets to cover the holds on amount of 330. To split the prices and help create more of an opportunity to profit there is 3 separate ticket sales prices. I have set aside £65 for miscellaneous costs which cover any damages or issues with gear that may occur during the event. The main being a jazz quartet. We are all located local to the venue which means there isn’t a necessity for hotels but some may require transport via uber. The members of the band include a drummer, pianist, trumpet & bassist. The pianist & trumpet can walk to the venues with minimal gear as Howard assembly will provide a grand piano whilst the trumpet player can travel lightly with all the equipment they require. For the drummer an UberXL will be required to get too and from the venue which comes to a total of £22.04. The rest of the equipment that is required is already part of the backline which is provided by Howard Assembly.

Looking at physical advertisement through visa print I can get a banner for £56.69 a piece from vista print (Apendix 5.). These will be placed in outside the venue both prior to the event and on the evening. The banner will include links to social media and a website to follow the buildup to the show and help create a mailing list for future events. For posters the larger the package the more of a discounted price. I only will require 10 which come to £1.70 a piece (Apendix 4.). Social media promotion will be done by me as I can design the posts and specify it to each platform. The online promotion can be done in more of an advance as something to entice people in and get the date saved early, this then pushes the pre sales for the event. Ways to also boost this can be through the exclusive sale of merch and/or a musical release single or album. Including these early access or exclusive offers gives people more of an incentive to be at the event.

Looking at advertisement leading up to the show I will use instagram and get all the members of the band collaborate on it as well as the venue then through the boost option on instagram 2 weeks before the show for 4 days boost by £8 daily and then closer to the performance date boost for 4 days leading up to the date for the same price. This is estimate to reach 6,000-16,000 accounts which includes national and international.

Overall, Both a promoter and tour manager take on similar challenges with the necessity of organisation and efficiency to create a well ran event/s.

Show plan:

Advance info/timings/contacts for 7th February at Howard Assembly Room / 07/02/2026 / Acklement Quartet

This email is for :

Tony Green (Howard Assembly/Opera North)

Rhys Lewis (Photography)

Venue : Hpoward Assembly Room 32 New Briggate, Leeds LS1 6NU, West Yorkshire – Main Room Upstairs.

Car Parking : John Lewis Car Park, The Light parking building

Tech spec :attached

Load in/soundchecks :
16:00 – Load in through main entrance

17:00 – Soundcheck

Backline :