Last week we talked about tickets sales – the good and bad.
This week I want to give you a couple ideas on where and how to sell them.
YOUR SHOWS
There is literally no better place you can sell a ticket to an event than at an event. People just saw you play. If you are a good performer, they really enjoyed your show. They want more. “Oh, you’re playing in six weeks at this same venue? With these guys?!?! Fuck ya, count me in!”
It’ll go something like that. Or the alternative…
“Dude that was the worst thing I have heard since The Jonas Brothers.” In which case you politely excuse yourself and talk shit about them on your way to sell your tickets to someone else.
Concerts are also a good place because people typically have cash on them because merch booths rarely have card readers (though this is becoming MUCH more common, as it should, so get on this – what difference does it make if they pay for a ticket in cash or card?).
YOUR SCHOOL
Assuming you are in school, what a great watering hole! Chances are you have found your fellow metalheads and are good friends with them.
“Hey man, come check out my band. I know you like to drink too so here is a ticket. The money you save can go to beer!”
This is REALLY not that hard. But it does take effort. And persistence. Both of which are 100% necessary to succeed in the music industry. No one got big passively. Not once. Never. Nope.
SOCIAL MEDIA
I must sound like a broken record in these blog posts but it amazes me how many of you underutilize social media. Here’s how you sell tickets on social media…
IN A POST/STATUS/UPDATE/TWEET – Hey everyone! My band, The Goobers, are playing at Pussy Hall (inset date here)! We are direct support for No One Gives A Fuck! We have pre sale tickets, which will also get you this rad sticker we made, a hug, where-to-find-Hoffa map, scratch behind the ear, and more!
At this point, people will inquire about where to buy the tickets. Then you give them your PayPal email (who doesn’t have PayPal), or CASH APP, or whatever. ONLY AFTER THEY SEND THE MONEY do you put their ticket in the mail. You know, snail mail. Ask your parents about it, they’ll remember.
Here are some tips on what NOT to do with ticket sales –
Under no circumstances should you offer free tickets when you are supposed to charge.
A band that will remain nameless did this to me once and I wanted to smack them. I can almost guarantee you that at a show where you are required to sell tickets, you are not the only one selling tickets. So now you just fucked over every band on the ticket because they are selling something you are giving away for free, and their fans might take notice. DO NOT DO THIS!
Avoid the situation where people will pick up the ticket the day of the show.
At every show I do this happens – Band says they sold out of tickets. Yay! But they are waiting for their dumbfuck friends to show up. They wait, and wait, and wait, now they have to load in. They still need to collect money from these guys so they can recuperate what they paid to me. They get on stage. Guess who doesn’t show up? Guess who just got fucked over? Avoid this situation. Make the sale when they say they are interested, or do not, under any circumstances, hold onto a ticket for them. First come, first serve, ALWAYS.
If you know you are expected to sell tickets, sell the fucking tickets.
As discussed in the last blog post, at my shows if you are required to sell tickets but do not sell tickets, you will not play. I see that as a direct slap in the face. That also fucks over the entire show. People were counting on you to bring fans and now you haven’t. I was counting on you to sell tickets, and now you haven’t. I have yet to ask a band to sell a ridiculous amount of tickets, so I don’t want to hear that you had no one to sell them to. Regular band is four or five people. You can pitch 10-20 tickets among your band. Stop being lazy.
Do not wait until the last second to sell your tickets.
I thoroughly do not care if you were “busy”. Nor will any other promoter. This is the industry. This is my full time career. I do not have time for bullshit. Sell your tickets however you want to sell them, but do not expect to be able to pitch 10-50 tickets last minute. Chances are, unless you are a WELL-established name in your area, that wont happen. And even if you have gotten to that well-established level, you didn’t get there by waiting till the last second to do shit. So be smart about when to sell them.