Battle of the Bands

6/10/2010

Frank Zappa once said, ” Music, in performance, is a type of sculpture. The air in the performance is sculpted into something.” When you’re selling event tickets for a fundraising event, you’re also making a type of sculpture, bringing folks together into one place to work together for a common creative goal. Why not put  music at its center? You could plan a small choral performance, a full-on music festival or perhaps the ultimate in participatory events: A battle of the bands!

Unite your community, listen to great local musicians, sell more tickets, raise funds for a cause, and share prizes. From beginning to end, picking a venue, guests judges, and prizes and even choosing and printing event tickets, a battle of the bands can take a lot of preparation. Many elements must be considered when planning this type of event, but the final product is well worth the effort.

Plan a safe and fun event for everyone—If you want to have a good time and raise funds for your cause, make sure you appeal to a broad audience. Plan a family friendly, safe event that everyone can enjoy. You’ll want to print event tickets that reflect this and help to manage the flow of people into and out of your venue.

Create a clear set of rules for participants—Make sure the rules of the battle are clear beforehand. Let acts know what kind of music you would like to showcase. Will the winners be picked by judges or the audience? Will bands play one song or a short set? What prizes are winners eligible for?

Choose judges from the community—If you plan on having judges choose the winners, consider recruiting popular figures from the local music scene. When printing event tickets and other promotional materials, make sure to include this information, so you can further peak  attendee interest.

What kinds of prizes will you offer?—Will you simply offer winners bragging rights or something more tangible like cash or other coveted rewards?

Will you rely on sponsors to help?—Sponsors can be a great resource when organizing your battle of the bands. They can help provide funding for equipment or the venue, advertise for your event or defray the cost of event ticket printing. If you’re fundraising for a special cause like providing money for local school music programs, you may find sponsors lining up to help. You can add their logos to your event tickets for greater publicity.

Pick an appropriate venue—Once you’re ready to host a battle of the bands, you’ll want to choose a venue for your event. Make sure the space is the right size and will accommodate your equipment. Check to make sure that you have the right permits to host the event, if you need them.

Plan your promotion—Promote, promote, promote! With your initial planning done, it’s time to get the word out, so that you can get your attendees together to rock out! The internet is a great resource for free promotion. Social networking and event planning sites help you to advertise and sell more tickets. Contact local radio stations about your cause and get your sponsors involved.

Pick promotional collateral and print event tickets that are well designed and reflect the nature of your event. Using an online event ticket printing site can make this easy. You can choose the type of collateral you would like to use, choose your designs and customize them using an event ticket template. Professional y printed event tickets can really raise the profile of your battle of the bands.