Lessons from the field

I was reading the reviews section on http://www.pollstar.com and ran across an example of a problem that an entertainer can have.  A reviewer panned a George Strait concert because the "sound was awful".   The fan was really angry at Strait.  However, as we covered in our manual Successful Secrets of Festival, Concert and Special Event Production, the bad sound may not have been the fault of the entertainer at all.  On pages 42 - 43 I talk about technical riders and the importance of getting every detail correct.  The artist is putting his/her reputation in the hands of the promoter and relies on the promoter to make sure all equipment is there and functioning perfectly.  If it doesn't, rarely will the promoter be blamed by the fan, it's the entertainer who takes the heat.

However, if the most of the equipment used traveled with Strait, then it may have been the fault of the entertainers' organization.  Then the heat may be deserved. While we can't know for sure, a way to research, would be to find as many reviews of a George Strait concert as you can find.  If you don't see that problem complained about again, you may assume that it was the venue's equipment or the equipment that the promoter brought in was inadequate.  If you perhaps were going to promote at that venue yourself, you would want to pay special attention to the sound and light systems to make sure that they are functioning correctly.  

If you want to become a successful promoter, it's really important to develop a really good technical group in your organization or be able to consult one when needed. 

Is it Events or Event?

To be truthful, sometimes even we get confused and we made the name up! So we've created blogs with both titles, so we won't lose track of you.  We look forward to interacting with all of our readers and hope to cover a wide range of topics in the live events industry.  We have over 45 years of combined experience in both the nonprofit and corporate sector and look forward to sharing topics that you want to hear about and discuss.  Let us know what you think.
And check out our other blog http://eventmanualblog.blogspot.com