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- Promote specific artists or bands, or work to promote a particular venue
- Work in an exciting, fast-paced industry with opportunities to travel
- You'll need to have great networking, public relations and sales skills
Your role and daily tasks as a music promotions manager will vary depending on where you specialise.
DAY-TO-DAY DUTIES
- Writing press releases to publicise your client's music or tour
- Organising publicity events like media interviews and personal appearances
- Going to publicity events with clients
- Getting airtime on radio and TV shows
- Networking with contacts in the music industry
- Organising tours
- Dealing with designers, printers and marketing staff
- Negotiating contracts
- Listening to new acts
- Deciding whether to offer them a contracts
As a promoter for a live music venue your day-to-day duties may include:
- Choosing and booking suitable acts
- Dealing with agents, caterers and suppliers
- Arranging a full programme of gigs
- Identifying suitable audiences
- Organising marketing and publicity
- Arranging entertainment licences
DAY-TO-DAY ENVIRONMENT
You'll usually work freelance or on short contracts, so your income will vary. You may agree a fixed payment or take a take a percentage of the profit made from the event.
You could work in an office, at a recording studio or at a music venue, and your working environment may be noisy and involve frequent travel.
You'll need
For this role, you'll need knowledge of media production and communication, excellent verbal communication skills, good initiative, the ability to sell products and services, business management skills, good time and workload management, thoroughness and attention to detail, and patience in stressful situations.
You may find it useful to do a college course to get an insight into the promotions industry, such as music business marketing and promotion, digital promotion for business, and live events and promotion.
You could get into this job through an intermediate or advanced apprenticeship in live events promotion. You could also do a digital marketer advanced apprenticeship.
Practical work is highly valued, such as finding work placements with record companies or music PR agencies, organising and promoting local gigs or festivals, writing gig reviews for local or student press, websites and social media, or getting involved in student or community radio. This experience will enable you to build up a network of contacts.
Direct application is possible if you have experience from related areas like sales and marketing, public relations or event organising.
CAREER PROSPECTS
With experience, you could move to a larger company or you could specialise in an area like legal advice. You could work freelance, start up your own promotions company or become an artists' agent or manager.