22 tips to maximize the benefit of your opening performances

Written by Kyle Kraft of Krafty Entertainment

Krafty Entertainment is a music business development coaching company dedicated to providing guidance to musicians (and their teams) on how best to nurture supporters and profit from doing so. Krafty Entertainment’s founder Kyle Kraft has over 20 years experience in assisting both developing and established artists in substantially growing their net income from their music. Interested in working with us? Let’s talk!

Opening for a more established artist is more about long term career development of your career than immediate financial gain. In many instances an opening act will get no compensation out of performing other than the exposure of doing so. Often it will cost an opening act money to cover the expenses of getting to the show, potentially paying for accommodations if the show is in a market other than where you live, the cost of your promotional activities, etc. Making the investment of time and money into this area of building your career *might* make sense, but you if you are considering doing so would be wise to ensure you are prepared to maximize the benefit of doing so. 

Your main goal of opening for other artists should be to gain support in two main areas – both from potential fans as well as from industry people who can assist you in developing your career (to help you make more fans in the future), including the promoter of the show if there is one, the venue's booking manager (and other staff), other talent buyers, the artists you're opening for (so you have the opportunity to work with them again), their management and booking agents, etc. Here are some suggestions on how to maximize the effectiveness of your opening slot:

PRIOR TO THE DAY OF THE SHOW:

CONFIRM ALL DETAILS BEFORE COMMITTING TO THE SHOW

You need to make sure that you and everyone involved in your live performance is comfortable with and can deliver on all of the terms of an agreement to perform before you make it. If you agree to a show and then pull out, or even complain about the terms of a show that you have already agreed to do you are not only going to have the people you are working with not be likely to want to work with you again, but also are also going to develop a negative reputation for not honouring your commitments that other industry people will likely become aware of as well. Details that should be agreed upon before you commit include the date and approximate times of the performance, sound check (if you get one), and that doors will open to the public, the location of the performance, your equipment requirements, your compensation (if any), any hospitality (drinks, food, accommodations, etc) that will be provided, the amount of guest list you get, your set length, your position on the bill and size of billing relative to other acts performing, and any promotion and/ or ticket sales that are expected of you.

Since you're the opening act, you should expect to need to provide any sound equipment that is not already going to be used for the headliner's set (and that they are going to be okay with you using the same equipment, they aren’t always so be sure to check)... you should not expect promoters or venues to provide equipment for your set; in general you should be insuring you're doing everything possible to insure that dealing with your performance requires as little work as possible with these people. Also, if it hasn't been made clear what kind of hospitality will be provided for you, the time to address it is when you are discussing your potential involvement in the show and have not yet committed. Keep in mind that as an opening you're not in a position that you should demand anything and any hospitality requests on your part will cost the promoter/ venue/ headliner (since headliners often get a percentage of profits) money... unless you really need something, you would probably do your long term relationship with these people more good if you held off on those sort of requests until you're doing your own headlining show.

OPEN THE LINES OF COMMUNICATION WITH EVERYONE INVOLVED IN THE SHOW

As soon as you have confirmed your involvement in the show you should email everyone else (other than whomever you confirmed your involvement in the show with) involved in the show (such as the headlining act's management and booking agent, the show's promoter, and the venue booking manager) to ensure they are aware of your involvement in the show, that they have your contact info easy at hand, offer to assist them with anything they may need, and ask if they have any questions for you. This level of professionalism is the kind of thing that will set you apart from most other opening acts, could result in you getting more opportunities in the future, and also ensures communication is as high as is possible to avoid any potential problems.

IN MARKET PROMOTION

In market promotion should be done in the streets, at appropriate retailers, and online. You should be working these angles at least several weeks in advance of the show. Make posters that prominently feature your name, but also feature the name of the headlining act since they're a bigger draw. Get those posters up in the venue the show will be happening in, outside similar shows and club nights at other venues, at any retailers that are appropriate (along with handbill sized flyers), in high traffic areas like downtown cores, around schools, etc. 

Post printable posters and flyers online for your fans to download; often your fans will provide promotional assistance simply because they want to help you. Make sure you take the time to thank and maybe talk for a few minutes with anyone who shows that much support. Online - email your mailing list (you do have one, right?), post on all relevant social media, ensure the show is listed in the upcoming shows section of your website and social media pages, and is highlighted in the banner of your social media pages and on the front page of your website.

SOLICIT MEDIA COVERAGE

Contact media to get listings, and try to get advance features. Realize that media will be most interested in writing about the headliner, but if the headliner or their team haven't done the job of contacting the media, you might be able to get some support from them.

USING THE SHOW TO INCREASE INDUSTRY SUPPORT

If you can get a guest list for the show (make sure you check), invite some key local industry people out to see you play. The booker for the venue you're playing at (who wasn't necessarily going to come to the show), talent buyers for other venues, other promoters, etc. Even if they don't come, you've still gotten your name in their heads and potentially started dialog for a future booking. Invite media people, as you might get a live review or some other exposure in the future out of someone who is impressed by your live show. Also as previously mentioned be sure to try to build a dialogue with members of the headlining act’s team such as their tour manager, manager, booking agent, etc by offering to help them with anything they may need.

TAILOR YOUR SET TO THE HEADLINER’S AUDIENCE’S TASTES

Analyze the music and live show of the headlining act, who most of the audience will be coming to see. Tailor your opening set to appeal to the headliner's fans by highlighting similarities in your performances and music. Be conscious of what these people are already fans of, and plan a performance that will give them some of the same so that you stand the best chance of making them fans of your music as well. Once you've got people coming out to see your headlining shows, that's the time that you can truly be yourself... until then, be conscious of the tastes of the headliner's fans while still showcasing some of what makes you unique and worth paying attention to.

SELL TICKETS

If you feel you can genuinely sell advance tickets for the show, contact the promoter/ venue about getting a small amount of tickets to sell. Keep the amount small, as its better to take a small amount and need to ask for more later than take a bunch and not sell them. If you take more than you need the promoter will feel you wasted their time and potentially prevented tickets from being sold elsewhere. Your relationship with the promoter would be best served by you paying in advance for those tickets, but if that doesn't work for you you can ask the promoter if you can pay for the tickets after selling them. Make sure you do pay for those tickets, or you're really going to salt your relationship with them. 

You may be able to negotiate a discounted rate on those tickets so you make some money yourself for the tickets you sell. It should go without saying that you should sell as many tickets to the show as possible. Selling advance tickets for shows you're opening for is probably the best way to convince promoters and headlining artists that they should put you on again in the future, both for other opening spots and as well as your own headlining shows (with the promoter/ venue). Those ticket sales are the most tangible way of showing promoters and headliners you can get people out to shows you're performing at, something that should be a key objective of your opening performance.

COMMUNICATING TO ADVANCE THE SHOW

The process of communicating with the people involved in organizing the show to reconfirm and finalize details regarding times, technical requirements, and so on in the weeks and days leading up to the show is referred to as "advancing" the show. You should email (don't call or text, as both of those are more intrusive than emails which can be dealt with when the recipient has time to do so, not interrupting them when they are in the middle of something else) the people involved in organizing the show a couple weeks prior the show to reconfirm times for load in, sound check, that doors open to the public, stage time(s), and set length(s) as well as sound and lighting requirements, provision of any hospitality that was agreed upon at the time the deal for the performance was made, and method of payment (if any). Asking for contact info for any additional show production personnel (i.e. stage managers, sound and lighting techs, etc) that you don’t already have full contact info for at this time would be wise. This is also the ideal time to ask any other questions that you may have about the show, and if they have any questions for you.

If you don't hear back within a couple of business days after you send an advancing email you should send a couple of follow up emails, and hold off on texting or calling until a couple of days before the show. In general you should save calling and texting as a last resort if you don't get a response via email, or if it's the day of the show and there are last minute issues that need to be discussed. All in all advancing the show should be mostly reconfirming what was already agreed upon when your involvement in the show was confirmed.

DAY OF SHOW:

STREET PROMOTION TO MAXIMIZE YOUR PROFILE WITH PEOPLE ATTENDING THE SHOW

Do as much day-of street promo as is possible. Put up posters around the downtown area of the city you're playing in, around any post-secondary schools, shops that your target audience shop at, skate parks, etc. Especially ensure the blocks around the venue are covered with posters, so that venue booker, management, other performers, etc can see your promotional efforts first hand, and to further highlight your performance with the people attending the show. Talk to people in the streets, hand out as much promotional material (handbills, stickers, etc) for the show as possible, and encourage them to come out. Bring a small speaker that you can connect to your phone to use to play some of your recorded music to people you meet, and ensure you include QR codes on all promo materials to check out your music.

ARRIVE AT THE VENUE EARLY

Don't plan to be on time, plan to be early (before the doors are open to the public - you can always continue with your day-of street promo after you've set up at the venue). I can’t stress enough how much good arriving early can do, and how much damage being late can do. If there is any chance you are not going to be able to meet any of the commitments you have made (scheduling or otherwise), make sure you get in touch with everyone involved as soon as possible, let them know, and keep them posted on progress. Good communication can greatly reduce the effects of unforeseen circumstances that could otherwise burn bridges for you.

BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH VENUE STAFF AND OTHER PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THE SHOW

Be a professional, introduce yourself to everyone, and work on solidifying relationships. If the venue's booking manager is there especially make sure to introduce yourself to them. Give key people (especially managers) who work at the venue, as well as the members of the other performing acts, a CD. See if you can help the other acts or venue staff in any way - with load in/ set up of equipment, sound checking, helping load in or sell merch, etc. These are a great means of solidifying relationships. Make sure you get email addresses and phone numbers for everyone if at all possible, but at the very least for the talent buyer and venue managers for future use.

MAKE USE OF PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS

Put out flyers providing background info on you and your music around the club - several on each table, in washrooms, etc. Do not put out stickers, some will likely end up stuck to walls, and the venue staff most likely won’t appreciate that. Get a stamp made with your website address on it, and ask the door person to stamp the hand of each person who comes in. Venues often stamp people's hands if they allow ins and outs so they know who has paid, so you might as well have that stamp promote you.

BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH AUDIENCE MEMBERS

You should be trying to make the strongest connection possible with as many members of the audience as is possible, the better the connection the more likely people are to become supporters of yours. While what you do on stage is the most important part of that, you should be aiming to make use of as much of the time that audience members are at the venue as is possible. This should start with talking to people while they are lined up outside of the venue, carry over to standing at the merch booth and talking to whoever comes over to speak to you before and after you perform, and extend as far as talking to people outside of the venue at the end of the night as everyone is leaving.

COLLECT EMAIL ADDRESSES

Being able to communicate directly with people who you get interested in what you are doing should arguably be your most important goal in an opening performance. By collecting email addresses of potential fans (who should definitely not be treated as fans or customers when you are emailing them yet) you are maximizing the likelihood of making a strong enough connection with as much of the audience as is possible and in turning them into your supporters. There are many strategies that can be employed to maximize the amount of email addresses you collect from people who are interested in what you are doing, but those are too extensive to list here.

SELL CDS AND OTHER MERCH

While the longer-term income that you can generate from email addresses that you collect is likely to be greater, in most instances your largest source of potential direct short-term income that you make from performing opening sets is likely to be from selling CDs and other merch like shirts, sweatshirts, hats, and so on. It is not uncommon for opening acts who are handling their business right to sell at least $1 - $2 in merch per audience member they perform in front of, and in some cases as much as $10 per audience member. This means that if you are performing in front of 300 people, you should be aiming to sell at least $300 - $600 in merch. Again there are many strategies that you need to execute to sell that much, but those are too extensive to list here.

DURING YOUR PERFORMANCE:

STAY ON SCHEDULE

First off, some words on timing: Be on hand near the promoter/ stage manager/ venue manager who is coordinating getting everyone on stage 15 minutes before you're scheduled to perform (unless they ask you to be ready earlier). If you are anything other than early, you're creating stress for the person organizing the show. Do not perform longer than the time that has been allotted to you; if you do, you risk alienating both the show organizers as well as the other acts you're opening for. You performing longer than you’re supposed to might mean the acts after you (who the show organizers most likely want to insure perform as long as they’re supposed to) have to cut their sets short (due to venue closing times, etc), and they will not be happy with that and will very likely not be as willing to have you involved in a show of theirs again.

LENGTH OF PERFORMANCE

Keep your set short and powerful, leaving people wanting more. Unless a lot of the audience is there specifically to see you play, a good opening set length to shoot for is 20 - 25 minutes unless you are requested to perform a different amount of time by the people involved in running the show (which you should also be prepared to do, as sometimes opening acts are asked to cover gaps in the schedule at the last minute). Be sure to discuss set length when you are confirming your involvement in the show, and reconfirm it when you are getting in touch again before the show to “advance” details like load in, sound check, and stage times.

ON-STAGE SELF PROMOTION

Hang a banner with your name and website on it behind the stage or in another very visible spot (i.e. on the front of the stand with your DJ's turntables). Make sure you repeatedly say your name throughout the set, and get in a couple plugs for your website as well. Let people know you have music available at your merch booth, and that you're going to be there right after your performance is finished to talk to people.

ENSURE YOU ARE HAVING YOUR PERFORMANCE DOCUMENTED

A picture is worth a thousand words, and photos of you rocking large audiences help convey the message that you are able to entertain large crowds and that therefore you (and your music) is worth checking out and supporting. Make sure that the photos you get have both you performing AND as much of the crowds as is possible in the same photos, as photos of you rocking crowds help open doors for your career a lot more than just photos of you performing. No close ups needed! Unless you already have lots of good photos of you rocking similar-sized crowds as the one you expect to be performing for at this show you would be wise to have someone taking as many photos of you and the crowd (in the same photos) as is possible.

All of the above is also true of video footage of you rocking large audiences. Ideally you have (at least) one person taking photos of you performing with the crowd in them, and (at least) one other person taking video of you performing with the crowd in it. Keep in mind that video is now the best means of growing and reengaging audiences online, so if you have to choose between having photos or video you are better off getting video (especially since you can get still images from video ), but hopefully you can get multiple people helping you document your larger performances so you don't have to choose between getting photos and video.

AFTER YOU’RE DONE PERFORMING:

HEAD DIRECTLY TO THE MERCH BOOTH

Go to the merch booth and talk to anyone who is interested in doing so with you. This is the kind of connection that will make people like you more and support you. Let people know about the CDs and merch you have for sale, but don't push too hard. Give anyone who is interested a sticker, flyer, or any other promo material you have available. Before you leave the venue make sure you thank the promoter, all venue staff, sound guy, anyone else who helped make the show happen.

PROMOTE YOUR NEXT SHOW IN THE SAME TOWN

If you have another gig in the same market already confirmed (which you should not announce until after you last gig), put up posters for that show. If its at the same venue, put them up inside and out, but if its somewhere else only put them up outside - otherwise the venue will not be too happy since you're essentially advertising something that is competing with their business. Have someone stand at the door handing out flyers/ stickers as people are leaving the venue.

DAY AFTER THE SHOW:

THANK EVERYONE INVOLVED, GET FEEDBACK, AND EXPLORE OPPORTUNITIES

Follow up and thank the promoter, the venue staff (including the sound guy), the group(s) you opened for, and any other industry guests you invited. Ask for feedback and solicit input on things they think you can improve, let them know what your thought went well, and make sure you let the bookings people and other artists know what you did to promote the show on your end - the more of that you do, the more likely you are to get bookings with them again. Assuming you get good feedback from the bookings people and/or artists you're interested in opening for in the future (in this market or in others.. don't forget this can be a great way to get an opening spot for the artists' shows in other cities), ask about the idea of a future booking... its best to strike while the iron is hottest.

All in all an opening spot is a great opportunity to develop your fan base and build the foundation for your career growth. By doing all of the things mentioned above, and insuring you're doing everything possible to get as many people out to a show as is possible, you're putting yourself in an ideal position to play the same market in the future and get more people out to see you than you otherwise would. It takes some hard work, but the results are worthwhile!

This information was compiled by Kyle Kraft of Krafty Entertainment. Whether you are an artist who is in the early stages of building your career and have next to no money to invest into it looking for the best paths to generating income, are an artist that has established a following and are interested in getting assistance with securing tens of thousands of dollars in funding to further your career, or are an artist or collective with an extensive fan base that would like assistance with increasing the efficiency of your business development, we can help you.

 Want to read more articles written by Kyle? You can do so here.