MAJOR CONCERT ORGANIZER AND TIMELINE

Here is an in-depth and basic guide set-up along a recommended timeline for planning and executing the tasks and responsibilities of a successful concert event.

90-120 Days Prior

• Select your date. Whenever possible, choose alternates dates (especially
week days) to increase your chances of securing the act.
• Reserve facility for all selected dates. Facility must be completely available starting at 8 AM on day of the show.
• If required, have show approved by school administration. Secure any necessary permits.
• Receive comprehensive and up-to-date list of nationally-recognized music and/or comedy concert availabilities, including precise tour time periods and pricing for each act.
• Select your top five choices for talent for your event based on the availabilities list. Tools list campus surveys can be very helpful with this process as can your concert agent's experience and knowledge.
• Rank top five choices and have your concert agent deliver you the performance riders for all your top choices for talent to make sure you can meet the technical, backstage, and business operating demands.
• Discuss policies with your administrator about general liability insurance, venue operations (technical capabilities/limitations, room usage, curfews and access to venue staff including electrician.
• Begin offer submission process with your concert agent.

60-90 Days Prior

• Get confirmation on your bid for your headline act (and support acts as long as this does not hold-up other key points in this portion of the timeline).
• Review artist contract and riders with your concert agent to ensure complete understanding of terms and conditions, essential tasks and responsibilities, recommended changes, additions or deletions and to be certain that all your applicable legal, business and institutional policies are made part of the agreement.
• Create your marketing and promotions campaign. Pretty Polly will arrange for promotions and marketing material.
• Select chairpersons for all applicable categories of event management areas and organize separate staffing for each category: production and stage, hospitality, box office & ticketing, advertising & promotions team and security.
• Work with your concert agent on the process of choosing all necessary vendors for your event - sound & light systems, staging, stage crew/professional labor, band equipment, security force, catering, ticketing service.

40-60 Days Prior

• Return via shipping service with tracking capability all copies of artist contracts and riders inclusive of your changes, additions and deletions to the agreement as well as the signature on all copies of your authorized representative.
• Conduct a venue "walk through" with venue management, your principal staff members and administrators and your concert agent.
• Get approval of marketing plan (including all commercial advertising, Web and e-mail promotion, staff T-shirts).
• Arrange for ticket printing and distribution (on- and off-campus).
Implement your marketing plan.
• Secure all necessary concert vendors
-If you plan to use t-shirts, order them now. Pretty Polly will provide backstage passes.
25-40 Days Prior

• Begin ticket distribution & sale. Note that if your selling tickets for your event that every Monday, Wednesday and Friday you need to provide your concert agent with a record of ticket sales through that given day.
Each chairperson for the event should have their respective category fully-staffed or be in the process of completing staffing levels.
• By the middle of this phase (30 days prior), a second wave of marketing outreach should commence or an adjustment in marketing strategy and activities should be created should ticket sales be slow.
• Coordinate with Tour Manager and Production Manager of artists.
• Ensure receipt of contracts from vendors

10-25 Days Prior

• Reconfirm details with Tour Manager and Production Manager of artists.
• Reconfirm all details with venue management and your vendors.
• Ensure receipt of fully-executed contracts with all artists.
• Return all vendors contracts inclusive of your changes, additions and deletions to the agreement as well as the signature on all copies by your authorized representative.
• Prepare initial day-of-show itinerary inclusive of all tasks responsibilities, staffing #s and a contact list with phone, fax, e-mail information for all principals involved with the show (your staff & administrators, venue management, artists and artist personnel, vendors, etc.)
• Solidify staffing for all event categories.

3-7 Days Prior

• Finalize itinerary and distribute copies to all individuals on the contact list.
• Solidify details with vendors
• Hold organizational meeting. Give the entire staff a written plan of tasks and responsibilities and time of arrival.
• Make sure you have fully-executed copies of all artist, venue and vendor contracts and that check acquisition and distribution process is on schedule.