WEB EXCLUSIVE: IT'S CALLED THE MUSIC BUSINESS WITH BOB SHEDD



A punk/hardcore music festival is defined as much by the ethos along which it is organized as the bands who are playing it. With Sound And Fury Festival, we acknowledge and operate within these boundaries, the only ones we as individuals have known, respected and loved since being involved with music in any capacity. Anyone can do this, but "this" isn’t the hard part of that statement–the "do" is.

WHO

If you are in the driver’s seat of booking a festival, hopefully it is because you find yourself as a fan of most of, if not all, the bands who you’d like to have play it. The list of bands we annually book could be as organized as an Excel spreadsheet, or as immature as between-the-margins wish lists. We book the bands we like and love; working under those two headings makes all dealings therein much easier. In the situation where a band falls outside of either of those criteria, we generally avoid them.

Be clear and up front with everything. Though our honesty has hurt us in small instances, it has certainly allowed for a better line of communication with the bands we are booking at every step. I would rather explain to a band why something is the way it is than to garner resentment because a band feel uncomfortable to approach us as "the promoter." Be flexible and prepared. Inevitably, a band’s van will break down. Someone will be late. Someone will need to borrow a guitar. Be ready for these situations (it’s pretty simple stuff for the most part) and you will exude that preparedness, and those around you will feel it, too. Being rigid in potentially high-stress situations will only lead to more stress, and no one needs that.

WHERE

Location is key. From the venue you book the festival at to the city it is in, it’s important to remember a few things. What are the venue’s rules, limitations and general attitude toward the music? There are venues everywhere. Will this one be the right one for your music? We have had absolutely zero problems with security at any of our past festivals, and an adherence to that is a must for us. If the venue is ideal, the next step is the surrounding area. Are there places for people to stay? To eat? To enjoy? All of these help make the overall experience better. If people are traveling, will they have to rent a car? Will they be able to walk to the venue and a place to get a snack? Again, clarity and information is important. Let people know what the town is like and what they can expect from their trip.

""WHEN

We have and always will book a summer festival. With Sound And Fury being in Southern California, there is no more quintessential time of year to do a large event than in the midst of the summer sun and (hopefully) nearby beaches. Wherever you do your festival, be conscious of other events happening in the area, both inside and outside of what maybe your normal field of view. For example, are there local colleges that are in or out of session that will help or hurt your draw? Are there pre-existing events in your area that would impact how your festival does? I certainly wouldn’t want to try and book any sort of music event in Texas against South By Southwest Music Festival or Chaos In Tejas. Also, climate is a factor. Does anyone want to risk a blizzard to go to a festival in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in early January? Probably not.

HOW

Ah, the hard part: How. Well, a wise man once said, "Perseverance against all opposition." You should probably start by booking shows on a regular basis to find your footing. Booking a small show is hard enough, so start there. Find a venue and look into available dates. (Don’t try to book a festival on a weeknight.) Start talking to bands to gauge their interest and availability. Look into what you will need to provide (Sound? Stage? Security?) and find out how much those things cost. (Don’t cut corners here.) Confirm dates with the venue. Begin confirming bands. Once you have everything set, begin spreading the word about your festival. (This is important.) Make sure to be prepared for any and all situations, and that should be a great start to a fun and fulfilling festival.

WHY

The only reason to book a festival is out of love for the music. With Sound and Fury we also get the benefit of working together, and speaking for myself, I wouldn’t do it any other way. Out of all of this, my biggest recommendation is to work with the music and people you love. Everything else will figure itself out.

For more info, check out soundandfuryfestival.com.

"Getting a younger band booked at a bigger festival for the first time can be like winning a lottery ticket. But, once you’ve done the first big festival, then the rest of them seem to come along pretty naturally. I guess that’s the difficulty of breaking out in the music industry–there are struggling bands and big bands, but all of the stuff in between seems non-existent. For any band learning to fight for what’s in the middle, then there’s at least one thing you can do that any festival shouldn’t turn down: Prove that your band have its own fanbase. If you can sell 100 tickets on your own headlining a local show, then I’m sure a festival wouldn’t mind you bringing your fans to see you on a bigger stage, if the festival promoter is the one making the income from those 100 tickets. Prove what you can do locally and your band are much more likely to create a buzz in other places." TIM LAMBESIS

As I Lay Dying


"[Festivals are] a strange beast with many teeth. Truth be told, I have absolutely no idea how to be booked for a festival. The limited amount of ‘fests’ we have been added to have been based on under-the-table transfers of money and other goods. My suggestion is to check at the end of rainbows or the tip of a unicorn’s horn, because you have a better chance of finding a mythical beast then joining the festival circuit."

CASEY CRESCENZO

The Dear Hunter

"We found it was best to do our own thing and build our own organic buzz; mainly, work as hard as we could in the DIY vein. The people who matter in booking these festivals eventually took notice and took pride in throwing us a bone. They saw us relentlessly plugging away on the internet, promoting at local shows and staying on the road. I have come to the conclusion that people want to see bands like us succeed. They also hope to nurture up-and-coming acts who could be potential headliners down the road. It is mutually beneficial for the bands and promoters to foster a relationship with each other."

MATT REICH

Lights Resolve


"Festivals, just like anything in this industry, are about building up a resume and a reputation. Promoters want to be confident in the quality of the band they are putting on the bill. Even if your band won’t contribute much to the festival’s overall attendance, they at least want to make sure that you’ll contribute to the overall experience of those who are attending. You can establish this trust in the promoters by building up your festival resume early on. We started playing local festivals, radio shows and college shows back in Phoenix on the local side stages, even when we were in middle school and high school. After building up a strong festival resume, promoters at festivals like the Bamboozle felt that Anarbor could contribute to their attendees’ experience in a positive way."

SLADE ECHEVERRIA

Anarbor


"Though it’s probably not the preferred method to break into the festival scene, many festivals hold contests based on fan voting to let smaller bands get their foot in the door. It’s not always pretty, though; we did the SmartPunk contest for Warped Tour in 2007, and we spent three months straight doing nothing but MySpace, getting our fans and friends to vote every day. We managed to crack the top three, and won five dates on the tour. It was totally worth it–Warped is an amazing experience, especially for up-and-coming bands–but I think each of us died a little inside because of that contest."

JOE MACH

Hotspur

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