Implementing music events is exciting but also challenging. There are a lot of moving parts involved so you need to ensure that each of the cogs works in sync. With social media around, it’s also easy for people to share in the success or failure of your event. Without proper event planning, your music event’s mishaps may resonate more than your message to your target crowd.

Here are the DO’s and DON’TS of doing music events.

Do plan your music events early.
Don’t procrastinate.
Planning early is key to successfully executing your event. First, you need to align all the schedules of your team and your suppliers. You should also ensure that your product marketing team and your sales staff are aligned with your event concept and messaging. This will help you communicate your needs better to your suppliers. Having an earlier lead time allows you to estimate a bigger budget and get finance to approve it.

Event planning should be between eight to twelve months. Actually, eight months is the ideal time for you to prepare. That gives you two months to conceptualize and scout for the right suppliers, and six whole months of planning events. It also gives you time to deal with major changes like photo and video reshoots, as well as changes in schedules. You also need to plan early so VIPs can pencil book them early in their schedules.

Most importantly, work backwards. The end should determine how everything else should be timed.

Do outsource as much as you can.
Don’t rely on your internal staff.
One of the major mistakes that companies commit is getting their staff to implement their music events. While this might work for internal events (that’s what human resources is for, right?), it won’t work for major music events. Your team members have specialties and tasks to attend to. Don’t complicate things by getting them to execute an event, since it’s not their forte. They can help in coordination, but not execution.

Here are the most important teams for you to outsource:

• Hosts
• Bands or entertainment (if needed)
• Event marketing team, including secretariat
• Creatives (Graphic designer, photographer, videographer)
• Catering
• Logistics
• Security

There are a lot of marketing agencies that do events, but I recommend getting one that specializes in event and music marketing.

Do advertise.
Don’t spam.
If you’re doing a music event for the public, then you need to get the word out! If you have the budget, then do both OOH (Out-of-Home) advertising, public relations, and digital advertising. Do broadcast advertising if you must. The more channels you use, the more your event is bound to be a success.

Having said that, don’t spam! I remember not wanting to go to a concert simply because I was bombarded with too much ads for it.