Step 1 - Discovery

There are many ways to discover artists that you want to present. 

Best: The very best way is to experience a live performance by the artist yourself. This could be through attending a performance when on vacation, attending a contact event, a festival, or by seeing the show at another presenter’s venue.

Better:  You are already familiar with the artist or their work, and have knowledge about what the live performance will be like. Or someone you trust (another presenter or someone with a good “eye” and “ear” for quality live performance) recommends the artist to you.

Good: Other presenters/promoters in your area are planning to present/promote the artist or work. You can find out about this by contacting or staying in touch with the person that programs “the big venue” in your area, or by building a network of people that stay in touch with you about potential programming opportunities.  In several areas of the country, you can find “block booking” networks in which you can participate. 

Other: You can get information on almost any artist and their work on the Internet and when you get in touch with them, they will send you information.  If you are involved in any presenting organizations or your organization can be identified as a presenter with an internet search, artists and their agents/managers who are interested in touring to your region may get in touch with you. 

Step 2 – Selection

As said above, the best way to evaluate an artist or their performance is by seeing the show live. Almost as good is seeing a video of a live performance (especially if someone you trust has seen it). Note: a recording of a performance is never as good an indicator as seeing it live, and often a good presenter must learn to extrapolate what a real show would be like based on an inferior quality archival video.

You can evaluate the potential of an artist to entertain your audience by listening to their CDs, watching their videos and reading their press kits.

Caution 1: 
Many musicians are consummate artists with outstanding musical outcomes. But some never make eye-contact or address the audience. This may not translate into a dynamic experience at a live performance.

Caution 2: 
Part of the wonderful experience for an audience is the rapport between the performer and the audience. When evaluating an artist from a CD or video, be aware that usually these reproductions do not include the “patter” and audience-interaction that is vital to a quality performance. If you have not seen the artist yourself, you should contact someone who has to find out what these parts are like.

Attend contact events

Attending a contact event is highly beneficial: one can see showcases (excerpts of the full show) of live performance, and make a better informed decision on the performance. Attending all showcases is helpful — often presenters do not attend showcases that do not appear to be of interest to them or their audiences; those that do often find cross-over performances that end up being highly successful and popular with their audiences.

Attending a contact event can be viewed as research & development — most events in Canada are fairly inexpensive to attend, and the cost of accommodation and meals is more than worth it in the long run, in order to select quality live performance experiences for your audience. Often attending a contact event that is not in your immediate area is even more beneficial.
Learn more about contact events.

Join a network

Joining a network of presenters in your area will keep you aware of programming possibilities that you may be able to take advantage of. Often a larger venue or presenter will pay the “lion’s share” of travel expenses — if the artist is in your area, you can take advantage of this — to present them on an “off” day, or to present a scaled-down version of the performance in your smaller venue.

Check potential shows against 3 criteria 

1. Once you have found artists you are interested in, you want to be sure their fee range is affordable for you: Consider what you usually charge for a ticket and multiply that amount by 30% of the seats in your venue. Add in any funding source you might also have to support the performance. Is this close to the fee range you have been quoted? If yes, keep the artist on your list for consideration.
   
2. Next, you need to know if the technical requirements for the performance are possible in a venue that you can use. Ask the technical director or production manager at your venue (or the person in your organization who takes responsibility for technical liaison) to review their basic technical requirements. If they are not possible, or rental of required equipment would be too costly, you will have to take this artist off your list.
   
3. Lastly, check to see if their touring time period matches for you in terms of venue availability.

If all 3 criteria have been met, add this artist/performance group to your list under consideration.

Make your final selections 

Now you have gathered a list of a number of artists who you might possibly present. How do you choose? Here’s some questions you can pose to your programming committee (if you have one) or review with a few people in your organization. Learn more about artist selection. 

Take a risk!

There may be a particular artist or group that you feel may be a “stretch” beyond the traditional comfort zone for your regular audience, but that is not necessarily a reason not to book the show. The show might be a great opportunity to engage new people from your community and introduce them to what you offer. It may be that you, or someone on your committee feels passionate about this show or the artist. Don’t be afraid to take a risk, but be sure to let your audience know in your promotional materials if there are considerations like adult subject matter, adult situations, controversial positions on social issues, excessive violence or strong language.