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Thread: My Own Clubnight - Good Deal or Bad Deal

  1. #1

    My Own Clubnight - Good Deal or Bad Deal

    Hey, i'll keep this to the point....where in my structure am i getting good or bad deal ?

    I own a multi-venue clubnight, and have done for the last 6 years. I do all the work myself inc being the sole DJ. I do each venue 7 times per year.

    Americans: £1 is about $1.3 these days.

    Venue 1
    300 Capacity
    Always a Sell Out
    £5 Entry
    £1500 Takings
    Show Costs £250
    £1250 Profit
    HOWEVER the venue wants 50% of the profit up to a maximum of £500.
    £750 Net Profit (if the usual sell-out)

    I know they are making circa £8k off the bar when im there....by far their biggest repeat earner.

    Venue 2
    380 Capacity
    circa 320 people
    £5 Entry
    £1600 Takings
    Show Costs £275
    £1325 Profit
    HOWEVER the venue only wants £150 hire.
    £1175 Net Profit.

    again, by far, that venues biggest repeating bar earner.

    Venue 3
    300 Capacity
    circa 275 people
    £6 Entry
    £1650 Takings
    Show Costs £275
    £1375 Profit
    HOWEVER the venue wants £300 hire.
    £1075 Net Profit.

    Not sure if im the biggest repeating bar earner, but couldnt be too far off.



    For my hire fee i get... Ready to Go venue with sound and lights, Door Person, Bar Staff, Bar Stocked, Sound Tech, Security.

    Am i getting strong deals considering what im bringing in terms of bar sales with zero risk on the venues part ? I think i am, but i have very little friends in the same position as me to discuss. However, i did hear through the grapevine that a band in venue 1 was given free hire as it was a guaranteed sell-out....which annoyed me slightly.

    Thoughts welcome.....

    Marty
    Last edited by Marty McFly; 02-16-2017 at 04:02 AM.

  2. #2
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    You are getting a good deal. At 1st i thought venue 1 is shifting most of the risk to you, which is bad if they know you can promote the event properly. But, 7 times a year isn't that regular and any 1 event could easily drop off.

    If they are doing huge mark ups on the bar, on your events, a serious talk is needed.

    When i was involved with events we got our venues free but half of the security were paid from the door takings. This was because we insisted on more security than they were willing to pay for, the events needed it. I was the sound engineer and extra system required was ours, which saves them a fortune. We also insisted on exclusive rights to that style of event in the venue.

    what im bringing in terms of bar sales with zero risk on the venues part ?
    It's not zero risk on their part, if your event fails they still have to pay wages. Any repairs to the system will also cost them dearly. Think about how much these things would cost you if you needed to handle that part too.

    I do all the work myself inc being the sole DJ
    I'm confused by this. Why on earth would you want to live that way. I'm introverted but strongly regret not having more people around me when doing these things. Mid week system tuning, testing, setting things up, it's no fun ALONE! I'm really surprised you can make an event work with out a solid team, this is extremely rare.

  3. #3
    Thanks for the reply. I made an error with the Venue 1 hire arrangment - edited now

    I agree with your zero risk thoughts, I agree the venue has running costs.

    However, in terms of entertainment, The venues have to generally source entertainment themselves unless a promoter takes a hire. Therefore, they need to pay £500-£2500 for entertainment and hope they sell enough tickets. They often run at a losses on the door. I'm taking that issue away, given them a packed bar, and a few quid before a record is played.

    Sole Owner? a few reasons....

    Its a hobby as well as a profitable excercise, i actually enjoy the work involved (well, most of the time!)

    I admit I'm a control freak. Nobody will do the PR exactly how i want it. Nobody will DJ the nights exactly how they should be. Nobody will care about my product as much as me. Managing the other people will probably take up as much time as doing it myself, but with a cost.

    Im a frustrated entreprenuer who has a dayjob - these events are now the business that i was too scared to leave my dayjob to go and set up. However, i use professionals for Posters & Design Media etc

    I'll be blunt with the next reason........Cost. Setup and tear down is 1 hour each side.....Easy enough. Driving 4 hours round trip after the dayjob can be tough - but i can drive myself.

    The Sound Techs are great, no midweek messing. He sorts it all well before doors open on the night.

    Paying another DJ ? as its a niche night im sure it wont be played the way my brand projects itself musically - ive used guest/celeb DJ's in the past and i was cringing at some tracks that were played and the crowd werent best pleased online that the nights strayed from the expected sound.

    i guess that this is all the control freak in me again. Being Honest, i could be spending 100-500 i dont need to spend.


    Further comments are welcome.....
    Last edited by Marty McFly; 02-16-2017 at 04:29 AM.

  4. #4
    Member Hygro's Avatar
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    You sound pretty consistent, I'm surprised they aren't cutting you part of the bar.
    My production tips thread. On my production philosophy, techniques, and concepts
    http://www.djforums.com/forums/showt...roduction-Tips

  5. #5
    Member DJArmani's Avatar
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    Those are all great deals.. in fact so great that DJ's in the NYC area would do a lot more for that same pay.. Wish we got paid that much out here.
    Confidence, and hard work is the key to success in anything. Lost track of battle record
    http://www.soundcloud.com/djarmanicee

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