A concert promoter's job is one of the most varied and unpredictable in the entertainment industry. If you want to become a concert promoter, you must have an encyclopedic understanding of the process of booking a concert and getting the word out to the public. There is little educational preparation specific to this job that you can do in school, so real-world experience is crucial to your success. The job's main challenge is the high number of duties that you must perform, from negotiating with musicians and venues to marketing your shows in order to sell tickets.
There are no educational requirements necessary if you want to become a concert promoter, especially because many promoters work independently. There are many skills that can be developed and sharpened in school, however. Written and spoken communication is crucial to working with bands and creating performance contracts. Economics classes will help you understand finances and how to balance your books. Music classes, especially ones that expose you to a great deal of instruments and equipment, also can be handy in your preparations to work as a concert promoter.
Education isn't an essential qualification if you want to become a concert promoter, so you must gather a large amount of work experience to help you learn how to handle every conceivable angle of concert promotion. One job that will provide insight is to work as an assistant for an established concert promoter, because you will help him or her to organize and promote events and will have a knowledgeable source to whom you can ask questions. Working in a concert venue is another way to acquire an understanding of how bands, clubs and promoters work with one another. It also is a chance to deal with many aspects of the process, from setting up bands to handling lighting to overseeing ticket sales and paying acts at the end of the shows. If you have never worked in music but still want to work as a concert promoter, working in event planning, even for events such as weddings or corporate events, is a great learning opportunity.
The concert promoter's job is always evolving, and a large part of it entails dealing with anyone even remotely associated with the production. To become a concert promoter, you must develop strong relationships with music venues and artists or booking agents, whose role sometimes is handled by the concert promoter. After a venue and concert acts are in place, you must also work with radio stations, newspapers, magazines and online sources to communicate information about the concert to the appropriate market. Another duty often involves working with poster designers and printers to create a visual advertisement that can be posted on bulletin boards, walls and telephone poles or distributed to clubs and record stores.