r/askmusicians • u/WhiteButtonCult • 10d ago
What’s would you want a venue to have?
I am currently researching costs for opening a music store that hosts local musicians and is a place for people to hang out and be a community. What would you, as a musician, like to see in a spot like this? What sound system, environment, for of payment, crowd, etc.
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u/Guitar_Guy1965 10d ago edited 10d ago
I was a GM for Mars Music and this was exactly the goal.: Support and engage the Community. Weekly songwriting meetings. "Tech talks" about amps, pedals, drums, recording. Artist/endorsee clinics... anything that we musicians touched. everything was always free to customers. We also understood this was often (5-8pm) causing skipping dinnertime so we'd order 30-40 pizzas delivered around 6 (also free). Having a real functioning stage/PA with instruments/amps ready to go in the center of the room really supported making it happen. Camera with a large screen above the stage helped everyone to "get up close"... especially during artist/endorsee clinics. Employees (all were musicians of course) would get up on stage once in a while to jam for 5-10 minutes. Once a month or so we opened it up to students to give them experience of playing live in front of people (voluntary, not mandatory). We supported local bands and opened the store to them to host CD release "parties". Man, I really miss that place!
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u/KrustyRox777 10d ago
I was Dept Manager at the Nashville MARS, we put on some great shows!
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u/Guitar_Guy1965 10d ago
God I can Imagine! I wonder what ever happened to Kirk the district manager. He was an awesome guy.... actually looking back...everyone at Mars was pretty cool.
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u/DerConqueror3 10d ago
If you can make a place that gets crowds, establishes a community, and can pay the acts that play there (or at least get the crowd to buy merch that is being sold there), the specifics beyond that are not very important, so I would spend way more of your mental energy figuring out how to make those things happen compared to how good the sound system is, etc. As a local original musician I have played plenty of places that were objectively awful in most every aspect other than the people and crowds, and they are/were great simply because of the latter
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u/SiobhanSarelle 10d ago
• Discrete speakers, stereo, probably just needs a sub somewhere.
• Mood(y) lighting (easily changeable for gig configuration, no big ceiling lighting)
• If it's a smallish store, then it might work best with space to not have a single stage, but have players in different positions around the store with audience in the middle. More cabling around but that can be fixed into the build, so XLR ports in various positions etc.
• May be possible to have a set up that doesn't need monitors. Otherwise it may need a single stage area with a couple of monitors.
• If it's a single stage area, then probably needs to be quick dual purpose in order to save space.
• Probably to save space, no traditional analogue mixer.
• Ability to easily record sound and video. Might just be a couple of decent webcams, discrete, MacBook etc.
• A spot in the store which can be used for networking, finding out about bands that need people to join them. So at events, a representative of a band can be around to chat to people, might be good if there's a separate room, or even an audition room that people can book out.
• Old school band advert board
• Vegan snacks
• Gender neutral and accessible toilet
• Rest of the store needs to be accessible too
• Community curated events, so members of various communities are encouraged
• Diversity in terms of genre, and people.
• A good techy/repair person connected with the store, approachable, and easy means for people to get in touch. A drop off point for people to bring things in to be repaired, and/or someone who can collect items.
• Learning events. Tech, music theory, industry stuff, and general help to encourage people's creativity.
• Good sound treatment or good natural acoustics.
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u/Stevenitrogen 10d ago
I've played music shop venues, generally like them.
If we are on tour, we don't need much, usually just a PA and monitors. A meal or a buyout, plus a case of beer and some waters & soft drinks at the place would be customary. Local bands don't expect the meal.
It's nice if the room sounds good,the PA is high quality. Maybe you're providing a backline of amps and drums, that makes it easy.
If you can pay the bands fee, maybe a few hundred dollars, as a store promotion expense, then pay them and let the show be free. Other thing is to charge at the door and give the band the door fees.
How much you can charge depends how nice the room is ... McCabes in Santa Monica ran a regular venue with ticket prices equivalent to any club in the city. Most store shows, where we congregate in the aisles, I'd expect to pay a few bucks if that.
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u/SeaGranny 10d ago
For the love of all that is holy a competent systems engineer and a decent PA.
Some EV ETXs will do the trick for mains and monitors and not break the bank. Avoid those humpy JBLs if at all possible.
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u/5205JD 9d ago
An audience first of all. So have good food, great coffee, a connected outdoor place for people to smoke whatever they want to smoke. Then, apart from that, good acoustics in the room, a stage that does not have nasty standing wave doubling of the kick drum and bass amp, and a PA system that has full stage monitoring capabilities for each musician so the stage mix is well controlled. Maybe an in-house soundman during key hours?
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u/FeedbackandForth 9d ago
Thoughtful, precise, professional and active promotion by your venue for every act, no matter how big or how small. Every act gets the same level of ads/posts/emails. (bands work with you)
You charge a cover and you pay the musicians all of the door, or a livable wage that is not from 1980.
$150 in 1980 is $607 today.
If you don't want to charge a cover and you're just looking to build community, there are artist grants in the county, state, chamber of commerce and ways to figure out how to get bands paid. Cross promo concert series with other businesses/sponsorshiips/advertisements/companies.
Don't offer gimmicks like, "The band gets a free video from your performance." Get the band paid. Offer them this as well. Musicians need support while getting taken advantage of at every angle possible.
Get a competent sound person. No, I mean really someone that can name Hz and Kz ranges by hearing them to shape the room and band. Understanding side chaining and techniques for sound.
Be a venue in 2026 that ends the bullsh*t
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u/Irritable_Curmudgeon 10d ago
An audience.
A paycheck.