There are many situations when a smaller, more intimate concert setting just works better.
At Show4me we offer musicians 3 types of shows to pre-sell tickets for – show, intimate concert and private. We created the classification to cater to the needs of the musicians using the concert crowdfunding toolset in the network. From our research, sometimes the choice is between a larger event and a more intimate concert, while others it’s between having a small concert or none at all.
We’d like to share our insights regarding the situations when a smaller, more intimate concert beats a large one. That’s why we’ve prepared an overview of the most typical ones you will be able to use next time you are torn on the type of show you want to host.
Whether it’s a special occasion, like album release or anniversary show, or just a one-off fun time, sometimes an artist or a band want to produce an event that’s just a little out of the box (or, in the case of Jack White’s disease outbreak-themed rock show in London, A LOT). These events might have natural limitations for the number of participants due to venue or location (if the event is outdoors) constraints.
Another point to consider is the dress code. If you event requires attendees to dress up, down or sideways, you are creating another natural limitation.
Small shows for 25 to 50 people are great when you want to create an exceptional auditory experience – you can host them in a recording studio (like British band All Hail Hyena did for their recent show), uniquely designed acoustic chamber or just a venue with excellent sound.
Moreover, a small audience will produce way less background noise and you can easily implement the no cellphones policy. And no one in the crowd will be too far away from the stage to hear the music clearly!
A small show format is great for times when you want to preview your new music/album or try out a completely different sound or image. Not only will you get instant feedback, your audience will be comprised of your most dedicated fans who will be able to provide honest reactions and feedback without being too harsh or unreceptive of your creative experiments.
Exclusive preview events are also an awesome tool for generating hype for your upcoming release. Take a note from Taylor Swift’s workbook and hold an album preview party, like she did for her 2019 release Lover.
Sometimes your only option is a small venue – either the style of music you play is only fit for a handful of venues in the area, or you want to play a specific venue that has historic or sentimental value for you or your fans.
This is when your only option is to go or an intimate concert.
When you are playing an event with just a handful of fans around, you can adjust your show on the go, crack some jokes, converse with the audience as you can see their faces and can hear them clearly. You can take audience questions and even create new verses together with the audience.
One such example – 2012 Linkin Park intimate concert in LA.
When you are planning a tour, it’s easy to get seduced into selecting the biggest and best show options you can find. They are the most lucrative and adrenaline-inducing, after all. Yet supplementing your tour with intimate events in the intermittent cities on your route to treat your dedicated fans for less populated areas can be a gratifying experience as well. And while not the most profitable, it can still bring in some additional revenue.
With the popularity of musicians and bands that are self-made with the help of all the online tools available, one downside becomes more and more apparent – to get together a show, they have to work twice or three times as hard, since there often aren’t geographically-specific clusters of fans.
This situation makes an intimate concert the ultimate go-to that can help build connections with fans and gain live performance experience, as well as create a good gig portfolio.
Other, more rare cases for the intimate concert setting include charity events, small production budgets, newly built fan base, etc. For a more detailed overview of these, check out the respective blog post on Show4me blog here.