In 2011, The Music & Artists’ Social Club are running gigs at Happy on the first Wednesday of the month.
Previously we have run gigs at CQ Bar, Subnine, The Adelaide (Newtown), and Valve.
If you are interested in performing at one of our gigs, please contact us.
Read more on booking a MASC gig…
Playing a MASC gig
Enraptured Crowd
What we do
We book the venue and the performers. We do the bulk of the advertising for the gig. We run the event on the night, including running soundcheck, being on the door, and handling the finances.
Who we book
Most of the acts that play MASC gigs are Wellington bands or performers who are members of the Social Club, or who we know in other ways. We also book out-of-town acts who are touring to Wellington. We book all sorts of performers and all genres of music.
Payment
Acts are paid a portion of the door profits. What we do is cover costs, take 10%, and split the rest amongst the bands. It’s our way of helping the Wellington Music Scene. So the best way to show support is to come to our gigs and hear some fantastic music – the money goes to the performers.
Posters
We like to use local designers for our posters. We are always keen to hear from designers who would like experience in creating posters. Check out previous gig posters on this site.
Advertising
We arrange the poster design and printing. We do the bulk of the advertising – mainly e-advertising, as we like to save trees. Gigs are advertised on our websites and pages (here, MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter). We let local radio stations and newspapers know about the gig for their gig guides. We also use websites such as muzic.net.nz, Under The Radar, Mukuna, and EventFinder to advertise. (If you’re a band, you should get onto those sites as well). We sometimes arrange interviews and promotion with local radio stations and podcasts.
We do as much advertising as we can. However, we’ve found that the best way to get people to the gig is by word-of-mouth.
Photography
Any photos that we take at the gigs are made available on social networking sites and on this site. Acts can use these photos for their marketing and promotion. We are happy to hear from photographers who would like experience snapping events such as ours.
Filming
Members of the filmmakers collective can gain event filming experience by filming one song per act at the gigs. These clips are eventually uploaded onto YouTube and put onto a DVD for the performers. The footage is used as a marketing tool for the acts and as experience for the filmmakers.
Paraphenalia
Acts are welcomed to bring CDs, DVDs, buttons, posters, and other paraphernalia to sell at the gig. We will sell these on their behalf.
Sound
We usually use the sound person connected to the venue. However, we are happy to hear from sound engineers who want to gain experience in live sound mixing.
Venues
When we run a gig at your venue, you will have one person to liaise with: the gig organiser. We will do the bulk of the advertising; we will turn up and arrange everything. Please contact us if you would like to discuss letting MASC run gigs at your venue. (Note however that we are limited by the amount of time that the gig organisers have.)
I’ve been booked for a MASC gig. What should I do?
Before the gig
The MASC gig organiser will contact all acts before the gig with the line-up, sound-check order, and to arrange sharing a back-line (if needs be). You’ll also receive links to any online advertising pages.
- Forward your logo (in .jpeg form) to music.artists.sc(at)gmail.com so it can get on the poster;
- Make sure everyone in your band knows where and when sound-check is, and confirm that they can get to the venue;
- Make sure that your gear is all in working order;
- Tell your friends, family, workmates, and everyone you see about the gig;
- Tweet about the gig; update your statuses; make the poster your profile pic; send an email to your followers; text your Wellington friends;
- Pick up posters from the Gig Organiser, and put them up around town;
- Arrange CDs and paraphenalia to sell on the night and a poster advertising what is on sale; business cards with your band’s website and a contact number is useful for people wanting to book you for later gigs or to find your website; bring along a sheet for people to sign up to your mailing list.
During your set
- Be sure to mention the name of your band at least once during your set;
- Invite people to your website, to buy your CD, to come to any upcoming gigs…
After your set
- Be sure to thank the other acts for playing;
- Stick around and hear the other acts;
- Have a drink and celebrate your success.
