Why we’re spending October talking to promoters, and why we want to hear from you.
Before I flipped Midnight Mango into a booking agency, I promoted shows nationally. I’ve done the midnight settlements and the half-empty Tuesdays, and I’ve made plenty of phone calls to agents that started with “So… about the ticket counts.” I’ve never forgotten which side of the desk takes the risk.
As agents, we work for our artists. That’s the job. But none of us would be anywhere in this business without the promoters and venues who put the shows on. Agents don’t say that often enough, and we’re as guilty as anyone.
So, this October, we’re turning the conversation round. We’re calling it Hello Mango.
What’s coming
Every week through October, we’ll publish two things:
- An article from me on the things promoters actually care about. Why a full room can still lose money. What artists owe promoters when it comes to selling tickets. Loyalty between local and national promoters. And what promoters wish agents knew.
- A featured promoter. Four promoters, from a national operator to a local promoter, an arts centre and a folk club, talking about their work, their careers and what keeps them going.
It’ll all live on our website HERE, and we’ll round it up in our newsletter.
Why we want to hear from you
This is where we need your help. We’ve put together a short survey for promoters. It takes about 10 minutes.
We want to know what you value in an agent, what drives you mad, what agents do well and what they could do better – it’s not about Midnight Mango – it’s about agents in general. Best & worst.
Be honest, be blunt and shoot from the hip. A survey full of nice comments is lovely, but it doesn’t teach us anything.
We’ll share what we learn in the final article later in October. Responses are anonymous.
TAKE THE SURVEY It’s open until Friday 23rd October.
Why now
Small shows are harder to make work than ever. Costs are up, grassroots ticket prices haven’t kept pace, and there’s almost no margin for error. If promoters stop taking risks on new artists, the scene will wither, and culture will be lost.
We can’t fix it on our own. But we can listen, and we can do our bit better.
So, hello. We’re Midnight Mango. Let’s talk.
