From the “problems you probably can’t wait to have” file: Artists at all stages of audience development have discovered that house concerts, private events, and corporate bookings can often result in far more revenue than traditional club gigs. And while it’s questionable about whether playing a single song at a sales conference amounts to “selling [...]

Depending on who you talk to, SXSW may have hit its own critical mass sometime in the past few years. From talking to folks who went this year, some of the best stuff was actually happening at many of the unsanctioned events, house concerts, and impromptu gatherings away from the main event venues. And that [...]

Now that the 2011 editions of Music Management for the Rest of Us and More Gigs Now are off to the printer, I’ve started working on the revisions for Host Your Own Concerts. And it seems like some neighborhoods could use house concerts more than others. According to the Baltimore Sun’s Sam Sessa, a set [...]

Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Annette John-Hall covers a delicate controversy brewing just a few blocks from my home: Jamaican Jerk Hut–one of the places I thought I’d truly regret leaving behind the second time I moved away from Philly–has a new neighbor. It’s a 32-story condo building branded as being in close proximity to the regional [...]

Yes, unregulated social clubs can cause problems in neighborhoods, especially if liquor’s involved. But a bill working its way through Philadelphia City Hall may have a chilling effect on live performance in the region without really doing much to solve the problem it was designed for. “The Promoter’s Bill” would hold independent promoters liable for [...]

Probably not, but twenty complaints from the same resident just might. In many cities and towns, noise ordinances are written in such a way that venues can be fined or shut down over as little as one or two complaints. While so many local lawmakers squeal about the need to lure “creative class” residents to [...]