Organising a successful music event takes a lot of hard work and planning, but the reward— seeing attendees singing along to their favourite artists with their eyes shut in pure euphoria — is worth every second.
To plan a sell-out music event, you need to be creative, passionate, and — above all — organised.
From concept to budget, logistics to marketing, you must be the maestro of it all. And to pack the house, a well-thought-out plan is crucial and timing is everything.
Our music planning checklist is here to help.
We’ve gathered top tips from our extensive experience helping event music organisers, promoters and venue owners through Eventbrite’s event management platform to help you craft an event timeline that hits all the right notes.
With a clear checklist, planning and promoting your event will become less daunting, giving you some much-needed headspace for creativity.
Depending on the scale and frequency of your event, the ideal timeline may shift. So use the time frames below as a rough guide only.
12-18 months pre-event: Ideation and planning
When it comes to planning a show-stopping music event, the old adage is true: the earlier you start, the better.
Get started by building out a creative concept for the event. Think about your target audience, possible themes, and artists you’d like to work with.
As well as the fun stuff, you also need to establish an event budget so you can start making decisions around the big ticket items like artists, venue, and marketing costs. You should revisit your budget regularly to make sure you’re on track and make adjustments if necessary.
This is when you also want to start thinking about your team and setting out clear roles and responsibilities. This doesn’t need to be ironed out straight away.
💡Pro tip: Utilise analytics tools to examine previous event data and identify the sweet spots for your attendees. Did merchandise fly off the shelves? Did people respond best to your paid social ads? Build on what worked, learn from what didn’t. With Eventbrite’s analytics dashboard you can access real-time data insights and work smarter.
6-12 months pre-event: Nail down the details and get prepared
Your event is starting to take shape and this is when you want to finalise bookings by tying up any negotiations and getting contracts signed.
From venue contracts to vendors and sponsor requests, you have a lot going on before your event goes on sale.
For the six to 12 months leading up to your event, start sorting key tasks, such as booking food and drinks partners, finalising your events team, and sourcing event sponsors.
Don’t wait until everything is finalised to publish details of your event. Visibility is everything. Kickstart your marketing campaign by crafting a newsworthy press release, create an email campaign for your past attendees, and post all over your social accounts to let people know something big is nearing.
💡Pro tip: Try an earlybird ticketing push, which works particularly well for annual events. Check out our ultimate ticketing guide for more tips.
3 months pre-event: Promote, promote, promote!
You may have flirted with some promotion by this point, but now is the time to fully turn on the charm.
With your event on the horizon, focus on crafting a promotional campaign that creates urgency and drives a sense of FOMO amongst attendees.
On your social accounts sync up with your partners to create collaboration posts, use footage from past events, and engage content creators to tease your events.
Email marketing, event ads and blog posts should echo this sentiment. Use persuasive copy and engaging imagery to let interested attendees know your event is unmissable.
💡Pro tip: Use retargeting to reach out to people who haven’t completed the purchase process. Take note of how Crust Nation’s ad strategy helped build its epic boat party empire. This organiser uses our Spotify integration to target lookalike audiences who are fans of similar artists or music genres with eye-catching social ads.
1 month pre-event: Finishing touches and checks
At this point, you’ll be busy, stressed, and probably sleep-deprived — but you’re on the home straight, it’s time to dig deep and keep pushing.
Double-check that your team is prepared, your venue is all ready to go, and attendees have a copy of their tickets.
If you forget even a small detail in planning, it could be a significant problem on event day. So contact the key players at your event, such as performers or vendors, to ensure they’re still 100% committed to coming on the day (it’s always a good idea to have emergency backup contacts in preparation).
Even if you feel confident in your preparations, it’s important not to underestimate how unforeseen events like sickness or emergencies can easily disrupt your entire event.
💡Pro tip: Capitalise on the ‘last minute rush’ by promoting ‘final call’ ticket sales on social media. With Eventbrite, you can add promo codes, 2-for-1 offers and discounts to help boost sales.
Event day: Logistics and capturing the moment
The big moment has finally arrived.
Arrive at the venue early, get everything set up, and hold a team meeting so everyone knows their expectations. This is where your hard work and planning will start to pay off.
💡Pro tip: Use the Eventbrite Organiser App for a seamless check-in experience at the door.
We’re all for living in the moment, but make sure you capture it too. This is your golden opportunity to gather content for future marketing, after all.
Make sure you share photos and promote your event on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook, and encourage attendees to do the same on their social media, too. Remember to make sure everyone knows who to tag so you can reshare posts (more on that later).
💡Pro tip: The best way to achieve high-quality photos of your event is to hire a professional photographer and give them a clear brief on what you want them to capture. Don’t underestimate the power of hiring a content creator, too. They are experts in capturing the vibe of your event and creating shareable moments. Read our ultimate guide to micro-influencer marketing for more tips.
Post-event onwards: Build on the momentum
Yes, we know you got to bed late after your event and you’re exhausted. But the beat goes on — and the day after the event is an important time to keep the momentum of your event.
Start by taking to your social channels to post content from the event — and, crucially, to repost content from attendees, partners, artists. Remember, Instagram stories only last for 24 hours and showing a mutual appreciation is a key time to build community and guarantee interest in your future events.
Next, create a post-event thank you email campaign to thank attendees for coming, but also to nurture first-time event goers into becoming long-term community members. You should also thank your event partners here, too. A personalised email — or even a gift — will make that gratitude shine through.
💡Pro tip: Create a post-event survey to ask attendees for feedback on your event. Unsure what to ask? Our list of 30 post-event survey questions for attendees should help.
Use an event planning checklist that works
Make the most of your timeline of events template by printing it and keeping it on a clipboard.
Not only will ticking off completed tasks with a pen give you a sense of accomplishment, but it can also help you stay focused and motivated — both of which you’ll need in the lead-up to the final week (trust us)!
One of the best ways to streamline event production is to partner with an advanced event platform. Eventbrite can help you with your end-to-end event management, from strategising to event registration, promotion, check-ins, and even your after-event email campaign.
