personally i find doing events and putting them on for free the best way to go.

fortunately I’ve got a soundsystem so that makes it a bit easier, but there’s always people willing to play for free and venues willing to let you put on a night for free if you can guarantee them a busy night where they can make all the money from the bar.

as soon as you start tying to make money i think it gets a lot harder. you have to book, acts hire venue etc. before you know it you’ve got to charge minimum of at least a fiver, and a lot of people aren’t willing to pay that. you may make more money but you get a smaller crowd, which has a knock on effect as there isn’t the same atmosphere which then leads to less people coming to your next event.

keep it cheap, photocopy black and white flyers, spread the word, there’s always people who are good, but just want exposure/to play to a big crowd which is almost guarateed if it’s a free night. i don’t mind spending 10-15quid on sorting out stuff if its going to be a great night. plus you can also ask for donations.

have recently been putting on a world music/dance night in sheffield, Frozac. has been a great success so far. 200+ people each time, free entry. we do a raffle to raise money for a different charity each time and get different dj’s and bands to play for free seeing as it’s for charity.

more people should get on it, it’s not that much effort, and well worth it!