How to Get Attendees to Network (and Enjoy it)

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Regardless of if an event has an alternate intended purpose, any gathering of a group of people can present the opportunity for them to network.

Why is Networking Important?

Despite its sometimes dreadful connotation, the working world is fueled by networking. Personal connections can lead to meaningful business and career opportunities.

Additionally, attendees like to feel like they are getting something out of the event. Whether they’re taking time out of their work day or their weekend, knowing the event will serve a purpose motivates them to attend.

There are many reasons people attend an event, but more often than not, people attend to see and be seen. Knowing they will have the opportunity for invaluable face time with certain people can make the event worthwhile, and subsequently more enjoyable.

Making Time to Network

If time isn’t set aside for networking, attendees will naturally make their own time, potentially in the middle of your program. It’s important to understand your audience and their needs. If networking is necessary, incorporate it either before or after the programmatic portion of the event.

Atmosphere

provide seating for network opportunities

The event space shouldn’t be too big or too small. You don’t want the area to be so crowded that people can’t move or see a person on the other side of the room, and you don’t want the area to be so large that it creates an awkward cavern feeling. An ideal space will create an intimacy and warmth that helps initiate conversation.

The room layout can also help stimulate conversation with lounge areas and soft seating. Add drape or string curtain to give more structure to the lounge space.

Additional Elements for Fostering Good Opportunities to Network

The bare minimum for a networking event is a room and people. If we’re getting technical – it’s just people. However, there are plenty of additional elements that allow networking to be more enjoyable and even more productive for attendees.

  • Entertainment: A silent room can be awkward. Whether it’s piped in or live, music can give background noise that alleviates the silence and adjusts the mood in the room. With that being said, the music should be peppy, but not too loud that it overpowers the conversation. Sometimes music with lyrics can cause guests to lose focus. If an event is featuring a live band or form of entertainment, it is best to schedule networking times around the act to avoid distraction.
  • Activities: Activities can serve as icebreakers and conversation starters. Lighthearted and easy-to-start activities can be anything from an oversized game of chess to a virtual reality booth. Games or activities should be easy to start and stop. Activities can even serve a dual purpose as décor, such as a coloring wall or ice graffiti sculpture.
  • Technology: Tech elements can be used to enhance the cool factor of an event, and cool things = conversation starters. As a bonus, incorporating technology can also help track attendance and ROI. We used Swarmworks technology that matched attendees based on a set of pre-answered questions about their interests and experiences. Attendees were able to see their “match” on a digital projection map of the room.
  • Food & Beverage: Food and beverage elements allow guests to have something else to spark a conversation other than the weather. Wine or beer tastings, a rolling mixology cart, and spice making, are some easy-to-participate elements that can give guests something to talk about.

Contracting Entertainers: How to Negotiate a Rider

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When negotiating riders, it’s important to remember just that – you can negotiate. A rider is the section of an entertainer’s contract that details requirements for things such as a dressing room, transportation, food and beverage or the performance itself.

All requests might not be as detailed as sorting M&Ms by color. Some specifications are made for health and personal preferences and should be taken seriously. Riders are part of a contractual agreement, so terms should be reviewed carefully before signing.

Negotiating Riders-Where to Start

Re-reading and getting a second set of eyes to look it over are good ways to make sure you don’t miss any details. Determine the needs of your event and come to a decision about what you can and are willing to comply with, and what have questions about. If you aren’t 100% comfortable with signing the contract as is, communicate with the sender and note your changes by marking them directly in the document.

Making Changes

First, go through and cross out anything that doesn’t apply. It’s important to note that most national entertainer contracts default from arena or concert venue tours. In which case, a lot of terms will most likely be inapplicable to an event. These are usually things such as comped seats and merchandise sales.

Add in any terms that relate to your event or venue (i.e. no onsite showers, a different stage size, an outdoor venue, etc.) While the rider represents the artist or performer’s requirements, it should also align with the specifications of your event.

Negotiating Terms

The purpose of rider requirements is so that entertainers are able to perform the best that they can. If you are suggesting changes to their requests, you should know how to offer comparable options. As with any other contract, a fair compromise can satisfy both parties.

Certain terms in a rider may require more attention, time, and money. For example, if a band has specific dietary preferences, organizing a catered meal in their dressing room might become pricey and time-consuming. A more efficient solution may be a buy-out, providing a fixed stipend for the band to go out to eat.

Negotiating riders ultimately comes down to understanding the specifications of your event, the needs of your entertainers, and your resources.

Contracting Entertainers: Don’t Forget Your (Music) License

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Don’t Forget Your LicenseA Music License may be the last thing on your to-do list before your next big event. Music licensing is one of the most misunderstood topics within the intellectual property field.  Therefore, we hope this blog will clear up some of the confusion.

Legally, in order to play copyrighted music to the general public – even if you purchased it on iTunes – you must obtain public performance rights.

Now, how do you know if your function is considered a public performance? Copyright law defines public as “a place open to the public or at any place where a substantial number of persons outside of a normal circle of a family and its social acquaintances is gathered”. For instance, music at a friend’s cookout or birthday party would not classify as public, but a nonprofit gala would.

Two large companies handle all the public performance licensing rights, ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) and BMI (Broadcast Music Incorporated), which makes the process fairly seamless. Each one handles a catalog of millions of songs. Therefore, purchasing both licenses would cover almost all music. If you want to play music in a lobby or elevator, you will need a commercial music services license through Muzak, a separate entity.

The company hosting the event must hold the license, not the event planner. Luckily, the licenses are good for one year and renewing process is quite simple.

Costs:

  • ASCAP bases its fees on the number of attendees.
  • BMI fees are a bit more complex.  For a special event with paid admission, the fee is based off a percentage of the ticket revenue.
  • For an event that is free to attendees, the fee is 1.5% of the total entertainment cost or $198.00, whichever is greater.
  • If you are hosting a benefit event, the BMI fee is based on seating capacity.
  • After deducting operating expenses, fees are collected and distributed as royalties to the artists.

Both ASCAP & BMI are associations representing 500,000+ members. These licenses protect the artist’s material and create a bridge between artists and those who want to play their music. Purchasing these licenses for your events is essential in order to legally play copyrighted music.

 

Entertainment Rider… Do You Really Need It?

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Every entertainer comes with a rider – a list of hospitality and technical criteria for their performance. Typically, the bigger the name the bigger the demands.

The first key to negotiating a rider is to thoroughly read the entire document. Some acts and managers have been known to add items just to see if you have read the document in its entirety. We have come across the comical addition of tube socks from a very well know national act.

Dressing room requests are important to any musical act and can be as specific as room temperature and air quality as this can affect their voice. Accommodations are also very important. Some entertainers will travel under an alias that will be denoted in the rider. We once had an entertainer whom we booked under an alias and then they were upset we had changed her name. But it came from her rider; we didn’t make it up.

Most riders will have alcohol requests. Some are more extravagant than others like demands for four bottles of Cristal or an over abundance of alcohol. You want to limit the amount of alcohol the performer has before the event to avoid a potentially sloppy act.

No matter how crazy the demands are, keeping any entertainer happy before their performance is key. You want them to be comfortable and relaxed so they can perform at their best and help make your event a success. Whether you end up with a diva or an angel, the show must go on!