Make More Money even when people are drinking less

Blonde woman drinking water in a martini glass with a red banner that says "Just water!"

Gen Z is buying tickets in droves (hallelujah, they finally got real jobs!), but guess what? They’re not drinking as much. And to compound this problem for most venues, January has always been a brutal month after three months of holiday indulgence. Toss in Dry January, and suddenly it’s a veritable nightmare financially. Revenue takes a nosedive, and if you’re not ready, it’ll take your profits with it.

So, why aren’t they drinking? Don’t they know you have bills to pay, that you give almost all of the ticket sales to the artists??

While news outlets will tell you it’s all about “health and wellness” (eye roll) and preventing bad decisions (ok, we can get behind this) the real culprit, according to many vocal Reddit users, (which is pretty much all Reddit users) is price.

Despite that shiny new business card with their name on it, Gen Z (and the rest of America, thanks to inflation) can’t spend $15-40 on a ticket, then buy 2-3 drinks for themselves and a date, totaling $120 + for the night.  Throw in the cost of a baby-sitter, and people will start robbing banks to see a show.

So, how can small independent venues make it through this dry spell without sacrificing their bottom line?

  1. Change Up Your Ticket Packages

Many Venues increase prices for ticket sales and drinks, but that infuriates hard-working regulars and fans, spreading the misery as people begrudgingly shell out more money, or opt-out completely, leaving empty seats for the Venue.

The trick is to find something that people ARE finding value in and charge for that (instead of increasing prices, punishing fans, and the few that are choosing to drink). While health is a part of their decisions, the majority are saying high prices are what’s stopping their spending mood at the start.

Instead, offer ticket packages that throw in something else—like a free mocktail, or access to a VIP line at the bar, VIP parking (hello parking cones in front of your building!), a meet and greet with the artist or album signing, or even a meet and greet with other die-hard fans (with a ‘free’ drink/food – getting them to buy it upfront in the ticket).

Don’t fall into the trap of creating high priced VIP packages, create smaller packages with a few add-ons each.

  1. Make Mocktails Fun (Yes, Really)

Mocktails aren’t just for people dealing with addiction—they’re the new cool. They open up new audiences for you like all-ages crowds, pregnant/nursing mothers, people with sensitive medical interactions, and others watching their health.

Expand your mocktail list, or host a mocktail mixologist contest and let your crowd decide the winner. The winning drink makes it onto your menu, and the winner gets free show tickets or some sweet bar swag.

Boom, instant engagement, and no one will bug you with “just water, please.”

  1. Cut Your Drink Prices (stay with me on this one…)

Imagine you’re a 24 year old kid, you’ve just learned how to make mac and cheese from the box, gotten your first real job and girlfriend, and you’d like to see a show (no hate-mail please on my gross-generalization of people age 24). 

How likely are you to buy you and your girl several drinks (often $10-18 ea) to get through the night? On reddit, the phrase “ridiculously expensive” comes up often on this topic.

Do an experiment: make your drinks less expensive or offer hefty specials/discounts during your busiest time, and see if bar sales increase significantly to overcome the loss on previous margins (try a two-for-one deal?).

Be sure to ask the artist on stage to highlight your unbelievable drink prices, maybe even offer a toast to the good times (“Everyone grab your drink, we’re going to do a toast in 5 min!”).

If you’re known as the spot with the affordable AND delicious drinks, you’ll get people in the door giving you a twofer benefit, more tickets sold + higher volume of drinks sold. People love bargains, and if they’re not blowing their rent money on one drink, maybe they’ll come back for a few more shows.

This AWESOME chart shows you all of the restrictions by state and by drink special (ie: restrictions and bans on free beverages, multiple drinks for a single price, happy hours, etc.)

  1. Get Sponsors on Board

If drink sales are tanking, look for sponsorships that fit your crowd.

Gen Z is all about CBD, fashion, and sustainability, so find a sponsor that fits your audience.

One thing you do need to focus on here, is making sure the brand has a good experience and gets some bang for their buck.  If you’re expecting them to hand over cash for a single vinyl sign hung in the back, you won’t have much luck AND you won’t have repeat sponsors.

Think about it from their perspective and create 3-4 different ways they can get meaningful interaction with your customers. Be willing to be creative based on who they are and what they’re trying to accomplish.

For example:

  • A liquor brand does tastings or jello shots (which you could sell??)
  • A fashion brand adorns the bar tenders with their outfits or jewelry and plants a few hotties in the audience with their wares, a drink special is named after their top piece, and signs with QR codes are on the bar. Anyone who buys the drink special gets entered to win a necklace (available to take home that night!)
  • Having a foam party? get it sponsored by Ms. Meyers soap!! Or Tide…or (he he) a lubricant company.
  • A CBD edibles company to sell their gummies for a markup and a sponsorship fee. Make a special drink that highlights their candies (ie: rim a drink with these THC pop-rocks style candy)
  • Have a sneaker ball – a sneaks night that is all about the kicks! (Uhh…here is a handy sneaker slang dictionary for your prep). Get a local fashion company, or if you’re fortunate to live in a town with TWO major sneaker conglomerates (like Portland, OR), go after Adidas & Nike as a sponsor.

Get creative!

  1. Beef Up Your Merch Sales

Virtually every Venue in America sells a  > insert product (hat, shirt, glass) < with their logo on it.  Don’t be this Venue…at least, don’t sell only that. Boring merch that turns the person into a walking advertisement doesn’t sell, unless you have massive caché.

Take a cue from El Arroyo, a Mexican restaurant in Austin known for its hilarious signs. They’ve gone viral for putting snarky wisdom on shirts and mugs.

Don’t know what to say? ChatGPT is just dying to give you some ideas.

(here’s proof: 

My command: 

“Create 5 funny, short sayings that would go well on a t-shirt or mug in the style of El Arroyo (but not copying it directly – do not plagiarize!), for a dive bar. These should not be slogans that are selling the bar, they should be sayings people would want to wear on their shirt, something that would represent how they think or who they are. Make them as snarky, funny, and sarcastic as possible.”

Results:

  • “Running late is my cardio.”
  • “My liver’s fine. It’s my decision-making that’s questionable.”
  • “I’m not arguing, I’m just explaining why I’m right… again.”
  • “I’m not day-drinking; I’m on a liquid diet.”
  • “Of course I talk to myself. Sometimes I need expert advice.”
  1. Sell Cannabis Products

If your state’s cool with it, why not sell cannabis edibles or drinks? Gen Z is all about it, as the health benefits from cannabis far outweigh alcohol (according to the Vice capital of America, Nevada). Plus, no next-day “what did I say?” regret. Ok, we can’t promise that.

But you will have a more chill crowd, and instead of them having god knows what in their system before they arrived, you might have a slightly better idea.

Check out the map of where cannabis is legal here and see if you can cash in.

  1. Embrace the Sober

There are sober bars around the country that are more than a glorified coffee shop with night hours. They provide a vital space to gather – with bar vibes – making it accessible to large groups of people that don’t want, or are legally prohibited (minors) from drinking alcohol.

When asked what a “Sober bar” is, reddit user cantakethshyfrom_me said: “It’s like an atheist church. There aren’t enough 3rd spaces (places that aren’t work or home) that foster social engagement as is, and if you don’t participate in certain rituals like drinking or worship, you’re cut off from even more of them.”

And the paying audience can be huge. One sober bar bartender described “Founders Day,” a 3-day celebration “commemorating the founding of Alcoholics Anonymous on June 10, 1935. Members honor the founders, Dr. Bob and Bill W., and reflect on AA’s impact in supporting those recovering from alcohol addiction. which brings in thousands of sober folks to Akron, Ohio every year.”

Take a look at these dry bars from coast to coast for inspiration.

Try hosting a sober-friendly event, not only does it stretch your creativity to explore new avenues for revenue not focused on alcohol and make gathering more accessible to non-drinking crowds. (Do consider the prominence of your liquor bottle collection.)


Dry January and decreased drinking doesn’t have to mean dry profits. With a few of these moves, your numbers will be up and to the right, even if your patrons are sticking to water and mocktails.

About AmptUp

Our mission is to help small-medium sized independent Venues increase revenue and decrease stress by giving them back their time and creating a single source of truth for their team and artists. Our tool is thoughtfully designed to be affordable, simple, and beautiful so that it slides into your existing processes fast and easily.

Collect things like W9s, artist photos, and while improving artist relations and reducing errors (aka – Make artists and agents love you by giving them what they need easily! No logins or sign up need).

Is Google Holding You Back?

A man wearing fluorescent colored clothing puts a 1980's - 1990's cellular brick phone into his fanny pack, representing state of the art style and technology for that time. Detail shot; horizontal with pink background.

After an unrelenting holiday season that goes from October to Jan 2…with demanding party hosts, constant staff changes due to a germ-filled December, late nights, entitled guests, grateful guests, and nonnnnnnn-stop Christmas music…January is finally here.

I used to think that January was the most boring month of the year, after 3 months of holiday buzz and sugar highs… until I started using that coldest month to reset, recalibrate, and prepare for the year ahead.  Now I look forward to it. I crave it.  I started new challenges, (goodbye sugar! Hello 30 days of yoga!) and started looking at what I was doing in my life that could be easier, bring more joy, and of course, of course! put more money back in my pocket.young man reclining on couch, watching computer wrapped up in cords with pizza on floor. Looks like he's been there a while.

So, if you’re ready to ring in the new year binge-ing on Netflix with your couch – good! You deserve it! The independent live music Venues of America are essentially the main source for bringing good cheer to all – and it’s hard work.  Innnnnddduuuuulllllgge.

After recuperating, the next natural thing is to review the past year and see how you can make this one better.

  • How will this year be different from the last?young man holding watering can, pouring over a model of a house with dollar signs falling out of the can. He looks calm.
  • What do you want to accomplish?

Whatever fulfilling goals you
want to achieve, at their base, most goals benefit from:  1. More time 2. More money.
AmmIright?

Live music venues are the beating heart of every city, they’re essential. If you have regular live music, then one of the most time consuming parts of your job is likely dealing with live music.  Everything from the booking to the production, the technology, the people, the managers, the payment, etc.

And, the slide into all-consuming-cobbled-together-google-systems happens more quickly than most realize. 

What systems are live music venues using?

We estimate that:

  • 90% of Venues use some combination of Google calendar/Google Docs and messaging (email/DMs/text)
  • 5% use some other booking tool (we know of only one that costs over $400/mo per Venue that requires CONSTANT manual entry) or bespoke custom-created software
  • 5% use a mix of a handwritten calendar, texting and/or memory.

Because there has never been a good booking system before, everyone has to make up their own.  Until now.

These numbers show that thousands of people are wasting hours in their day. Why? Because Google never once considered the nation’s independent live music Venues when building their calendar or Google docs system. They made a generic system that requires people to be systems geniuses AND spend 25-30% of their time on manual entry….essentially descending them into the 5th level of copy/paste hell.

I’m a Google suite subscriber, myself, so… no hard feelings against the Google Gods that run so much in our country. (Google if you’re watching me, and I know you are, I love you very much.)

Something to consider:  All signs are pointing to a bigger-than-ever year for live music…and since the most time-consuming part of this business IS the music and the management surrounding it, that means that any inefficiencies in your current system (ie: manual entry, copy/pasting, one person who knows everything and then gets sick or leaves…etc.) will be magnified as well, and much more painful. But, when you’re in the thick of things, it will be much harder to change.

But, we believe it should be easier, so we designed a system that allows:

  • creatives to be CREATIVE
  • production people to focus on the minute details that make a good production
  • owners/GMs to have full visibility and control, no matter who comes and goes on the team
  • marketing to get what they need without waiting
  • the booker, the musician, and the team to ALWAYS be on the same page

…no lengthy setup and no project management degree required.

Here’s what AmptUp can do, that even the most well-worn Google systems can’t:

  • Set up an entire professional-level booking system in 15 min or less.
  • Track the status of each booking (approved, changes requested, declined) on your dashboard.
  • Create a single source of truth, update in one place only (for your team AND the Musicians).
  • Book each band in 3 minutes (instead of 3 weeks)
  • Autoflow booking details straight into the calendar
  • Automatically receive Musician marketing assets with every booking confirmation.
  • Eliminate the back-and-forth with Musicians
  • Auto-generate a printable run of show (no data entry needed)
  • Calculate and communicate the sell-out potential (without a spreadsheet)

…all while booking any band you want.

See how it works here. 

So… what? No more Google? 😢

But, if so many people are using Google (myself included), when does it work well?

Like in many parts of the business, you use specific tools for a specific function; the problem occurs for Venues when they try to use gcal/gsuite for all of the functions.

Gcal/Gsuite is great for writing up ideas in a document and collaborating, it’s also great for staff schedules, however most servers don’t use Gsuite to take orders and pass them to the kitchen or close out tabs, and accountants typically turn to quickbooks instead of a Gsheet.

In the same vein, Bookers at independent live music Venues across America are turning to AmptUp to make booking faster, easier, and error free. 

What is AmptUp?

AmptUp is the online booking tool that supports independent music Venues and helps them streamline booking, saving literal hours every week. Whether Musicians contact you, or you find them, with AmptUp you can:

  • Send and finalize booking offers FAST – 3 min. instead of 3 weeks.
  • Reduce the email overwhelm
  • Give Musicians everything they need automatically
  • Create a single source of truth for your team and the Musicians’
  • Get Musician assets WHEN the show is booked
Book fast and clear with AmptUp, so you can focus on promoting the show or running the business.
 

Make Merry: Stress-Free Venue Management this Holiday Season

white woman overwhelmed during holidays

The holidays are for you too.  Yes, You are the Merry-MAKERS, but you should also be able to make merry yourself – here’s how to do that without the stress. 

With the long hours of December holiday events, the short hours of daylight, and the beginning of sick season where our immune system is unprepared for the onslaught of germs headed our way, you’ve got to be prepared. 

If there was any time in the year to take a few minutes to prepare…that time is now.  Here are a few tips to make this holiday season bright and well, easy…ahem easier.

1.     Get some help early. 

Take a minute – literally just 2-3 minutes – to look back on previous years.

  • Where are the points of stress you experienced?

  • Was there a certain group, or type of group (ie: corporate parties, rehearsal dinners?) that caused more stress?

  • Did you notice more stress around a certain date, or with certain aspects of your life (ie: parental duties or gift buying?)?

Notice when, where, who, and WHY that stress accumulated and start making plans.  Most importantly, line up some help. 

To start: Warn people now! Let people around you know your observations to help them understand the pressures that are coming, and ask for their ideas.

Second:  Ask for help.  Your staff will likely be maxxed out as well, so take a look at your non-staff supports (or staff with minimal duties).  Go to them.  That can be as simple as asking your spouse, a business partner, or your kids to take on a few specific duties.

START REDUCING STRESS – CHECK LIST: write down one time or area that you remember feeling stressed or overworked last year – what is one way you, or a helper, can reduce the burden?

2.     Identify and reduce tension points.

Since your staff may be stretched to the max, and working with lower staff counts as flu season ramps up, where and when do tensions arise between staff or from customers:

a.     Team satisfaction?

b.     Customer complaints on food quality? Speed? Friendliness?

c.     Do certain things get overlooked, like basic maintenance and cleanup, during the busy holiday season? 

One common stress point is having lower staff when someone is out. Before you get too far into December, prioritize your back up plan. The last thing you want is to be short staffed due to illness during a money-making private event.  Invite 2-4 of them to a 1-2 hr training to ensure they can jump in when needed.  This minor cost will pay you back 10 fold. Questions to ask:

d.     Who is your back up team? 

e.     Are their old employees who have moved on, or friends of employees who might be able to fill in last minute? 

START REDUCING STRESS – CHECK LIST: Find your back-up team, contact them, make sure they are trained.

3.     Make sure basic maintenance is not overlooked when staff and resources are stretched thin.  

Accountability is key when things get busy. Go old school and print out a checklist (or hang a white board) of critical items and when they need to be accomplished (pre-open, at closing), with a place for the responsible person to mark their INITIALS. Initialling is an important sign of accountability. If you don’t already do this, now is a good time to start. 

Start as early as possible to ensure habits and processes are in place when needed.

If time is limited, focus on the elements that will most effect customers, ie: 

a.     Who takes out the trash?

b.     Who checks bathrooms, and how many times during open hours?

c.     Who breaks down any custom installations and puts away furniture?

d.     Who tidies up the main areas? (ie: fallen branches or blown-in trash from last night’s wind storm)

e.     Who makes sure walkways are de-iced, safe, and well lit?

START REDUCING STRESS – CHECK LIST: Create a simple check-list and post it in staff areas; discuss it at your next staff meeting. 

4.     Give yourself extra hours in the week by managing live music shows with AmptUp. 

We all know and love Google docs/cal, but it has serious limitations for putting on a show. Most importantly, it requires you to copy/paste, upload, and input constantly to make it function for live music booking. And of course, that increases human errors on both sides (double bookings, confusion on pricing, etc.). 

Get hours back every week with these time-savers:

a.     Put show details in once in AmptUp, and let it flow in where it’s needed automatically.

b.     Automatically receive marketing assets, every time a Musician approves a show.

c.     Give Musicians everything they need, so you’re not answering repetitive questions before the show. 

d.     Give your team everything they need so you’re not uploading, emailing, and updating multiple people each time…especially for last minute changes 

e.     Track the status (and details) of ALL bookings in a single dashboard, so you’re not looking through email threads to get answers.

f.      Automatically download the run-of-show, instead of building spreadsheets.

START REDUCING STRESS – CHECK LIST:  Email the booking link to your marketing or sound people where they can download what they need (marketing photos? Stage plots?). Click “Download Run of Show”, print it, and tape it to the wall or hand it out if needed – for the less tech savvy team members.

What is AmptUp?

AmptUp is the online booking tool that supports independent music Venues and helps them streamline booking, saving literal hours every week. Whether Musicians contact you, or you find them, with AmptUp you can:

  • Send and finalize booking offers FAST – 3 min. instead of 3 weeks.
  • Reduce the email overwhelm
  • Give Musicians everything they need automatically
  • Create a single source of truth for your team and the Musicians’
  • Get Musician assets WHEN the show is booked
Book fast and clear with AmptUp, so you can focus on promoting the show or running the business.
Schedule a demo here.

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