guides · hosting · ticketing
A Realistic Checklist for Your First Ticketed Event
Everything between the idea and the door — in the order you actually need to do it.
Your first ticketed event will teach you more than a year of going to other people's. Here is the order that keeps it from going sideways.
Eight weeks out
- Write the budget first. Venue, talent, sound, security, insurance, printing. Work out the break-even ticket count before anything else.
- Lock the venue and get the contract in writing, including the end time.
Six weeks out
- Confirm the lineup with fees and set times in the same message.
- Set up ticketing. Price the first tier low enough to create early momentum.
Four weeks out
- Announce. One strong image beats five weak ones.
- Give every artist assets sized for their platforms.
The week of
- Confirm security ratio and door staff.
- Walk the room. Find where the queue forms and where it goes wrong.
- Print a run sheet with every phone number on one page.
Night of
Your only job is to be reachable and to make decisions quickly. If you are behind the booth all night, you are not running the event.