House Concerts - Q&A

If you have questions not answered here, please email me. Also check out the links below.

What is a house concert and how does it work?
A house concert is exactly what it sounds like; a concert presented in a private home. It's the ideal setting for listening to acoustic music as there's no sound system, and it gives the musicians and listeners a chance to meet and talk about the music. This is not a new idea. In fact, a lot of musicians feel the house concert is a continuation of an ancient tradition.

How big a house is needed, and how many people for an audience?
There's no rule on this, but generally you'll want to get at least 30-40 people to make it work financially for the musicians.

How is the concert advertised?
Just inviting people over for some music is not enough. You need to get the word out to a lot of people, then be prepared to take reservations by phone or email and keep track of how many people are coming. Some people who have house concerts prefer to limit the audience to people they know, so they might do a phone tree or email notice to their friends and neighbors. Other people like to open it up to the public, so they might ask that their email announcement be passed on. Some people even put up notices at the local grocery store. An important point here is to NOT include your address in any announcements going to the general public, only your telephone and email. This allows you to limit the audience to the size you can deal with, and it also allows you to do a bit of screening. Ask people to confirm their seat in advance, and keep a list. Also, it's a good idea to slightly overbook your house concert - the one flaw in the system is that people will cancel at the last minute and there's not much you can do about it except glare at them in the supermarket.

How much do people pay to attend, and what are the musicians paid?
The price of admission varies according to where you are, but typical is $15, sometimes less or more. Although musicians like to have a guaranteed fee, they're usually paid whatever is taken in at the door. It may be referred to as a "suggested donation", but it's important that someone keep track of the money taken in, and make sure everyone who attends pays their share. (Some hosts do offer a "guarantee" by asking a few friends to take responsibility for part of the total paid to the musicians. For example, if only ten people agreed to guarantee $60 each, the musicians could count on a minimum fee of $600. With an audience of 40, the entire guarantee could be paid back out of the income at the door.)

What about CD sales?
Musicians often have CDs to sell, an important part of their income and an opportunity for the audience to purchase recordings that might be impossible to find elsewhere. It's very helpful if the host arranges in advance for someone to sell the CDs, during the break and after the concert. It's next to impossible for the musicians to sell their own CDs at the same time everyone wants to talk to them. Record keeping can be very simple; have the musician(s) write down an accurate count of how many of each CD they're putting out for sale, and at the end of the night count them again for a total number sold.

Do I need to serve food or drinks?
No. Some hosts do have food and / or drinks, but it's not necessary and it's entirely a matter of how much time you have for it. If friends are coming, a house concert is sometimes preceded or followed by a potluck.

Any other tips?
Chairs! Most people don't have enough seats, but you can ask friends to bring them, or possibly borrow them from a church, etc. Also, if you have space it's good to offer lodging for the night to musicians who are on the road. The cost of motel rooms would pretty much consume whatever they might make at the door.

Here are some links to websites with more information.

Russ and Julie's excellent list of websites. www.jrp-graphics.com/houseconcerts/resources.html

An interesting article in the New York Times about the house concert phenomenon. www.jrp-graphics.com/houseconcerts/nytimes.html

A very good and detailed guide by Tom Neff. www.houseconcerts.org/hc.html

Yahoo has a good page with a bunch of resources. dir.yahoo.com/Entertainment/Music/Genres/Folk_and_Traditional/House_Concerts/

There's even a book about it... House Concert: A Guide for Musicians and Hosts by Douglas McLeod and Kimberli Ransom http://wordworkspublishing.com/