Advice from a music promoter

Advice from Jacob Smid, of Emerge Entertainment, which staged the Toronto V Fest.

TheStar.com - Local promoter lands the big gig: "'It's a combination of things,' Smid says. 'The first one is experience and reputation. In this business, all you have is your reputation. Until you are in a position to call someone in L.A. who will vouch for you to three of their friends, it's hard to get anyone to take your calls there.'

"Today, Emerge has five full-time employees, including Smid. Another 200 workers will be contracted for V Fest, including technicians and stagehands....

"'The reality is that once you get bigger, it gets easier,' he says. 'The hardest thing is trying to pull off a club gig by yourself. That's a lot of work. When you have a big project and you have a lot of time and you can hire people who excel at what they do, it makes it easier.'...

"Risk, however, is in the nature of the business.

"'I always say that if you took your business plan as a concert promoter to a bank, nobody would ever lend you a penny,' Smid says.

"'The risk-to-reward ratio is pretty vast. It's very easy to lose $10,000. It's very difficult to make $1,000. But if you're overly cautious, you're not going to do 80 per cent of the deals. At the end of the day, you have to have an ear for the music and a gut feeling.'"