This pertains to artists, hosts, publicists and anyone interested in house concerts.

Fran,
Thank you so much for responding. This is exactly the information I was looking for, and I can see how some house concert hosts would rather avoid the complications and misunderstandings that could come from publicizing their event through traditional channels. For those who think they could benefit from the occasional targeted publicity effort, I hear you saying to follow these 3 Golden Rules of house concert publicity:

  • Rule #1 — For legal (and financial) reasons, house concert are private, not public, events [ed. note: insurance and safety are good reasons as well]
  • Rule #2 — Pay strict attention to “suggested donation” language
  • Rule #3 — The house concert host must approve anything before it is released to the media, so call them; they may not want media at all

Absolutely feel free to blog about this.
Regards, Rob

On Fri, Jan 29, 2010 at 5:37 PM, Fran Snyder wrote:

Hi Rob,
Good question, and a very important one.

If house concerts were deemed to be public events, ASCAP/BMI/SESAC would have the responsibility of licensing those public performances. Those fees would dissuade most people from even hosting house concerts, since they make no money to offset the cost. House concerts are an altruistic hobby, not a business.

Because people who don’t understand house concerts sometimes like to mettle in things, publicity can sometimes result in zoning complaints and accusations that the host is running a business (music venue) in their home. Several have been challenged (somewhat unsuccessfully, but at high cost) in court.

Therefore we strongly recommend that house concerts promote themselves as private, invitation only events, even if they put up a few posters or do a newspaper/radio interview. Those who find out about the event may “ask for an invitation” by contact the host through their website, or ours, but it should be clear that people cannot just walk up to someone’s house uninvited.

Another very important point is that there should be no mention of tickets, admission, or a charge. The ONLY acceptable language is a “suggested donation.”

One last point: You should never, ever publicize a house concert without the hosts consent. They should have complete control over what information appears (such as email, address, etc.) and where.

I hope you’ll find this helpful. Happy to continue this further if you have questions.

Incidentally, with your permission, I would love to share this exchange on our blog, since it has not been properly addressed before.

Best, Fran Snyder

On Jan 29, 2010, at 5:25 PM, Rob Crissinger wrote:

Hi Fran,

K.C. Clifford gave me your contact info.  I’m helping her publicize her new album, and have noticed that not all of the house concerts she’s booked for are interested in receiving press coverage.  K.C. thought you might be able to explain this strange (to me) phenomenon :

Also, she’ll be in Kansas City for a Brown House Concert next Friday (Feb. 5).  Do you know if this is a “no publicity” house or if they’re OK with attention.  Also, can you think of anything about this particular concert series that the local media might find interesting?
Thank you for your time.

Sincerely, Rob
–
Rob Crissinger
Crissinger PR