The Conservatory is an all ages live music venue located in Central Oklahoma City, Britton, in the Western Avenue and Britton Road neighbourhood. It holds a cult status among rock and metal fans in the area, thanks to the many live gigs and the great atmosphere of those who attend. It’s the perfect place for anyone looking for heavier music options and a great time.

The live shows are plentiful, and range from indie, grunge and blues, all the way to hip-hop, punk, rock, metal, and hardcore bands. It is a place where local and upcoming bands can book evening slots to showcase new music and talent, as long as you submit a decent proposal or mixtape. Playing in venues such as The Conservatory can help gain more experience as well as a better reputation to get your band out there, luckily smaller venues like this are easier to book in some ways but you need to stand out, and here’s how you do it.

Submitting An Effective Band Proposal

While many slots mid-week are free to play, in a popular venue such as this where tickets are frequently sold out, there is heavy competition and a long waiting list. Make your way to the top by doing these things:

Show off your best

Always put your best tracks onto the mixtape or CD submission so that no matter what track is picked, it’s high quality audio and a great sound. This means that you are showing exactly what you can do and what owners can expect. Try not to alter the sound too much in post-production because this is not an accurate reflection of your live sound, which is ultimately what you are applying for.

Stand Out

Do something different to stand out. As a prominent place in the metal scene, many will be covering the same songs or bands, giving the same atmosphere and vibe so you want to make a point of doing things differently. Some of the ways to do this could include creating your own original songs or adapting to create unique covers such as popular pop songs into heavy rock etc. Incorporating different elements into your music makes you more diverse and memorable for those who may request you in future.

Follow Up

With the amount of submissions received by The Conservatory, not every one of them can be listened to and dealt with but those who are serious can follow up. Doing this shows commitment and can often bring your submission to the front of the pile. While you shouldn’t pester the owners with requests, you could send an email 2 weeks after submitting and then a phone call to chase up if you haven’t heard anything else in a week or so.

Organise Yourself

It is important that you make it as easy as possible for someone to hire you to play. Doing your own organisation and admin alongside your proposal can go a long way to getting you picked. For example; include your staging, lighting and equipment requirements in the proposal as well as the terms for your contract that you would be expecting. Go above and beyond so that all questions are answered from the outset, so they know exactly what they are going to get.

Include Clear Contact Details

The number one mistake bands make when submitting a proposal is the focus so much on the content and music, they forget to leave their contact details and way for owners to follow up with you. Leave more than one way to get in contact, e.g. an email, website, phone number and even an address if you are local. It makes things easier and gives more chance of getting through.

Why No Re-Entry?

One of the elements that ticket-holders commonly ask about and have a problem with is the no re-entry policy. In essence this means that if you leave The Conservatory out of the front door, you will not be permitted to go back in that evening. It seems like a silly rule, however, as a popular venue with a smaller capacity at 240 persons it often has a queue outside, particularly when well-known bands are playing.

When patrons leave, new people waiting are allowed entry and this means capacity is reached again. If re-entry is allowed it can be difficult to say who is going to come back in and who is going to leave permanently so these rules in place allow as many people as possible to enjoy their night to the fullest. For smokers and e-smokers, there are areas out of the back which are part of the venue and therefore not affected by the no-entry rule.

Benefits of All-Inclusive Venues

Most venues have restrictions such as age, alcohol licensing, capacity etc. So, the one question that you need to ask yourself is; how can you make the most out of this venue? The answer is going all-inclusive and here’s why. A venue that caters to a variety of different ages, demographics and allows for food and drink can be considered all-inclusive. That is what The Conservatory is.

Restrictions

First, it is worth checking if the restrictions of your venue are imposed by your local authority or if they are imposed by the previous owners of your establishment. The reason for looking in to this is if you offer an all-inclusive venue rather than a venue which has restrictions, you will be able to have are wider clientele base and reach out to a larger market. This will also mean that your popularity should increase and your business has the potential of longevity as you have diversified.

Potential Revenue

The more open that your venue is, the more you open up your potential for revenue. This is simply because you will attract people of all ages and from all walks of life. In turn, interest in your venue should be larger therefore your revenue should increase. It goes without saying that increasing revenue will help you develop your business further. It will also open up new avenues for you to be able to expand in to and increase the size of your current premises as your popularity grows. Plus, the more people who want to come, the more tickets you sell. It’s that simple!

Funding/Investments

As mentioned above, the amount of clientele that your business has generated should attract investors. An investor is looking for a business which is thriving before they would consider investing. Surely, an all-inclusive venue would thrive as your market is open. Additionally, you may be eligible for more or different types of funding as for example you are providing something to suit the vast majority of the public.

Educational and Influential

An all-inclusive venue could have a positive influence on your customers. For example, if your venue is holding a live music event, young children attending the event maybe influenced positively as what they have seen may encourage them to pursue a talent or a hobby further.

Local Communities

If your venue is all-inclusive then it would be a great place for local communities to socialise together. The younger generation would benefit from spending time with their families and other older role models. This is something that other cultures do naturally and do well and something that should be further encouraged here. Local communities absolutely love local businesses expanding thus bringing new in jobs to the local community.

As being an integral part of the community, you can see by the above the benefits of being all-inclusive far outweigh than being restricted. In any situation whereby, you have a venue to suit any genre, it is worth making sure that you appeal to the masses. If you take for example a children’s party, most parents look for a safe, clean and welcoming environment. That same party, you could have had guests that are considering doing a different type of adult party or a theme music night, so new business has been attracted naturally.

Other Events You Can Hold At The Conservatory

Music events are obviously the most notorious at The Conservatory but that doesn’t mean you are limited. Many have booked events that include; Adult-only evenings, wedding receptions, student evenings, game-nights, lunches and it has been incorporated as part of music tours in the past.

While this isn’t the official website for The Conservatory, it serves as a way of understanding the different benefits and restrictions of The Conservatory as well as why it has become so popular.