There’s one truth you’ll discover soon enough if you just opened a bar, if you’re having a wedding, if you’re holding a block party, and that is: Where there is live music, there will be people. There’s no better way to boost attendance than to hire band to play a show for the crowd.
Now obviously, it helps to get the best band you can find to come throw down some Rock and Roll for the people, but the truth is, people will come to see a band that’s not even all that great because, what the heck, it’s entertainment, so a GOOD band is icing on the cake.
Music is such an incredibly important piece of being a human being. Ever since we were cavemen, music has driven the culture, it has driven every facet of everyday life. Music is played in tribal societies to celebrate a hunt, as part of a ceremony, or to rally the troops for combat or sport. In the developed world, we listen to music in our cars, we put the radio on at work, we relax to it when we take a bath or put on a soft song to help us sleep when we’ve had a bad day.
The most important aspect of music is its social element. Like we said: Where there’s music, there will always be people. Without Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra, we highly doubt that the baby boom would have been such a big boom.
A live show always draws a crowd because people know that they can always meet new people there. A company picnic is just a company picnic, and people might or might not show up. A company picnic with a live band is another story entirely. People show up because that, even if the music turns out to not be their scene, they can at least expect to meet some new business contacts, make some new friends, get more closely acquainted with their associates, and who knows, maybe meet a nice girl/guy in the process.
If you’re running a business, hosting a promotional event, or really, doing anything where you’re trying to bring in the public, you can read this in a different way: Where there is music, there are customers. Nobody ever went broke or saw a disappointing turnout for a public event or party while providing the people with beer, Rock and Roll, and a place to just hang out and socialize.
Now, of course, the better the band, the bigger a crowd you can expect to see at your event, but the fact remains that any music at all will bring more people in than a few fliers and a face painting booth. Music drives human culture, with no music, there are no parties, with no music, there really is no event in the first place.
As far as great lures go, the advertising and public relations industries have yet to top the drawing power of live music.