Planning club nights: from the concept to a full dance floor

Concept: sound, crowd and regular series

Start not with the DJ but with the question of who you want to reach on which night. A techno club with an afterhours crowd works differently from a bar that plays house and disco on Fridays, or a student club with hip-hop on Thursdays. For each night, define the music, target crowd, price level and dress code. The clearer the profile, the easier it is to find the right DJs and the more precisely you can aim your promotion.

Series have proven themselves: a fixed date, say every first Saturday of the month, with its own name, its own look and one or two resident DJs who shape the night. Guests remember “the disco night on Friday” more easily than one-off events with changing titles. Book well-known guest DJs deliberately as highlights, not every week. That keeps your numbers predictable and gives your club a face.

DJ booking: fees, agreement and taxes

Fees are freely negotiable and range from drinks plus a small fixed amount for up-and-coming local DJs to large sums for internationally booked names, who usually come through an agency. Three models are common: a fixed fee, a share of the door (door deal) or a combination of a small fixed fee and a bonus above a certain number of guests. For residents, fixed terms over several months make sense and give both sides reliability.

Put every booking in writing, even with friends. An email with the key points is often enough; agency bookings come with a contract and a rider (technical and personal requirements).

Taxes and levies: if you pay fees to DJs based abroad, a withholding tax may apply that you as the organiser must deduct and pay over (Austria § 99 EStG, Germany § 50a EStG). In Germany there is also the Künstlersozialabgabe, the artists' social security levy: anyone who holds more than three events a year with self-employed artists is usually liable, and DJs count as artists. The rate is set anew each year. Clarify both with your tax adviser before the first series.

Music licences: AKM in Austria, GEMA in Germany

As soon as music is played in public, whether live, from a laptop or from vinyl, you need a licence from the collecting society. According to AKM, the organiser is always responsible, meaning whoever holds the event and presents themselves to the public as the organiser. This also applies if you have agreed a door deal with the DJ. An existing contract for background music usually does not cover club nights with a DJ.

For regular series, it pays to talk to the responsible AKM office or GEMA regional office: there are often better terms for recurring events or for members of associations. In Austria, members of the Chamber of Commerce (WKO) get the conditions of the collective agreement between AKM and the events association VVAT. In Germany, associations such as DEHOGA partly offer their members discounts through collective agreements with GEMA; ask your regional association.

Sound, lights and the running order of the night

A dance floor forgives a lot, but not bad sound. A system that is sized for the room and properly calibrated sounds powerful even at moderate levels. That is good for your guests, your team's hearing and the neighbours. The standard DJ booth today has two to four players, a club mixer, a good monitor and enough space for a laptop or turntables. Ask guest DJs about their setup in advance instead of improvising on the night.

• Sound: have the system calibrated, set the limiter, keep spare cables and a second playback device ready.
• Lights: a few well-placed effects do more than many; use haze only so that smoke detectors and escape routes are not affected.
• Safety: keep escape routes clear, know your capacity and count at the door, check emergency lighting and first aid supplies.
• Staff: plan bar, cloakroom, door and tech for the expected crowd, with one clear contact person for the DJ.
• Running order: write down get-in and soundcheck, doors, set times, lights on and last call, and share it with everyone.

The door, admission and a safe environment for all guests are topics of their own: how to organise door policy, security and awareness is covered in the guide door, security and awareness. Advance sales, box office and guest lists are covered in the guide tickets and guest list.

Noise control: neighbours as part of the plan

Noise is the most common reason why clubs get conditions imposed, have to close earlier or in the worst case lose their permit. The yardstick is your venue's permit and the limits it sets. In Austria, the authority checks in the business premises procedure under § 74 GewO whether neighbours are unreasonably disturbed; in Germany, authorities usually apply the TA Lärm noise regulation to bars and clubs. Stick to the levels and conditions, even when the night is going really well.

Costing: does the night pay off?

A club night is carried by entry fees and drinks sales. Before every series, list all costs per night and work out how many guests you need at your entry price and a realistic bar spend per guest to cover them. The free break-even calculator gives you that number. Good drinks margins are the foundation; how to price drinks properly is explained in the guide to the drinks menu. Use the drinks price calculator for bars to work out the price per drink. How to keep track of cost structure, revenue mix and KPIs like spend per head is explained in the guide running a profitable club.

Promotion online: events page, Instagram and Resident Advisor

Today guests mostly decide on their phone where to go at the weekend. The basis of all promotion is an events page on your own website: current programme, line-up, doors, entry price, age limit, directions and a link to ticket sales. Link to this page from every channel. Unlike an Instagram post, it stays findable, including on Google. How to promote events on your own website, in your Google profile and on Facebook is explained in the guide promoting events online.

• Instagram: an announcement with the line-up about two weeks ahead, stories with a countdown and snippets from the DJs, a few impressions on the night, photos afterwards. Tips on profile and content in the guide Instagram for hospitality.
• Facebook events: for many guests still the weekend calendar; add DJs and collectives as co-hosts so their fans see it.
• Resident Advisor (RA): the most important event platform for electronic music. Clubs and promoters create a profile and list events with their line-up, and many guests search there specifically for parties in their city.
• City magazines and event calendars: local media, city portals and scene calendars often list dates for free.
• DJs and collectives: ask everyone involved to share the event and give them ready-made graphics in the right formats.