Sound and fury
Music programmer Lauren Schreiber schools us on promotion and "bandiquette"
By Stevie Howell
Published: April 2nd, 2008 | 9:15pm
In every city, every night, countless bands perform. The best shows don’t only involve great music — they also tend to happen at a handful of venues that become known for putting on consistently excellent events. The people who make this look easy are music programmers. Lauren Schreiber, 23, is one of Toronto’s best music programmers. She's possibly the youngest and one of few females in the industry. Schreiber works for the Drake Hotel, a venue that's hosted everyone from M.I.A. and Beck to smaller acts such as Plants and Animals.
Becoming a music programmer was not necessarily what Schreiber had in mind — nor what others had in mind for her. Playing flute since age 3, it was expected she would carry on with the instrument at the university level; alternatively, it was assumed she would continue on in theater. She just knew, however, neither of these options was “it.” She picked up and moved from her beloved Montreal to Toronto, without knowing anyone.
“I was always at shows, and I just wanted to be involved, because it’s a world that I love,” Schreiber says. She credits the (short-lived) courses she took in event management with at least helping her to figure out what it was in the industry that she wanted to do. "And when I found promoting, I was like, ‘Oh, this is what I love.’ I love music and people, and I was like, 'How can I connect them?'”
But, she says, she learned everything she knows from experience. Another prominent programmer, Ryan McLaren, offered Schreiber a chance to work on his all-ages music series. “With Ryan, I learned ‘How long before a show should you poster? When do you have to have things ready?’ Little things that you forget, like having the proper change, making sure you get the get list, making sure you get the information to the technician.” And she learned that there are always glitches once the evening comes. “It never goes off without a hitch. I’ve never had a show that didn’t have a problem. There’s always something unexpected.” So along with loving music and people, it's crucial to know how to plan, and it helps to have grace under pressure.
There are other challenges. While Schreiber says there “is no gender in music,” she admits to being acutely aware at times of the low ratio of women in the music promotion and venue-owning world. “I think it has to do with the behavior that a promoter is supposed to have — to be cunning, ruthless, to be the one who comes out on top. It’s a real alpha male thing, because you’re competing for bands all the time. I just don’t know that there are a lot of women that are that competitive, and even I didn’t come at it that way.”
She also longs for better “bandiquette.” Schreiber explains that even the most talented artists need to develop basic skills that help them build a relationship with music programmers and promoters. Her advice: “Always thank the promoter, always thank the sound tech. Always tell the promoter what bands are coming up. Your reputation travels so fast.”
Schreiber says that she measures the success of a night by how happy the bands are. “If they enjoy themselves, the crowd enjoys itself.” Even though she has put on numerous memorable shows, she is proud of the first show she put on alone — less than a year ago. In her typically cool and behind-the-scenes style, Schreiber says the key to her personal success has been the musical community itself. “I support the music community, and very luckily the music community supports me back.”
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