mates along as you can. It gives the club the chance to sell a few drinks in the normally quiet early times and you'll have a bit of a crowd to work with. This is crucial, as promoters only care about two things: the right atmosphere, and how many people they can get in. STARTING YOUR OWN NIGHT This could be the answer if there are no clubs playing your kind of music. But beware! Club nights come and go all the time, the failure rate is frightening and the risks significant. Even the successful ones generally have a short shelf life. If you're lucky and dedicated you could become very rich. If you're unlucky and dedicated, you'll spend an awful lot of time and money and get yourself into debt. Is it viable? Before you begin, find out if your night can work. You might love your music, but how many other people do? Who will be your competitors? What venues are available? The right venue. Don't start too big. Bear in mind factors like the kind of crowd you're trying to attract, the price of the drinks, security, sound system, licenses and closing times, what nights they already have, how successful they are, and the location. It's best to start small and see if you can attract a reasonable number of punters. If all goes well, you can steadily expand over time. The key is to get your mates involved: if you know plenty of people, and they