Spotlight + Stage = Sales
How to Use Live Music to Promote Products and Grow Your Venue
🍸 Marketing That Sings: Why Live Music is the Most Underrated Promo Tool in Your Venue
Let’s be honest — coming up with bar marketing ideas can feel like trying to reinvent the wheel every single week. But here’s the truth:
You already have the most powerful promotional asset in your bar every Friday and Saturday night.
They’ve got a microphone, a captive audience, and a natural flair for engagement.
Yes — I’m talking about your live music artists.
If you’re not already leveraging their stage presence to promote products, sponsors, local community businesses, or even in-house merch, then you’re leaving visibility, sales, and sponsorship dollars on the table.
🎤 Stage Power: The Artist as Your Brand Emissary
When an artist performs live in your venue, they become:
A host
A voice of trust
An energy conductor
A walking, talking promotional channel
Their words, energy, and influence matter. Your patrons watch them, listen to them, and — crucially — engage when prompted.
So here’s the golden question:
What are they promoting for you while they’ve got the mic?
🎉 Why Giveaways Work: The Data
Giveaways aren’t just feel-good fluff. They’re proven marketing machines:
According to a 2023 Eventbrite survey, over 65% of patrons are more likely to attend an event if there’s a chance to win a prize.
Brands that use live giveaways experience a 20-30% increase in social media engagement during and after the event.
The Promotional Products Association International (PPAI) reports that 83% of people remember the brand behind a giveaway item, and 79% will look up the brand online after receiving a promo item.
Sponsored giveaways offer the double win — you create an experience for your patrons and provide valuable marketing ROI to a local brand or sponsor.
🔄 A Simple Formula That Works
Identify Products or Services to Promote
In-house merch: stubby coolers, hats, shirts, glassware
Sponsored products: cocktail brands, local brewers, energy drinks, community businesses
Event-related swag: free entry, drinks, food vouchers, VIP passes
Engage Local Businesses and Sponsors
Offer them live-stage promo in exchange for giveaway items
Pitch the idea: “Your product promoted to 300+ patrons on a Friday night with stage presence, social reach, and brand mention by the artist.”
Create a Giveaway Activation
“First to dance wins!”
“Most creative photo of the night wins!”
“Scan the QR code and follow us to enter!”
“Drop your business card in the fishbowl to win!”
Use the Artist to Run the Promo
During the set, your artist hypes up the prize, the brand, and your venue
They announce winners live on stage, creating buzz and FOMO
Bonus: get them to post the giveaway on their socials too
Capture the Moment
Have staff snap photos or videos of the giveaway in action
Tag everyone — artist, sponsor, venue — and encourage re-shares
Run a follow-up post with the winner and tag them too
📱 Multiply the Impact with Social Media
Giveaways are the perfect vehicle for user-generated content. Every shared photo, tagged story, or check-in becomes free advertising for your venue and sponsors.
Encourage the crowd to post during the event
Display a screen with a live hashtag feed if possible
Offer a small reward for tagging your venue or artist
This content lives long after the last note of the encore.
🎯 Real-Life Scenario: The Power of Partnership
Let’s say…
You’ve got a local craft gin company eager for exposure
They provide 4 branded bottles and 2 hats
Your Friday night band announces the "G+T Showdown” — best crowd dance gets a bottle
The band tags the sponsor, the venue, and films it
Patrons cheer, share, and ask where to buy the gin
Now you’ve:
Sold more gin at the bar
Promoted a local business
Created a memory
Boosted your venue’s online visibility
All with one mic, one prize, one night.
🤝 Ask Your Pushworth Booker: Let’s Get Strategic
Our team books the talent and helps shape experiences. We’ll help you:
Coordinate with artists open to on-stage promotions
Connect you with local sponsors and community partners
Build themed event campaigns around your products or goals
Live music is the heartbeat. We’ll help you turn it into marketing muscle.
📩 Reach out. Let’s make your next gig unforgettable — for your audience and your brand partners.
Written by Nichola Burton. I work in partnership with Agents, Artist Managers and Event Producers, who juggle a diverse range of relationships in the Musoverse, to curate, manage and measure data in systems, experience, creative and content to support the entire Musoverse operation in my enterprise A Little Pitchy Copyright 2025