Chamber orchestra with a ticketed concert series

Audience members buying tickets, local businesses sponsoring concerts, and sometimes venues, community groups or arts funders.

Ticket sales and sponsorship cover musician fees, venue rental and marketing. Extras can include programme advertising, donations and being hired for private or festival events.

• Programming music and leading rehearsals
• Budgeting and managing risk per concert
• Marketing and ticket sales
• Building relationships with sponsors and venues

• Concert costs are paid before tickets sell, so you could lose money on a quiet night
• Check whether you need performance licences (such as SOCAN) and whether the venue already holds them
• Commercial general liability insurance, and check the venue's own requirements
• Check whether non-profit or charity status suits you, as it affects grants and donations, and ask your province or the Canada Revenue Agency
• Check whether you must collect GST/HST on tickets once revenue passes the threshold
• Winter weather can hurt attendance, so plan dates and a backup

Startup costs are estimated at typically around $3,000 to $15,000, depending on venue rental, musician fees, promotion and insurance. Concert costs are paid before tickets sell, so you could lose money on a quiet night.

Monthly revenue is estimated at typically around $2,000 to $10,000, depending on ticket sales, sponsorship and how many concerts you stage. Winter weather can hurt attendance, so plan dates and a backup.

Check whether you need performance licences such as SOCAN and whether the venue already holds them. Also check commercial general liability and venue requirements, whether non-profit or charity status suits you, and whether to collect GST/HST on tickets.