Background
For a band to make a living from performing, you can’t quote from scratch and rehearse a new set every time. I wanted to run “live performance” as a product: a clear position, repeatable content, and packages I could pitch to different kinds of clients.
What I did
- Built a product line of shows. I designed a series of themed concept performances (“Real Taiwanese Soul”, “Drama Night”, “I Love Eason”, “Rock with Mayday”, “The Songs That Grew Up With Pixel”), each with a full setlist, visuals and a script, ready to pitch to government bodies, companies and shopping malls.
- Built distribution and credibility. Earned certified street-performer licences in seven cities/counties and used them as a base to work with public bodies and event agencies. Recurring clients included the Workforce Development Agency, Taipei City and Yilan County cultural affairs bureaus, the Douliu City Office, SET TV’s creative marketing team and 7-Eleven’s North Region sales office.
- Led a team of three-plus. Owned rehearsals, roles, quoting, on-site delivery and wrap-up, plus equipment, transport and cost control.
- Gave back through performance. Scheduled charity sets for the Homeless Taiwan Association, the New Taipei Street Friend Outreach Association and the Children & Youth Hope Association.
Selected performances
- New Taipei Christmasland concert opener — ~10,000 in the audience
- Hualien Summer Festival concert opener — ~10,000 in the audience
- Yuanli Cihe Temple gala opener — ~6,000 in the audience
- Taipei City cultural affairs bureau — Shilin Residence chrysanthemum show
- Performing act at the Excellent Journalism Award ceremony
- Yilan County street-performer certification press conference
- 7-Eleven North Region events — 20+ shows
Outcome
100+ commercial performances over six years, opening for events such as New Taipei Christmasland and the Hualien Summer Festival (~10,000 people each), and selected as a role-model venture in the government’s “Phoenix Micro-Entrepreneurship” programme.
Running a band taught me the same thing HR later would: take a craft and turn it into something you can deliver, measure and scale, then bring a group of people along to do it well.