Starting out as a humble after-prom ticket seller, John Dimatteo has redefined “making it big”. Currently he’s the head promoter for Tiesto among many other artists. Read on to learn from the best.
Baris:
First of all , thanks so much for agreeing to interview.
New Yorkers will get 3 days of Tiesto next week. That must be keeping you really busy?
John Dimatteo:
Yes it has to say the least.
Baris:
You are already an industry vet with an impressive resume at a young age. Your company Area Event promotes some of the top talent. First, tell us when and how you got started?
John Dimatteo:
I started off selling tickets for after-prom parties in high school. I also was a promoter at the Tunnel among other clubs. I even used to pass out flyers during my freshmen year in college
I eventually started throwing my own parties by age 19.
I started my first promotion company Clique in 2000.
Baris:
All in NYC I suppose?
John Dimatteo:
I started Area Event in 2005. With my first company we did events in NYC weekly, Las Vegas weekly and Miami for the WMC.
Baris:
Do you collaborate with local promoters there or manage remotely?
John Dimatteo:
We used to collaborate with local promoters more frequently in the past. Lately we collaborate with local promoters periodically. We manage a large team of sub-promoters.
Baris:
How did you see the scene change since early 2000s?
John Dimatteo:
I miss the scene from the early 2000s it has changed quite a bit, especially in NYC.
Baris:
Can you please elaborate on that?
John Dimatteo:
In the Early 2000s you had a few big clubs, Twilo, Roxy, Tunnel, Limelight, Sound Factory, Exit, Webster Hall among others. All of which were doing consistent business.
From then until now there were tons of lounges and small clubs opening, which really saturated the market.
Baris:
And they disappear without making a mark?
John Dimatteo:
I think every club makes a mark in one way or another.
Baris:
I am basically trying to understand how that impacts your business.
Having a few strong clubs vs. a variety of smaller ones.
John Dimatteo:
As a promoter it impacts my business because we have a smaller pool of venues to choose from when booking shows. In the old days there were many to choose from.
Due to the nature of shows that Area Event typically produces we usually require larger venues with capacities upwards of 1,500 people.
Baris:
I see. Looking at the technology, life-style side of things. Another thing that changed in 2000s is that we now live in a world of social networks, quality web apps, smartphones, broadband access, etc.
How is that impacting the way you promote your events?
John Dimatteo:
We promote and market our events just the same. It really only effects the booking of our events. It can be difficult at times to find a venue that is available on the same day that the artist is available.
Baris:
I can easily think of an iphone application which alerts you when Tiesto is within 100 miles range of where you are;).
John Dimatteo:
Very nice, the fans would love that.
Baris:
I would think twitter, Facebook, etc would help in marketing?
No?
John Dimatteo:
Absolutely. We utilize facebook, twitter, digg, eventful and many many other social networking websites to promote our events.
Baris:
Internet is supposed to be a less costly, more effective media to promote things.
John Dimatteo:
For sure. I think the internet is the best means of promotion
Baris:
Hey, we just ran out of time.
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Tags: Area Event, Facebook, Promoter, social media, tiesto, Twitter, venue, WMC