Starting a New Club

U2 is dead?

There is something in Ceka's advice although she presupposes a lack of taste on the part of the person responsible for choosing the music. True music-lovers like to be surprised by tracks they might not have chosen themselves, had not heard before, had perhaps forgotten or quite simply did not expect to hear at all. Most will tolerate a track they hate when they can expect that the next one might just as easily be a track they love. I would expect you to have a thorough appreciation of music and how club-goers relate to it if you seriously want to make a go of this.

Much of the positive advice in this thread is pretty much sound and the negative advice is useless - do what you want to do and see how it goes because that's what SL is about. There is every chance that you may succeed where so many others have failed (and I fail to understand why folk who by their own admission don't go to clubs feel they have anything to contribute here).

I would stress that a good build is essential. Even if guests are not given to critcising build quality, most people are aware of good design on some level or other and it can't hurt to have a considered and comfortable layout. (Avoid red like the plague because it seems to be the knee-jerk choice of colour for adult-orientated venues of any description.) Try a small, intimate place to begin with. Huge halls look cold and uninviting with a handful of avs scattered around - or worse still a little knot of twenty or more avs dancing in a corner, which can look cliquey and intimidating. It is always best to arrive as close to the action as possible.

Tacky lights and spammy devices are a sure-fire way to kill any attempt at ambience (I believe that even the best graphics cards can only handle up to six separate light sources at a time so place your lighting carefully). A low-key style is also important amongst your guests - face lights, gestures and scripted body parts are nothing less than atrocities at public events. It is not unreasonable to ask guests to limit their use of such devices, to remove them entirely or at least to switch them off since they generally interfere with other guests' enjoyment.

In many ways your guests will influence the style of the club to some extent so avoid listing rules in advance. Only the most obtuse players fail to respect the general rules of behaviour in SL and no amount of notecards and advice will sweeten a personality that stinks. A good host can guide his guest's behaviour much more effectively by setting an example. If folk don't pick up on that, you might as well ask them to leave.

Clubs generally close down in SL because the people who set them up do not put enough work into them - or at least they don't do the right *kind* of work. The few successful club environments that I have found are always run by a considerate, welcoming owner who is present as much of the time as he or she can possibly manage. Avoid involved and overly personal lines of chat with regulars since this is likely to make new-comers feel excluded. As someone pointed out above, do your best to include everyone and encourage others to do the same

In a nutshell, forget the whole idea if you can't see yourself working well with strangers.

No, but since when that stopped Elvis impersonators?

Interestingly my partner and I are thanked by regulars and new people alike at our club for the level of personal conversation we take with them Both of us make an effort to make coversation and become aquainted with those that spend time in our club and as a result get to know them on a personal level.

The new people who we spend time with usually comment that they already feel that they have been welcomed to a family or a group of close friends.

I think there is nothing wrong with having personal lines of chat esp with regulars as long as it does not excude those around you. Often we weill tell a back story to what e are talking about so that even though newer people might not have been there for soemthing in the club's past they learn about its history, culture and become a part of that.

Personal conversation, disucssion and debate is farmore interestign to a new person that gestures, talk about sex constantly, or discussions of the weather

That weird typing is a forum "feature", it autoconverts text to that initial caps thing if you forget to turn off caps lock.

Um... why is his inworld profile written in the same manner then?...

There is a group doing that now. They charge 10-12k PER SHOW and need 1500 prims to present it.

One thing to think about when opening a club is YOUR enjoyment of it - I think you need to create somewhere that reflects what you're personally passionate about, whether that's a musical, decorative or atmospheric stlye. You're going to be spending a lot of time and effort getting the place right, and so you need to have motivation over and above the desire to be 'successful'. Chances are, if there's passion in your build, it will attract other people, and it'll keep you going through the inevitable dramas and disappointments to come. Good luck.

The patrons have a lot more to do with how well I enjoy a club than any amount of ambience or greeting. I like it when people chat about relevent things or joke about the music, or "sing" along. I have no idea how you encourage this other than having the staff start it.

no actually i was not presupposing a lack of taste on the part of the person choosing the music..i was going by experience from all the clubs i have worked with and been to..and it was not meant as a variety in one night.it was meant as having one genre this day then a switching to a different one the next and so on..
in other words you will more than likely have more success with aiming for a certain crowd than trying to get everyone to your club.

i don't think anyone can pinpoint what true music lovers love since it is such a wide range and that there is no one truer than the next.
music is more mood based than anything..

some nights people may be in the mood for trance or some nights they may be in the mood for salsa..
if you are changing every night to a different genre they will not know what is going to be playing the next night but if you are a certain type they know where to go for that type of music they are in the mood for..
clubs are nothing more than playing the odds and trying to lure in the majority..
if all goes well you end up with loyal customers that love your place because it feels like their place they belong to..
builds are always changing and most times are on the lower end of the list for the reason people stick around..

Well I did say that "involved and overly personal lines of chat with regulars" are "likely to make new-comers feel excluded" and I think it would stand as a rule of thumb. You and your partner have a commendable policy which proves the exception to the rule.

Unfortunately it is my experience that many club owners do not take the trouble to balance their interaction between newcomers and regulars with the result that it is all too easy for a new visitor to feel as if he or she is intruding on a private soirée.


My apologies for picking you up wrongly, Ceka and I agree that it isn't a good idea to change genres from one night to the next.

If Zander wants to focus on a social club whereby it is more important to build a friendly and inviting arena for people to meet and have fun, I would recommend he plays an eclectic choice of music because there is no way to account for taste - in RL or SL. Otherwise if he wishes to develop a club for like-minded individuals of a certain bent, then he should pick a musical genre and stick to that choice.

Your mention of night gave me pause for thought, however, since it implies a specific time of the day. I don't think it is a good idea to run a club on a scheduled basis in SL. What is night for me could easily be late afternoon or the crack of dawn for someone else. Some folk are in-world for every minute they can spare while others are only in-world for limited periods at different times of their day. Clubs are hard-pressed to build and maintain a strong following in SL because of this: the number of potential guests at any given hour is limited when you consider that the 40-60,000 residents in-world at any given time are actually spread across all time-zones.

Zander should consider a rota of a few colleagues to help him run his establishment around the clock - or at least stream music to the sim on a 24 hour basis - which is a further complication of course.

Don't do a club, please!

With the demise of casinos, the vast majority of SL is one of three things:

Homes.

Stores.

Clubs.

Use a little imagination...come up with something that is NOT one of these.

Look, I'm guilty of doing all three, so this is a clear case of "do as I say, not as I do." The next thing I build, apart from my own home, is going to be something different. I don't know what yet...

/me kicks herself in the head in an attempt to jog her creativity engine into life.

If that's a complication, then maybe have other things to do in the club for those who stop by after-hours. That will get them hanging around a while possibly, and the longer they are there (anywhere) the more comfortable it might feel. When a place feels comfortable somebody might wanna come back. I don't know what those 'things' after hours might be - a game, an automatic prize giver (every so often) of some random freebies (one club had this and it was fun to see what weird items it would give out, even if I didn't want the item). I don't know, but I do think a little room off to the side where people can do something other than dance is good anyway.

So it needn't be staffed or 'open' 24 hours, but just feel like a nice place to be.

I think a regular day of the week for certain things is good, too. It needn't be all day every day but a customer knowing that Tuesday is pop music, or Wednesday is early rock, can get regulars coming back.

That's why places like Madhu's cafe or the Cartel Hangout find their way into my "special favorites" landmarks folder...they are simply nice places to be, whether or not there's a crowd there.

sorry..night is just a term i carry over from rl nightlife..clubs to me always remind me of night when i am in them no matter what time of day it is lol so i use the term to separate the each day in the week lol
it's an old habit

here a thought if you do this dont have guys for dancers * nods head* that crazy less you wanna a guys strip club but most guy wanna see ladys not guys and 2 you wanna get good ppl and great looking ppl i`ve a club and work in a few i tell you this any one can dance on a pole but can they keep a eye on them ? if not she wont make you much.
and there are some dancer out there now plzzzzzzzzzzzzz look at your self they think thay are hot lol ,,, and get alot of help it hard good luck with it

Have to agree with this one, granted my club does not have very high traffic though. It is a Goth and Rock club, my partner and I build it our self in the form of a small castle like building, nothing fancy or flashy, but its built with much love. We often get compliments on it, and even when nothing if going one people tend to donate and donate well to the club. Was quite amazed that some one dropped 400 L$ in our donation dish yesterday, and people take a landmark almost every day. So creating a build you enjoy, that is you, and will attract those of like mind is definitely good.

Have to also agree with going for 80's and/or classic rock, or a variety of music, but make sure it's what you and those that will staff your club enjoy.

anyone can dance on a pole? lol.ya that sounds like a lot of experience with dancers alright lol.
looks last about as long as it takes to say something that makes ya sound stupid.

if it was about only looks everyone would be making money as a dancer..and not all make great money..
looks may help to catch their attention..if you can't keep them entertained they'll just get up and walk away.
it's all in the attitude and how unique they are that separates awful,bad,good and great.
not looks.because looks in sl are a dime a dozen.

It's simple as this.. Nobody will make a club that everyone likes.. It's impossible

My dislikes with clubs:

1. If I get a group invite before the club even rezzes.. that's a major negative. Who say's I will even like the club? why would I want to join the group not knowing anything about it? If I want to join the group. I am well aware of how to do it..

2. Group tags required to join contests.. Hello club owners there is a limit of 25 groups.. Think about that.

3. Dancers saying "tip me tip me tip me" WTF? do a good job flirting and make them WANT to tip you.

4. DJ's thinking they are the cock of the block. Anyone can play music.. Entertain me Mr. DJ.

5. The canned gesture welcomes.. Are we this lazy in VR?

6. Lights and spinning objects.. They can seriously slow down a PC and take the fun out of it for some people.. like the old saying.. Keep it simple stupid!

7. Staff in the same contests as patrons.. We can see this a mile away, It's a way to keep the money in the club.. Duh.. quick sign to TP out.

8. Sploders set to high on the house take percentage. I have seen it in the pay outs. You can give away 90-95% of the sploder income and the winners walk away a winner. Seen clubs where the biggest winner only gets maybe 5% above what they put in.

It all comes down to does the person really know how to entertain? a newbie that just leaves welcome island can run a club. But can he/she run it well?


Best advice given in this entire thread.. "CLOSE IT"