Austin: The Live Music Capital of the World. The phrase is engraved into our brains. Music is one of the most prevalent facets of the Austin culture. Austin is famous for ACL, South By Southwest and Fun Fun Fun Fest, yet how does the music scene make itself happen? Showcases and musical events are products of hard-working promoters, and the music-oriented city of Austin has many of them.

Promoting is just as the word means, to promote. However, promoting an event takes a lot of time and energy. Not only do promoters make efforts to gather an audience through a series of promotional activities but promoters must also book the artists and set up the venue as well. After those details are finalized, the job of the promoter has just begun.

“I normally start getting the word out to specific parties who I know for a fact would be interested in the show,” Adi Anand, promoter for Transmission Entertainment, said. “This would include the partners for the show, parties involved with the show, and people I know to be fans of the bands and activities featured in the show. Once the poster image has been created, I launch a second promo blitz, this time inviting everyone in general. This is followed by promotions to the media, and finally a ‘day of’ promo blitz.”

Many of Austin’s most well-known promoters have been recently established and are respectfully successful in their endeavors. C3 has been around for nearly four years, and Knuckle Rumbler just celebrated its second anniversary. With the crucial man-hours and dedicated team, Knuckle Rumbler’s success is a reflection of the people involved.

“We grow because we are doing exactly what we set out to do, and I think people feel that,” Aaron Berkowitz, co-founder and promoter of Knuckle Rumbler said. “We aren’t fake, we don’t support acts we don’t believe in and we give people what they want. My partner Jill Sorrels and I are fans of music first and foremost, and Knuckle Rumbler embodies that.”

Besides living in a city where music thrives and resonates in the streets, we are also currently living in an era in which technology and digital media have become a way of life.

“Media has sped up everything,” Jill Sorrels, co-founder and promoter for Knuckle Rumbler, said. “Instead of hitting publications a month out to make sure you are featured in print, you can tweet at a journalist and get them hip to your party in an instant. Also, there’s a lot of publications that follow other publications, so if one journalist likes your stuff, a reader of theirs that may have their own publication will see it and repost, basically causing a ripple of promotion from one single outreach. High fives all around.”

Show promoters are taking advantage of social media outlets, such as Facebook, Twitter and e-mail in attempts to interest the right people and produce a successful show. Vagabond Collective, Knuckle Rumbler and iLoveMikeLitt distribute mass show invitations via Facebook. Do512 and Transmission entertainment send out weekly e-mails to subscribers.

“I have been reading some books about the metal industry in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, and it’s unfathomable that they got that much done without the tools we have at our mercy,” Anand said. “The future is bright as more tools like the aforementioned ones are sure to allow even easier disseminate information.

Currently, promoters have been occupied with organizing upcoming events, such as the Shapes Have Fangs showcase on Feb. 10 at The Ghost Room, and the monthly series at Club de Ville that features two bands, DJ uLOVEi and food and drinks. However, after Free Week, most promoters and music entertainment journalists shift most of their energy to SXSW. Knuckle Rumbler has already began organizing The Rumbler Lounge, and Do512 already lists SXSW showcases and parties on the website.

Though, the spotlight is rarely ever on the people who worked for weeks and at times months to organize a show, Berkowitz said that despite the hard-work, this is the most fun he has ever had.