Music venues are loud — and that’s kind of the point. Fans flock to venues to hear their favorite artists, bright lights and pounding beats included. But when your venue is surrounded by residential areas, noise complaints can be a costly reality.
To avoid high fines, you need to take your neighbor’s comfort seriously. (And you should — some research suggests a link between noise pollution and health.) But how can you satisfy the people outside your venue without putting a damper on the fans within?
Don’t wait until you get a complaint to take action. Here are some cheap, DIY soundproofing tricks you can complete in the time between sets.
3 cheap, fast ways to soundproof your venue
You don’t need a big budget or hours of free time to start soundproofing. Here are some inexpensive, low-investment ways to get a handle on your noise.
- Monitor noise levels outside your venue. To know how much soundproofing is necessary, you need to find out how loud your venue is currently. While professional sound meters are a high-end option, you can use an app on your phone to do the trick. Try dB Volume Meter (Apple) or deciBel (Android) to gauge sound levels.
- Ask fans to be respectful when leaving. If you’re concerned about noise from customers leaving, your staff can put up signs or directly ask people to keep it down on their way out. Have fun with it — this doesn’t have to feel like a lecture. Try giving people lollipops as they leave — you’ll quiet them down without saying a word!
- Make simple swaps onstage. Placing materials that absorb vibrations on your stage can make a surprising difference. Try putting a carpet beneath the drumset and see how it sounds. If that’s not enough, you could install noise limiters on the instruments to keep the amps in check.
Whatever you do to reduce noise, keep a log of the steps you’ve taken. That way, if you do get a complaint, it’s easy to demonstrate that you were proactively working to keep noise down.
How to cut noise complaints by building relationships
While making these adjustments to your venue are great first steps, it’s generally impossible to reduce the ambient sound completely. After all, you can’t make any guarantees against noisy customers being disrespectful late at night.
To reduce your chances of getting a complaint, you need to build goodwill with your neighbors. It doesn’t take much — start by introducing yourself. Ask them to come to you first with any complaints — you might prevent a call to the police.
If you’re surrounded by apartments and can’t make that personal connection, you can still build positive sentiment. The key is effective local PR, and you don’t have to pitch every news outlet in town.
Try to mobilize your fans online, or ask your regulars to rate your venue on Yelp! or TripAdvisor. It may seem irrelevant now, but these reviews could prove your value to officials if a complaint ever does come through. You could also engage the community around you directly. A few times a year, you could host a neighborhood open mic, or a concert for a local charity.
Relationships can go a long way. But the bottom line is, if your venue is repeatedly keeping the neighbors up, there’s no avoiding the eventual noise complaint — and the hefty fine that goes along with it.
Ready to take your soundproofing to the next level?
If you own a professional venue, you’ll eventually have to invest some time and money into soundproofing. But it might be a faster and cheaper process than you think.
Check out our one-page soundproofing checklist for your complete guide to fast, affordable soundproofing. You’ll learn cheap soundproofing tips and pre- and post-show procedures to reduce noise, no matter your budget.
