Band Booking: What Makes A Great Gig?

Sometimes we can all forget the basics of what a band booking should be. What makes a great gig.

Namely, something which:

1. Lives in the memory of the crowd (so you build your fan base with each performance)

2. Leads to more band bookings

Further down the page is a post which has some reminders of points to keep in mind and which help with both of those aims above.

To me, the most important are:

* Know your audience: Don't turn up at a rock venue to play 2 sets of country music unless you want to be heckled, play to an empty room or never be asked back by a venue. This all comes down to some basic, inexpensive venue research in the first place.

* Give 110%: - The difference between strumming through a couple of sets on stage or really rousing a crowd.

* Accessorize: Little extras can make a big difference. Whether these are lights, clothes, unusual or over-the-top onstage behaviour or the way you involve your audience. Keep in mind the 2 goals above...

Here's the post

Band Booking Disaster?

If you had a less than successful weekend as far as gigs go -

you might enjoy putting things into perspective with this:

50 Shocking Live Shows

Kind of makes you think again about calling the odd snapped string and unenthusiastic audience a "disaster" doesn't it?

Turn any unenthusiastic crowd around

Band Websites and Online Band Booking

I was talking to a music teacher come weekend warrior this week who is doing OK for himself as far as band bookings are concerned. He was though, embarrassed to admit his new band didn't even yet have a band website.

If you're pro-active enough off-line and get asked back often enough you can actually get away without an online presence. 

I wouldn't recommend it though. A simple, reasonably optimised band website can get you plenty of passive band bookings - especially in the corporate or private party sector (if that's of interest). 

It should also be more cost effective and less time-consuming than mailing or hand delivering demo CD.

So, here's a post and answers from someone asking how to get started with a band website.

Bandzoogle and wordpress are good suggestions or you can also try a hosting company like Hostgator who have hundreds of  website templates to chose from. 

Band Websites which never bring in a Band Booking

Importance of Band Bookings for Unsigned Acts

Three simple but effective band promotion tips in the post below to remember if you're trying to get your band signed.

The key for me is the point about how you'll be far more attractive to the labels with a good following. 

Obviously the main way to build that following is through exposure playing plenty of  successful gigs together with online music marketing via a good online presence.

Check out the reminder about not putting too much pressure on yourselves to get that deal too in the writer's first point below

Unsigned Advice 

Facebook for Bands (and other Online Music Marketing)

Whatever you think of some of the darker aspects of Facebook and privacy, there's no doubting the benefits of using it for band promotion. 

Not least of all in terms of getting more people to your band bookings. It can be a great tool for getting the message out and interacting with the people who come to your gigs.Letting them know when you're playing, talking with afterwards etc.

No wonder really. Check out some of the numbers on this post  which also gives a reasonable overview of other avenues open for band promotion via online music marketing. Many of these you'll be able to use to not just boost audience numbers at your gigs but in getting the band booking in the first place as well. 

Playing gigs is arguably the number 1 method of band promotion, but any band without a reasonable online presence working alongside this is likely to be missing out in terms of numbers of approaches from venues for band bookings and also crowds pulled per gig....

Band Booking