Booking Agents for Bands - 5 things to Remember

Booking Agents for Bands (pic by lovelyish.com)

The Booking Agents for Bands Alternative

Any half decent band can get enough gigs to fill a diary through their own efforts. There are times though when you might want to consider looking at booking agents for bands to do some of the work for you.


Using someone else for your band bookings will free up some of your time and if you're particularly squeamish; help you avoid having to pitch your band to venues yourself.

 

Booking Agents for Bands - what to look for

Given the fact that as a semi-pro or aspiring amateur band you can get as many gigs as you like through your own efforts with a little know how, what are the essentials benefits you need from using booking agents for bands?


1. Make sure they can get you band bookings in places you can't get into yourself.
Corporate gigs for example or tours and festivals take a lot of work and exposure to break into. They certainly can be achieved on your own but it can happy faster through booking agents for bands.



2. Be sure you Improve your gig fees
Given that most booking agents for bands will take a substantial fee from the venue for "providing" you for the night, make sure your own take is significantly higher than the money you can get from gigs you book yourself.



3. Make sure they're coming to you with regular band bookings
You should have to chase good booking agents for bands for work once you have an agreement with them. They should be feeding you band bookings at the rate you've agreed without you needing to "poke" them.



4. Keep an eye on venue suitability
I've been in rock bands which were booked into Irish folk venues. Never a good way to go down great at gigs or build a fan base. Make sure the booking agent knows the kind of venues you need acts on that.



5. Keep you own band booking freedom
You might have signed with band booking agents for access to the new venues or audiences they can get you in front of,  but that shouldn't stop you getting your own gigs too. Don't let anyone try to take a % of fees for gigs they don't book on your behalf.


If you keep these points in mind you can make the booking agents for bands route work for you. And if not, well, you can always do yourself like hundreds of thousands of other bands do.... 

Booking agents for bands video

How to compete with booking agents for bands

How to Promote Your Music Onstage

How to Promote your Music Onstage

How to Promote Your Music Onstage - 3 Keys

Knowing how to promote your music doesn't just come down to the marketing you do before and after your shows. 

There are important and very effective actions you should be taking onstage if you really want to promote your music successfully.

 

How to Promote your Music by Telling them Your Name

I don't know about you, but I've list count of the amount of times I've gone into a bar or club and seen an act onstage without any idea who it was I was watching. Don't make the same mistake these kind of bands make. make sure every person in every crowd you play to is in no doubt who you are.

You can do this via a large flag/poster at the back of the stage, a bass drum skin with your name on,  or band flyers or business cards scattered round the venue. Also, don't not be afraid to tell people who you are on mic. Remind them of your name at least once per set. At the start and end of sets are obvious opportunities for this.

 

How to Promote Your music by Selling it

OK, so you're onstage and people know the name of your band or act. How are you going to translate this into selling your music and converting some of tonight's gig crowd into fans?

You need to make sure an enthusiastic gig crowd can get hold of their own copies of your material.  Always try to agree at least  the availability of a small table somewhere at the gig venue where you can sell your CDs and other merchandise which will help promote your music.

Tell the crowd on mic, where this table is. More than once - but obviously don't overdo it.

Make sure your music is available as mp3s for purchase online on your website and social media. If you haven't done this you can try these guys

 

 

How to Promote Your Music by Playing Great Shows

Of course neither telling people who you are or where they can buy your songs and merchandise will help you promote your music if you disappoint onstage. You've got to compel them to take action and become fans by playing gigs they'll remember - and for the right reasons.

Rehearsing until you could play your material in your sleep, crafting and using set-lists with highs in all the right places, looking like your enjoying yourselves onstage and crucially - interacting with your audience will all set you apart the dime a dozen bands and acts out there.

More on how to promote your music onstage here

How to Get Band Bookings for this year by asking about next

Band Booking in December

Band Bookings in 2012 by asking about 2013?

Any day now, the more organised gig venues out there will be finalising their band booking diaries for 2013. 

Sure there are still plenty to will leave any thought about 2013 gigs until next year, but you need to be hitting the others - and soon.

One thing you may not realise is that in contacting gig venues about 2013, you can sometimes give yourself an extra opportunity to get another date for this his year. If of course, you have a night to spare.

 

Are there still Band Bookings available this year?

BY this stage of course, any gigs you book for this year are likely to be cancellations by other bands. Bands cancel gigs due to illness, splitting up, double-booking etc all the time. At the moment when this happens, the venue has a problem.

They've got a night to fill (at a very important/potentially profitable time of year) and most bands will be booked up now for the year.

Getting in the face of your target venues one last time this year (to try to take early bookings for 2013), gives them a reminder about you and makes them more likely to think about you if and when they have a problem over the coming peak weeks.

 

"Still some 2012 Dates available"

If you want to be even more pro-active about landing any potential dates you can casually slip it into your conversation with the venue that you still have some availability next month if needed. That will enough to keep you in mind should a cancellation occur.

Don't overplay this and make it sound like you're free all month even if you are. You don't want to sound like an act that no-one else has want to book.

The key thing with this is to make sure you're the band the venue thinks of when they have a night to fill.
 
Oh, and of course get a few band booking dates for 2013 when you make that initial call....

Here's how you can contact venues and land last minute band bookings this year without talking on the phone. It's old post but still relevant and useful if you need it:

  Band Booking Xmas card

How to Promote Your Music Getting Gigs -Playmusic Mag Feature

Band Booking Pages 28-29

How to Promote Your Music by learning to Get Gigs

If you want to know how to promote your music successfully, then you're going to need to know how to get gigs. This month's Playmusic digital download magazine features a Gig-Getter band booking tips guide on pages 28-29.

How to promote Your Music - Band Booking Tips

The November Playmusic feature covers such band booking tips as:

* How to compete successfully with other bands targeting the same gigs
* Setting band booking goals
* Creating band demos with a difference
* Finding Gig Venues

There's also info about how to get gig venues to approach you and if they don't: how to promote your music by pitching your band to venues. You can also ready about how to promote your music more often through making band bookings multiply.

Read Gig-Getter on Playmusic mag here (pages 28-29)

Band Flyers for Band Bookings

Band Flyers for every Band Booking

More semi-pro gigging bands than you'd imagine think the jobs over once the show is booked (apart from turning up to play of course).
You can know how to promote your music and shows online via Twitter, Facebook etc  and still be missing out.

 

Band Flyers - Key "Offline" Gig Promotion

Band flyers should be used for every show you play. If you don't have your own decent printer you can get your band flyers run off cheaply at any local copy store in your area.
If you're not already using them, you'll find  band flyers a very cost effective way to promote your music.

A simple design is all you need for effective band flyers to publicise your band booking.

You'll need to include  your band name, logo or artwork, genre of music, original or cover tunes, date and time of show. Crucially (and believe it or not these are often missed from many band flyers designs), include details of your Band website, Contact information, and phone number and name of the club or venue where you will be performing.

Once the band flyers are designed and printed send a few to the club or venue where you be playing. Then they can publicise your appearance themselves. If its a local band booking you can  even hand deliver the flyers and ask if you can hang a few yourself. This way you can make sure your flyer will be seen by patrons of the club. If you're playing out of town though and want to save on posting your band flyers to the venue, try this.

Include your design as a "private" page on your band website and give the link to this to the venue. Use a design with blank space for the name of the venue and date/time of the gig. The venue can then fill the relevant details in themselves once they've downloaded the PDF or Jpeg band flyers.

 

 

Band Flyers and Where else to Put Them

Another idea is to place flyers on bulletin boards at music stores and other places where you may find potential crowd members for your gig. make sure you always get permission to place your flyers. For example, if you decide to place flyers on cars in a parking lot get permission from that lot owner. Some car owners throw the flyers on the ground and cause a mess for a lot owner. The lot owner also has your contact info from the band flyers so he may take legal action. You have been warned!

Band Flyers and Others bands Gig Crowds

Here's one you may not have have thought of. If the upcoming band booking is local and there's another band of a similar genre appearing before your band booking - target that crowd. You. You can hit them with your band flyers on their way into or way out of the gig. Quickest will be on their way in if its a big enough gig for the crowd to be queuing outside.


More about band booking publicity

How to Get Your Music Heard on Gig Night

How to Get Your Music Heard on Gig Night

How to get Your Music Heard

When you're trying to get a band booking or a gig for your solo act, there's more to it than simply convincing the venue owner to give you a shot.

Of course understanding what you need to say and do to actually get your band booked will play a huge part in your success. But
if there's no-one there to see or hear you play the gig how are you going to develop that all important fan base?

And, why would  a venue give you a repeat booking if the bar (and tills) are empty on your big night?

 You need to go one stage further than just getting the band booking - even when you play great shows.You have to understand how to get your music heard - and that means a crowd on gig night.

 

How to Get Your Music Heard on Gig Night

So in case you're one of those musicians who believes all the band has to do is to get gigs then turn up on the night and rock out -you'd better think again.  If you've ever played to an empty house  you'll know you've got to work at getting an audience. Especially with a new or unknown band playing out of town for example.

 

How to Get Your Music Heard  on Gig Night- 5 Tips

1. All band members need to invite people.
Don't leave this aspect to one or a couple of band members. Even someone with few (or any )friends might have family or acquaintances they can invite on gig night when you're starting out.  If they're really strugling think about making them chiefly responsible for actioning some of the other points  below.

Remember, how to get your music heard successfully on gig night involves trying to get some "extra faces" for the venue and their tills. You should be trying to create some sort of buzz that you can only get through enough people in front of you when you play the gig. Don't be ashamed to offer to give your close friends lifts to the gig when you're just starting out or struggling for a crowd.


2.  Flyers/posters (aka"low cost advertising") are essential for any band booking

Pre-dating the internet, posters and flyers are two of the of the more traditional ways to try to get people to your gigs. As far as posters go, create your own with a consistent "branded identity". Put them up in the venue itself as well as where you can (legally) around the town ahead of your forthcoming band booking.

With flyer, some enterprising bands I've worked with will visit shows of similar genre bands to their own and distribute flyers to the people at the show or punters queuing outside..

More ideas below:

How to get Your Music Heard via Flyers



3. Write and Distribute Press releases
Done well, Press releases don't just build your audience numbers on gig night - they'll boost  your band's credibility in the long run. Hit local and national music press and don't forget the local "rags" as well. More people will see the latter rather than the dedicated music press.

More on Band Booking Press releases


4. Take advantage of free internet gig-listing sites.
If you're serious about learning how to get your music heard on gig night, put the heading above into Google and contact all relevant sites.


5. Publicise the band booking with Social Media
Make sure you're using Facebook to make an "event" of the band booking and Tweet things like your set-lists, pictures of rehearsals or other gigs, the venue as well as full details (and a map) of the gig and how to get there


How to get your music heard with Facebook

More info here:
How to get Your Music Heard on Gig Night Tips

The Best Live Bands and Band Booking Covers

Do the Best Live Bands  play covers?

Whether you play original or covers, when you're one of the best live bands in your area - you know how to get your music heard.  

Sometimes, despite the criticism I get from some quarters for suggesting it, this can involve original bands playing covers.


There. I said it.

Again....


A recent survey of Gig-Getter readers and subscribers revealed that over 50% of the best live bands (ie those that gigged most frequently) as semi-pro and amateurs play both covers and original material at their gigs.

Not only that, but you're pursuing super-stardom for your band, think of some of the biggest pro bands on earth that you know. How many of them included a cover or two in their original sets and maybe their first album? More than a few.
Here's what I've learnt from some of the best live bands around the world I've worked with about band bookings and covers:

Why some of the Best Live Bands play Covers (at least to start off)

1. Playing covers AND original material will increase the number of gigs you can get

2. Even the most anti-covers band mate can get creative with a cover song by adding their own identity to the version  your band does.

Finally, and this is something some of  even the very best live bands miss out on- you don't need to pick an era to focus on. In fact the more band bookings you want to be playing, the wider your choice of material should be. If you want to be "out" regularly and frequently you'll need to have a lot of songs in your "portfolio" and you could for instance, consider having a 60's set, 70's, 80's, right up to present day.

 

Best Live Bands - Covers Only

For those of you actually in covers bands, again the very best live bands like to have dedicated genre sets for certain places. Classic rock, punk or whatever. You can and of course mix these sets up when the type of venue or occasion calls for it. This way, providing all band members are too precious about what they play, you can be ady available for any type of booking...

More about how to get your music heard despite playing covers

Below is a posting from Harmony central about the most marketable era or type of covers for bands to play when they want to maximize gig numbers.

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2077423

How to Promote Your Music When venues are Closing

How to Promote Your Music when Gig venues are closing Down

The question of how to promote your music through live work when venues are struggling with with their finances can be troubling.

In many countries across the world more clubs and bars than ever before are closing their door and ceasing trading. Some of these are obviously live music venues. So, the market for where your band can play is likely to be shrinking isn't it?

Quite possibly. But it's far from being all doom and gloom.

You need to remember the following:

 

How to promote Your Music by Playing Gigs

1. Make sure you really now HOW to promote your Music and act
It is becoming increasingly essential to know how to promote your music and band better than your competition. You need to make sure you'll have to stand out from the herd fighting for the gigs in those remaining venues which are still profitable.

How to promote your music to live venues

2. There are still plenty of venues featuring live bands.
You'll hear it argued that in a "recession", venues will cut back on having live music or at least reduce gig nights. A few will for sure. But they will be the places that never had a crowd there in the first place.

The reality is that to avoid closing down too, successful bars and clubs will more need a "Draw". Something to get people out from in front of their iPad or Playstation and into their premises. Without their point of distinction (ie having live music on versus the bar down the road which doesn't) they can actually be MORE likely to fail not less.

3. Getting asked back is simple and essential
As venues number shrink it becomes ever more vital you make sure you're getting repeat bookings from as many places you play as possible. The keys are to ask for the next booking on gig night itself and ideally get more than further booking at a time.

4. Succeed when times are tough and clean up when they're not
This is a principle I advise all my business clients on. When times are tough you need to improve every aspect of your business to stay profitable. From a band situation this means you should examine everything from how much you pay for your guitar strings through to the quality of your live show (see point 4 below)and strive to make improvements.

If you know how to  promote your music successfully enough to prosper when times are tough you'll be raking it in when things are good again.

 

How to promote Your Music Onstage

5. You need a stand out live Act
Never has it been more important to give every audience (and venue) a night to remember than now. This needn't mean wearing fancy dress or setting fire to your drummer when you play. But think about how you can work some "events" or interaction into your shows. Your aim should be a moment or two that people will remember and smile about when they wake with a hangover the night after your performance.

How to be a Stand-out Live Band

Remember these points and you'll know how to promote your music no matter how many venues you have to target

How to Get Your Music Heard on Facebook

How to Get Your Music Heard on Facebook

How to Get Your Music Heard Online

One you really know How to Get Your Music Heard by Playing live it will go a long way to maximising exposure for your band and material. The amount of music-lovers who attend gigs is generally on the rise and live shows are considered by many to be the most lucrative income stream for bands and solo acts in 2012.

For original artists in particular, once you've got people to your gigs you can obviously aim to sell your music and merchandise to them and so multiply the financial benefit of playing live. 

How to Get Your Music Heard "Offstage"

To be the kind of act that has a full diary of band bookings week in week out though, you'll need to know how to get your music heard before people see you live. For example, you need to have demos easily accessible by the people who make decisions about whether or not to book you for the venues you're targeting. 

This can still mean dropping off a demo CD but increasingly of course now means having your music available at those places online where venue bookers spend their time. 

These venue bookers are no different from anyone else and so a good proportion of their online time will involve Facebook. Imagine then if they could hear your demo without even leaving that site...

Knowing how to get your music heard by venue bookers for your potential gigs is only one benefit of this kind of "offstage" exposure. Especially if you play your own material - rather than covers.

Once you know how to get your music heard on Facebook and elsewhere online, you'll be able to build your fanbase both in terms of getting people to your band bookings and also buying your music -whether or not they ever go to one of your shows.

 

How to Get Your Music Heard and BOUGHT Online

There is a way you can create your own personalised mp3 music players and upload your music onto your own website, Facebook and even your Myspace profile (if you're one of the few who still goes there). In fact you can upload music players anywhere online the website in question will let you.

Songrila is site which offers you the ability to sell your music directly to your fans who get iPod compatible DRM free tracks purchased with just 2 clicks directly from your band's website.The site is free to register with no fees and and you can leave at any time.

The guys who've set up this cool service also take care of the payment processing, hosting and streaming of your songs and the processing of any collecting rights societies (MCPS, ASCAP, SACEM etc). You'll even get to keep 80% of the income you make from the sale of your material. Certainly a better deal than you'd expect from any record label methinks....

 

Band Booking Guide for Kindle

Gig-Getter Band Booking Guide Now on Kindle

Band Booking Now on Kindle

If you're looking for band booking how-to tips formatted specifically for your Kindle here's some good news.

Gig-Getter: Band Booking for Kindle

The ebook version is now newly available from Amazon in the US, Spain and Germany. You can buy and download from the US site via the link below.

 



If you're in the UK, the Amazon site there will have it available late August but if you don't want to wait you can obviously order the paperback at Amazon UK  or the Gig-Getter PDF ebook version via this site.

How To Get Your Music Heard

How to Get Your Music Heard Tips

If you think about it, the problem of how to get your music heard is the number one issue for any aspiring band or musician. Even when your act is established, building your fan base is all about exposing people to your music. If you can’t do this, how will you get people to buy what you write or play?

Band Booking and How to Get Your Music Heard

The website Live & Unsigned recently interviewed The Hoosiers, a band who struggled for over a decade (12 years to be precise) trying to get signed. They’re in the fortunate position know of being able to look back and reflect on what worked and what didn’t over the long term in order to answer the question of how to get your music heard.

As a band writing and playing their own material, they stress the quality of this material, the songs themselves as a major factor in whether a band makes it or not. In fact this is equally important for original acts and cover bands alike. No-one’s going to leave the house to go and   see a cover band show with material they’ve never heard of or which leaves them cold are they?

The Hoosiers stress the importance of gigging not just as one of the main solutions to how to get your band heard, but also to give you the “real buzz” which will keep your morale high as you strive to get that deal.  More than this though in the experience of a lot of the artists I work with, you can use playing band bookings in order to hone your songs. See what works and what doesn’t in front of your audiences and growing fan base. Fine-tune and adjust even parts of songs as you get live audience feedback. 

Gigging will of course, also “tighten” and perfect the performance your act ready for a “bigger stage” and help your cash-flow in the meantime..

 

How to Get Your Music Heard via a Band Booking Schedule

What about if you’re starting out or based in a small town where there are only very few live venues for band bookings? What do you then about the problem of how to get your music heard?
The Hoosiers recommend you play these few venues “mercilessly” so that you become “recognised” and “appreciated”.  You can also slowly and steadily expand further afield and do the same in the next town.  

 When you’ve done this and have perfected your live act via regular and frequent band bookings and built your gig crowd numbers – start to invite industry officials to come and hear you.

One final thought from the Hoosiers about how to get your music heard. They recommend “Battle of the Band” type bands bookings when you’re starting out. They point to the advice you can get form professionals on the panels at these sort of events about your look, your sound and your playing.
If you do the same you’ll find it can be very helpful to get your act in front of people who know more about bands and the music industry than you do.

Just make sure you can take their criticism -albeit most of it will be “constructive” anyhow.  If you do this, along with playing regular band bookings you can solve the number one challenge of how to get your music heard.

Live & Unsigned Article 

Band Booking Guides

Essential Band Booking Banter

Essential Band Booking Banter

Pre-planned Banter at Band Bookings?

Some live acts are dead against any type of pre-planned or "contrived" stage banter.

Certainly you don't want to plan every sentence you say to a gig crowd in advance of every band booking. That would take away any hope you might have of spontaneity. 

There are though, some things you better make sure you do plan in advance - and stick to on the night at the band booking.

Get the Band Booking Names right

For instance, if you're playing a private party or corporate event it's best not to wing it with the names of important people or businesses to thank. personally I've played gigs where the wrong name has been used for both the bride and bridegroom. You can imagine the reaction of the people who booked the band in those circumstances. A reminder of these things at the top of the set-list is often all it takes to avoid disaster.

Like many successful live acts though, you might want to pre-plan a little more of the banter you'll use at any band booking. Just the odd key phrase to remind you what you could say at certain points in t he show maybe. That way you'll have less chance of "drying up" and leaving awkward pauses or having nothing but a gormless expression while a guitarist changes a snapped string...

More band booking banter here

Band Booking and the right Band Members

Band Booking and Band Members

Band Booking or going down great with gig crowds  

is not only about how well you can pitch your band or what you’re like on stage.  When a semi-pro band is successful as a live act it’s usually due to a lot more than the individuals band members’ onstage abilities.

Band Booking & Band Members

As far as individual band members go, often the most important thing any one of them can do for your band booking success will have nothing to do with how well they can play or can sing.

 
You’ll come across some who have access to cheap or free rehearsal rooms (or their own space for the band to practise), bassists with a PA (to run all the instruments through as well as the vocals), others with vans, guitarists with lots of friends (for a ready made audience),or drummers with website building or social media skills etc.

Band Booking Skills

Some of the most valuable of course, are those band members who are able to market your band and bring in plentiful supplies of gigs when the other band members wouldn't know where to start.

One problem though with finding the right band members is that often you can get blinded by a potential band member's personality or just how good their playing or vocals are. 

“Natural” front men (or women) might be fantastic interacting with an audience. Unfortunately they’re sometimes extreme extroverts who can have huge egos which can be draining for other band members to deal with. Sometimes that big ego (and their position in fronting the band and taking most of the “limelight”) can lead them to believe they don’t need make as much of an offstage contribution as other band members. You can imagine how this can be the cause of a lot of friction. (The good news of course as far as fronting a band is concerned is that actually, even introverts can be great at it).
 

Take your time for band booking success

Anyhow, whether you’re trying to get your band together, or replace a band member when successful band booking is your goal, it’s worth taking your time to make sure you get the right band members.

Its hardly rock n roll to say your band bookings goals should  mean you’re” interviewing" potential band members to gauge their attitudes . But the idea really is to just try and dig a little behind what they can do onstage.

Try to find out how much time they actually have to devote to the band, what their musical goals and motivation are like and explore what they might be able to offer “off stage” as well. 

A little bit of extra time invested up front will do much to aid your band booking efforts in the long run

More about band members and band booking here