Band Booking - Can You Beat the Clock?

Fast Band Booking

Band Booking: How long does it take You?

There was an interesting question asked via email this week from a keyboard player in Italy, about how long musicians  spend trying to get band bookings. He asked me about the typical amount of band booking time taken by gig-getters versus how fast you should be able to do it.
"Good question" I thought. But...

It all depends  how you Get Your Band Bookings

You might be the type of band or musician who likes to spend (or "waste", depending on your viewpoint), hours in any potential band booking venue, trying and hoping to talk with the venue booker. Calling in person on your target venues can be very effective if done right, but boy, can it take up a lot of your time.

Band Booking while avoiding any direct contact

On the other hand, you might be the kind of artist who wants to avoid contacting anyone in person and do it all online for example. Try to draw would be venues or bookers to you via fantastic SEO or an incessant social media buzz. Both can be very effective of course - although you're relying on people coming to you or at least picking up on what you're saying online.  Again, this can also take up a lot of time - although of course you could out-source some of it if you have the funds.

Whichever way you do it, if you're not a full-time musician then spending more than an hour a week to  fill up your band booking diary means you're doing something wrong.

Certainly a lot of the bands I've worked with or talk to will tell you the same thing. Driving to and hanging around bars hoping  the manager will grant you an audience, mailing CDs to people who haven't asked for them or even relying on venue bookers finding their way to you is all a little too unreliable.

Effective and Fast Band Booking

You can't beat a quick phone call and asking venue bookers the right couple of questions or the using the right words in a short regular newsletter to guarantee band bookings piling in.

Not to mention making sure you "beat the clock" and don't spend so much time gig-getting you can't rehearse properly..

Rehearsals vs. band booking?

Band Booking Guide