Band Booking is Good for Venues Too

If you listened to some people talk about band booking and gigging you'd burn your guitar and amp now because of the economy.

 

Smart, successful musicians know though that when times are tough for bars and clubs etc, live music can actually be more not less important in order to make money. 

This is because venues (whether live music ones or not), more than ever need some method of differentiating themselves. Some incentive to get cash-strapped punters up off their backsides and out into the night to spend some money - in their venue.

 

One of these ways is obviously by offering live entertainment.

I saw a great example of this in action in a provincial UK town last month. This small town  had loads of bars in the town centre but only 2 were open on the Sunday night I went there. One of those bars was a venue which was advertising live bands 6 nights a week. 

The venue owner told me that it was the bands which drew the people in and that without them he too would be closed on a Sunday. He also told me his bar was "busier than it's ever been".

Not only that, but when I went to see a gig on this particular Sunday, they'd had live bands on all day prior to the evening performance by the band I'd gone to watch.

So if you think about it, us musos are actually doing these venues a favour. keeping them in business in some instances. Makes you feel a bit more relaxed about pitching your act to your next target venue doesn't it?

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3 Questions to Unlock Band Booking Venues

Contrary to what some musicians might think you don't fill your diary with band bookings by sitting back waiting  for them to call  you.

Neither do you get fully booked with gigs by calling up  venues and telling them how great you are.

One of the biggest secrets to successful selling (or "pitching") is the importance of asking questions of the the person you're trying to sell to. NOT just talking at them...

Now, nobody want to be cross-examined by someone trying to sell them something. Especially if they've never met the "seller" before. However, we're not talking about you needing to interrogate a venue booker with a long list of probing demands.

Here though are 3 Key questions you can you to unlock even the most reluctant venue you might be targeting.

1. "Can you tell me who's the person responsible for booking bands?"

I'm always amazed by the amount of bands who attempt to plough into a pitch without establishing whether they're talking to someone who can actually give them the gig. If you're trying to sell your act to the wrong person you won't only be wasting your (and their) time. You'll run the risk of  relying on them to pitch on your behalf to the person who can actually make the decision. Can you afford to rely on anyone else to have your best interests at heart?

Make a separate call to the venue - ahead of when you're  trying to pitch your act, and establish the decision maker with the question above.

2. "Does your current supply of bands meet all your needs or do you think there may be some room for improvement?"

I remember one of the first ever  readers of the Gig-Getter band booking manual calling me up to query using this question. He told me it wasn't something he felt he could ever ask a venue. I told him that the question (and the answers I'd received to it) had played in huge part in generating 000's of band bookings for my own act and others I'd helped. he tried and called me back to apologise!

When you stop and think about it, don't we all decide whether or not to buy anything based on whether our needs are being fully met by what we already have?

What can the venue booker say when you ask him that question?

He or she may of course be perfectly satisfied with the acts they already use. In which case you add them to your newsletter mailing list (circumstances at every venue will change at some point).

Often they'll say something along the lines of:

"There's always room for improvement" (Honestly, I've lost count of the amount of times I had that answer).

At other times, you'll be told they're "actively looking for new acts".

No really. This will happen when you're pitching enough.

3. "How do we get considered to play at your venue?"

Here, you're just checking what are obstacles between you getting the gig. Some acts assume every venue wants a CD. Some prefer mp3 demos. Others want a full press kit. Actually, not all will even need to hear you. Some might prefer to check out your website or Facebook page. Others might only need to know what kind of material you play or how much they'll have to pay you before deciding whether to book you.

If you don't ask what they need how you will ever know?

Band Booking Tips

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