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.