Fast & Simple Facebook Starter for More Band Bookings

If you only ever do one thing to use Facebook for band bookings here it is

Don't be put off by the reference to "Jazz", this works for any musician or band.

If you're really interested in putting the power of facebook to work as far as band booking are concerned try these as well:

Facebook for Bands 

Using Facebook for more Fans at your Band Booking 

Successful Band Booking by Bringing and KEEPING the Crowd

Trying to catch up with things on Sunday  I read a  band booking post which amongst it's "Top 10 Tips" talked about bringing and keeping a crowd. 

I didn't agree with everything in the post (see bottom of this piece), but those two points about the crowd got me thinking.

Certainly any band or solo artist who wants to keep the gig(ie, get asked back), should ideally be trying to take some people with them. Although not necessarily literally in the same transport as the band of course.... 

If you can't do this, how are you ever going to build a following or make a full (or part)-time living out of  your music?

You don't need to take hundreds of people. Just a handful can often be enough to swell the coffers of small venues. 

It all comes down to working on the promotion of each band booking you play. 

Letting people know you're playing somewhere and giving them reasons to turn up. 

Here's one online way:

Getting more fans to your band booking

There's more to a successful gigging act than this though. Taking your own people to a gig generally gets more difficult the further away from home you gig. 

That's where you need to know how to RETAIN the people who are already in the venue. The venue's regular gig-goers. 

When it's been a particularly successful gig at the Hard Rock for example, the venue will often refer to the fact that we kept the crowd there (and so the bar busy),- rather than brought people with us...

Achieving this boils down partly to your music of course, but overall it's all about the kind of night you give the crowd. 

Isn't having a good time what going out for the night is all about?

A lot of bands find that getting a gig crowd to talk about you and the gig you've just played for days after is usually more than the music alone. Any thoughts?

 Audience interaction at the band booking

So anyhow, here's the post I was reading over the weekend

Talking between songs? Does your Gig Crowd care?

"Every band booking is only about the music" 


or.....

"Your gig crowd expects and wants some chat in between songs"



Which camp do you and your gigs fall into?

I've played 100's of gigs and worked with too many semi pro and amateur bands not to have a firm opinion on this. 

Give me two bands of the same ability, equipment and genre, pair them with the same crowd and watch what happens.

The band with even just a tiny amount of audience interaction (when it's done in the right way) will win hands down over the "music only" act every time. 

You don't have to recite passages from War and Peace in between every song but you do need to show them you're human and not "up yourself".

Here's a neat post where other musicians discuss talking between songs with their gig crowds. The site itself is one of the best for all kinds of discussions and help for musicians. Worth bookmarking I reckon..

More audience interaction tips

Gig-Getter Band Booking Tips in Play Music Magazine

The first in a series of three Gig-Getter band booking features is in the latest edition of Play music Magazine. 

If you pick up a copy (free) at your local music store you can check-out tips about how to get that band booking. 

The next issues starts to look at the performance itself, starting with overcoming any nerves you might have and making sure you get every crowd going - whenever you play live

Here's a sneak preview of the band booking tips

You can check the Play music website (including the full digital edition of the latest magazine) here

7 Sound Band Booking Tips

Could any musician argue with the 7 tips on the post at the bottom of the page about how to secure band bookings?

The only one I've never personally tried is the 6th tip - namely  Open Mic nights. 

That said, a number of singers and other musicians I've worked with used Open Mic nights to get their confidence in front of an audience up before even thinking about playing a band booking. 

You just need to make sure you don't get stuck in the rut of playing Open Mic nights and not "graduate" into playing for real.

As the writer of the 7 Tips post says, getting band bookings does take a little work. At first, at least. the key is consistency and knowing that contacting venues is a numbers game.

Some of the other tips are:

- Make sure you have a demo ready for when you get a venue interested.

Of course. Check out this for more advice re band booking & demos

- "Buddy up" with another band (Gig-swapping)

- Take "any" kind of work at first.

Not necessarily, and certainly there's no need to EVER play for nothing)

- Let people know when you do have a gig coming up.

Certainly if you want people to get a gig crowd)Or here's more ideas to get a crowd to your band booking

- Recruit someone to act as a manager or sole Gig-Getter.

Unless he's bringing something extra special to the party, a band manager if you're part time or just starting out can be a very expensive luxury.

Howverem you do need to establish who in the band is ultimately responsible for organising gigs if not actually pitching for all the band bookings.

Here's the 7 Tips Post

More Band Booking Tips

Do You Interact with Your Band Booking Audience?

Some ideas to get your crowd going in this post below from Harmony central this week.

You can't beat getting your audience involved in the show, whether it's having them up on stage or you getting into the crowd.

Suggestions about inviting someone to play tambourine or other percussion, dance onstage and even do some backing vocals can all work well for you.  

Personally I can't wait to try the "Hoola hoop" recommendation from the Harmony Central post below...

Harmony Central Post

More Audience Interaction Tips

Got all the Band Booking Venues You Need?

If you're struggling for ideas about where you could play next, check out the latest post over at band booking hub

There are some good tips to point you in the right direction. 

The key is to build up a large number of "Target venues" to aim at.

The larger the number of venues you're pitching - the greater your odds in favour of you filling your gig diary. 

 Also, if you have plenty to go at, you'll feel far less pressure/stress when you contact any of them if they're "just another name on my list".

 Contrast that with only having a couple of places to aim at. You'll need to score them both or it'll be the TV again at the weekend....