how you can get bigger and better shows for your band
TRANSCRIPT
How YOU can get bigger and better shows for your band
Andy Reynolds –www.livemusicbusiness.com
Playing live is vital to your music career.
If your band cannot play live, a crucial aspect of the whole strategy to build your fan base and sell music is
lost.
If you are trying to get bigger and better
shows, you should ask yourself these basic
questions:
1.What potential is there to build an
audience?
2.How much money will you spend on
transport, rehearsing, flyers and equipment
for the show?
3. How much time will you all need to take
off your day job?
4. Will ‘taste-makers’ be at the show?
5. Are you going to enjoy the show?
It also helps to understand how the live music business
works…
…and who does what.
Artist
Manager Booking Agent
Promoter
Booking Agent
•A talent agent who specialises in getting you paid engagements - gigs and tours.•These engagements are called ‘bookings’, hence the term booking agent.•Booking agents include: Creative Artists Agency (CAA), William Morris Agency (WMA), Artists Group International, Montery Peninsula Artists, The Agency Group, Solo, X-Ray Touring and International Talent Booking (ITB).
Booking Agent
•A music booking agent makes
money by taking a percentage of
the artist’s gross income for a
performance i.e. the money you
get from playing a show.
Promoter
•Anybody who puts on a show or event, sells tickets and (hopefully) makes money.
•Bars, pubs, clubs usually have an in-house promoter – someone who books in acts to perform at the venue.
•Larger venues are often hired by outside promoters.
•The concert industry is dominated by a handful of promoters, notably Live Nation and AEG.
The booking process
Artist
Booking AgentPromoter
The booking agent’s job to negotiate deals with the promoters.
The deal is based on what the booking agent knows of the act’s status, the city or venue she is pitching to, and the relationship with the promoter.
How do you get a booking agent?
Booking Agent
Booking Agent
Booking agents work on commission and so they are going to ask you two important questions:
1.Can you draw a paying audience to your shows?
2.Once you can draw a audience, can you keep the same number of people paying to see every show you play?
Booking Agent You are unlikely to get
a booking agent to work for you unless
you are already pulling in at least 200 paying people to every show
you play.
But you still need gigs, right?
You need to pitch your band to promoters in the right
way to get bigger and better shows!
Promoter
Step 1.Researching and
Targeting Venues.
Some venues are known to audiences as having a certain
genre of music or audience type. For instance, an alternative rock
band based in New York should not try to get a gig at Birdland (famous
jazz club) but would probably approach Arlene's Grocery (small
alternative rock venue).
Your town may have a bar that books deep house DJs and targets a young 'club' type crowd. There might also be a local House
Of Blues type venue that books blues -based rock as well as alternative bands.
Each venue’s music booking policy attracts a certain audience type- will your band's music really fit in a particular venue?
Be realistic and keep it small.
Work out how many paying customers are likely to come
to your show, halve that figure, and book a gig to hold
that number of people.
Step 2.Who Books the Shows?
Research the shows you want to play before you start firing
off demo CDs.
Does the venue have an in-house promoter/booker? Or do they rely on outside promoters?
A small bar, pub, or club will usually have an in-house
promotion team, often the owner or a long-term employee.
You should be able to find out who these people are through
telephone research and then approach them directly.
A larger venue may attract outside promoters who merely hire the venue and its facilities for each
show.
Look for “Somebody presents...,” where somebody is a big local or national promoter, such as Live
Nation.
Chain venues, such as House of Blues, may have a national promotions team
that works with other independent promoters to book the shows.
This way the chain can book a successful act into each one of its regional venues as a full tour or as
part of a larger tour.
Step 3.The Approach.
Identify the Key Contact
• Find the person who makes the decisions about booking bands into the venue.
• Use the phone!
How to Send Your Music - Physical versus Electronic
• Most music industry professionals prefer to listen to music online, through a link to a dedicated website or Soundcloud, Facebook, or YouTube page.
• Ask the key contact how they would like to receive your music.
• Never, ever send MP3s or WAV files as e-mail attachments!
The PitchMusical content:
• No more than three tracks.
• Put your best song first.
• Never submit a cover or tribute song—unless
you are a cover or tribute band!
The BlurbWritten content:
• Keep it brief.
• Never apologize for the quality of
the recordings.
The Blurb- continuedWritten content:
• Give stats. For example, how many shows have
you played? How many people do you usually
draw? How many CDs or tracks have you sold?
How many people follow you on Soundcloud?
How many forum members? What radio play do
you have etc.
The Blurb - continuedWritten content:
• Name drop. What other bands or acts
have you played with or opened for?
• Provide testimonials.
The Blurb - continuedWritten content:
• Be honest. Tell the contact you are not
ready to headline large shows, but you
can bring a crowd for a support slot.
• Give a timeframe. Are you available for
shows now? Or are you looking to play as
part of a tour in a couple of months?
The Blurb - continuedWritten content:
• Make sure your contact information (e-
mail address and home or mobile phone
number) are on every item you send out
or listed online.
The Follow up• Do not just e-mail off your message or
letter, sit back, and expect the key contact to ring you immediately.
• You should follow up with a phone call a week later.
• My book,‘The Tour Book’, contains useful telephone scripts.
• Always target your key promoter contacts before sending out demos or e-mailing links.
Conclusion• Unless you know the headline act, their
management, or their booking agent, you are going to have to appeal to the promoter contact, and the promoter will not be interested unless you can pull in enough people to help sell out his or her show.
www.livemusicbusiness.com©2015 Andy Reynolds