How To Get Booked

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- As a Band, Manager, Promoter, venue

good advice excerpted from lawdudes.com and other resources

may contain exerpts included  from articles by Rich Unger, Nightclub Promotions-->
other contributors are unknown at this time

• Research. Save yourself the time, money and aggravation of not having your calls returned by finding out what type of format the club caters to in advance. Find out what bands usually play the club and let the talent buyer know that you follow what entertainment he typically books. 
  
• Speak to the right person.  Who books the bands? It is more impressive and effective to send mail and or e-mail directly to the person who actually makes the decisions, rather than just sending it to "owner/manager", "booking agent", or worse yet, "to whom it may concern". 
  
• Be professional
  (1) a tape or CD of the band (don't get hung up too much on the quality. Good talent buyers can hear through the production or lack thereof.);
  (2) a picture of the band (preferably an on-stage action shot);
  (3) a song list (a current list, not songs you want to learn or used to play);
  (4) a list of places the band has recently played; and most importantly,
  (5) a list of places that you are scheduled to play.
  
  Invite the talent buyer to see you live. I think the best, and only, way to truly see what a band is all about is to see them play out. In minutes, the talent buyer will discover how good the band is, how a crowd reacts to them, and what the band's following is like. Naturally, you want the purchaser to see you in the best rooms possible. 
  
  Sell yourself. Tell the talent buyer why your band is right for the room. Use a hook. Explain how your band is different, or the same, as the bands that currently play the room. Face it. Life is sales. From getting a date, to getting a job, it's all about how you present yourself and what you have to say. 

DON'T:
The "Don'ts" can potentially hurt you as much as the "Do's" can actually help you. Some of the things listed below are common among band members (and agents). I

• Don't waste your time with a verbose write up about the band that's filled with poly-syllabic adjectives or pretentious prose. 

• Don't let money be your sole motivator. Unfortunately, many talent buyers have limited budgets. Sometimes, it's just shrewd business. Sometimes, it's just a really cheap club owner calling the shots. Often, it's both. The business in the club scene isn't what is used to be. Bands are rarely booked solely as entertainment any more. Bands are most often booked, and usually priced, based upon their ability to bring business to the club. If you have to play for less to "get your foot in the door," do it. If you don't take that initial shot for less money, you may never have the opportunity to prove yourself and secure the gig. However, make it absolutely clear that you will expect more pay down the road once you have proven that your band can put asses in the seats. If you don't talk about it up front, you may pigeonhole yourself into a price.
  
  Once you've proven yourself, then you should ask for more money. Rarely will a club owner say, "Hey, you guys are doing really well, you deserve a raise." If you are doing well, don't worry too much about losing the gig for renegotiating your price. The fact is, a club owner is not going to get rid of a band that is making the club money.
  
• Don't walk into a club on a busy Friday or Saturday night and expect to talk to the manager about booking your band. First of all, the manager will most likely be far too busy to take the time to listen to a sales pitch that he has heard a million times. Secondly, the manager will know that your band isn't playing that night since you are at his club. He probably will further assume that the band isn't too good since you are at his club on a weekend night rather than out playing somewhere.
  
• Don't try to be something you are not. Tell the club or bar manager exactly what style you play. Don't tell the talent buyer what you think your music is. Give him or her a playlist. Many bands want to be everything to everyone. It just isn't going to happen. Every band has a certain sound or signature to the tunes they play. This sound is as important as the actual songs that are played. However, a top 40 band trying to alter their set list to play a blues club, isn't gonna work. Know what type of band you are and market yourself as such.
  

• Don't lie your way into a room. Some bands are under the delusion that they are so good that once they play at the club, nothing else will matter such as format or following. These unfortunate few believe that they will blow the club patrons away and impress the talent buyer so much that rebooking is inevitable. Trust me. The only thing that will get blown away is your chance of ever playing that room again. There is no quicker way to get on the black list than to tell a talent buyer one thing, and then do another.
  
  Of possible greater importance, if you don't have a great following, don't claim to be able to pack the room. Focus on your strengths, don't lie about your weaknesses. 

More Promotion Ideas

"schmoozing" - should be something learned by any musician

Music should look like it sounds.being out there among the people you want to listen to your music, being seen, and looking good when you're being seen.

Dress to impress.you have to look and seem like a larger than life figure, but a larger than life figure that will also sit down and have a beer with a fan or potential fan. Don't worry about being seen at all the right parties. Be seen instead at the places where there are the most potential fans for you. Being a local celebrity if you will, or at least acting like one really does go a long way in furthering your music. People want us to be approachable sometimes and just seen other times. During all this, it is very very important to be nice to your potential fans. Acting like you are above your fans will kill all your efforts no matter how good you or your website or music looks and sounds!

You can't be fake about what you wear or what you do when you are out being a walking advertisement for your music. Just like you believe in the songs you play, you have to also believe in who you are.

Throw a party and perform at the party you have thrown. If you have no large circle of friends,  hook up with somebody that does. if you are in a musical group, one of the people around your project is a social butterfly. If not, get a manager who is a social butterfly

RADIO PROMOTION

Every city has certain radio stations that support and play indie music. If you are taking a do-it-yourself approach, your job is to make a list of all these stations in your target area with the contact information for the person who considers new material to place on rotation [usually the program director (PD) or music director (MD)]. Send them a CD (no cassettes) pointing out which are the top singles so they are not forced to listen to the whole CD, a good promotional photo, a short bio, and a personal letter to let them know you'll be playing at the XYZ club in their city next month.

Offer to make yourselves available for an in-studio interview. Mentioning you'll follow-up on a specific day. Then make certain you call when you promised you would. Be prepared to learn he or she hasn't gotten around to it. Don't take it personally, just ask what would be a good day to call back and follow up again. 

Finally, when you have your show, make sure to have plenty of CDs on hand at a table and some very personable someone hosting it. Mention your CDs 
A WEEK AFTER THE SHOW
Hopefully you return from each performance with many names and e-mail addresses from fans for your mailing list. While their names are still fresh in your memory add them to the database and write notes to anyone of significance. Thank anyone that helped make the show a success: media people, club owners, scenesters –whoever.

Tips for Bands - traveling and not

Always carry spares of everything, especially extension power supplies.
Most venues have a surprising lack of onstage power points. Don't assume that the other bands playing with you will lend you their spare gear

Do not drag out every song. People will not only have lost interest, but they will also resent you for it. And please learn the words if you're going to keep it in your playlist.

After booking a show for your band at a club...

#1 Send Promotional Materials the day you book your show. Include an 8 x 10 black and white photo, bio, and 10 flyers including one white master (so the club can make copies). Press and color posters really class up your kit if available.

#2 Send a contract, stage plot and line chart the day you book your show. It's important to send a contract, even if the club won't return it. In many cases they won't. The stage plot and line chart help the club's soundman prepare for you in advance.

#3 Advance your date. Start calling the club at least two weeks out. Have a list in front of you of all the information that you'll need to get from the club. Don't forget to get good directions and the time the club wants you there. Load in time is 5pm, show up at 4:30pm. Nothing proves how serious you are about your career then being on time or early.

#4 Promote! The club is trying to promote all of their shows. They tend to focus on the shows that bring in the most people. That's smart business. You can help your cause by promoting your own show. Get posters up in all the key spots. Pass out flyers for 3 weeks in advance, especially at the clubs and events where your audience hangs out. Distribute free stickers and CDs. Word of mouth is the biggest advertising tool for a club band. 

#5 The Show: After showing up on time for load in, work with the soundman and club. Be easy to work with. Kindness goes along way in the music business. Start your show when the club wants you to hit the stage. End the show when the club wants you off the stage. This is particularly important if you are an opening act. If you are opening, help get your backline off the stage quickly.

Relationships

If you're reading this, you're not a superstar.  Relationships are the single most important ingredient in building a successful career. The music business is a small community. Everybody knows everybody. If you're difficult to work with, then word will spread and people will not want to deal with you or come out to see you. Be self critical. Look at how you can improve your songs and performance.

Reasons to Support Local Bands

sent through newsgroup

Local Music vs. Bigtime

 A typical rock concert costs $40. For $40 you can see 5-8 local shows or probably two very cool outdoor festivals for that price

You can see the bands and stage better at a bar than at a concert

You usually don't pay for parking, and sometimes there's no cover either.  If you do decide to leave, it'll make you no never mind anyhow.

Probably no traffic jams to deal with

Food is better and cheaper

Dance floor

You'll make more friends locally.

You can meet the band and talk with them a little bit. They don't mind that you have a camera, and they certainly don't mind if you want to buy them a drink. You can tell them what you thought of their music, too, and be heard. For what that's worth.

You can sometimes buy a very cool cd that no one else has and it costs a lot less than at a store.

You can sometimes get a cool t-shirt for half the price

If you like having parties, going to see local bands at the clubs and bars is the way to go. You get to hear four hours of music, and you'll find a band that fits right in with what you and your friends enjoy hearing.

1. Go to see a local band whose style appeals to your musical tastes. Check these websites for schedules and decriptions of bands of various musical genres.

2. While you are at the show, if you have a good time, buy a CD from the band that you liked and proceed to step 2. If you don't have a good time, go back to step 1.

3. Say hello to the band members, tell them it was a good show if you thought so. If you're like me, you'll wait til you're asked, and if you didn't think it was that great, you can tell them so in a nice way. Safest is to say nothing if you didn't like it, they get the hint.

4. If you like the CD, tell your friends to go see the band to buy one, or order one from their website.

5. If your friends liked the CD, get your friends out to see the bands

6. Don't be obnoxious 

7. Book them, promote them if you have a website, follow them around, and let them know you luv 'em. If you want to keep them playing locally, that is. Tell anyone who is looking for a band to play, you got just the bunch.

More Promotion Ideas - The Website, Press Kit, Your Fan Base

Samples of Printable Contracts for Venues, Bands, Management Agencies

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