Booking Gigs

A lot of my clients have asked me recently whether I will book gigs for them. The answer is no! I am not, and will never be a booking agent! However, I do constantly recommend my artists to other agents/managers/venues I know. Without gig dates, a PR campaign can only go so far. Journalists need to see you touring constantly, and many need to see you perform in their market a handful of times before they will consider writing about you.

With this in mind, I thought it would be useful to share some advice I have given my clients recently regarding gig booking, and also share some tips I’ve picked up from agents/promoters/venues at the various music conferences and networking events I’ve attended. Here you go:

1. Think carefully about the way you pitch yourself to venues/promoters/agents. Apply the same rules as pitching to the media – describe your music succinctly and outline your USPs (unique selling points).
2. Let them know how big your fan base is and what kind of social media outreach you have to promote gigs.
3. Don’t lie about the size of the audience you can draw. This will only backfire.
4. Utilize tools like Google Analytics and Youtube/Facebook insight tools to analyze your fan base before organizing your touring route.
5. Create a sticker with full contact information to put on the CDs you are sending out. This ensures that promoters don’t have to waste time looking for your details, which in most cases with disincentive them.
6. Communicate your enthusiasm to promote the gigs. If you have a street team, then let them know! If you have posters and flyers then send them to the venue quickly!
7. Once the gig date is confirmed, ask the venue for their local media list. All venues will have this and should be happy to share it with you.
8. Being able to perform both acoustically and with a full band will open up your venue options.
9. Reach out to other artists in other areas to “swap gigs”.
10. Reach out to your fans to organize house parties or college gigs around your gig date in a particular area. This is a great way to generate additional income and will not viewed as a gig conflict.
11. Three great resources for gig bookings in the US are:

- The Musician’s Atlas which provides details on booking agents, college venues, clubs, regional promoters and festivals.

- Martin Atkins’s Tour:Smart book which gives numerous tips on touring.

- The Indie Venue Bible which is a directory of  live music venues in the USA and Canada.

Tags: advice on concert booking, gigs, Music Industry