Top Myths About Touring and Booking

Lately, I’ve been getting a lot of questions about booking certain venues on tours as well as working with bands who are setting up their own shows. I’ve noticed a steady trend where people have some misconceptions about the booking process not only from artists themselves but the managers who are looking after their affairs. To make the most of your live performance experience, let’s go over some of the top myths that bands have about touring and booking:

1. You Should Be Playing Large Venues: Who doesn’t want to play a large room filled with people and amazing sound/production? The problem is that large venues have higher expenses and if your band can’t draw to help pay their expenses, you have no business performing there. A good rule of thumb is that if you can’t bring in 30-60% of their capacity, then you probably are not ready to play there.
2. You Deserve Guaranteed Compensation: Guarantee’s are becoming more and more rare these days, with many venues opting to pay based on how many people you can bring to the show or how many drinks are sold to the fans you brought in. Sometimes it’s a mix of both. Generally, you’ll have better odds of getting a decent guarantee in places with less competition (smaller to mid-size cities with fewer venues) as opposed to large metropolitan areas unless you have a solid following with tons of media attention behind you.
3. Your “Strong Draw”: Your idea of what a good-size crowd might not be the same as the venue’s. Be realistic in actual numbers of people that you think you can bring to the club. Like I mentioned in a previous article (“How to Get More Pay for Live Music Gigs”), the promoter will appreciate the honesty and if you exceed expectations, you can expect a better slot, more pay, and future gigs than if you under-deliver.
4. You Should Just Stick With Larger Cities: Remember, it’s easier to stand out from the crowd if there’s less competition. Often times, smaller cities pay more, have fans that will buy more merch (and who are less jaded), and are easier to get gigs at. The advantage of playing larger cities is more media opportunities, looks better on your tour history, and better venues. If you’re just an up and coming act, it’s good to get a mix of both so you can experience all types of markets.
5. Timeline: Try to begin booking your gigs 3-4 months in advance at a minimum. It gives plenty of time to promote the show, both you and the venue will have opportunities to find strong local support, and the odds will be better that the date will be available.

Know your markets and what level you’re at as an act. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t have a strong following everywhere you go yet, you’ll have to start somewhere! There are many other types of shows and opportunities out there, form opening for larger acts to private corporate functions. We can cover those soon. Have a Happy New Year and best of luck in your music career!

How to Get More Pay for Live Music Gigs

I often compare managing a band to running a business. If you’re looking to get higher guarantees/pay for your services (performing live music), then you should approach things from a business point of view. How do you get a raise from work or higher wage when interviewing for a job? Here’s a clue: just showing up doesn’t cut it. You have to demonstrate that you deserve it and show how it will ultimately help them out. Here are some guidelines to help you out:

1. Don’t Be afraid to Ask: I’m surprised how many artists book shows without asking what the terms for the gig are initially. They just show up and hope for the best. Well, it doesn’t hurt to find out how pay structures work at the venue and if they’re willing to provide a guarantee or not. Imagine accepting a job offer from an employer without knowing what the pay rate was!

2. Create a sense of Value: This is where you have to sell the value of what you are offering the promoter. You have to find what resounds with their goals. Clearly explain how you will accomplish those goals. Things such as: how you will make them more money (for example, large draw that will buy many drinks), how booking your act gives their event credibility (if you have a good reputation in town), how you will entertain and excel expectations of the audience, how they will receive publicity for booking you (it helps if you have a publicist), the level of professionalism that you offer, etc. Find out what they’re looking for and how you can meet those needs. Then explain why you are worth the investment.

3. Prove Your Worth: It might take a few experiences to show a promoter that you’re worth some extra money. But if you consistently have a large draw and put on a great show that makes their customers happy, it might be a good time to explain that and ask for a solid guarantee. If you’ve never worked with a certain promoter and want to get more money, you’ll have to show your worth in other ways: how well you’ve been drawing elsewhere, press you’ve been receiving, your caliber of musicianship, etc.

4. Learn From the Other Guy: Learn as much as you can from other artists or businesses. If you have good friends in other bands that are about the same level as you, you can find out what kind of pay they’ve been receiving and ask for something in the ballpark. Look at how some organizations sell their products and services: what tactics do they use to show that they are worth the asking price?

5. The Right Fit: You can receive better pay in certain situations than others; for example, larger venues, festivals, or events tend to pay better than a local coffeeshop. Know your worth in those instances and why certain factors will determine your pay (set length, amount of work required on your part, etc). Know when to charge less (charity events, opportunities for great exposure).

Ask For That Raise!

In conclusion, making more money from gigs is just like trying to make more money at your job. If you demonstrate your worth, your track record of success, and know when/how/why to ask, then the chances of you getting that raise are likely to happen.

Recommended Reading for Independent Musicians

It isn’t too late for a last minute present or stocking stuffer for the favorite D.I.Y musician or band in your life (or maybe you want to treat yourself). These are some of my favorite books that I believe are essential to your music career library:

1) The Guerrilla Guide to Music Marketing by Bob Baker
There are a lot of guides on the subject, but this is my favorite one. Tons of easy to implement tips, lots of comments from industry folk, and relevant (especially for UK and US artists)

2) All Marketers are Liars by Seth Godin
This marketing book is simply amazing. Very easy to read and helps get you in that marketing mindset of how to set yourself apart to pick up some steam

3) I Don’t Need a Record Deal by Daylle Schwarz
Kind of like the Guerrilla Guide, it focuses on practical steps to be successful independently.

4) Put Your Dream to the Test by John Maxwell
Another non-music specific book, John Maxwell talks about practical steps to achieve your dream and asks if you are willing to pay the costs for that dream. It allows for creative thinking on how to approach your art.

5) The Musician’s Guide to Licensing Music by Daylle Schartz
Licensing is a huge revenue stream for many artists these days (and also a good opportunity to get exposure). Learn how to do it right!

Besides those books, I recommend reading these blogs:
sivers.org
musicthinktank.com
sethgodin.com
musicmarketing.com
arielpublicity.com

(Get an RSS Reader like Google Reader…it’ll make all of these easier)

What books/blogs do you enjoy?

How to Book a Tour For Your Band

Most artists who book their own shows have a general idea of how to book a tour but either lack the confidence or the initiative and drive to do so. After all, it’s like booking a single gig multiplied over by how many shows you want to do right? There’s a few other logistical pieces involved so let’s go over the right way to do things.

Why Do you Want to Tour?

What’s the purpose of your tour? Is it to promote a new album? Get more exposure? Make money? Your ultimate goal should shape every aspect of your decision from where you want to play to when to go out on the road.

Is It the Right Time to Tour?

When it comes to touring, timing is important. You have to consider a number of things. Some of the more important things include: timing your tour with a benchmark event: new release, music video, major press/radio campaign, major music festival appearance or showcase, etc. If it’s winter, you won’t be able to drive in certain locations due to severe weather. In the summer, gas tends to be more expensive and college students are out. You also need to decide if you can afford to tour.

Create a Budget

Touring can be very expensive, especially if you are not at a point where you can get some major guarantees yet and even if you are doing everything on the cheap. Tires can blowout, transmissions can fall apart. You need to eat. Plan your budget but also include a emergency savings in case things go awry. There’s nothing worse than being stranded thousands of miles of home with your gear and out of money with no way to get back.

Choose a Route

After you decide if and when you can tour, decide where you’d like to go. I always believe in gradually expanding your reach: create a buzz in your city first, then the state, then your region. Slowly expand the radius of where you’re doing shows by a few hundred miles each time you go out and build some new fans. Decide where you can to go but keep a few things in mind:

• Big Cities or Small Towns: It’s easy to just think in terms of large metropolitan areas but there are downsides to this as well. There’s more competition with other bands/shows going on at the same time in the city, they tend to pay less (or no guarantees if you don’t have a solid draw), venues tend to be more reluctant to book unfamiliar acts. However, larger cities have more opportunities for press: weeklies, dailies, radio stations, and TV shows. If you have a publicist or PR firm working these avenues, it can make your band look very good.
• Where Are Your Fans: Thanks to insight tools in every social media site, you can easily get a picture where your fans are at. Fan management programs like Fanbridge also let you see where your fans are interacting.
• Towards the “Big Event”: I get more requests for a “SXSW tour” than anything else. Touring there can be great: venues are more receptive towards touring acts at that time, many cities have their own music festivals before or after, there’s plenty going on outside of Austin. The downside is that no matter where you play, it will probably be on a bill full of touring acts rather than strong locals…so there’s  less of a chance for you to get the exposure you need.
• How Large of a Venue? Here’s a rule of thumb: If you have never played a city before and have little to no serious press on you, don’t contact the largest venues in town. It’s a waste of their time. Instead, realistically determine your level and decide if you are more fit to play small rooms (100-200 capacity), medium sized venues (200-600), or larger.

Start Booking Venues!

After you get the plan set, begin contacting venues that you think you would make a good fit. You can find live music venues using free tools like Indie On the Move, byofl,org, or even just typing in “live music venue” into Google and the city name. You can also buy a database of contacts or talk to a booking agency about doing the work. Another great tip is to look at where bands similar to your level and genre are playing in other cities. If those other bands are in cities that you want to play, contact them about “gig-swapping.” It’s always easier to get your foot in the door if there’s an established act on the bill.

When you contact the venue, remember it’s a business proposition. Use some professionalism and explain how you can help them make money – how many people can you really draw? Are you having a press campaign to support your show? What are there benefits from booking your act?

The Other Bits

Talk to your traveling group ahead of time to decide how far you can drive in one day, how many “rest” or sightseeing days you need, etc. You also might want to talk about how often each person can drive. If you are doing large amounts of night shifts, please be safe and have someone stay up with the driver and pull over the moment you feel drowsy.

Other things to consider: finding a sponsor for your tour (see the articles on “how to get a sponsor” on the left menu), visiting sponsors that you might have on board already, asking fans to help promote the show, etc.

How to Get Better Results From Sonicbids Submissions

Before I opened a Promoter’s account to accept Sonicbids submissions for Last Stop Booking (see link on left for our submissions that are open), I was using a standard artist account to submit to gigs. I often wondered if it was a waste of money…there were lucrative offers but the responses from promoters were always generic and made me questioned if they even looked over the EPK. If you are submitting to gigs, you probably wonder the same thing quite often.  Love it or hate it, there are some opportunities that are only available through Sonicbids (such as SXSW and CMJ). Now that I am on the other end and see how it is set up for a promoter, I can give advice on how to make your submission stand out as well as go over common mistakes I see everyday that you can avoid.

Complete Your EPK/Profile BEFORE Submitting: I receive over 100 EPK’s through Sonicbids per week. At least one-third do not have a complete profile. Many of those have completely blank fields when it comes to biography, discography, an about section, the press tab, or links. Contrary to popular opinion, a promoter will see your EPK profile before they see your responses to their submission questions. Your photo, featured songs, and biography will be visible before anything else (a separate window pops up with any information you submitted). Don’t rely on your response to their questions, have a great EPK set up first!

Treat it Like a Job Application: In other words, be courteous and professional. Don’t use all-caps in anywhere in your profile or submission. Do try and “bullet-point” your most impressive stats right away. Have a clear objective and make sure it’s in line with what you are submitting for. Learn how to use proper grammar. Use complete sentences.

Start Your Biography Off With a Strong  Statement: Rather kicking off your biography with a sentence about starting in the garage or some obscure history, begin with a bold statement or one of your greatest accomplishments first. This is the first thing that the promoter will see. Capture their attention first and show why they should take the time to read the remaining paragraphs about your history.

Don’t Submit to Gigs That Don’t Suit You: Do not just blanket all of the free listings. Rather than spending your time in a shotgun approach, get as much information as you can from the listing on what they are looking for, then carefully cater your thoughtful responses to their questions. Make sure your genre, tour schedule, etc. fits their needs, otherwise you’re wasting everyone’s time.

Selection Status: Whenever a submission status changes (whether it is “not selected,” “interested” or “selected”), click on the message in your inbox. There is often a request for more information or reasons why the promoter made that decision. Dozens of artists miss opportunities because they don’t realize this!

Follow-Up: If the promoter responds with a message, provide a quick response (even if just to say thank you). It shows determination and initiative.

Be Tasteful in Your Review: When providing feedback for a listing, provide actual facts what it was like working with the promoter. Often times I see artists complaining that “they decided in half a day…waste of money!” Seriously, I’d be happy if everyone responded that quickly rather than sit and wait for months! Don’t shoot yourself in the foot by providing a negative review…look at it from their prospective. Of it’s an opportunity that you’d really like, it would be more favorable to say “Unfortunately I was not selected but will continue to take the necessary steps to be a stronger candidate” than to say “I only got a generic response, this is such a rip off!”

What are some of the tips that you have? What are some of the questions you have about making submissions?