How to Get Gigs on Sonicbids

A while ago, I wrote this article about How to Get Better Results From Your Sonicbids Submissions. Since then, there have been a few changes to the site (both for promoters as well as performers). All of the advice from the first article still applies so if you haven’t read it, take a look at it first.

Here’s some practical advice for those of you who would like to use Sonicbids to get gigs and what my thoughts are on it (both as an artist as well as a promoter):

1. Make Your EPK Stand Out: There’s nothing worse than submitting an incomplete EPK. This includes tour dates. Contrary to what you might think, the EPK is the first thing that the promoter sees, not the submission questions that you’re sometimes required to complete. If you plan on using Sonicbids often (let’s face it, it’s one of the few ways to submit to SXSW, CMJ, or some other opportunities), then splurge a little and pay for the premium account, at least for the months that you’re using it often. Get your elevator pitch down. Grab their attention immediately. Listing the band members in your bio (unless you have a celebrity in the lineup) is a waste of time, same with spending an entire paragraph talking about what you sound like. Instead, focus on what sets you apart from every other artist, how you will make them money, and a deep understanding of your target audience.  Use bullet points when possible: if it easier to read and you make every sentence count, promoters are more likely to read it thoroughly. If you are not as active, simply downgrade your account later.
2. When Submitting to Gigs, Use the Sort Function: If you want more time and attention spent on your EPK, then get in line first. When you log into your profile, click on “Find Gigs” and then sort the listings by “Date Added.” Check this often. Artists that get in the door first show initiative and have a better chance of getting in (as opposed to those who submit last, after most of the decisions have already been made). Make it a weekly habit to check your status/messages from promoters and follow up. If you want to try being the last one in, you can always sort for submissions based on their deadline.
3. Link Your Account to All Other Social Media Sites: As soon as a promoter opens your EPK in a submission window, your social media stats are featured. In fact, they are shown more prominently than your bio or anything else. Right of the bat, a promoter will see how many fans you have on Myspace, what your Jango score is, and how many fans you have. Leave no stone unturned: even as irreverent  Myspace is, a higher number of fans on your profile still looks more impressive than an empty space. To add sites, click on “Edit My EPK” and enter the field in “Other Sites.” Drag the most prominent and active sites to the top. While you’re there. customized your URL. It looks much better to be sonicbids.com/BANDNAME than a collection of numbers/letters.
4. See What Others Are Doing: Check out the EPK’s of artists getting the most gigs each week (Track Buzz) so you can see what they’re doing right. Getting gigs helps you get more gigs (believe it or not, the little icons you get for “Booking your first 25, 50, or 100 gigs does stand out and is highlighted to the promoter).
5. Keep Up With Your Stats: If you have a premium account, you get access to your profile stats (Manage EPK>My Stats) so you can see how many views/plays you’re receiving, what parts of your profile are being looked at, etc. However, one of the greatest features is the oft-ignored “Plugins” section on the right hand side. The social media stats/buzz that you see here are the ones that are shared with promoters. If the Twitter Buzz results are pulling up results that are not relevant, make adjustments to the search query so that your music is being talked about (and not something else with a similar name).
6. Keep the Gig Calendar Full: I know, it’s a pain. Shows to enter on your own site, Reverb Nation, Myspace, Facebook Events, etc. It can get overwhelming with the amount of data entry. However, Murphy’s Law suggests that wherever you forget to include your tour dates, that will probably be the area that the promoter looks at. Promoters don’t have the time to following up with each of your sites to see how busy your band is. You might have an extensive tour booked all over the world on your website, but if someone looks at your EPK’s empty gig list, you’re going to look pretty pathetic. If it’s easier, delegate calendar updates in the band to different members – just make sure that the same basic information (show time, entry fee, etc.) is the same across the board.

Whether you like it or not, Sonicbids is a tool that is being used by many, many promoters, especially larger music festivals. If you are going to use the site, then do it properly so that you can maximize the results. If not, then focus on your own sites that you do well (most of the basic principles remain the same).

 

How to Get a Booking Agent

I’d have to say that I agree with most of these points. Understand the business before you try and get someone to try and handle your business:

http://www.musicthinktank.com/blog/how-to-get-a-booking-agent-to-book-your-band.html

Breaking Into the Music Industry 101: Unsolicited Demo’s, Submissions, and Inquiries

During the last two weeks, I’ve received more unsolicited submissions than I ever have in my two decades of booking and working with artists. Maybe there’s something in the air? I’m always excited to learn about new up and coming musicians but I was utterly disappointed in most of the ones that reached out. Why? They lacked creativity, professionalism, and thought.

Here’s a list of 5 tips to help you accomplish more when you are contacting record labels, managers, booking agents, venues, or anyone else about your music:

1. Get your elevator pitch down. Find a way to tell your story in two sentences or less that will set you apart from the sea of musicians out there. Use sites like 15secondpitch.com to hone down your idea or “sales pitch.” Answer this: What makes your act unique? What can you say about your music, image, style, etc. that no one else can claim?
2. Make it Personal. Blanket submissions or emails that look like they were just copied and pasted over have spam written all over. But if you do your homework, get a real name. Know ahead of time what type of music and artists they’re looking for. Don’t waste your time or theirs if it’s not a good match.
3. Make the Ask. Sometimes, I get a press kit sent to me with no personalized message or ask. There’s no clear indication on if they’re looking for their music to be reviewed, looking for a manager, want a booking agent, or what the goal is. Be specific in what you are looking for. Whether it’s contacting a company for a sponsorship or asking someone to manage you, ask clearly.
4. Make it Professional. Before you hit “send,” run spellcheck first. This should be obvious but I can’t tell you how many messages I received with ALL CAPS, spelling errors, or questionable grammar. Also, get your information in there. This month alone, I’ve received emails where the person forgot to include the name of their band, several where they failed to include a link to their music, and another with no follow-up contact information.
5. Make Every Word Count. Only make the email as long as it needs to be to grab their attention and have a specific follow-up action item. The longer you make it, the more likely someone will archive it for later (then forget about it). Craft your message like you would a pop song for radio: short, sweet, with plenty of hooks so that the recipient can’t stop thinking about it.

What other tips would you recommend? What have you had success with?

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?

How to Hire or Book a Band (for non-live music venues)

This article focuses explains how to book a band for your non-traditional venue – in other words, conventions, cultural festivals, weddings, etc… events outside of the traditional live music venue. However, there is a lot of valuable information for both artists and talent buyers of venues who want to understand more about the process in creating a two-sided relationship that benefits both parties.

 

How to Initiate the Process

The first step is to identify your need: the type of music (or which artist to choose), dates, budget, etc. Once you’ve identified the band that you’d like to book, contact their booking agent or manager. For most acts, you’ll want to book at least 3 months out (for larger events, plan at least 6-12 month in advance). If you’re unsure of what band to choose, a booking agency can help you identify the appropriate act by genre, price range, type of event, etc.

 

Determine Your Budget

Most people assume that the performance fee/pay rate of the band will be your largest expense. Often times, it is not. For example, if you don’t have an adequate stage or sound and lighting system, you’ll need to rent those items and find a qualified sound engineer to run them. Often times, you’ll be asked to provide food or lodging (those items are often negotiable). If you’re flying in a band, you’ll be expected to rent back line equipment (drum set, amplifiers, etc.) as well as provide transportation to and from the airport. If the artist is driving, you’ll most likely need to pay for transportation expenses. If you are working with an agent or manager, they should be able to help you determine these costs so you can prepare your budget. Some of the other things you’ll want to negotiate is if you are covering their entourage, how much work will be expected of them (how many sets + length of time or other public appearances, and if they can provide any of the above things on their own (such as a sound system).

All of this can seem daunting but this is why you’ll want to see if it is worth it.

 

Determine Your Return on Investment

Your Return on Investment (ROI) should be your biggest determining factor on hiring a band, not your costs (whether that includes financial, time & energy spent, etc). What do you hope to gain from booking the band? Great entertainment for you r guests? Additional publicity or notoriety for your event? Are you hoping to profit by selling tickets or getting higher attendance? That is where you’ll want to see if it is worth the investment.

First of all, lets dispel the myth that “all bands are the same.” They’re not. Each act has a different level of professionalism, type of music genre offered (originals, covers, or both), costs, following, and value adding benefits from booking the act. For example, my band (The Slants) was hired to perform at a large cultural convention in Seattle, WA two years in a row. In addition to paying for our performance, the event covered our transportation, food, and lodging as well. However, our band has a full-time publicist. The publicist secured local media attention (tv, radio, and print) as well as coverage on NPR which was broadcast multiple times across 700+ FM stations. I was able to secure sponsorship from an internationally published magazine which covered the event and provided extra attention over the next two years. We also had our sponsors donate products for the attendees. All of those efforts resulted in unprecedented advertising that money couldn’t buy, as well as substantial growth during that time which covered our expenses 20 over. This is an example of excellent return on investment.

There are many ways to calculate your ROI, not just if the band makes you money from tickets sold. Determine your goals by priority and see which band aligns most closely with your needs. Here are some examples of can be considered: value of entertainment, cost/budget, professionalism (which may not seem like much but the difference between working with pro’s and amateurs is quite vast and can save you a lot of heartache), notoriety of the act, appeal to your audience, appeal to a market outside of your audience, if they attract media attention for appearances or not, if they are able to offer other appearances to give value to your audience (such as workshops, lectures, autographs). You can also see if they have referrals from other events like your own.

 

Negotiating

So you figured out your costs and determined its worth booking the band. Now you’ll want to negotiate favorable terms. This is where hiring a booking agency can help. The agent/manager wants to book the gig, so they will help you negotiate with the artist to get the lowest possible cost. Other benefits of working with an agency is access to a larger group of artists, working with contracts, ease of communication, and professionalism. Working with an artist’s label is not the same thing: they might have general knowledge of all of these areas, but it is not what they specialize in.

Remember this: almost all terms are negotiable, even the infamous tech rider (which has a bad reputation from celebrities asking for outrageous accommodations). Just remember to be reasonable and the artist can be too.

 

Contracts

Always have an agreement in writing. This protects both parties. Explain in clear terms what you are offering, what you expect, the payment schedule, and any other details. Keep a copy during the event as well, in case anything goes awry. There are many performance agreement templates available online but chances are that the artist (or their agent/manager) will already have a standardized agreement that they use. Also include clauses that will justify you cancelling without penalty in case things fall through and who should be responsible for incidents.

 

If This is a Public Event…

Promote. If you want your money’s worth, you’ll want your audience to enjoy the band you’ve booked. So do your best to advertise their appearance(s).

 

Questions? Comments? Feel free to reply below or contact me at simon@laststopbooking.com