How To Get Booked for Gigs

With the Hipnotik 2013 Youth Festival having just passed by, I am sure as an artist you are wondering how those artists present got the gig; what criteria is used to pick performing artists.

Well, after consulting specialists in the field I gathered a few tips:

Courtesy of boathouse.co.uk

• When approaching a booker of a live venue consider "Why do clubs book certain acts and not others?" In other words, are there certain things that clubs look for in the acts they book, and if so, what is the criterion to get a gig at a live venue? For starters, the bottom line for a venue owner is that they need to make a living at their profession, and the only way they can do that is to book acts that fill the club. So any artist wishing to get booked should do an inventory of their talents and accomplishments and make a list of impressive data to present to the bookers.

 

• Your Promotional Kit is the tool that a booker of live shows needs to see. The Promo Kit or EPK (electronic press kit) should include a cover letter, a Bio, a Photo, a selection of press clips, possibly a 'Fact Sheet', and of course a CD or music file of your music.
  
  Don't send music files to the booking manager without getting permission to do so before hand!

 

• If you don't have a full CD, send 3 or 4 of your best songs on a CDR. Unlike radio promotion, live venues will accept a live recording of your music instead of a studio recording IF the live recording sounds good. If a full CD is sent, mark 3 or 4 songs that best relate to the music style that venue typically presents.

 

• What kind of live venues are there? Many. Besides clubs, there are taverns, bars. Coffee houses, festivals, fairs, concert halls, schools, churches, and even book and record stores, as well as shopping malls. Keep in mind that when dealing with venues other than traditional club type gigs, there are still many business considerations to take into account that may affect whether or not an artist is qualified to perform at the venue.

 

• Artists who are just beginning to perform live have a tough time getting those first shows. A certain 'Catch 22' type situation does exist. You can't get a gig unless you have gotten other gigs, and you can't get other gigs until you get that first gig. So be it. Everyone has to start somewhere, and many artists frustrated by this situation have simply rented a space, gotten a permit, and rented a sound system...and put on their own show. (At least then, they can say they have performed live before.

Read more here.