Booking the band! Looking for thoughts, ideas, and strategies.

[SamuelBLupowitz]

I wanted to check in with our forum members who are gigging regularly -- especially in original music projects, perhaps in more niche genres -- about where and how to go about expanding a project's reach and booking more shows outside of one's home scene!

 

I've been talking a bit on the forum the last few months about my organ trio, Pocket Bandits. All three of us are really eager to play more, better shows, and are willing to travel (not monthlong tour kind of thing, but regional driving gigs and short two- or three-day runs here and there). I'm trying to be strategic about making sure we play the kind of gigs that count and will help us build an audience. Obviously instrumental jazz-rock is a bit of a harder sell than a cover band, but we've also found it to be very accessible to new listeners and good at getting people on the dance floor at our gigs the past six months or so.

 

I'm not expecting to make a ton of money, but I'm also trying to limit just going out of pocket to play gigs when you're three musicians with day jobs and mortgages in the vicinity of middle age. The goal is to be able to break even and eventually make a little money, and build a nice little reliable audience for ourselves where we can do a weekend in Boston or Philly and come away with a little extra money in our pockets and smiles on our faces. Not as ambitious as my childhood musical dreams, but hey, something to work toward.

 

It's been kind of hit or miss trying to book breweries and wineries outside of town. Just trying to grind away at that. Clubs can be a little easier, especially teaming up with a local act, but making any money from a door deal is TOUGH these days with all the extra cuts the venues take. Festivals are high on my list -- especially jazz festivals, though we are definitely on the more rock/funk/prog side for anything that's too centered on straightahead jazz -- but I'm realizing with a lot of them, figuring out when and how to submit is a huge enigma!

 

I haven't been actively trying to seek out new venues and new audiences on my own since before the pandemic, and not that booking was ever fun, but it feels extra challenging right now. Obviously I want to give venues their money's worth, but of course a new band is not going to bring in the same clientele as a Queen tribute band or top 40 act or whatever. And I'm not sure how it's feeling in other places, but ever since the pandemmy, my hometown music scene has had the same amount of musicians but a much, much more challenging, unpredictable audience draw (even for the better-known acts -- nobody is packing the clubs like they used to).

 

Not looking at this thread as a way to commiserate about booking woes -- though lord knows I could do that all day -- but truly curious about folks' experience trying to build an audience for a project at a starting-from-scratch regional level. Maybe we can all share some helpful wisdom!

[Stokely]

I'm kind of an observer, our lead singer does our booking but I hear plenty about it     Any advice I have is surely quite basic Capn Obvious stuff and I shouldn't even type it out but I will anyway!    We've been together 12 years and are hardly a big-time band (certainly not "regional") but we have moved our way up a bit like the Jeffersons.

- First, and very unfortunately--it's harder to book if you are a woman.  She encounters her share of misogynistic aholes.  And, some of the worst attitudes are from female booking people....

- Have thick skin and be persistent, my impression is that a lot of the booking people see themselves as IMPORTANT PEOPLE.  Our singer has been stood up several times for in-person meetings with them, calls not returned and so on.

- Get to know other bands and musicians, those networks have gotten us a fair number of gigs.  Someone can't do a gig, they call us, etc.   This also really helps when it comes to finding subs.

- I'm personally a big fan of a really nice demo (audio and video done right, not a static phone recording) but opinions vary wildly on this!

- Any of us who have gigged know this, but always be a pro at any gig (I'm not even a pro really but I try to act like one!)  Even at a down and dirty bar, you never know who is there to see you.  And club owners/booking people talk.

[Delaware Dave]

I could tell you but then i'd have to ......  well you know how the rest goes.

[cphollis]

I run a local band, playing "re-interpreted covers" of 60s-80s music here in FL.

 

We get more than enough bookings in town because we have enough people who will go out of their way to come see us when we play -- a demonstrable fan base.  That works well for venue owners, public event sponsors and similar.  We have a musical product that people like.

 

We are lucky if we cover our costs and take home a few $$$.  We also only play out maybe 10 times a season.

 

Achieving that state took three years of hard work, some very talented people, a bunch of rehearsals, money for promotion, etc.  But now that it's up and running, it doesn't take a lot of upkeep as the band's brand is established.  It's like a small business that way, except you don't make any money!

[timwat]

While the strategy for convincing a decision maker will depend a bit on the type of venue, IMHO these days it would be a huge advantage to have a small loyal following (or at least the perception of one).

 

What I mean by that is try to put yourself in the shoes of the booking decision maker. What does he/she care about most? Bars? probably selling drinks. But other venues? Depends on the venue. Here in my neck we have genre-focused clubs, theaters that also host live music, wineries, tasting rooms (not specifically beholden to one winery), community centers, etc. Each will have their own focus, concerns, etc. 

 

When I say "perception of a following" means evidence (photos? videos?) of what looks like a large loyal appreciative audience that you can show them. Yes, it may be all family and friends and you had to pay 3 uncles to show up. But they sure look enthused in the iPhone video. that goes a long way toward building hope that you'll pull a decent draw at their house. We used to think that was the venue's shared responsibility - they have the marquee don't they? But more and more decision makers don't see it that way, and they're the ones you're trying to convince. 

 

So actually building a following (not just the perception) - that's the full time job of the originals project, isn't it? If you're not enthusiastically selling it, why would anyone else care about it? Just a related thought and maybe that's stupid on my part.

 

I'm also in favor of professionally produced materials - handbills, photos, tunes you can provide links to, thought out marketing reach - not because everyone is impressed by that stuff (some are, some not so much). More so because it shows deliberate effort and some level of commit and willingness to spend resources, which implies you're serious. That's not everything, but it can separate you from the sea of not-really-serious-lacksadaiscal-effort types.

 

Finally, I found with my originals project that lots of decision makers listen with their eyes. Visuals matter, a lot. And more than a musician would like them to. It's only about the music to us...to everyone else, visuals matter.

 

Anyway, my little 0.2 for whatever it's worth.

[BluesB3]

My new band is just getting off the ground with promotion and hopefully booking. We're older players so our playlist (and wheelhouse) is classic rock (50-70's) roadhouse country, claptonesque blues, and a few standards.

 

We have booked a session a local audio studio and will cut 5-7 diverse demo tunes. We'll be coming back to the same location the following week and will shoot a video to accompany the tracks. I'm looking for a 3-4 minute finished cut to post on youtube, vimeo, or whatever the younger folks deem appropriate.

 

I'm toying with the idea of taking my wife's cast-off Macbook Air and a pair of Sony MDR7506's around to potential venues with the hope of getting the booker to listen and watch in real time. Failing that, I had thought about leaving them with a thumbdrive of the video to watch later (hopefully) and failing that, a business card or promo piece with the link to the online video.

 

Time will tell if this is a productive strategy. Current budget spread over six players is about $250 ea. I had wanted to go with a little more experienced video shooter/director/editor but the band balked at the price, so we went with the proverbial "friend of a friend". I imagine it'll be adequate for our needs when most bands have posted videos shot with an Iphone from the back of the venue.

[Stokely]

Yeah video is expensive.

If the friend of a friend can do it, try to get them to be active around the stage.  At least, those are the demos I prefer, ymmv.  A lot of bands have the single static camera and that is a bit....boring.   I also prefer shorter demos of a few songs cut together and not whole songs or sets, but again that's a personal taste.

If possible, mic up everything even if you normally don't and if your mixer can do it, record multi-track.  This lets you mix down and pop back onto the video instead of whatever the camera recorded (even with an external mic).  I'm not a pro, but I'd be glad to mix something like that as would others here probably--be nice to have something useful to do with my DAW!

[BluesB3]

Yeah you hit some key points Stokely. I appreciate the offer of a mix. The audio studio will do the mix as part of their bid. If they suck, I'll send you the files 🤔

 

The shooter guy is actually an editor by profession. I was a cameraman for many years before I retired, so I will provide gentle guidance if he needs it. The vid camera will be a lot handheld and mobile. I'm going to intersperse the music performance with B-roll that hopefully shows a little of the personality and vibe of the band. No complete songs.

 

The reason we're using a real audio studio is to have separate discreet tracks we can EQ and mix properly. I'm not going to over-finesse it and do overdubbing except maybe do the vocals in an iso booth.

[cphollis]

May I suggest skipping the traditional "band video"?  They always seem to suck one way or another.

 

What we do is collect lots of photos of our performances and rehearsals -- ones we shoot, ones that friends shoot -- and we occasionally pay a professional to show up and shoot us for $100 or similar.

 

I curate the photos in iMovie into an animated real, along with a live audio recording of us playing a tune at our gigs.  Post five or six of these with good audio and decent photos --and I'd argue it's much more effective than a standard band video.

 

My two cents.

[Stokely]

That's actually a very good idea, I personally would love that.  I hate playing when a video guy is there at our gigs, it's awkward!  We've done this 3 or 4 times as our lineup has changed over the years.

It also makes it much easier as you don't need to sync up video with audio, maybe with a medley of tunes as well.
 

I'm going to run that past the band today actually, as our leader wasn't happy with the video results she got with the recent guy.

[Bill H.]

This rather embarrassing to admit, but in the last 20 years I don't think I've ever scored a gig where the owner/manager didn't know me, didn't know my work, or I wasn't recommended by someone the owner knew - either an employee, or regulars. Just thinking about it - every time I've gone in cold to a room I've come back empty handed. And I've worked dozens of rooms in the last 20 years - either as a piano player, keyboard player in a band, DJ, or karaoke host. 

 

Maybe I just suck at this, but IMO nothing works as well as some kind of personal recognition or contact. Identify your prospective rooms (Very important! You have a specialized product that will not go over everywhere) and then try to find anyone who will set the table for you beforehand. Employees who work there are the best... owners seem to trust their employees. 

 

 

[Stokely]

Yep and that's why it's hard to get started....can't get to know the people at the places, because they won't hire you due to not knowing you!

As I mentioned, some of the club owners know each other and good (or bad) experiences with a band can get around.

[ProfD]

Gone are the days when an artist or band with little or no following could get booked into a cub, bar, restaurant or community center to just show up and play and get paid. 

 

The gatekeepers of establishments are fully aware that live music is competing with other forms of entertainment i.e. DJs, sporting events on TVs, video games, karaoke night, game night, etc.

 

1.   Find someone (manager, agent, promoter, etc.) who is capable of selling the band. 

 

2. Sponsor and promote your own shows.  Find venues to rent.  Market the event.  Sell tickets. 

 

Music has never really sold itself.  Someone has to do the heavy lifting.  It is great to start thinking about music as a business. 😎

[BluesB3]

21 minutes ago, Bill H. said:

This rather embarrassing to admit, but in the last 20 years I don't think I've ever scored a gig where the owner/manager didn't know me, didn't know my work, or I wasn't recommended by someone the owner knew - either an employee, or regulars. Just thinking about it - every time I've gone in cold to a room I've come back empty handed. And I've worked dozens of rooms in the last 20 years - either as a piano player, keyboard player in a band, DJ, or karaoke host. 

 

Maybe I just suck at this, but IMO nothing works as well as some kind of personal recognition or contact. Identify your prospective rooms (Very important! You have a specialized product that will not go over everywhere) and then try to find anyone who will set the table for you beforehand. Employees who work there are the best... owners seem to trust their employees. 

 

 

Of course it's the old "who do you know".

 

Our drummer is a member of the local Elks club and he's schmoozing there. One of my motorcycle buddies has introduced me to some people that own a pizza parlor that books live talent and I've spent some money there. My irrigation guy has a zydeco band and knows a lot of the venue bookers so I'm working that angle.

[BluesB3]

22 minutes ago, Stokely said:

Yep and that's why it's hard to get started....can't get to know the people at the places, because they won't hire you due to not knowing you!

As I mentioned, some of the club owners know each other and good (or bad) experiences with a band can get around.

Yeah this^^^^  We're just trying to get a little toehold with a venue or two and hopefully generate good word of mouth. We have a fairly diverse playlist, good players, and three very strong vocalists.

[Bill H.]

I'm going to take back a bit what I said previously, because I have scored gigs in piano rooms by just sitting down and playing a few songs to the owner or manager. And I got one gig by playing an entire set on an off night. Don't know if you want to go the audition route with a trio and gear, but it can work. 

[cphollis]

1 hour ago, Stokely said:

That's actually a very good idea, I personally would love that.  I hate playing when a video guy is there at our gigs, it's awkward!  We've done this 3 or 4 times as our lineup has changed over the years.

It also makes it much easier as you don't need to sync up video with audio, maybe with a medley of tunes as well.
 

I'm going to run that past the band today actually, as our leader wasn't happy with the video results she got with the recent guy.

I've been involved maybe six or seven band video efforts.  No one has ever been happy with the results.

 

Recording and mixing a live performance shouldn't be too hard, and then get busy curating a bunch of good-looking photos.  Make sure you have plenty of photos of people having a great time, and not just cameos of the guitar player soloing etc.  We always bring our own lighting, so all the night photos come out looking great.  

 

if you have the audio and photos, you can knock out a nice piece of video in about an hour or so on any Mac.

[Bill H.]

2 hours ago, Stokely said:

Yep and that's why it's hard to get started....can't get to know the people at the places, because they won't hire you due to not knowing you!

As I mentioned, some of the club owners know each other and good (or bad) experiences with a band can get around.

 

Here's some real life examples of how this has worked for me. 

 

My current room (as a karaoke host and DJ on weekends) came about because the owners came into my previous room and approached me about a gig. I didn't know them otherwise. 

 

That previous room came about because I'd played keyboards in it as a sideman, so I knew who to talk to. Fortunately he remembered me, so there was no awkwardness to it at all. 

 

Another room I was working about that same time happened because the manager knew me from a room literally across the street. When it closed, I was asked if I wanted a job. 

 

That room happened when it's owner popped into the room I was working at the time, and had his manager contact me.

 

That room happened when one of it's top servers kept pestering the owner about trying me out on Thursday nights. When Thursdays took off, I also began working weekends in there - and did for 5 years. 

 

Anyway my gigging life as a retiree!  I won't go into when I was working more full time, because that was mostly done with agents. 

 

 

[b3plyr]

Well, my experience is that these days the venues would rather have an iPhone video of you than a studio produced video. This includes wedding bands. The booking organizations want to see you in a real performing environment sounding like you really do in person. I have stopped the professional videos and recordings. Again, just my experience.

[El Lobo]

3 hours ago, b3plyr said:

Well, my experience is that these days the venues would rather have an iPhone video of you than a studio produced video. This includes wedding bands. The booking organizations want to see you in a real performing environment sounding like you really do in person. I have stopped the professional videos and recordings. Again, just my experience.

Yes. +1. In my originals band, the bandleader videos every gig with his iphone, then breaks the videos out to individual songs and posts them on youtube and on the band's web site. It shows what the band actually looks and sounds like in a real gig. He also has a friend video with his phone, then edits the 2 video sources together. 

[cphollis]

13 hours ago, b3plyr said:

Well, my experience is that these days the venues would rather have an iPhone video of you than a studio produced video. This includes wedding bands. The booking organizations want to see you in a real performing environment sounding like you really do in person. I have stopped the professional videos and recordings. Again, just my experience.

Another great point!   Venue owners care about the experience you create for their patrons, and not much more.

 

Also, if you're just starting out, consider playing for *free* at charity and community events.  We started with a bunch of those, and made sure we had photos, audio, video etc. of the event for future promotion/

 

Here's an example:

https://fb.watch/seVxWZ-WXc/

 

 

[ProfD]

57 minutes ago, cphollis said:

Also, if you're just starting out, consider playing for *free* at charity and community events.

Correct. Not to be confused with playing for exposure at a battle of the bands.🤣

 

As an investment of time and a living business card, certain events can lead to well-paying private gigs.

 

The reality is that a band of musicians middle-aged and up aren't going to build a following in the same vein as recording artists. 

 

However, there could be folks who dig the music enough to book the band for different gigs which could lead up to bigger venues.

 

The JamBand scene is a great example of working artists and bands who gig all over the country at a grassroots level parallel to the mainstream music industry.😎

[cphollis]

20 minutes ago, ProfD said:

Correct. Not to be confused with playing for exposure at a battle of the bands.🤣

 

As an investment of time and a living business card, certain events can lead to well-paying private gigs.

 

The reality is that a band of musicians middle-aged and up aren't going to build a following in the same vein as recording artists. 

 

However, there could be folks who dig the music enough to book the band for different gigs which could lead up to bigger venues.

 

The JamBand scene is a great example of working artists and bands who gig all over the country at a grassroots level parallel to the mainstream music industry.😎

These are all excellent points for any new project, especially ones with older musicians.

 

One example of "investment gig" is a local street festival we target every season always losing money.  We get high-margin private gigs ($2k) and can pack better-paying local venues full as a result.  Also, our realtor lead singer is a sponsor and says she's seen incremental business as a result.  Literally someone came to the gig and bought a house through her the next week.

 

The two of us who run the band are ~65 and the local scene is chock-full of retired white guys who want to get out and play again.  They all look the the same, they all sound the same, and they all play the same songs.  So targeting your audience becomes important.

 

We decided to target the women in our age bracket, and not the men.  Every song we play is wife-approved, as is every venue.  They bring their friends and partners, and that's our audience.  Lots of strong vocals to sing along to, plenty of dancing tunes, etc.  We're always updating the setlist.  Facebook is our friend.  

 

Not sure where you live, but I'm in a tourist town so there are plenty of bands who play at the resort bars.  The locals mostly avoid those places, so we don't target them.  There is also a local jam band scene here as well that I've been in and out of.   Different audience, different venues etc.