September 20th, 2011

When does your band need a booking agent?

Booking gigs is a lot of work, especially when you are doing everything yourself in the early days of your career. What many bands look for is a booking agent (booking agents work with promoters to put together the line ups at gigs). Many musicians start to look for a booking agent early on, however just like in other areas of the industry agents want to see that you are making things happen for yourself and that you have an audience before they will be interested in you. DIY musicians can build mutually beneficial relationships with agents but you’ll have to be working hard to make it work.

Here are some things you can do to get an agent interested:

  • See the industry from the agent’s perspective – Booking agents work on a percentage basis so if you are not making any money, neither will they. For you to be seen as a decent prospect for an agent you need to be making money from your live shows or have the potential to make decent money (and proof to show that there is potential in the form of proven growth in the size of your draw).
  • Book your own gigs until you have a decent fan base – To build your fan base initially book your own gigs in small venues. Keep doing this (alongside building your online profile) until you have the numbers to get an agent interested. Take notes on the venues you have played at and make sure you build relationships with the promoters. Promoters speak to agents all the time so if you are playing amazing gigs, making friends and bringing in fans your name will eventually come up in conversation. Booking your own gigs will help you to understand how the live circuit works and what an agent does.
  • Find out which agents book for your favourite bands, that play at your level – Ask for recommendations. If you know someone who has a relationship with an agent try and get them to approach the agent on your behalf. Unsolicited approaches often get ignored.
  • Build relationships with promoters, bands and other people in the industry - The music business is often controlled by only a few people in each scene. It is all about your reputation and who you know. If you treat people well and are good at what you do eventually word will get around to the right people. The hard bit is getting the first few people within the industry interested in what you are doing. You will for example often find it easier to get a publishing deal if you have a manager or get a manager if you have a booking agent. Everyone knows everyone else. Make sure you don’t let anyone down and build a positive reputation. That person you are rude to outside a venue may know someone influential. Like it or not from the moment you arrive at a venue you are building your reputation with every action. Make friends and treat people with respect and you’ll make more progress.
  • Try for support slots, play for free and know your audience – Build your audience one person at a time. Unless you have money for marketing or you are well connected it will take time to build a fan base. Get to know who the fans are that like your music. Find out where they hang out both online and in the real world and make an effort to get to know them.
  • Show your enthusiasm and work ethic – If you show you are out playing lots of gigs, doing interviews and getting press people are far more likely to be interested in what you are doing. Make sure you are posting your listings across your social media, on Live Unsigned and on your website. On Live Unsigned it is not only fans looking for bands it is other bands and the industry as well. Doing a gig is not about the promotional opportunity of the gig itself it is about everything in the run up to it . Ensure you are doing everything you can to build that audience.
  • Show you have a fan base – If possible have photos and videos on your website of you playing in front of a large crowd. Get quotes from the media and promoters. Show you have at least 1000 to 2000 followers on Facebook/Twitter and on your mailing list. When building a fan base the hard bit isn’t getting the 1000′s of fans, it is getting the first few. Try and get a small audience then treat them well so that they will tell their friends. Create great content and talk to your fans often via social media. You can do a few things to speed this process up like investing in marketing or creating more remarkable music, both of these things will help your audience to grow more quickly. Often it all comes down to hard work and how good your music is and how much it appeals to your fans.
  • Be amazing live – Do you have an amazing song that opens your set? Are you a dynamic live act? Watch other bands live and on video to observe the best of what they do, use this to create new ideas for your own set. Make sure when an agent does check you out live they are impressed. Even if you are playing to 5 people you never know who is watching.
  • Look the part – Make sure your website, social media content and your onstage image all combine into one strong brand for your band. First impressions count, no matter how amazing your music is.
  • Make sure you are selling tickets – Ideally you should be playing small venues and selling them out. If you can sell 50-100 tickets at around £5/$8/6 Euros a ticket in your local area and slightly beyond you’re on your way. It always looks better to sell out a small venue than to play a larger venue that is half full, so focus on small venues you can fill.
  • Build the buzz around your band – If you want agents to be interested they need to see things are happening for you, that you are getting positive press, blog posts and radio play. If they see your name around in different places constantly then they are more likely to be interested. If you don’t know the relevant people in the press perhaps its is time to consider involving a PR firm.

Booking agents can’t afford to take many risks. Even though the concert industry is in better shape than other aspects of the music industry we are still going through difficult financial times. If you really want a booking agent, work hard and make things happen and you’ll find that the industry will come to you, but it won’t happen quickly or easily.

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September 13th, 2011

Why aren’t fans buying your music?

In the last 5 years it has become really easy to get your music available for sale online via sites like Bandcamp, iTunes, CD Baby and Reverbnation. You no longer need to press up lots of CDs and get a distribution deal or try to get record shops to order your album. The problem with it being easy to get digital distribution is that everyone can then do it. So the market becomes crowded and it is very hard to stand out and get fans to purchase your music. Here are some reasons why fans aren’t buying your music:

  • It’s not good enough – Good doesn’t mean perfectly played. Many great bands aren’t amazing players technically but they create music people love. Sometimes being a flashy player can just end up annoying people. Being good is having music that people like and they connect with. Music that people love enough to give you money for. You need great songs and you need to be different and remarkable if you want to stand out.
  • You are trying to connect with the wrong fans – If you think that you’re a metal band but you look and sound folky then aim at a folk audience. For most bands there is an audience but you need to reach the people that will love your music. Aim your marketing and promotion at a small specific audience and grow your audience from there, then word of mouth will spread your music across the web. If you are not sure who your audience are ask a few friends and fans, ask for specific bands and market your music to fans of that band. It takes years to build a fan base, unless you have the finances for a serious marketing campaign. Build your audience one person at a time then eventually things will happen for you.
  • You are hard selling your music – Spamming people with unsolicited emails and on social media sites just winds your potential fans up. You need permission to be part of your audiences life by letting them discover your music via word of mouth, favourable press and amazing live performances. You need to get fans to point of purchase gradually. Initially let them listen to your music on your website then give them a free download and get them on your mailing list. Once they are on your mailing list offer them more free downloads and the opportunity to watch an online UStream gig or to talk to you on Facebook or Twitter. Once you have this level of engagement with your fans go for the sale by asking the fan if they would to make a purchase. You need to build the relationship over time rather than making everything about selling and making money. Fan relationships are built over time but once you have a loyal fan they could be worth thousands of pounds over the course of years. If you want to make money from music you need to play the long game.
  • Poor web presence –  If no one knows your music is available then it won’t sell. Is it being reviewed by the most influential blogs in your genre? Are you talking to (not spamming) fans on a daily basis on forums and social networks? You need to put the time in online, building relationships with influential people so that they will tell their friends about your music. This is one of the most important things to do,  to build relationships over a long period of time with the most influential people in you genre. It is still all about who you know but at least with the web you can start to build these relationships by emailing bloggers and talking to people on the web.
  • Your image puts off fans – If you’re a punk band but you look like Mumford and Sons or Westlife you have a problem. Like it or not image and first impressions do count in the music industry. Make sure the way you look fits in with the music play.
  • There are no special packages – If you want fans to purchase a limited edition album you need to make it special. A standard CD is not interesting enough, people want something collectable and unique. At least do a numbered, limited edition of the album with extra tracks or an extra disc or special artwork. This rewards your hardcore fan base. Work out all your costings in advance, often by offering a limited version of the album you can pay for costs of the entire duplication run for a CD.
  • It is not well recorded – You need a great sounding record, not something that you have put together at home (unless you have the skills and equipment to make an amazing record at home). If you want to stand out and for people to actually pay for a product you need to invest some time and money in it. Use a professional studio or at least a decent engineer. Get it mastered and make it stand out.
  • You are not promoting it – If you’re not playing live (and listing your gigs on Live Unsigned), getting press, handing out flyers and doing all the good stuff that gets you an audience it is far less likely that people will listen to what you do. You need to put the work in if you want to gain an audience.
  • You are not letting people hear it – 30 second samples are not good enough. You need to let fans hear the whole songs, at least until you have an audience. Give away music in exchange for an email address. Once you have a mailing list you can stay in touch with your most enthusiastic fans. Once you have 2000 people on your mailing list you have far more chance of selling your music, once you have 10,000 or 20,000 you will have a good business. An audience is a collection of individuals, you need to win them over one at a time and treat them with respect.
  • It is not packaged properly – The cover art does matter. If your album has horrible artwork with a Comic Sans typeface it will put fans off. There is a full post about putting together album artwork here.

If you want to know why people aren’t downloading your music think about why you choose to listen to the music you like yourself. How did you discover it? Was it through a random spam message or a recommendation from a trusted friend or blog? We filter our music discovery through the people and media we trust. If you want to make people listen to and purchase you need to make it easy to discover via these trusted channels. As ever, the harder you work the more likely you are to make these connections that will eventually lead to sales.

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September 8th, 2011

20 ways to get more gigs for your band (part 2)

In part 2 of this post we’ll look at building your local community, borrowing ideas from others and how to stand out amongst all the other bands.

  • Stand out – Look at a band like Cardiacs. They are an amazing live act, very theatrical with make up, costumes and confetti bombs. Initially people hated them but over time they built an amazing cult following by being weird, interesting and remarkable. What makes your band special? Why should people go and see your band when they could go and see a thousand others? If you give your audience a reason to go and see you, you’ll have more chance of gaining a following. Promoters want to work with interesting acts that will draw a crowd. If you’re not that band think about how you can improve. You need to be so amazing live that it encourages word of mouth and it attracts the interest of fans and promoters alike.
  • Be brave – Sometimes you’ll lose money playing live to build an audience. Sometimes you’ll have to sleep in the van or travel for hours to play. It is not easy and if you’re not prepared to put in the work it is not going to happen for you. Sure lucky breaks can speed things up, but the harder you work the more chance you have of these “lucky breaks” happening. You get out what you put in.
  • Work with promoters – Offer to play for free in exchange for good support slots later on. Find out if there are any drinks promotions at the venue and use them as part of the marketing and promotion of the gig. Play open mics and make friends with everyone at the event. Offer to play a last minute gig when other bands let promoters down. If you can’t get promoters to work with you hire a venue and put on your own gig. Don’t let anything stop you playing live, dig in and work hard.
  • Go where the fans want you – Ask where your fans are via social media and Twitter. You may find you have a group of fans in one particular area. Contact the promoters in that area (find them on Live Unsigned) and say you have fans that want to see you play and can you get a gig. If the promoters aren’t interested ask your fans if they want you to play a house concert for them. There are always options if you really want things to happen.
  • Think ahead – Don’t try and book your gigs a few weeks ahead. Plan them months in advance so you can get everything organised, get fans there and make it a success. Poorly attended gigs mean you won’t get to play again.
  • It is all about who you know – Roadie for other bands so you get to meet promoters. Hang out at the gigs where you want to play and try to get talking to promoters and people in bands. Make an effort to get to know the people in your scene and you’ll get more gigs. Follow local promoters, bloggers, and other bands on Twitter and become friends with them. This is how you get the best gigs by having real relationships with the people putting them on.
  • Look at where other bands at your level in your scene are playing – Using the Live Unsigned listings find where other bands in your genre are playing and look to play there. Watch what other bands are doing and copy what works.
  • Build your local community – Play with other bands and swop gigs. Ask them if they know the local promoters and how they get gigs. Book local nights where all the bands in the same genre in the same city are playing and you’ll have more chance of gaining fans from other bands fan bases. If you can build a positive local scene it can make a big difference when you are looking to get bloggers and the press interested in what is going on in your area.
  • Have a decent recording that represents your live performance – A poorly recorded demo won’t help. One of the problems with easy access to home recording is that everyone can create average recordings using the free tools available. If you really want to stand out, record something that sounds amazing. If you don’t have the equipment and skills required pay for a professional studio. They say great songs shine through even the poorest recordings but it is always best to give your music the best possible chance to impress people.
  • Play alternative venues – Getting more gigs means saying yes. Playing at local parks, the launderette or busking in the street means playing more gigs. There is more information on getting gigs in alternative venues here.

If you don’t go out there and get gigs yourself no one will do it for you. If you want your band to be a success you need to work for it, push yourself. It is the early stages of your career that are often the hardest, once you get things moving and you have some fans it gets easier. Once you have a reputation and an audience you’ll be offered gigs. A lot of amazing talented musicians have got nowhere in the industry because they didn’t have the skills to book gigs or a team to support them. If you want to get management, fans, a booking agent or even an old style record company deal you need to get yourself out there, playing live and working hard.

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