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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July 28th, 2011

How to organise your first national tour – part 2

In part 2 of this post we look at more of the things you need to think about when organising your first national tour:

  • Make sure you have an AMAZING live act – It seems obvious but don’t tour until you are experienced in playing live and your live act is really tight. No mumbled introductions, you need to really engage with your audience. You need to impress people, you only get one chance.
  • Decide if you need an agent – You can book a tour yourself but you need to convince promoters you can draw around 80 people at each venue (depending on the venue) if you want to headline. Agents will only be interested in booking for you if there is a significant buzz about your band and you are already drawing a crowd. For your first tour you will most likely to be booking yourself but this is a great chance to build your reputation. Remember agents talk to promoters and venue owners, if you start to do well on the live circuit an agent will come to you.
  • List it on Live Unsigned - Live Unsigned gives you a great opportunity to connect with fans around the world, people actively looking for new bands. Make sure you list your gigs.
  • Put together your stage plan – Have a standard document with the channels you need into a PA, the instruments you use, the amount of backing vocals, if you have backing tracks or any acoustic instruments that you send to venues and give to sound people. Have a few copies printed off and have it as a standard document to be downloaded off your website (password protected if required).
  • Set goals – Are you looking to make money (unlikely) or gain fans. Be realistic. As a new band on your first tour you will be doing well to break even. Perhaps it is better to set goals in terms of how many people you get on the mailing list.
  • Have a standard rider (but keep it realistic!) – A rider is the document that contains your requirements for a gig which may include food, drink, towels etc. Asking for some beer and water is fine but if you push your luck with requests for M and Ms with all the brown ones taken out you many well be laughed at. Keep it simple with things you actually need.
  • Get some stickers made – A simple detail, but cheap self adhesive band stickers with your name/cd cover and web address that you and your fans can stick in dressing rooms etc can be very useful. If it gives people one more reminder of who you are this has to be good.
  • Start your marketing early – This needs to start as soon as the dates are booked.  Get some generic posters with a picture of the band, your logo and website and a space to write in the venue and date you are playing. Send the poster out to the venues well in advance. Often they don’t get put up but at least you can say you’ve tried. Send out your press release early, remember that many magazines have very long lead times, often months for a bi-monthly title. Book any adverts you can afford, try and keep them in your specific niche so you can hit the most likely target audience.
  • Work out if it is worth buying on to a support tour – Often when you are opening for a signed or well know band you will have to buy on to the tour, it may cost  from a few hundred to thousands of pounds to pay to do the tour. Support bands often have to pay to play, in exchange they get to do the tour and play to the headlining bands fans. It may not be fair but it is the way it is. You need to work out if the amount of fans you gain is worth the outlay. Remember you may be able to offset some of your costs by selling merchandise.
  • Ask your fans and friends for help with accommodation – See who can help, hotels are expensive. Once again ask for help on Twitter, via your mailing list and other social media. Don’t forget to bring a sleeping bag (and a blow up mattress). If you do need to book hotel rooms make sure you book them online and in advance for the best deals.
  • Arrange your transport well in advance – This needs to be booked as soon as the tour is booked. Tour buses look cool but are very expensive. Can some of you travel in the van or an estate car? If you are doing lots of gigs does it make more sense to buy a van? Are you a member of the AA or an equivalent motoring association, if not what happens when the van breaks down on the way to an important gig? If you are a singer songwriter with only your guitar and a bag can you do a tour by public transport? Make sure you review every angle to get the cheapest and most reliable transport available.

In part 3 of this post we look at map reading, street teams, budgeting, merchandising and the no solids rule!

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July 26th, 2011

How to organise your first national tour – part 1

A national tour is an amazing experience for a band but it needs a lot of work to ensure the venues are full, the fans are happy and the band doesn’t end up freezing in a ditch or in prison. You need to put a lot of effort in if you don’t want to end up losing a lot of money and playing to no one. Badly organised tours have split up some amazing bands.

So when should you start touring? You should probably leave it until you have built a following in your local area, that you have got some mentions in the press and that there is a chance of people outside of your area coming to see you. Rarely do people go and see a band they haven’t heard of, so initially it is best to do some gig swaps and perhaps a weekend tour playing with bands that you know have a following in other places first. Make sure you have a bit of a buzz about what you are doing. Remember you can use Live Unsigned to find venues and bands to swap gigs with, just look through the listings for the area that you want to play. There is more information on gig swaps here.

Here are some things to do if you want your first national tour to run well:

  • Know the details – What time is the sound check? Is there a guest list? Is there food/a rider? Where can you park the van? What time can you get into the venue? Can you sell merch and hand out flyers? What time are you on? How are you being paid? Can they put you up for the night or is there a good/cheap local hotel? Are you sharing equipment? It is all about the details. Make sure one member of the band or crew has this specifically as their job. Get all the small things right and the whole tour will run well.
  • Have your biog/press pack/photos easily available – Have a specific place on your web site where venues and promoters can download all your press information from, it will save time in the long run. You can password protect it if you don’t want fans to see it. If you need more info on putting together a press pack it is here.
  • Start planning early – 6 months ahead sounds about right, ideally tie the tour in with a CD release or another major event in the band’s career that will give the tour a bit more publicity. It will always take longer then you expect to get things organised so give yourself time.
  • Do support slots where you can – For your first tour, supporting local bands in their own area is the best thing to do. You can find other bands to play with via Live Unsigned or Twitter. Get in touch and ask if you can play with them as a support (after saying how much you like their music) or if they know any local promoters. Another alternative is to play at club nights that already have an audience, like indie nights or metal nights. These can be more difficult to play at, as competition is fierce and your music needs to fit the specific niche of the club night.
  • Fill your off days with gigs in alternative venues – If you are looking to do a run of gigs you may find it hard to get them all to run in order. There is an answer. Perhaps you can fill these off days with busking, house concerts, squat gigs or other forms of guerrilla gigs. There is a whole list of them here and not only do they fill the dates up but they give you a chance to connect to a whole new fan base. Even if your tour itinerary is full why not do some gigs during the day if you are playing at night? If you want to build a fan base it is all about hard work.
  • Check your gear – Make sure everything is working, now is the time to get the distortion pedal you tried to mend with Blue Tac properly fixed. Try and carry spares of everything, especially batteries, drum heads, leads and strings.  If you are using a laptop for sequencing ensure you have an mp3 back up of the backing tracks on your iPhone or mp3 player in case of emergency or someone spilling a beer on your computer. The rules of touring are if it can go wrong, it will.
  • Don’t forget to book the time off work – If you have a day job make sure you book the time off well in advance, there was a UK band who had to cancel a full American tour due to their drummer having to work. Sometimes it is the simple things that mess up the best laid plans.
  • Inform the local press – It can be very difficult to get press in the local papers, unless you are playing their town. This is your chance. Make sure you get in touch with the press in every town early on, get them on side, find out the music journalists name and see if you can get a feature. This will also help to get people to the gig. Mention any support slots you’ve done, national press or remarkable things that have happened. This is how you make the most of a tour, it is not just about playing it is about raising the profile of the band.
  • Work your mailing list – When fans come and see you this is your chance to get some more people on your email list. Have a clipboard and pass it round to get the addresses, don’t just leave it on the merch desk and expect people to sign up. Mention the email list from the stage and really push it. Then when you play the same venue again you have more chance of more fans coming back to see you (and hopefully bringing their friends).
  • Go where your fans are – Ask your fans where they would like to see you play, get them to suggest venues, places and promoters via Twitter and other social media. If they want to see you and there is enough of them in that area then play there, you’ll have more chance of playing to an audience. Don’t forget to ask fans to bring their friends and share your links.

In part 2 of this post we will look at agents, touring with big name bands, crew, riders and lots more.

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June 7th, 2011

When should you quit the band?

It is always sad when a band comes to the end but sometimes it can be a positive thing as well, if you can stay friends with the people you’ve been in the band with. Leaving one band can lead to great new opportunities with other musicians. Sometimes you just have to move on, but it is always difficult to know when that point is. So when should you quit the band?

When you’re doing it for “a music industry career” – Money is not a good reason to be doing music. The bands that tend to do well in the long term are ones who really connect to a loyal fan base. It is a long haul of many years of either losing money or earning very little to get to that point. Years not months. Yes there is money to be made but it’s not a quick or easy thing to do and there are no guarantees. To get to that point will take a lot of work, if you don’t love what you’re doing you won’t get there.

When you no longer love the music – If you are not enjoying it the audience will be able to tell. The music will become less interesting to all concerned and you will find it harder to gain an audience because the music decreases in quality. If you’re in a punk band but really enjoy your jazz project more, do that. Follow what you love and you have more chance of success. It’s easier to motivate yourself to do all the stuff you don’t like if you love the music.

When you can’t commit to it – If you find it gets to the point where you can’t find time to get to practice it’s probably better to quit than annoy the other people in the band. If you want to get anywhere it will take a lot of hard work, not just playing music. You have to do interviews, book gigs, drive to venues, do social media stuff, make friends with fans and a thousand other things. If you think it is about turning up once a week to band practice it is time to stop now.

When you can’t stand the people – If you walk into the room and the bass player walks out then there is a problem. Some bands get so annoyed with each other they end up fighting on stage, which is very exciting for the audience but probably not a good idea for a long term career. Could you be in a van for 30 days with these people without killing each other? Many well know bands experience a lot of creative tension and it is down to the individuals in the band to decide how much you can stand.

When you don’t fit together musically – Have you ever seen that band where they are playing an indie rock bit then it goes into a death metal section? Now sometimes that can be a very exciting thing to hear but if you don’t share the same musical influences it can be a bit of battle within the band and in the end no one ends up happy with the music you are making. There is always an element of compromise when creating music with others but when no one is happy it is best to split up.

Sometimes it is better to split a band up than keep going and fall out with the other people in the band, especially if they are people you consider to be friends. Leaving a band is often a worrying thing to do but you’ll never get anywhere without taking some risks and if the band you are with isn’t making you happy it is time to move on. Wouldn’t you rather be out there playing gigs (listed on Live Unsigned) and doing the music you really love?

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May 3rd, 2011

Building your unsigned artist support network (part 2)

In part 2 of this post we look at some more people you will need for your support team. These people may be in your band or may be friends, fans or family. You’ll need all the help you can get in the early stages of your musical career:

  • A social media person – This person will be responsible for updating Facebook and Twitter and updating your gigs on Live Unsigned. They are building that vital connection with fans. In terms of actual updates it needs to be someone in the band, people want to connect with the artist not a PR person. In the early stages focus on building a fan base, once you have fans the industry will come to you. Then if you do decide you want the industry involved with your career you are in a stronger position to argue for better deals.
  • A publishing/licensing person – Getting your music on to TV, Games and Films is a great income stream for your band, if you can connect with the people involved. It’s not a conventional role to have someone pushing this in the early stages of a career but the potential revenue and exposure in this area now make this vital. There is more info on licensing here.
  • A press person – One way to grow your audience in the early stages of your career is to get some supportive press. Press will also give you credibility with potential fans, bloggers, promoters, and all aspects of the industry. If you can’t afford to employ someone to do this you’ll need to have someone identifying journalists who write about artists similar to you and building relationships with them. There is more information about guerilla tactics for getting press here.
  • A booking agent – Gigs in the right places will raise your profile quickly but bad gigs can lower the morale of the best bands. Booking gigs is a very important job, it needs to be someone who knows your music scene specifically and someone who is passionate about your music. It is sometimes hard for band members to sell their own music on the phone so perhaps this is a job initially for a loyal friend, fan or family member. Make sure they research where bands at a level slightly above where you are within your scene are playing using the gig listings on Live Unsigned, then they will know the venues to contact. Booking gigs is all about who you know, so if you don’t have anyone in your network who has these contacts you will need to look to get someone who is keen to build these contacts or get an established booking agent.
  • A web designer – If you’re not sure about this either start learning or get a professional involved, a fixed website with your own specific URL is essential to your growth online. Social networks come and go but your web site will remain. Good web design is an art, make sure it’s clean and reflects what you do and has all the info that fans and industry professionals need.
  • A live sound person – This needs to be someone who really knows what they are doing, possibly even leave this to the venue you are playing at. It is always useful if you have someone who really knows how your band should sound and can adjust the levels at the correct times during songs but this is a highly skilled area and it needs to be done by someone who knows what they are doing. If you have someone in your network who wants to learn these skills get them to help at your rehearsals and come along to gigs and watch how live sound works. It’s a skilled job that will take a while to learn but makes such a difference to how people perceive your band.
  • A recording person – You can record everything yourself but few people have the equipment, skills and resources to make a product that will make you stand out from the crowd in terms of quality. Recruit someone from your network who is brilliant or get a professional involved. Do deals with studios to get a good price, tell them your budget and ask them what they can do. It’s essential to have great recordings so be careful to make them amazing, an area worthy of some investment. Don’t forget to get them mastered.
  • A video person – Video content is very useful, from rough and ready social media content to high quality broadcast videos. You can make amazing video content on free programs or get Final Cut Pro and make a movie. Try asking fans via Twitter if they are interested in making videos for your songs, you can get some brilliant results this way.

Often the jobs will overlap and you may well have a driver/artwork/merch person. Your team will grow as your band becomes more popular and hopefully you will be less hands on yourself, however ensure that you are keeping an eye on what is going on, it only takes one person to cause a lot of damage. Remember that social media can spread the word quickly about things you don’t want people to hear about too…..

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April 29th, 2011

Building your unsigned artist support network (part 1)

Being an independent musician doesn’t mean doing everything yourself, nobody has all the skills that you’ll need to build a fan base. In the early stages of your career you won’t be able to pay people so you’ll need to rally friends and band members to fill these roles. You may find you have a bass player who is also your press person and driver or a best friend that can sell merchandise or is a good photographer.

Picture by Paul Linus Claassen

Don’t be afraid to ask your fans, family and extended social circle for help, you’ll be amazed how often people want to get involved. Make sure you thank everybody who helps you, motivate them with praise and make them really feel part of the project.

If reaching out to your contacts fails you can try asking at the local colleges if there are any students looking for work experience in the area you need help in. In some areas (like photography and recording) professionals are not essential but ultimately a high quality product will improve your chances of connecting to an audience more quickly. The best way to build a fan base is to have brilliant, remarkable, exciting and edgy music but if it’s not well recorded and looks rubbish no one will be interested.

Here are a few of the people you will need on your team:

  • A merchandise person – Someone to sell merchandise at gigs, they’ll need to be trustworthy and able to add up and keep records. It is a bonus if they have some basic screen printing skills as well. There are loads of ideas for merchandise for bands here.
  • A legal person – This one you will probably need to pay for as they really need to know what they are doing, but you may know someone who can help. Good legal advice saves you money in the long run, try and get recommendations from friends and other bands before you agree to use a lawyer. Anything you are required to sign will need to be looked at by a lawyer, if you sign a bad publishing/record or management deal it can damage your career for years to come. If in doubt seek advice and never use the same legal representation as the person you are negotiating with. If you are unsure at any point seek independent advice, you can’t take chances at this point.
  • A photographer and video person. Sometimes a mate with an iPhone creating rough content for your blog, sometimes a professional creating the perfect promo using a great camera, lighting and photoshop in a studio environment. It depends on the context, but if it’s for for high quality photos for a press kit it is probably worth getting a professional involved, unless you happen to have a friend who is a professional. A high quality photo on your Live Unsigned profile or CD promo can make all the difference. Video is the same, you can get away with some rough material in a social media/blog context but a high quality, credible video can open a lot of doors. A call to the local film school can help here.
  • An accounts person – Never the most exciting of roles but well kept records in Excel will save you a lot of hassle from the tax man. Good book keeping will save you money in tax, especially as most bands make very little actual profit in the early stages of their career. The state of the band finances are well worth reviewing at every band meeting and it is worth checking the records are all in order to avoid any liability. It is a lot easier with Excel format spreadsheets – for example you can download sales from Bandcamp directly as an Excel document. If you haven’t got Excel the excellent free program Open Office does pretty much the same thing in the same format.
  • A driver/roadie – A basic one, but you won’t be doing many gigs without one. It is very difficult to gig via public transport unless you are a singer songwriter with limited equipment in a city with good public transport links. Be careful with your insurance, some companies charge more if you are a professional musician (and if you lie your insurance will be invalidated). Make sure any car/van/bus you use is safe for you and your equipment and the driver avoids drink/drugs. It’s an obvious one but so many bands have been injured through this.

In part 2 of this post we’ll look at adding publishers, bookers, web and sound people to your team.

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