Hate selling yourself to bookers? If you are like many of the artists I speak with each day, the thought of selling yourself to venue bookers is, well, challenging. But, if not you, then who will spread the word about you? How about letting the folks who have already experienced your music or performance tell your story? After all, their experience of your show is likely to be more exuberant than your description of what you do. If you hate selling yourself to bookers, use that third-party energy to sell yourself to new venues, festivals, house concert hosts, radio DJs or the media. So here are my questions of the…
Higher paying gigs are just the ticket to boost your career. Are you satisfied with the money you end up with at the end of a gig? Wouldn’t it be great to make more money each gig you book? You are worth it, right? So how do you get them to start with a higher guarantee or a higher percentage? How do you get those higher paying gigs? You need to use leverage. Leverage is something that aides you, it helps you make easy work out of something that could be much harder. As a performer, you need to assess what you’ve got going for you that might help the…
Do you get flustered when asked your fee? You're on the phone with a prospective booker and the first thing they ask is your fee. The conversation goes something like, "So what's it going to cost me?" And you get all, uh, um, well… and then blurt something out. Not your finest moment as a negotiator, eh? I'll be you would like to be less flustered when asked your fee. Why don't we re-frame this experience to be more under your control and a lot more professional. Let's show them who's got your act's best interests and their venue's best interests in mind and set yourself up for a successful…
Selling CDs in bulk may be a boon to your income if you are currently selling your CDs one at a time? Do you have some old CDs that you haven’t sold yet and they are just sitting there taking up space? Here is another way to move some of those CDs, whether old or new. Well, it’s not just about moving them or selling them, it’s more about getting your music into the hands of an unlikely audience—a new audience. OK, how? If you play benefits for charitable organizations, private events like weddings or corporate events for a local business or parties of any sort. C’mon admit it, every…
CD sales at benefits and fundraisers can be a challenge. When you perform at a fundraising event where the set up is not necessarily conducive to selling your CDs in the normal manner, all is not lost. This is a topic you need to discuss with the organizer during your gig negotiations. Don’t assume that because you are performing at their event, you’ll be able to set up a merchandise table. On the other hand, don’t assume you won’t be able to sell either. So let’s make it one of those items you get clarity on right from the start. Open your discussions by asking them if you could help…
Funding Sources Crowd Funding is the new revenue resource for businesses large and small. Advance sales campaigns to get funds to produce your CD or another project now rely on Crowd Funding. Crowd Funding is a meaningful income stream when done right. And Crowd Funding is not for everyone even though everyone seems to be using it. The success of a crowd funded campaign ultimately depends on your relationship with your crowd, fans, friends and relatives-those who support your endeavors. The larger the crowd base, the more successful the campaign when you've built and nurtured your relationships well. Here is where most campaigns fall far short of their expected and…
Funding Sources Sponsorships is our third method of funding to potentially add to your income stream consideration. You might think about sponsorships being only suited to major recording artists with large multi-national companies backing them. You’ve probably seen the logos behind large concert stages for liqueur companies and car companies. But thought about creatively, you can get some sponsorships to help cover some of your touring costs as well as many other aspect of your career development. Now, I’ve got a full two hours of information packed into my Booking & Touring Success Strategies & Secrets Online Course. I'll be offering that again soon. This Biz Booster is to get…
This week let's dive into funding sources-residencies at elementary schools, Jr. and Sr. high schools and colleges. Again we go back to the Arts Council as a funding source. There are grants for artists who perform in schools and in particular, who have put together longer programs that keep them in the schools for multiple days. If you have visited your state or provincial arts council’s website, you might have noticed that one of the educational grants was specifically for residencies. These grants have different deadlines than the touring roster grants and are headed up by different staff members. Residencies offer an artist a chance to put together an extended…
This week I’m starting a multi-part series on funding sources. Over the next few weeks I’ll dive into a few different funding sources you may want to consider. Depending on your act, one or more of these sources may work well for you and others may just not be right. This week, let’s talk about Funding Sources Arts Council Touring Grants. I want to start here because these grants have set time-frames and deadlines. Who offers these grants? Arts Councils in each state in the US or province in Canada. You need to check you specific state to see whether they have a touring roster of artists and whether they…
Timing is everything in festival bookings when to book festivals is particularly challenging. So to have some idea of when artistic directors are most likely to focus on booking next year’s festival will certainly give you an edge. Since so many artists and agents are attempting to contact the festival, their booking schedule is not likely one of those items announced on their website. So here are a few guidelines to follow: One month prior to the festival, they are busy and will be very unreceptive to booking calls. Never call during the week prior to the festival or during the festival. The week after the festival is usually a…
