Book the Gig

Don't confuse an inquiry with an offer. I see it done all the time. Have you ever had this happen to you? You get a call from a venue who is all excited about the possibility of booking you for an event. You discuss the date, the price and a bunch of other details. It’s looking great and you think, “What a wonderful way to start the day?” A few days pass, then a week, then a few weeks, and you don’t hear anything more from the person, so you give them a call. And now you begin to get the run-around, the delay tactics and the uncertainty that now…

Let's talk about how to use recurring events as anchor dates for booking your tours. I’ve talked about how to use anchor dates to move your bookings forward in previous Biz Boosters. Since we are moving into the summer and festival season, I thought I would use this week’s recurring event as a good example of how to plan far into the future. Today is Memorial Day, a yearly holiday that kicks off festival season and outdoor summer fairs and concert series. It is an occasion that sparks parties and picnics throughout the weekend. It is a recurring event that you can plan on every year. Someone, some organization, some…

 Are you ready to close more booking deals? Are you ready to get to, "YES," more often? Let's examine one of the main reasons you may not be closing as many booking deals as you like and how you can turn that around to get more great gigs. The number one main thing many artists tell me they do is to try to close the deal way too soon. Sure, they may be eager and ready to nail down the date, but is the buyer ready? You may find yourself in a similar situation. You've spoken with the buyer a few times and you think that's enough time to confirm…

What does it mean when a venue wants to place a hold on a date? That question came in recently and I thought it might be a worthy topic to cover in a Biz Booster. When a venue wants you to place a hold on a date for them, they pencil you in on their calendar. Now they may have some reasons for not confirming the date with you right away. Some of those reasons may be: They are waiting for confirmation from another act They are waiting to see if a bigger and more well-known act might be coming through. They may need to check on facility availability If…

It's time to get your contract riders in order before you set out for the next year's tour dates. You know those additional documents you might attach to your contract that tells the presenter or booker what you need to present your best show. In fact there are often a ton of misconceptions about riders. They are not pesky documents meant to help the artist fill their liquor cabinet. And they are not supposed to cause the venue great expense to fulfill every request as you may have been led to believe. Contract riders ought to be a helpful means to express your "real" needs to present your show to…

As the holiday’s approach I thought I would review some Holiday Gig Booking Tips on getting some last minute holiday gigs. This is where referrals from friends, family and business associates can come in handy. Concentrate on contacting people you know and with whom you do business, such as friends and family and their places of business or their affiliate organizations. Ask them if their office intends on having any holiday events or parties where they might need some entertainment. Ask for a contact referral to the party coordinator and make your pitch using your contact’s name. Also, Check with those on your local mailing list and suggest to some…

Have you got any gigs on the best gig weekend of the year? Have you booked your gigs for Thanksgiving Weekend yet? I know its early November. I was reminded of planning for Thanksgiving just the other day when a friend asked if they could bring another friend to thanksgiving dinner. I often do a Biz Booster tip about booking gigs around Thanksgiving weekend the week before Thanksgiving. So this year I thought I’d give you a head start in case you still have that weekend open. Yes, I know you may be traveling to visit friends and family-perfect! They will just love seeing you perform in their home or…

The Booking Dead Zone is approaching. As we head into the holiday season, we come to a time period that often feels like a last chance to do some bookings to close out the year. November and December may find you with some time on your hands after some feverish fall touring, but artist beware, you may only find frustration if you attempt end of the year bookings as you enter the Booking Dead Zone. Let me explain. I’ve talked about booking conferences in the past and those mostly occur in late August and September, with some following in October and then again in mid-winter. That schedule drives the booking…

Are you missing some potential opportunities for gigs in your own market because you are focused on touring two or three states or countries away from your home base? Some of the best gigs might just be surrounding your own home town. If you’ve been paying attention to the various types of events going on in your community, you might have noticed many of them feature music of some sort. Somebody is getting those gigs, why not you? Here’s a list of some possible gigs in your own market that happen on a regular basis—some during the warmer weather, others can happen any time of the year. Perhaps your town,…