Do you take your music career seriously and completely believe in your act? Are you feeling worthy of higher fees for your work or to play the really, great gigs? There you are, day after day, setting up your tour dates, talking with bookers, the media and fans. You convince people that you are talented and worthy. You want them to take you seriously, so they will book your act, review your shows and buy your tickets and merchandise. I hear the same story from many artists. Often there is a slight sense of fear to ask for too much. There might be a shyness and a hesitancy…
Boost your bookings by naming your programs. It doesn't matter whether you are trying to book a gig or get your press release in a local paper. It doesn't matter whether you are trying to book a gig, get your press release in a local paper, open a new market or play in a new venue, people need something familiar to identify with before they will book you or buy a ticket to your events. Large and small venues like to book sure bets, name acts that will sell tickets. What if you are just not there yet? What if you are NOT a name act? I once heard one…
How is your booking pitch working for you lately? Have you recently taken a close look at how many booking calls turn into gigs? I talk to a lot of artists every week. Certain themes keep coming up. One of the main topics seems to be presenting your value. Whether you are aware of it or not, the way you write your bio, the way to write an email or a newsletter and even the way in which you introduce yourself on a phone call, all speak to how you value yourself. This one factor can make or break a booking or an interview in a choice media outlet. Understanding…
Do you experience gig satisfaction or frustration? Do you feel a sense of satisfaction when the gig is over? Did you have fun playing? Was it a meaningful gig? Did you really make an impact on your audience? If you answered "yes" to the above questions, then you are hitting your stride and are finding the right gigs and playing to the right audience. Congratulations! Or are you frustrated with your gigs lately? Is there a disconnect with the audience? Do you feel like perhaps they may not even be YOUR audience? Then perhaps you have not identified your true purpose for your art. I've seen artists bloom when they…
How to Think Like Elementary School Cultural Arts Programmers takes on a completely different set of concerns than any of the other types of programmers already discussed in this series. Many artists have found a welcome home in elementary schools. Perhaps you are one of those artists. Booking school gigs has its own set of challenges and rewards. Finding the right person to work with within the school system will be different from district to district, city to city and even country to country. This is one of those situations where you need to do some research and the more locally you focus your attention at first, the more productive…
How to think like a college activities committee is completely different that any of the past Biz Booster's in this series. Playing colleges can put some jingle in your pocket, but it’s a true juggling act to complete a booking with college activities committees. Depending on which committee you are trying to work with, concert, coffee house or lectures, you need to prepare yourself for a different way of doing business. First thing you need to prepare for is that you may be dealing with a student or student committee rather than a staff person or staff committee. The Activities Director oversees the committee and will most likely be the…
How to think like a festival artistic director is a far cry from either a club booker or a Performing Arts Presenter. Why? Because a festival artistic director often only has to plan one event all year. That event may have multiple days, multiple stages, multiple workshop areas and cater to a multi-generational audience, but it is one event. During that one event, they may actually have to program and book more artists than an entire season at a performing arts center. That is why it takes them the better part of a year to create and book all the programming. So, would like to play festivals? It would probably…
How to think like a club booker is very different from the thought processes of Performing Arts Presenters. The folks that book clubs, work on a much shorter booking time-frame, and have different concerns that drive their bookings. Years ago I wrote a column for Gig Magazine that was a series of interviews with club bookers across the country. My goal was to get into their thought process around how they select their acts and what kind of marketing materials helped them make their choices. As a result of that research along with my own booking experience, I have some helpful insights I’d like to share with you. Clubs book…
How to think like a performing arts presenter? More importantly, what are they thinking about as they consider which direction to take their programming season year after year? This is the first in a series exploring how to think like the people who book your act. I'll explore here performing arts presenters, then in the weeks to come I'll also share how to think like a club booker, an elementary school programmer, college activities buyers and festival artistic directors. This entire process requires you to set aside your own goals for a bit and focus your attention on the needs, concerns and goals of the potential venue presenters with…
Use these 4 best strategies to streamline follow up with gigs and media to reduce your frustration around call-backs and land great gigs and media coverage. You’ve made your initial contact, sent your first email, letter, or complete packet. Now the next step is crucial and often the difference between throwing money or time out the window or getting what you want. You may think follow-up is not fun and often I hear artists say they made the call or sent the packet so they’re done. What was sent is so often forgotten and three months later they wonder why they haven’t heard back from the person, the label, the…
