College Market Booking Conferences - by Jeri Goldstein
I’ve mentioned College Market Booking Conferences in the past. Those specific to student activities booking are NACA and APCA. NACA is a much larger and more costly conference with membership necessary. It has a main national conference with a number of smaller regional conferences. APCA is a more accessible conference and also has a number of regional conferences and a membership. It is a perfect place to get your feet wet and learn about college market booking conferences.
If you’ve never attended a conference before, let alone a college booking conference, here’s how I would approach this experience for the first time around.
Check the websites of these organizations to get the registration details, exhibit hall information, and showcase application deadlines. http://www.naca.org and http://www.apca.com.
Now, look at your current plans for the time frames surrounding the conference dates. If you already have contracted dates, then plan for the next year. If you are open, then see if you can begin booking some dates in the regions where the conferences are being held to help defray the expenses of attending the conference.
I recommend your first experience at one of these conferences be exploratory. Perhaps attend for a day or if you do attend the entire conference, plan to get familiar with how the conference works, how agents or artists exhibit and showcase. Attend the workshops and meet and greet students and activities directors. Then, if this is something that you feel like jumping into the next year, you will be much better prepared to exhibit and showcase well. You’ll be better able to do something unique and help you stand out from the other acts. You’ll have far greater success and benefit from your research.
Attending a booking conference is expensive. I believe it’s money better spent when you know you can make an impression and be able to get a better return on your investment. That means better bookings when you are prepared to interact with the students. What might work at a performing arts center conference like APAP or a media conference like SXSW or a folk conference like Folk Alliance, just may not work at a college market booking conference like NACA or APCA. So always test the waters, so you know what you are getting into. Then you’ll be able to create a winning exhibit, put on a great showcase and have promo materials that suit the situation.
College market booking conferences may be the perfect place to get gigs in a performance venue situation well suited to your act. Check them out and see whether they are right for you before you decide to fully immerse yourself in experience and incur the expense.
Have you attended one of these college booking conferences? What has your experience been like? Have you made this part of your ongoing career?
Leave me a comment below or on the Performingbiz Success Strategies Facebook page.
I can’t wait to hear about your success.
Thanks to Carol Ehrlich for this week’s Biz Booster graphic image, “College Market Booking Conferences.”
Now, Thanks to the Band Curfew from the UK for providing the Biz Booster theme Music, Future Dance. Check them out at www.curfew.co.uk
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