One fun part is when you get your phone bill. That's when you realize why.the booking agents charge a hefty 10 to 15 or 20% of a gig "just to make a few phone calls". Getting the right phone numbers to the club often is no easy task, finally getting someone on the phone, (just to find out that you're not calling the correct number for bookings,) calls regarding production etc, more calls to get info on media, radio stations and calls to band members, close fans etc. The time spent on the phone over just one booking can be unreal. Establishing really good connections with venues, booking agents, club owners, other bands, local media and press is the name of the game.
That's what the booking agents are charging for, the information and the contacts.
It takes years to cultivate the relationships and info required to adequately approach the brick wall of booking a band, not to mention knowing what to say once you get the booking person on the phone. the best way to market your band to the venue is key to getting gigs.
If you have ever tried to book yourself, you've probably found out that there's more to it than just calling some club and asking for a date your band can play on. It used to be that a band could make a few calls, throw their shit in the truck and tour the country making anywhere from $100 - $200 per night just because they were a band willing to travel.. NOT ANY MORE!
With the stupid ineffective drinking laws that went into effect all around the country, club business has taken a nose dive that, coupled with the glut of new bands makes it almost impossible to get gigs unless you're SOMEBODY. Clubs look for a known or familiar name and a band with a large fan base that can produce people for their shows.
It used to be that a band with a record out was something special. Now almost every band has a release out. Every band is on some INDIE label these days. What makes you special now, is what your record is doing . Is it selling? Is it in local stores? Is it being
played on the radio? Is it being played on college radio? Where is it on
CMJ? - HARD REPORT?- ROCKPOOL? - BILLBOARD POP 200 YET? How are your
numbers in POLLSTAR? Do you have any press, and if you do, what kind of
press. SPIN? ROLLING STONE? BILLBOARD? NY TIMES? ARE YOU DRAWING
BIG CROWDS???
Now you may be saying to yourself " we're just getting started" . Yeah, well that just means you're that far behind the bands that DO have those kinds of credentials.(and there are a shit-load of them out there too!)
I'm not saying you're not as good, just way behind. That's exactly the stuff club owners and promoters are looking for in the bands they're giving the jobs to. There are bands on MAJOR LABELS with killer college airplay begging for opening act slots!
booking person to give you a chance to show what your band can do. You've got to
show him how you can start drawing crowds to his venue as well as put on a killer show.
I know it seems like just the easiest thing in the world to keep up with what you're doing, but it can get confusing and a mistake (double-booking / non confirmation) can be costly. Even more so if your booking a tour for your band. To book your band successfully you must be persistent, professional, have a killer press kit put together, and be well organized. I like to personally use those big month-at-a-time" desk calendars, one for each band as well as my computer to stay on top of things. Make sure that you do your work in pencil. The calendar will mutate before your very eyes and it's better to erase rather than mark out things. For those of you fortunate enough to a computer you can use your CALENDAR program that does everything for you but it's still good to have that paper calendar as backup and to eye ball things.
Once a week, talk with everyone in the band about THEIR schedules. Find out from your band members how far in advance you can book something. IT'S IMPORTANT TO BE ABLE TO ACCEPT AN OFFER ON THE PHONE without having to call everyone in the band, then call the booking person back. If you're hesitant, the job may go to someone else
who's not. Make notes on the calendar regarding who can work & when. If someone is going to be completely un-available, mark it big so you don't
forget and book a gig.
Mark a gig with a (T) for tentative until you've actually got it, then erase the (T). You wouldn't believe how many mistakes take place because someone didn't understand that it was a firm deal. It also helps you to look at sections dates and think about routing. If the (T) is still there, maybe the gig can be moved or swapped with another band. Make sure your band members know about changes you've made.
Keep a phone log of every call you make. Mark the date, time called, number called, how long you talked, name of establishment and who you spoke with. This will get very tiresome but it's important. First it lets you look back and remember the conversation. Second, it helps to write down when to call people back. When a booking person says, "call me next Friday", they don't mean next Thursday . Third, you may not believe this, but the phone
companies' equipment actually makes a mistake now and again. Check your log against your phone bill immediately when you get it. Call the phone company right away and let them know about any discrepancies. Deduct the mistakes from your phone bill. Fourth, the log also gives you a record of how much money and time you're spending on the phone so that when you DO get a gig, and it DOES pay you some money, you can reimburse the booking person. Start Building a contact file from these records to save time in the future.
Well now you've got some tools to use. It's time to make the call.
It's never easy to talk with a booking person who has no idea who the hell you are. Put yourself in their shoes for a minute. Imagine what's it's like to get 25 to 50 calls a day or more from bands (and agents) that want to tell you how great they are, not to mention the other calls you have to handle about the bands that you DO book, plus talking with the press people, the flyers, merchandise people, the beer salesman, the radio station, the P.A. people, light crew, blah-de-blah, and so on and so forth. Hell I'm tired already . You really
don't want to blow anyone off, but your also tired of hearing the same old bullshit. Who do you think invented the answering machine? A fed-up club owner! Keep in mind that these people are busy people. Don't take up any more of their time than absolutely necessary. Let your tape and credentials do the talking. USE A PROFESSIONAL PRESSKIT and get it in the hands of the right person.
Then call them at a good time. WHEN: The best time I've found to call for a booking is between 1 PM and 5 PM. It's different for everyone, but most club people stay up fairly late
in the AM and don't get started with their business day until the afternoon. It's not the best time to try to talk business when they just got up and walked through the door.
MAKE THE CALL If you get an assistant : Identify yourself, give them your name and which band you represent. Tell them that you're calling about booking a gig for your band. Most probably, the assistant will tell you right off that you need to go ahead and send the DEMO and the PRESS KIT. Don't try to get any further at this time. The assistant is there for a reason. Don't piss them off! They can be your best ally, or they can be your worst enemy. Thank them for their time and ask if you could get the correct mailing address to send the press kit and demo too and whose attention should it be sent too as well .
ALWAYS Be polite.
Ask them when a good time to try to reach the booking person would be so you can call back after they get the info. Don't try to sell yourself to the assistant. Be relaxed, be yourself , but don't try to be some hot-shot booking agent type. If you get the real booking person, identify yourself and band. If your band has been playing out for awhile, ask them if they're familiar with the name. If they're not, give them a VERY BRIEF description and a credential or two.
EXAMPLE: "Hi! this is Jim and I'm with a band called the Evil Demons,
Are you familiar with them? ("no") Well, we're an hardcore band
out of New Jersey and we've been playing around the Tri state area. We have a good fan base, great press and We're trying to expand out to some other areas like..(his town's name)" and we were interested in talking with you about a possible date.
If you have any air play on stations that service their area, mention it.
"Yeah, they're playing our cd on WSOU and we thought it would be a good
time to try to do some shows in your area" (Club Owner "yeah, well we're kind of booked
up right now") Reply "I understand, but would it be all right if I just send you some
info and a CD on the band, we're trying to schedule some shows in your area right now for blah-de-blah week, and maybe we can put something together for then that would benefit us both."
Try to make the first contact as brief as possible if they're un-familiar with your group. If they have heard of you , don't try to impress them with statements like "REALLY?". The proper response would be "Good!" then go straight to the "looking for a date" mode.
When they're ready to talk with you about a booking, (if you're kind of new band ) they usually don't come right out and offer you the date. Instead, they'll probably want to look at their calendar and check out some possibilities. Cross check available dates of theirs with available dates of yours to determine the time frame. Have your calendar ready. KNOW your open dates. If the only dates they have open are booked for you, determine if their
date is more desirable to you. Don't cancel a premium money date for a so-so opening act slot unless you feel like that's the only date they're going to be able to offer you.
Some venues are so hard to get into that it's wise to accept anything! You may have to wait 6 months for another offer. If they offer you one date, chances are they'll offer you another, but when? Sometimes it's tough to determine if you should take one date over another date. Talk it over with your group. Ask some other bands that have played the new venue how they're doing at this place. An opening act slot in front of say, Slayer may look great until you find out that no one goes into the club until the headliner goes on. You have to weigh a lot of factors. You won't always make the right decision, but it's not the end of the world if you fuck up. There will be other opportunities. Keep the long-range big picture in mind. When
they say they have the such and such date open, and YOU have that date open too, then you say "yeah, we could do that date, let me get some information from you."
NOW THE MONEY!!! No one knows exactly what to ask for when you do your first deal with a new club.. It takes a series of maneuvers and posturing to actually arrive on a deal. My favorite line is "now what kind of money can we do on this date?".
It's short and to the point. It also throws the ball into their court. To which most of them will respond "I don't know, what do you need?".KNOW HOW MUCH IT COST YOUR BAND TO PERFORM, Review the venue size. Ask what that night of the week is like as opposed to other nights. Try to price yourself the first time in such a fashion that will guarantee your expenses, and if you have an unusually good attendance, you'll get some bonus money. Ask the booking person what kinds of guarantees they are able to offer for a first time in. A good rule is " the lower the guarantee, the higher the percentage". Some clubs have strict
policies regarding guarantees and you just have to accept them or not. If the deal they're offering is bullshit, you may want to go along with it just to establish yourself. Once you're established as a draw or a favorite act, the deal can be adjusted. Some clubs have built in audiences that are going to be there no matter who's playing. Don't try to tap the clubs
already established income. Try to get your pay determined by the ability of your band.
Most booking people that are professional will most likely give you a suggestion on exactly what to do if they don't have anything for you. If they don't, tell them that you'll give them a call back after a while ( 2-3 weeks should be sufficient). If you get the same thing again, it may be that the guy just doesn't want to take the time to try you out for any number of reasons. Maybe he didn't like your tape. Maybe he liked it but only ' OK'. Maybe he's had a bunch of bands like your band play recently and he just doesn't want to do another band like yours again. Maybe he just doesn't want to deal with new bands this week. Maybe he didn't get laid last night. There are tons of reasons why they may not be offering you a date.
Again, don't pester the shit out of them. Ask if they listened to your CD. Try to go over some bands that your band would go well with. Bands that regularly play that club and ask when they're scheduled back in there. Tell them how much you want to play their market and you REALLY want it to be in their club or venue. Ask them if it would be ok to call back in "a
week or so". If they say yes, thank them and let them go. Mark it on your calendar when to call back and even though you want to call back in three days, DON'T. (unless something comes up) If some unusual show happens to come up that your band would be good with, go ahead and call. Always be professional on the phone and in person.
OK Start booking that tour ... and Good Luck!
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