If you’ve tried booking gigs before, you probably know it’s a tricky business, especially for upcoming artists. But frustrating as it might feel, it’s not impossible. We’ve gathered some advice booking agents have provided on how to make the booking process more effective.
Adopt a Music Industry Mindset. This doesn’t apply to just booking, but anything you do for your music career. Approach things with an industry mindset.
For example:
- Make sure to do as much work as you can on your own before asking for help. Managers/labels/promoters/etc. will appreciate it a lot!
- Booking is a field that requires taking many (mostly financial) risks, so agents usually prioritize artists that come to them with a clear proposal of what they can offer. What can your band bring to the table? Why is investing on you a good bet?
Preparatory Actions #
The next step is building a solid ground for your pitching strategy. The following should be ready before you ask us to help you:
A clear target audience #
Take a look at your MV brief + your social and streaming traction, and use them as a starting point to brainstorm a list of about 10 venues that are relevant for you right now, not only in terms of your artist identity but also regarding the goals you set with us at the beginning of the project.
Updated EPK (incl. gigging accomplishments) #
Check out your Dropbox EPK folder and make sure everything is up to date (bio, pics etc.). If there isn’t one already, upload a .docx to the same folder that summarizes your previous gigging experience, or update the current one. Check out the “Touring Profile” section on this example to give you an idea.
Streaming and social media traction #
Booking agents pay attention to engagement even more than just follower numbers, so getting some traction on your social media is important. When it comes to streaming numbers, you don’t need to have reached more than 100 000 plays per song if you’re an upcoming rock/metal band. However, you do need some organic traction on Spotify and YouTube (followers, views, playlists etc.). Look at the bands the booking agent is working with: Are your streaming and social numbers anywhere near those acts’? If they aren’t, this is a good opportunity to work on making them grow! (Make sure to check our guides on building social traction and organic streaming on Spotify if you need some ideas).
Database of booking contacts #
Create a shareable spreadsheet with the following info and upload it to your “Allmän” folder: Venue name, website, email, phone number if it applies, name of the booker/venue, size (for venues) and location, a short description of the type of music and audience they cater to, and whether you’ve played there before or not.
A pitch template #
Upload a shareable pitch email template (.docx format preferred) to your “Allmän” Dropbox email that can get updated along the road. These are some tested guidelines to help you out:
Subject line: [Artist name], [MM/DD], (genre), (venue name).
Dear [name of the booker],
[Paragraph 1, max 4 sentences. Introduce the band with an elevator pitch, add a personalized comment on why you want to play there + what you want exactly (possible dates and name of the band you’re opening for).]
[Paragraph 2, max 4 sentences. Includes what you can offer (the size of your mailing list/social following and/or any relevant gigging experience) + link to EPK]
Looking forward to hearing from you soon,
A promotion plan #
A lot of promoters/booking agents will expect you to be doing most of the promotion yourself (especially on local venues). When you get a reply from them, you need to have a plan in case they ask you how you’re gonna do it. The basics are:
• Setting up a FB event
• Social posts/mailing list
• Possibly flyers/posters
But in addition to that:
• An incentive to get fans to buy tickets early (as opposed to at the door). Example: Give away merch/coupons/bundles to early birds.
• Team up with other bands.
• Let the fans vote on the set list/order.
Let’s Do It! #
When all of this is ready, you’re welcome to ask us for help with the pitching part. Here are some tips to make the process as smooth and quick as possible. This applies to any PR pitches, not just to booking:
• Upload all relevant files to the designated place (your”Allmän” Dropbox folder). Email attachments and files outside Dropbox risk getting lost or misplaced!
• If we’ve done some pitching for you in the past (to booking agents, or bloggers, playlists etc.), make sure to check the Spreadsheet where we updated that info before you email us. This helps us pitch way faster and avoid doing the same thing twice.
• You don’t need to email us with the whole info about the pitch, just let us know when you’ve updated the Spreadsheet and which of them you’d like us to pitch to.
That’s it for now, hopefully this guide will contribute to making the pitching process effective and organized. We hope to make good collaborations together to get you some nice gigs!