Finding an agent/booker for gigs.

[Subthumper]

Hi, I've been attempting to get my band out of the grind and low pay of pub gigs and attempting to get to play clubs, events and parties but NOT WEDDINGS. I've been trawling the net for agents and the same scenario seems to be commonplace, ie you call them and they tell you to fill in the email contact form on their website which is followed by ....nothing. Even when you do speak to someone they won't commit to any kind of answer, even to say that your not what they want, which would be fine. Venues are equally useless even when you tell them you've been asked back to every venue you've played. We have a good website and good feedback from happy venues. Is it my approach that's wrong or does every band get the same treatment?
I would be interested to hear opinions and other people's experiences.
Cheers Just

[EBS_freak]

Agents get tons of applications daily. I'm guessing if you are saying no weddings, they aren't interested in working with you... as that is the majority of the work that comes into agents.

Agents want bands who are good and have empty diaries so that when any enquiry comes in, they know you will be available and know that they can fill your diary there and then. If you only have 2 or 3 dates a year for example, or you already have a fullish diary through other agencies, you are even less likely to be taken on.

If you aren't getting any bites, its down to the above, or your promo material not being up to scratch (most agents want videos too) or your look isn't right and it'll be hard for them to sell.

[bonzodog]

Ive worked for agents for over 20 years and it is hard to first get on their books. A good portion of work goes to solo singers and duos as they are easier to accommodate. Agents have to be careful with live bands as there a lot of poor bands out there. One bad gig can ruin their reputation so you have to see it from their point of view.
Its a case of keep trying and maybe offer to do a low paid gig just so the agent can come and see you. There are normally showcases organised by venues where a selection of acts play to a room full of agents and landlords. Ask the agents if they know of any coming up you can get on.
You will get a gig sooner or later and as long as it goes well normally the flood gates open and the agent fills your diary.

[JTUK]

I typed out another reply but it basically comes down to this, IMO.

A good agent who has put in a LOT of donkey work and runs it as a business is going to want to earn
£100 from a booking..and they will be worth this IF they get you bookings you can't get yourself.

To charge £1000, ( 10% ) you are going to have to be ahead of a lot of decent bands..altho it is by no means a given
that a band charging £1000 is any good, but there you go, they have probably found a way to make that work..
and you should be concentrating on what makes you different and worth the booking over someone else.
Weddings are easier in that there are more of them and people accept that sort of cost ( and above ) more readily
but parties are hard. What sort of music do you play..? If you do all the standards..then so does loads of others
and it becomes a choice of what is cheaper. If you are on the heavier side, you will struggle to get many parties
doing AC/DC type songs ..so the odd one might be worth £400..which is just not enough money for an
agent to get involved ...and for the booker to engage anyway.

As with a lot of things, I think you are judged on the act that ppl see most...and this is the true value of playing pubs.
But make sure, they see you in good places and not dives as if you get gigs from dives... you end up playing party dives, tbh.

I think you find your audience and then you find what the market will bare ..
To get on an agents preferencial list, they either LOVE you, or you earn them the most money, so you pay them more
than others or you just bring more bookings back with you in return bookings.

We are very careful with agents and bookers as we don't want to be the band that just fills in a booking.. we want the
good ones so we have to make sure we deliver..but by the same token so do they.
In the end, we get asked because ppl know us and we set down what we require from them.. so no one is left complaining.
Some agents will put anything in to take the fee, but that is short sighted. Learn to be discerning and turn down
the crap.. or set your price and if you are miles apart, walk away.

Everyone knows that a couple might spend £10-15k on a wedding..and a £1k on a photographer...so why would they expect
a band to work for less than that..
It is the same thing for parties... do it properly or not at all.. IMO.

[TheRev]

Hi Subthumper,

What do you mean by clubs? Do you mean working men's clubs or dedicated music venues like The Fleece and The Exchange?

As far as events and parties are concerned, my band gets bookings off the back of pubs or festivals that we've played and the person throwing the party has seen us before. We get events for the same reason and also because we're a niche act that comes out first or second on a Google search list. We don't use an agent by the way, we just play a lot of gigs and work hard on promotion.

You don't mention the type of music you play, but unless you have a unique selling point that makes you stand out from all the other bands on your current pub circuit, you might find it difficult to get a promoter, agent or booker to notice you.

[SpaceChick]

We've had some agents "sniffing" around us with us being a tribute act.

And if we perform these gigs for free..... They guarantee...... Um no!

If we put the leg work in ourselves on the other hand.....!

Don't like agents.... Can you tell

[Gunsfreddy2003]

Having the same problem as Subthumper - just can't get any interest from booking agents so taking on the role of getting gig myself which is not ideal or what I want but I know that if I don't do it then we will have no gigs!

I have take a lot of advice from Russ (EBS Freak) as his band are mentally busy with function work but despite investing in a video etc we are still getting no uptake from agents and also very little from venues too. Makes me think that we are either too niche or have the wrong look/feel.

Happy to take any constructive criticism - our website is www.soularfunk.co.uk

[JTUK]

Depends if you want weddings or parties.. I think parties are harder work in a sense, but
you can call any function that is not a wedding a party so that can also go either way

Not sure why you video isn't getting agents calling... depends how much you charge compared to who
ever else they have on the books. One thing, I would cover in your band, or two things...
one who is doing the BV's live, as that isn't clear from the real, and the keys sound needs a serious update.

These may be things that set you back...but that was just from the 'Rock with you' track so maybe
it doesn't jump out with other songs.

The other things with function bands is that they can be a bit bland... whereas the thing round here is that the
party bands are expected to offer more and be visually exciting as well as musically exciting..to justify the
ramp up of the fee from the pub circuit. So, that means you are just a level down from a live concert but playing
covers. Instead of getting them dancing from the off... get them singing ..the dancers will always do that
but get a venue involved and singing along and you are a better night out to more people..IME.
Dancing bands are for women mostly..and that is great and has its place..sings are for everyone..especially after a few drinks.
Whatever it takes, participation is key..

If we do a party in the marquee, we need to be able to do the dance thing...and the singalong thing.
If you think about playing something like 'wonderwall' where the singer doesn't even get to sing a note of it... then you are having
a great gig

[Gunsfreddy2003]

I think as a band we are happy to play anything apart from pubs - been there done that one! Our singer Dolly, has done so much good work ( highlight for me was watching her with JTQ at Glastonbury and Phoenix Festivals) that it seems criminal having to play pubs for a couple of hundred quid!

We have so few incoming enquiries leading to a quote that it can't be the money we are asking for!

I agree what you say about the keys, Dan is primarily a bass player who plays keys so his gear was a little basic but he has just invested in some better kit with more modern sounds so I think that should be solved now.

The reality may just be that the requirement for disco and funk covers is limited and also already well served in which case then I have to wonder what future the band has - having said that I would rather play fewer gigs and enjoy the stuff I am playing than be out every weekend but having to play the latest sh*t off the radio!!!

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1395357634' post='2401680']
Depends if you want weddings or parties.. I think parties are harder work in a sense, but
you can call any function that is not a wedding a party so that can also go either way

Not sure why you video isn't getting agents calling... depends how much you charge compared to who
ever else they have on the books. One thing, I would cover in your band, or two things...
one who is doing the BV's live, as that isn't clear from the real, and the keys sound needs a serious update.

These may be things that set you back...but that was just from the 'Rock with you' track so maybe
it doesn't jump out with other songs.

The other things with function bands is that they can be a bit bland... whereas the thing round here is that the
party bands are expected to offer more and be visually exciting as well as musically exciting..to justify the
ramp up of the fee from the pub circuit. So, that means you are just a level down from a live concert but playing
covers. Instead of getting them dancing from the off... get them singing ..the dancers will always do that
but get a venue involved and singing along and you are a better night out to more people..IME.
Dancing bands are for women mostly..and that is great and has its place..sings are for everyone..especially after a few drinks.
Whatever it takes, participation is key..

If we do a party in the marquee, we need to be able to do the dance thing...and the singalong thing.
If you think about playing something like 'wonderwall' where the singer doesn't even get to sing a note of it... then you are having
a great gig
[/quote]

[oggiesnr]

This article comes from one of the most respected agents in the folk world who also spent twenty years playing with one if the top groups in that field. A lot of what she says applies across the board. [url="http://www.jacey-bedford.com/helpfiles/dontneed.html"]http://www.jacey-bed...s/dontneed.html[/url] .

Steve

Edited March 22, 2014 by oggiesnr

[JTUK]

Agree with a lot of that article.
We only use one or two agents who we regard more as friends, but to be honest they do not bring in much that we want
and not at the prices we want. We tend to do them as favours, tbh.

No one wants to flogging pubs..or rather we don't so we will only do a few that suit us...but those pubs are loss leaders
and a window to parties. It starts the ball rolling... and again friends/fans who see us want a mates rate which is only around
double the pub rate. But you will pick up dates at decent money if you play decent pubs as the same people who will go to
certain pubs recognise who you can appeal to and will introduce you to like mided stuff. Material is material so you
are 'limited' by that but we play a rocky set that can appeal to party ages from 25 to 60... or at least we aren't perturbed to
take a 60th party...if you consider those guys were going to gigs in the late 60's/70's and that material easily fits into a lot of sets.

Disco bands are many... and we don't compete ( can't ) if that is what the client wants, so we have our niche and we think we are
a good time. We try and give it high energy and power and depending on the budget, we will trick up the show so it is a good experience.
We find we need to do this less at parties but to generate function money at beer festivals you have to offer sometjhing differnet and worth
the difference.

A good friend's band ( covers ) recently sold out a 350 plus venue in a day at £10 a ticket so the fee was going to be good... and they invested
some of that into a really good ( expensive comparitively ) light show. Good sound has to be a given as does muscianship ( they aren't that good ) or crowd appeal
and the singer has the most charisma which really works. I've not seen anyone get a crowd going like this guy. They are probably the bets draw around
but will do the odd pub ( special event ) to keep things ticking on...

I think you have to know what you are good at..or what is hitting the audiences and develop that... there are plenty of good bands, you just have to be better
at connecting with the audience.

We will offer a light and slide show and girlie BV's if the gig needs something to sell and we can get that in the budget..
We would add horns but they end up wanting better wages that we would get...

But after all is said and done.. I think people now want an exiting show...what is ok for weddings is not always so ok for a special event gig.
Sometimes it can also be what social set you can plug into...as some people can't afford £500 and others will spend £5k on a party

[Westie9]

Is it still the case that if you sign up with an agency, you need another alternative band name other than your pre-existing one?

[dand666]

Why do you not want to do weddings, just out of interest?

I've been in a wedding band for the last couple of years. It's a great way to build up a good knowledge on how to read a crowd and your confidence on stage e.t.c.

The agencies we use get use gigs all year round. Last year we where playing every weekend and the odd fri/sun night. Charging over a £1000 we easily took over 60k last year.

In regards to weddings we found people are happy to pay £1000. Agree with JTUK here.

[oggiesnr]

At that level of fee and work it's worth an agent spending some time on you.

[dand666]

[quote name='oggiesnr' timestamp='1395495709' post='2403043']
At that level of fee and work it's worth an agent spending some time on you.
[/quote]

Yeah. It all depends on where we play. Our prices go up the further we have to travel. Our fee is a £1000 so the agency charges £1200. And then accordingly to our location.

[ambient]

Why do you [b][i]not[/i][/b] want to play weddings, and why [i][b]do[/b][/i] you want to use an agent ?

A friends band I play for occasionally plays loads of wedding and does corporate stuff, especially around Christmas time, parties etc. I played with them at a Christmas farmers market last year, that was great.

He does everything though, he can put together a jazz trio/quartet/quintet, or have a vocalist and do 'normal' functions stuff, and he has a DJ, he can also do umpah stuff and plays beer festivals, (he's a trombone player).

It was all through word of mouth recommendations, people passing his name on, and eventually venues recommending him.

It was hard work to start with, but paid off.

I think he even used local florists and hairdressers to pass on his details.

Edited March 22, 2014 by ambient

[JTUK]

This subject fascinates me in as far as there can be no rhyme or reason why some bands work and get what they get
and others don't...it is almost a science in itself.

We've found few cut-offs points to the people that enquire...
We only ever play 2 hrs max..

Pubs...well, you just have to pick ones you'd go to yourself and we find many of our
'crowd' just will not go to a certain pub, but since it has a good following and we like the LL..altho not
what he wants to pay, so much. He calls us one of his best draws but has a pay limit which most bands probably hit... ...hmmm....

Parties...friends want to pay £500.. that is pay back time..and time to support people who support you.
Normal parties at same sort of money .. you might do them if you aren't so busy at that time...plus if they have a fun factor, that
gets past the money thing, sometimes. Treat as a loss leader as per pubs... but this tends to go round in circles
as they know and want the same rate as their friends... be pragmatic here.
Normal parties... £750 upwards depending how much they are investing, marquee, catering etc etc..the entertainment ( us) is a small addition typically.
Nice parties and weddings, are £950 plus any sort of extras..like set-up and wait times, xtra P.a and lights..not to mention travel and petrol etc etc ..

We can get £1400 but we have to travel and be out all day.... so you have to decide if the extra £80 each is really worth it
and if you have a home life and kids plus a full time job, is it fair to wipe out a whole saturday..???

Weddings and parties at £1500 upwards are the ones that seem to have taken a hit...and I know one very good band
that has hardly worked at that level since the New Year and that type of gig is their bread and butter and the ones that
earn them a wage per year.

Edited March 22, 2014 by JTUK

[dand666]

It comes down to, do you want to make money through music, make it a career. Or do you just want to do it part time, for a hobby.

[dand666]

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1395496945' post='2403065']
This subject fascinates me in as far as there can be no rhyme or reason why some bands work and get what they get
and others don't...it is almost a science in itself.

We've found few cut-offs points to the people that enquire...
We only ever play 2 hrs max..

Pubs...well, you just have to pick ones you'd go to yourself and we find many of our
'crowd' just will not go to a certain pub, but since it has a good following and we like the LL..altho not
what he wants to pay, so much. He calls us one of his best draws but has a pay limit which most bands probably hit... ...hmmm....

Parties...friends want to pay £500.. that is pay back time..and time to support people who support you.
Normal parties at same sort of money .. you might do them if you aren't so busy at that time...plus if they have a fun factor, that
gets past the money thing, sometimes. Treat as a loss leader as per pubs... but this tends to go round in circles
as they know and want the same rate as their friends... be pragmatic here.
Normal parties... £750 upwards depending how much they are investing, marquee, catering etc etc..the entertainment ( us) is a small addition typically.
Nice parties and weddings, are £950 plus any sort of extras..like set-up and wait times, xtra P.a and lights..not to mention travel and petrol etc etc ..

We can get £1400 but we have to travel and be out all day.... so you have to decide if the extra £80 each is really worth it
and if you have a home life and kids plus a full time job, is it fair to wipe out a whole saturday..???

Weddings and parties at £1500 upwards are the ones that seem to have taken a hit...and I know one very good band
that has hardly worked at that level since the New Year and that type of gig is their bread and butter and the ones that
earn them a wage per year.
[/quote]

We generally aren't fussed in regards to set-times and waiting throughout the day. We tend to make the wedding/party a weekend thing for us. Luckily we are all still young and do not have wives/husbands yet!

Small example, played a gig last year, we got there at 4pm expecting usual 9pm KO time, but we didn't go till 11:30pm due to things running late, but everyone still had a blast and we ended up playing through too 2am. We finsihed our set and got pissed up with the guests. The hosts left us cracking reviews back at the agency and handed out our cards all night.

Each to their own I guess. :-)