| We find that a lot of bands are unsure of
how to exactly handle sending and following up on their press
kits. Below is an outline of steps that have proven successful
for a number of bands and agents. Keep in mind that nothing is
set in stone and you may have to improvise from time to time.
GIG SEARCH
VENUE
CAPACITY: If you are new to a market you should try and choose
the smaller rooms (50-200 capacity). You can always send your
press kit to the biggest, most established room in town but will
most likely find them difficult to get a response from. MUSIC
STYLE: Try to search for your band’s specific style of music,
if the query results in a small selection of clubs try expanding
the music styles to ALL.
COLLEGE
ENROLLMENT: One of the best reasons to play colleges is that it
will give you the opportunity to expose your music to a large
population of music buying fanatics. If this is important to you
then try and select the colleges with the largest enrolled student
body in the market you are looking for. TUITION: let’s face
it the other reason to play colleges is the money. The more expensive
a school is to attend the more likely it is that they have a sizable
entertainment budget.
TIME FRAME
Most clubs book a minimum of two months in advance. But keep
in mind that you have to get thru all of the initial steps below
before they are going to talk about booking with you. So it is
always safe to assume a 3-6 month window from the time you send
a CD to the moment you are able to lock down a performance with
a new club.
FIRST CONTACT
Schedule A Phone Call Reminder: We find it is helpful to schedule
an initial phone call for each venue you are trying to play before
sending a CD. This is not always necessary but it may save you
some time and money down the line. If nothing else you should
confirm the mailing address and the booking contact.
SEND PRODUCT
Schedule A Task Reminder: Be sure to set this activity and clear
it once you have sent the package. You will find it is very helpful
to have a precise record of the date that you put the CD in the
mail. MAKE SURE EVERY PROMOTIONAL ITEM HAS YOUR CONTACT INFO ON
IT! (CD, Picture, Bio etc.)
FOLLOW UP
Schedule A Follow Up Phone Call Reminder: Schedule this call for
10 days from the date your CD was sent. This first phone call
is just to confirm receipt of the CD. You should not press the
contact for whether or not they have listened to the CD just yet.
Give them a chance to catalog your band and add it to their pile
of CDs to listen to. We also find it more efficient to create
an email template that you can use every time for this inquiry.
Then simply cut and paste it into an email and schedule your next
follow up call.
Schedule Weekly Follow Up Phone Cal: Now is where the fun starts.
The key here is PERSISTENCE. Of course it is a fine line between
being persistent and being a pain in the ass. Some rules of thumb,
- Before asking about your music be sure to ask if now is
a good time for them to talk about booking music.
- If they have
not listened to your CD yet and ask you to call back, make
sure to ask when a good time to call them back
is.
Be sure to schedule your follow up for this date and time.
- Do
not stop calling until you get a firm answer as to what they
thought of your music and whether or not they are interested
in booking your band.
- Do not take ZERO response as a not interested,
if they do not call you back, do not give up. Leave them a
message one
week,
an email the next and so on.
- If you get a “Not Interested.” I
find it helps to describe your bands music at this point just
to be sure
that
they are not confusing your band with someone else. Talent
buyers listen to a ton of music and occasionaly will make a
mistake.
Be polite but persistent.
BOOKING
TIPS & ADVICE NEWSLETTER: Summer 2002> |
