Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Social Net-WORKING

Over the past few weeks I've spent far more time online trying to book shows than I have actually spent playing shows. I'm trying to plan out a tour for October, as well as a tour for November. I've been putting all of my booking methods to work:  contacting venues that I find through local newspapers, urbanspoon.com, and through contacting my friends who have bands that play in the areas that I want to book shows. I also discovered the search tool on the Reverbnation website. I'm able to look up both venues and bands by city. I also broke down and got the entire Indie Venue Bible that includes all regions of the US and Canada. (For those of you who don't know, the Indie Venue Bible is a list of venues for unsigned artists, such as myself, with links to the venue websites).

I had recently thought that I had more luck scouring the internet by myself than relying on the Indie Venue Bible (IVB), but it's actually a really useful tool. When I did my pressing/packaging through Oasis, I was given 1 free region of the IVB, and after a bout of no responses from the venues I had already contacted through my other methods of booking, I decided to give it another shot. It actually is quite useful, as there were venues listed that I wouldn't have found otherwise. And the cool thing about IVB is that each venue is listed with the genres of music that each venue hosts. I went ahead and bought the full bundle, which is around $50. It not only includes the list of venues, but tips for touring and information on music business related topics. It also includes a list of promotional contacts for each city, such as newspapers, radio stations, etc. that will get the word about your upcoming shows. I haven't had time since I downloaded the entire IVB to put it to good use, but I'm about to today. We'll see how well it works!

In addition to all of this, I've also been trying to utilize my "social networks," both on and offline. I've started to post things on my Facebook wall like, "Does anybody know any bands in Nashville I could open for?" or "Does anybody know anybody in Memphis?" I've actually gotten a few gigs by doing this so far! I've also contacted my friends who live in the area I'm trying to go, to see if they know anyone who would host a house show, etc. I've gotten a few, "maybe next time"s on that. 

I would say for about every 20 venues that I contact, I actually get a reply back. Two thirds of those replies either say that they are booked already, no longer have music, or that my music doesn't fit the genre of music they're going for. I probably would be getting a lot more responses, and have had a lot more success in booking had I gotten to it sooner. A lot of venues book 5 to 6 months in advance. So my lesson here is to start early! 

When signing up for the "opportunities" on Reverbnation, such as contests for radio airplay or placement or write-ups in music blogs or magazines, I'm constantly reminded to make my press-kit look professional. A good press-kit should include a good bio, press write-ups, quality recordings, and quality, high-resolution photos. I had most of those things except for the photos, so the other day I had a photo shoot with the amazing Jeremy Scott, and the pictures turned out great! They definitely help to make me look more professional. Hopefully they will help in getting me more gigs. Unfortunately, it's not all about the music. Appearances, and connections seem to have a bigger role in getting gigs than actual talent.

I've also learned that I'm going to have to start from scratch in all of these new cities. I have a good credibility here in Arkansas, but few venues want to book a band that doesn't have a following in the area. What venues are mostly concerned about is the number of bodies you can get in the door. How many people can you get to pay a cover charge? How many people can you get drinking? That's the music business! I guess that's why it's important to try and pair up with local bands so that you can essentially "steal their fans." Always bring a mailing list and have anyone who tells you they enjoyed the music sign up! Then you can email and notify your new fans when you'll be in town again. The hope is that you gradually get those numbers up through touring in the same areas, and eventually build a big enough fan base that venues will book you!

I'm still in the learning process of all of this booking business. We'll see if I can get it in gear! Thanks for joining me as I spill out all of this nonsense. Keeping this blog helps me to make sense of it all ;)

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