Band Tips - Booking Shows

Hey there good peeps.

So in this blog I thought I’d dig into some good ways to go about booking gigs for your band. Yes, I know this may seem like some rudimentary stuff but if you’re new to being in a band, or only just starting out with booking shows I’m sure this will help…

I personally find that when it comes to booking shows, tours or just generally approaching any industry players whether they are booking agents, managers or record labels, the best thing to do is look at things from their perspective and try and think about what they are looking for and how they would like to receive it. This does not mean making up false figures or stretching the truth unrealistically to impress, or get your foot in the door, definitely don’t do that! But just keep in mind what their role is and what they need to achieve in that role, how many people other than you are trying to get their attention, and how much time they have (or more importantly don’t have) to go through all the email requests they receive. The better you present yourself the more likely they will pay attention.

When you’re sending out emails to venues/ booking agents, make sure you give them all the important and impressive info on your band as clearly and concisely as possible. Keep it short and to the point, don’t give them long-winded tales about the whole history of the band and each member. Be specific with the proposed dates you are looking to book. Provide links to your music, video clips, bio and also if there’s some cool live footage maybe add that link in there too. Something to keep in mind when sharing links to your different media assets is to make sure you only share the best of the best. If you have some live footage with only 20 punters standing around watching then just don’t send it. Only share stuff that really impresses, remember quality over quantity. If you have a list of bands you’d like to play with on the night, that also helps as it makes the booking agent’s job just that little bit easier. Have a scout around your area and find some other rad bands that would fit well with your band on a bill. Look to see if they can help pull a few heads in the doors too, remember, it’s the booking agent’s job to ensure the bands they book pull heads through the doors so keep that in mind when putting a night together. Also, another thing to think about is to make sure you address all your emails to the person you're sending it too, don’t just have a one size fits all email you just 100% copy & paste. Make sure you personalise it for the person and venue you are sending it to, make an effort to check your spelling and grammar (something I’ll admit I have messed up once or twice), and also contact them well in advance, a very minimum of 3 months but more is better.

Here’s an example of how an email I would send out might look.

Hi (insert booking agents name)

Ryan Miller here from Sydney heavy rock act (insert band name), how’s it going?

We are looking to book a show at Billy’s Big Band Room and I’m hoping you have an availability on either of these dates … Give a few options

We are also more than happy to provide a full line up for the night, here are some of the bands we had in mind…

In the last year (insert your band’s name) have played venues X, Y, Z and have played alongside acts such as (insert any cool bands worth mentioning). Then basically add in any cool info that’s impressive but keep it all brief and to the point. If you have played a show and had a big turn out, let them know about it. Keep the whole spiel to about as many words as I have provided here in this example and if they want to read up more on you they can hit the link we’ll provide below. 

Here are some links to our music and socials

Music – (insert link)

Video Clip – (insert link)

Facebook – (insert link)

Website / Bio- (insert link)

Thanks a bunch for your time, I look forward to hearing from you…

This approach keeps it all tidy and to the point, it gives whoever’s reading it all the necessary info without overwhelming them and if they want to discover more about your band they can dig a little deeper through the links provided.

I hope this helps some of you…

Thanks for reading my rambles!

Much luv, Milla