Are you unsure about what you must do to get more gigs? You could be causing problems for yourself by thinking that “venues aren’t looking for bands in this moment,” or “there’s too much competition for my band to stand a chance”. Fact is, these statements are based in excuses. Here are the actual facts when it comes to getting more gigs:
Clubs/venues are always trying to find killer musical acts to book (even though they book far in advance). That’s right, it’s not the musicians who are unable to get gigs, it’s the venues who struggle to find the right bands to play. Bookers and promoters throw away so much time (and money) by working with bands who just don’t know what the venue needs from them. As soon as you can become the kind of musician that venues are seeking, you’ll get tons of new gigs.
Four Critical Mistakes To Avoid When Trying To Get More Gigs:
Mistake One: Not making any effort to stand out from other bands.
If there is nothing that truly distinguishes your band from other local bands (whether it be your music, performance, etc.), you are greatly limiting your potential to get new gigs. Similarly, when your live performances are cool or unique, it is very likely to attract more people and venues will often be more eager to have you play for them. For instance, it’s not uncommon for bands to hire additional entertainers to come to their gigs (rather than working with an opening band) in order to attract a larger audience and make their shows more successful.
That being said, don’t invest all your time and energy into “being completely unique” just to get more gigs. “Being unique” alone doesn’t earn the venue more money unless it is integrated together with the points in the section below.
Mistake Two: Lacking great performance skills and know-how.
Before you can gain a dedicated, loyal following of fans who love seeing every show you play in, you must understand how to put on a great performance. Even if your music is great... if you don’t know how to truly entertain your fans with an exciting performance, they simply will not make the effort to come out and see you play. This greatly hurts your chances for getting new gigs because booking agents desperately need bands with both a great show and a loyal fanbase. Read this instructional column to learn more about putting on a good live show.
Mistake Three: Lacking the understanding of how to get more of your fans to come to live shows.
If you think the venue is going to make all of the efforts when it comes to promoting your shows, you will never be able to consistently get more gigs. Reality is, it’s your responsibility to inspire your fans to come to your shows – NOT the venue’s. If you struggle to get people to see your live shows, no one is going to work with you or offer you new opportunities to play at their venues.
Mistake Four: Not perceiving your band as a “business partner” with the venue owners at the venue(s) where you play.
The whole purpose of getting bands to play at a venue is to make money. When a venue looks for a new band, they try to find musicians who are already savvy when it comes to promoting themselves (specifically: their shows), and who understand what needs to happen to fill the house with fans, while putting on a great live show. Bands who are aware of how this is done, have a greater ability to help venues to earn more money and always get the best opportunities to take the higher-paying gigs. Musicians who are clueless about promotion simply cannot offer much to venues when it comes to earning more money – and thus, always struggle to find new gigs.
An effective way you can help venues make more money is to begin growing a list of local fans (by storing their e-mail addresses or other contact details). This shows the venue that you can provide them with a lot of value, because it shows that you can bring in new business whenever you perform.
What You Must Do To Get A Lot More Musical Gigs
To guarantee that you don’t make the same mistakes that keep other musicians from getting tons of gigs, have the mindset that all of the venues you play at are “business partners”, rather than just people who pay you to perform at their club.
Here are four important things that will help you do this:
1. Think more about the people you want to attract to your performances.
In addition to possessing a means for reaching out to your fans at any moment (for free), you must learn how to offer massive value to your fans and inspire them to come out and see you play. Get a better understanding for how this is done by reading this column about getting a lot of new music fans.
2. Put together a large list of fans and keep growing it at every one of your performances.
The power to communicate with all your fans at any time (for free), is essential for getting them to come see your live shows. If you can do this, you can easily display proof of your value to any venue you where you want to play. Without a database, you make everything infinitely harder in your music career. Build a database of your fans’ names/contact details and begin taking action to grow this list with every step you take in your career.
3. Work with a mentor who has already accomplished the things you want to accomplish in your music career.
Having a mentor is instrumental for helping you to understand the steps needed for transforming yourself into a much more valuable asset for any venue owner (resulting in you getting tons of new gigs).
4. Focus on helping venues earn more money.
Simply put, venues would be totally uninterested in having bands put on shows if doing so wasn’t going to help them earn more money. You need to prove to a venue that you are dedicated to consistently generating win-win outcomes for them and for you. To see how to do this, take this free six-day mini course on how to develop a successful music career.
Now that you understand more about what it takes to get more gigs for your band, take this assessment about booking more music gigs to see how close you are to becoming the musician all venues want to work with.
About The Author:
Tom Hess is an electric guitar teacher online and a music career mentor. Tom also trains musicians on how to succeed in the music business. On his professional musician website tomhess.net you can read many more articles about making a living with a music career.
Are you unsure about what you must do to get more gigs? You could be causing problems for yourself by thinking that “venues aren’t looking for bands in this moment,” or “there’s too much competition for my band to stand a chance”. Fact is, these statements are based in excuses. Here are the actual facts when it comes to getting more gigs:
