How to get bookings

Recently, we were asked a question on our facebook page -"Whats the best way to book shows nowadays? Everyone seems to be doing it online. I'm trying to book for July, but no one gets back to the messages. Not like it used to be."

You're right. In the "old days" venues or booking agents would call the artists or vice-versa. Email came along and changed the game. Now, you could track the correspondence with written proof and a delivery time stamp.

Online sites like myspace and now facebook ingrained themselves in a way that many people correspond using them. If you are using facebook to book shows, you should only look back a few months in time to the demise of myspace.

Email is still the choice for premier venues, booking agents and people doing serious business. In many states, the law may not cover social media messages as legitimate and binding contracts. We feel it is okay to advance a show in any way you like: phone call, email or messages on a social media site. When it comes to business, however, such as the actual agreement we feel email is the way to go.

Now to the question about why someone may not get back to you. In most cases you can get the response you want by providing the right information to the right people.

Choose the right venue: If you go online and see a venue that books mostly teenage hard-core bands and you are an adult singer/songwriter type. This may not be the right venue for you. Skip it and look for the right place.

Start small: If you or your group are just starting out, it's best to set your goals high for the long term and set smaller goals to get there. Instead of the 800 person venue, see if you can pack a coffee shop first. Once you can get people to come out, build until you reach another level. It looks awesome when people are wall to wall and not so much when they are not.

Always be honest and professional: There's no need to say you'll draw 200 people and 2 show up. It makes you look like a fibber or haven't done the work. Probably both are true. Being professional means being courteous. Say "please" and "thank you". This, will get you a long ways in the entertainment business.

These are the primary reasons you won't get a response. There is always "you (or your songs) are not good enough". As we said in a previous post called No Disclaimers,
you shouldn't have excuses. If the vocalist is sick the day of recording, don't record. Make sure you have everything PERFECT as it can be.

Have something to sell. Make your shows special events.

If you follow all these and still can't get people to return calls or emails, write to us. We'll see if we can give you some specific pointers.

As always, we welcome your ideas and feedback