Shavano Music Online

    Music Business 101;
    Deciding where to begin

    3/98 - Jens Moller - http://www.colomar.com/Shavano/business101.html
    You have been practicing for 3 weeks and things are falling into place. You are ready to to take the next step - playing for an audience. Where do you go from here?

    Bookings

    Making money and a name for yourself will require that you find a place to play. A booking normally includes a contract and service to be provided. Finding people for you to provide the service is the logical start point. If you are serious about your music, you need to be very serious about finding work that builds upon your musical goals.

    To find a Booking Agent, ask around the music shops or seek out working musicians. You may find listings for Booking Agents in the Yellow Pages or a local newspaper. Your city may not have one, but a larger town nearby might. A Booking Agent will expect you to have a demo tape/CD and photographs, along with some information about your act in order for them to place you. Some will require a video tape showing your act in action. Some work (such as hotels) may only ever book thru an Agent.

    Booking yourself will always be an issue, even if you have a Booking Agent that is finding you work. Why? Because people will walk up to you, or call you on the phone and ask you to play for them. Maybe you are trying to get into a specific market that your Booking Agent doesn't cover, or maybe you don't have a Booking Agent yet (or there are none that suit your specific act in the area).

    If you have a Booking Agent, treat them very well and never give them a reason to not book you. Always pay their commissions on time and do it happily. Never play at a place the Agent booked you at without paying them, even if you got the subsequent bookings there by yourself. Why is that?

    • It's probably in your Booking Agents contract that you cannot contract for additional work at any place they placed you for at least 12 months. This is quite reasonable.

    • You will lose one of the best resources for work you ever had.

    • Any other Booking Agent will probably not touch you in the future - assuming that you will do the same to them. This could cost you dearly down the road.

    • You might get sued.

    An established Booking Agent will take around 15% of the income for a performance. If they get you work, it is worth it. They will often find you work that you would never have found otherwise.

    If someone asks you to perform for them at a place that your booking agent does not represent, you have the option of having your Booking Agent handle it, or, you can book it yourself. The immediate benefit of booking it yourself is that you probably can get a signed contract within a few minutes, as well as saving 15% of the performance proceeds. Make sure that you don't allow your Agent to book you somewhere for the same time and date.

    You have become a business

    As much as you might like to think of your musical efforts as artistry, it should be managed like a business. If the members of your band or singing group don't understand that, you are asking for problems down the road. The problems that you encounter in the music industry often relate to egos and how poorly they support business objectives. Its a mind set you'll have to deal with at one time or another. I've seen a lot of acts that are making money comprised of people who are good - I've seen acts with incredible musicians and vocalists who never seem to be able to get out of the garage. There is a lot to be said for people who pull their weight and work together to benefit everyone.

    If you are a part of a multi-person entertainment group, one of the members will have to become the leader and take on the roles associated with the task. This 'leader' will be responsible for speaking for the act, and as so, gets an additional 10% for doing this. Members who disagree with this don't realize the additional effort and responsibility that this entails. These will probably be the people that don't associate the legal issues that they 'commit to' by signing a contract, and may cause problems down the road. I'm not suggesting that you kick someone out of your act because they don't like the arrangements, but it definitely needs to be clear that the act has responsibilities beyond the performance. Members need to agree on how to run the business and let someone be the spokesperson for them.

    The spokesperson will sign and keep copies of all contracts. They will be responsible for finding bookings outside of a Booking Agent. They will present the act when attempting to find new bookings. If there is a problem, they will be responsible for finding the resources to resolve it. This is often a thankless job.

    Some Performance Guidelines

    If you have never had to perform for pay before, let me highlight some common conventions and situations that you will encounter at some time or another.

    • Typically for live performance: For every 1 hour, it is broken up into 45 minutes of performance and 15 minutes of break time. If performing something that is ends in a half hour - such as 4 1/2 hours, the last 15 minute break might be skipped - you might need to perform the last 1 1/2 hours straight through. If the audience is dancing when its time to take a break, you may want to consider playing a longer to keep the energy up.

      NOTE: Musicians Union Contracts are often written for a 40 minute set, with a 20 minute break.

    • Most live performances at parties or clubs will run between 4 or 5 hours (that equates to 4 or 5 sets of 45 minutes each). You should be able to perform for this long without repeating any of your material. If playing at a Wedding, your sets will probably have many interruptions to allow events to occur. Expect to have someone from the Wedding party make use of the PA system on these occasions. Weddings often are 3 hour jobs, however, expect to play at least 4 hours. There are many different events that you could perform for - if you want to take on some of these more unique paying jobs, you need to find out specifically what it takes to be successful. Don't be afraid to ask.

    • If you are providing a 'show', make sure that it is well rehearsed and you have timed it appropriately. If its supposed to last 1 hour, it should last exactly 1 hour. This is very important if you are opening for another act; you may not be the main attraction, but you should make certain that you are at your best.

    • Do NOT allow excessive time between songs - 15 seconds is an eternity when the audience is waiting for your next number. 5 seconds is much better. 2 minutes delays indicates that you are not prepared to meet your commitments and are not organized; This indicates to everybody present that you probably were not ready to perform live. Create set lists and follow them - you can take requests when you need to, but never at the expense of making people wait between songs.

    • Dress appropriately (depending on where you play, you might want to ask what you are expected to dress like - you may find that you have to rent tuxedos for some work). While some band members may think otherwise, I suggest that you always wear clean clothing, and that it is totally consistent with the expectations of your audience, and particularly the person who will pay you at the end of the night. If in doubt, ask the person who will be paying you what they expect - if that person is not happy, it makes little difference how the audience reacts. I'm not suggesting that you dress in a suit and tie - most likely this would be very out of place - what you wear should reflect your image and it should be appropriate based on the expectations that you have set and the place that the performance occurs at.

    • Show up on time - allow yourself at least an hour to set up and test your PA system and all the gear/wiring.

    • Avoid allowing anyone performing to get drunk - if you have someone running sound for you, this goes double for them. While some people think that they sound great while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, my experience has been that the quality of the performance suffers greatly. You have to decide what your long term goals are and the people working with you need to agree on what it takes to be successful. A few drinks are rarely a problem, a few dozen always are.

    • Never antagonize the audience, or the person who is paying you at the end of your performance. Its possible that your style may be aggressive towards the audience to provoke them in certain ways - thats fine, just don't get anyone started throwing bottles or other things that could injure you or your equipment. Do what is appropriate.

    • If possible, find out what the audience expects of you - check out the place you are to perform in advance and listen to what your competition is providing.

    • Never allow a member of the audience up on stage if they are inebriated (ie. drunk) - the following can occur:

      • Something very expensive may be broken by them.

      • They could say something in a microphone that not only offends the audience, but gets you kicked out.

      • They could trip over something on the stage and sue you if they hurt themselves.

    • Always act in a professional manner.

    • Keep drinks and burning cigarettes off of sensitive electronic gear and speaker cabinets.

    • If playing outdoors, demand to have a shaded area to play in. Sensitive electronic gear is often black, which works great for collecting heat from the sun. The higher temperature will often cause things like synthesizers and effects to stop working - this is a very bad thing.

    • Bring your own lighting system if the place doesn't have one. A few 'clip on' holders with colored flood-lights will beat the tar out of attempting to play in near total darkness. Its dangerous to assume that you will have any form of reasonable lighting specifically for the performers - if in doubt, visit the site in advance, or put lighting requirements in the contract.

    • Be very careful of standing water near you when you set up. In the United States where the common voltage is 120 Volts AC, there is less of a problem with electrocutions, In Europe where they use 220 Volts, a few musicians get killed every year. There is nothing enjoyable about receiving 120 Volts across the lips when you lean into your microphone..

    • Don't fret minor problems. Something will go wrong no matter how well you plan things. Cable failure will be a constant issue and you need to make sure that you have a spare of any cable you need. For some reason, power outlets are never close to where you will be setting up your gear and performing - have extension power cords. Take a positive view of your performance and learn from it. You can't prepare for everything. Once you are done performing, you can address any problem - never discuss problems on stage, unless its in the form a one time joke; then everyone can laugh at it. Whatever you do, don't get mad.

    I'm sure that you will be able to add to this list as you get out and perform. You have to be able to deal with far more than the musical aspects of your performance. If you know that up front, you'll be able to work things out as you have a need to.

    Setting Business Goals

    When you approach your performances as a business, you can avoid many problems that will be hard to rectify later. In order to make this work, you need to set some short term and long term goals - otherwise, you will meander around and may not get anywhere (this seems to be some peoples whole musical careers). When I played out, I felt that I needed to show a profit, otherwise my playing was no more than a hobby. When I made money, I invested 50% of it back into my music. The end result was that I could afford things that I needed to get further along in music. I was often forced to improvise to compete - it helps to have the music paying for itself as much as possible.

    You are at the mercy of your available environment, and this will affect any goal setting that you have. If you live in a place where there are few places to perform and the style of music you play is not appropriate for more than one or 2 of them, then, you need to figure out how to break into those places, or create opportunities for yourself. Talk to the people who manage these places and find out what they need from you to be considered. Also start looking for anyplace that might need entertainment for an occasional party. You may have to perform for free to get known.

    In many cities, there are 5 bands for every place there is to play. You need to figure out how to create demand for yourself. Playing too often (especially if you play frequently for free) floods the market with your act. This is not necessarily good unless the audience is transitory (ie. you are performing at a resort and every week 90% of the audience is new). Its very hard to convince someone to pay you if you normally play for free. In these cases, you might create a different type of performance for the free work that you do to build your following compared to work that you do for money.

    It never hurts to keep a notebook that you can clip out things from the newspaper and save whenever an event happens that is similar to something that you want to participate in. This will start you off with leads for potential paying work in your area. Find out what happening at the colleges nearest to you. You may have to drive a few miles to make contacts - they won't come looking for you.

    Some steps to build your act:

    • Research your available opportunities.

    • Plan on talking to many many people and learn how to market your act.

    • Create a demo audio tape/CD that you can carry along with you anywhere you go. If possible, create a video tape of a performance to show people what to expect. If you are there while its being played, you'll get instant feedback and this will give you an opportunity to deal with any issues that crop up. People rarely ever return demo tapes/CD's, so you might want to join them while they listen (otherwise, you'll go thru hundreds). When mailing audio tapes/CD's to people, I found around 20 tapes/CDs per paying job was the best that I could hope for. If I traveled with the tape/CD, I got one of every 3 that heard the tape/CD. Why is that? because many people hear the first 30 seconds and make a decision - if you are there, they will ask you about your act, and will listen further into the tape and based on the conversation and the tape/CD - your odds will improve if there is a reasonable fit. This is the sort of thing a good booking agent will do in thier office with a prospective client.

    • Take pictures and put together a publicity package. This has to include the name of the band and the type of music that is played. If performing covers (ie. someone else's material), list some of the songs, but not all. If you are performing originals, list any accolades you might have gotten by the press. If you have a CD out - make mention of it.

    • Advertise yourself. Use your tapes and publicity package to generate leads. If you create posters, make sure that they look well produced. You can work wonders with a PC and color Laser-Jet printer (and you should probably learn how to refill the ink cartridges to save yourself some serious money).

    • Work to get repeat bookings. Towards the middle of a performance, during a break, talk to the person who is paying you and ask (point blank) when you can return again? You may get constructive criticism; now is the time to show how you will act upon it and get another booking.

    With any luck, you should be able to set a 12 to 18 month goal of working as often as you want to play. You may achieve it sooner, but unless you set that goal, you won't have any inspiration to get out there and find the opportunities. It really does work, provided you are willing to make the commitment to set goals and carry them out.

    Long term goals are often dependent on meeting short term goals. Getting work should be your first step towards the long term goals. A lot of things will happen as you start working. You may change personnel or alter your musical direction. Don't sell yourself out - you'll never be happy if you can't work towards your long term goal at least part of the time.

    See also A sample band contract.

    Questions? Comments? .

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