Shavano Music Online

    Music Business 109;
    Working with a Booking Agent

    1/99 - Jens Moller - http://www.colomar.com/Shavano/business109.html
    You don't need to use a booking agent, however, they often have exclusive booking rights at some of the best gigs around. If you find that people tell you that they book thru an agency, no matter what level of effort you make to convince them to hire you, they will always work thru the established Booking Agency.

    It would appear that you are offering them a better deal, but the reality of it is that the club owner (or manager) has a business to run, and they need to make sure that it remains viable over time. Getting a one time good deal could jeopardize their ability to get bands 6 months down the road and this could put them out of business. They would rather get the bands thru the booking agents they have good working relations with.

    Where does that leave you? If you want to perform at these places, you'll need to play by the rules that others have established for you; seeking out the booking agency and have them represent you. There are good and bad points to consider.

    Things a Booking Agent gets you

    • Booking Agents are aware of the clubs in an area. They already know who to talk to and have a working relationship with them. Since they earn money by putting entertainers to work, they will do their best to keep in touch with what the clubs need. Some of the knowledge they are probably aware of:

      • The kind of people who frequent the club; Dancers? Listeners? Party people?
      • Size of Stage.
      • PA provided by club or if you have to bring your own.
      • Light System provided or not (you may have to bring your own lighting system unless you want to play in the dark).
      • What are the club owner/manager expectations?
      • Any information to be aware of - Club Policies, Sound Checks, Audience Interaction, Upcoming Events, etc.

    • Musical events on Military bases are often serviced exclusively by booking agents - there are also a great many rules/policies/regulations that you'll have to deal with. You might even get a report card when the performance is over that you have to sign to get paid.

    • Private parties often contact Booking Agents for entertainment. These paying jobs are one time opportunities, and they are not advertised anywhere. Other than the Booking Agent and the people that are having the party, no one else is aware of it. There are often very specific requirements or needs for a private party. Many Wedding gigs are booked this way.

    • Multi-City tours need to be coordinated by people who have reliable acts, and also can guarantee enough profit that the Booking Agent and the band survive the tour. As an example, there are many small scale touring bands that play in hotels across the United States. There is no way that the bands could talk with all of the hiring managers to coordinate dates and accommodations effectively. Booking agents that specialize in this area already have schedules for bands to drop into and work consistently.

    • Major Acts coming to town may need an opening act. Booking Agents are contacted first to see what local acts might work out. Not all Booking Agents are contacted when this happens, you need to ask which ones are being used.

    • If someone decides not to pay you, a Booking Agent will gladly sue them. You still may not get paid for work performed, but any club that does this will definitely have trouble working with any other Booking Agent to find acts to perform for them in the future. This tends to keep everyone honest.

    • If there are problems, the Booking Agents job is to find away to solve them.

    • You still may have to do an occasional 'Free' audition to get into a club, but once you establish yourself, the Booking Agent should be able to place you with paying gigs. Doing a 'Free' audition is also called 'Showcasing' - Sometimes a neccesity to get recognition in a market. Don't turn down too many of these if you are first starting out - they may turn into very profitable future business.

    • They can get a new band paying jobs.

    • They can keep you working.

    • Once you've established a reputation, they can get you better paying jobs.

    • Even if the band books many of its own jobs, a Booking Agent can help fill in open spots in the schedule.

    An Agent will be interested in your success because it means more income for them. They will get anywhere between 10% and 20% of the bands income, but only when they are working at gigs that the Booking Agent got them.

    What is an Agent looking for?

    A Booking Agent will demand that you have a long term plan for your own success. They expect you to improve over time and stay current (and book-able). They want to to have an established image - this is easier for them to book for. They expect you to know what you are getting into and that you can manage any issues that come along - they don't want to work with beginners that often cause their own problems. They expect you to be flexible on money/schedules, and that you work with them to help you get paying gigs - keep in mind that people coming to a Booking Agent to hire entertainment often have a set budget to work with and the Booking Agent will try to get the best fit they can.

    No matter what, you should be professional in all of your actions. This means:

    • Showing up early enough to set up and perform.
    • Don't bring along any people that don't belong there - if they don't have a specific job to do, they have no reason to attend. This particularly applies to members boy-friends and girl-friends.
    • All band members and road crew will wear appropriate clothing - Those dressed wrong should wait outside during the performance.
    • Don't drink to excess (or at all if this has caused a problem in the past).
    • Don't stretch your breaks out.
    • If the people who hired you want you to stop to allow them to make speeches, or have a special event (Weddings frequently do this, as do some seasonal events. Performances at military based often have presentations planned.), allow them to have the time to do what they want - you might ask before a performance if and when this sort of thing may happen.
    • Don't upset the people that hired you for the gig.
    • Give a little extra.
    • Never get mad on stage.
    • Watch your language - keep all stage banter appropriate for the audience.
    • Make sure all of your equipment works - fix anything between gigs.
    • Be prepared for the unexpected and deal with it intelligently.
    • Make the experience good enough that you will be requested again for future jobs.

    Limitations and other areas of concern

    Rest assured if you don't treat your Booking Agent well, they won't bother to book you. This could cause you enormous problems if you sign an exclusive contract with them. I advise against an exclusive contract with any Agency unless they can prove to you that they will keep you working and put it in writing.

    Any performance contracts issued by the Agent will be the Agents contracts. They normally include a clause that places restrictions on future performances at this same location (often for at least 12 months), requiring that the Agent get a percentage of any performance salary, no matter who did the booking for a gig. This is fair - they don't want to place you once and never be able to maintain a steady income from all of their efforts.

    Booking Agents often are not exceptionally supportive of bands that play only originals. The reason is obvious - there is far less earning potential for them, unless there happens to be a strong market for it in the area.

    Some other areas of concern:

    • Money - You may not be making much money to begin with. Can you afford to pay the Agent and have enough left over to make the effort worthwhile?
    • Are the Jobs really there? Some Agents paint a very rosy picture, then don't find much in the way of paying work.
    • Agent reputation. What do the club owners think of them - this could drag you down if there is constant trouble that has absolutely nothing to do with your performances.
    • Scheduling difficulties - you may get 5 jobs, but they could be 500 miles away from each other, and on sequential days. Agents don't like to work with entertainers that turn down work, even if the problems are caused by the Booking Agent.
    • Gigs that don't materialize - You might turn down a self booked Gig for one the Agent promises, only to find that it fell thru at the last moment.
    • You often need to call the clubs to verify the dates to make sure nothing changed from what your Agent may have told you. This is especially true if you have never performed there before - you might be quite surprised by what you discover. If you are touring, you should always call ahead to your next gig to make sure that there are no problems.

    Qualifying an Agent

    Sometimes there is only one to work with in the area you are in. Other times you need to seek out a specific Agent because they are the only one that the establishments you want to perform in use. If you have an option to pick from more than one Agent, find out:

    • What percentage they charge.
    • The names of the Clubs they represent (either full or part time).
    • Other Bands/Entertainers they currently represent.
    • How often the people they represent are working.
    • Do they book tours? You may be interested in doing this at one time or another - find out what services that can provide you in this area.

    Study any contract that they use to see how it affects you. Have someone else check it over as well. Find out where you stand if you sign it.

    My Experiences

    I have worked with a number Booking Agents. In the Larger cities, there is more opportunity and as such a Booking Agent often has far more raw material (Acts) to work with. I've had many problems with inconsistent bookings when working with Agents in larger cities far more frequently than when I lived in a smaller city and there were few opportunities available. I suspect that the Agents reputation is more an issue when there is less to work available.

    I booked myself at least 50% of the time. Booking Agents often got me the best paying work and got me into places that I never could have done by myself. I also made a lot of contacts as a result. This helped me get more of my own bookings. There were also a number of bad matches made and sometimes big money making gigs vanished the day before they were supposed to happen (I thought that there was a signed contract, but alas, there wasn't). I've also driven many late night hours to out of the way places that stressed out everyone in the band (and didn't earn much money for the effort). This is often what 'paying your dues' is all about - you'll learn something from every experience.

    I've had excellent working relationships with some Booking Agents and I find them a valuable tool for finding work. Getting to know who you are working with can make a huge difference in the level of your success.

    Questions? Comments? .

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