On Booking
There was a time when I was a lot angrier about the state of booking shows in the music world. Granted I was younger then and more apt to be angry about pretty much whatever, but the hodge-podge of bizarre, baroque, weird, mysterious, and sometimes downright aggravating behaviors exhibited by bookers, sometimes the same one at different points in
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1. The most obvious, yet the least talked about. The band needs to be desirable. Does the band bring *anything* to the table, do they have a fan base? Most of the time the answer is no. And on the occasions the answer is yes, its best to assume it is smaller than you think it is.
1a. Most bands are far more interested in playing shows than making fans. Many bands believe they are good, and believe that because they are good people will give them a chance, and give them shows. I see a lot of bands trying to go on tour that are just not ready for it. I mean you can do it, don't get me wrong, but chances are you will play a bunch of random bars, for no one. You might score a hit here and there, but more than likely you will just bleed money.
So lets say they manage to book a show in an unknown market. No one shows up, because no one local knows who they are, and the promoter loses.
If the band is lucky the promoter might set them up opening for a good local act, and they might get a toehold in that market. But as there are a ton of bands volleying for that position it is difficult at best to acquire.
1b. So how do you go about getting a toehold? SPEND MONEY!! Make a good cd, with good songs, then when you manufacture it, send out 20 copies to any genera club that might book you. Send T-shirts, Stickers, anything you can, as much as you can. So lets say you send out 1000 cds, out of those 1000, 100 get listened to, but it is something. That is your toehold. I am not talking about press kits, or digital downloadsI am talking about physical free stuff. Everyone has free promo downloads, but no one is going to download something from some random band they have never heard of. However some people will put in a cd by a band they have never heard of, particularly if that cd looks nice and is accompanied by other swag.
2. There are few actual promoters who understand the business. If a promoter loses money on a show, it is their fault, period. They need to have a realistic (not what they want) understanding of the draw of any given act. They need to put that act in a room of the appropriate size and the appropriate cost. If the band wants too high a guarantee, don't take the gig. If the only available show date is a Monday night, don't take the gig. If you do take the gig, because they are your favorite band, be prepared to take a loss.
Actually that is a good rule across the board, always assume that any show you have will lose money. If it doesn't, bonus!
It is always better to pack a tiny room than play in a 200 person room to 50 people.
3. Bands on the other hand need to be realistic about their guarantees. It doesn't matter how popular you think you are or how popular you should be, because you are you and you are good, dammit. The reality is, that unless you have been around a very very long time, or have had a documented club hit, you should not be asking for a guarantee over say $100, if that.
Lets say you have a tour and the average guarantee you ask for is $100, thats really low, and most promoters can make that back. Awesome! because the next time, hopefully you can ask for more. However if you are a promoters favorite band, and you take advantage of that by asking $500 and the promoter loses money, they probably wont have you back. The idea everyone involved needs to embrace is longevity, not any individual show or tour.
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