10 Tips for Booking More (and Better) Shows

Written by Michael Eastwood Founder & CEO of Mastermind Promotion

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10 Tips for Booking More (and Better) Shows

Booking gigs isn’t always as easy as you expect it to be. As for booking quality gigs…well, the gap between the two is pretty massive to say the least. Which is precisely why it’s important to make the most of every show you put on, treating it as though it might be your very last. Leaving a lasting impression can have a huge impact on future bookings, so approaching a semi-lame gig with a half-assed approach really isn’t in your best interests.

To try and ensure you don’t end up in a rut, here’s a quick rundown of 10 tips to help you land more gigs. Maybe even better gigs, if you’re lucky;

Crystal Starr at Music Industry Event Spring Board

Booking gigs isn’t always as easy as you expect it to be. As for booking quality gigs…well, the gap between the two is pretty massive to say the least. Which is precisely why it’s important to make the most of every show you put on, treating it as though it might be your very last. Leaving a lasting impression can have a huge impact on future bookings, so approaching a semi-lame gig with a half-assed approach really isn’t in your best interests.

To try and ensure you don’t end up in a rut, here’s a quick rundown of 10 tips to help you land more gigs. Maybe even better gigs, if you’re lucky:

  1. Start Small and Work From There

As already mentioned, getting off to a successful start means to a large extent taking any work that comes your way. The reason being that along with building a strong fan base, you also need to develop an impressive portfolio of your live experiences. Most promoters won’t even consider giving you the time of day, unless you can provide them with plenty of evidence of one or both of these selling points.

  1. Assemble an Online Package

Speaking of which, you need to get as professional as possible when it comes to both the audio and video clips you make available online. Consider dedicating an entire area of your website to showcasing and generally showing off how incredible you are live. Anyone with even the slightest interest in you will make a beeline for your website – make sure they’re suitably impressed.

Mastermind Artist Shingai performing at her Launch event at The Jazz Cafe London

  1. Be Realistic

Under no circumstances should you put any effort into booking the kinds of shows where you’re going to make yourself look disastrously unpopular. Supporting another band is one thing, as it really doesn’t matter if only six of your own fans turn up. If you’re the headline act however, playing to an empty hall isn’t going to work wonders for your reputation. Be realistic and don’t over estimate your popularity. Not yet, anyway.

  1. Confidence and Professionalism

When it comes to both booking the show in the first place and absolutely everything else that follows, you need to remain a bastion of confidence and professionalism at all times. Nervousness is never a reassuring sign, neither is anything that gives the impression you’re in a pit of pure desperation to book something. Present yourself well and give the whole process the respect it deserves.

  1. Avoid Arrogance

That being said, you need to be very much aware of that fine line between confidence and arrogance. If at any point you come across as something of an ego-maniac during the booking process, you might leave a sour taste in their mouth…along with every other promoter and booker they decide to speak to.

  1. Be Punctual

A quick point but an important point nonetheless, promoters and bookers across the board have absolutely no time for acts of any kind that can’t be 100% punctual without exception. If you’re not going to make the effort to be where you need to be at the time you need to be there, don’t bother booking in the first place.

  1. Stay Sober(ish)

Nobody’s going to stop you having a few beers before and after the show, but you can rest assured that coming across as a drunk or a druggie isn’t going to work. Sure, there may be plenty of bands and artists that have built their own brands around getting and staying blotto most of the time. You aren’t one of them, which means you won’t get away with it. You’re still in the construction stages of your career, when this kind of image and reputation could ruin you.

  1. Practice Your Show

Forget about simply practicing your songs, you need to practice the whole show. Think about absolutely everything that’s going to happen during your set, rather than winging it on the night. Not only will you be more confident and comfortable, but there will be considerably less likelihood of things going wrong.

  1. Thank the Management

It’s important to express your genuine appreciation to the management after the show, but this doesn’t mean a drunken handshake or a generic Tweet. Instead, think about sending them or handing them an actual greetings card, maybe with a small gift of some sort just to say thanks. If you’re looking to leave a lasting impression for all the right reasons, this is a good way of going about it.

  1. Update your Website

Last but not least, take absolutely everything of value from the show and use it to improve and enhance your website. Along with boasting video clips, photographs, audio and so on, get your fans to add their own comments and maybe even send you their own media. In addition, be sure to thank your fans and do whatever it takes to keep the buzz alive via socials media. What you do after the show will often prove to be just as important and influential as the show itself…maybe even more so.