Be Your Own Booking Agent

Booking Your Own Gigs

Not all independent musicians can afford a booking agent or manager, even though hiring one is great way to just focus on your music while having someone else do all the dirty work.  Since we are not so fortunate, we must do all this ourselves.  In the pic above, members of the band, Poly Essence book their own gigs and make a living as musicians.  Anyone can do it even with no experience!  In this article I will tell you all you need to know about booking your own gigs and promoting yourself.

Poly Essence

Creating your EPK

An EPK or Electronic Press Kit is your band portfolio and is how you book gigs at bars, venues, events and festivals.  It’s pretty much mandatory to have an EPK nowadays since the entertainment directors receive an overwhelming amount of musicians reaching out to them to perform at their venue,  so most require you to submit your EPK.  So what’s does your EPK consist of?  A cover letter introducing your band and describing your style of music, your band name and contact information, a biography with all band members listed, band logo and several band photos, 2 or 3 of your best songs, your social media links, and any reputable press coverage or achievements.  Make sure everything has correct spelling and grammar, the songs are of good quality, the pictures are professional, and kept up to date. It’s also good to have hard copies of your press kit for booking gigs in person.  Use a portfolio binder to keep it all together, it can be very inexpensive to get at the dollar store.  Make sure to include a demo or full length album.

Social Media Promotion

Promoting yourself on Facebook, Twitter, and ReverbNation is definitely a must.  Venues want to know how many followers you have on these social media sites to see how popular the band is.  They want to make sure you can draw a crowd and make them money before they hire you.  Make sure you have band profiles up up to date and promote yourself daily on each site.  Invite friends to like your band pages, make sure to personally interact with your growing fans and encourage fans to share your band pages and music.  If more people show up to your event, the more likely you will be booked again.  

Finding Venues

Open mic nights at bars and clubs is a great way to audition for future gigs.  If the venue likes you they will book you for a future date or you can even get a steady gig where you are booked weekly or monthly.  Call local venues and ask who is in charge of booking management.  Ask if you may have their contact info.  Send a personal email and address contact person correctly.  Put your cover letter and contact info in the email and attach your EPK.  Make sure to thank them for their time and consideration.  Many venues only like to be contacted by email.  If you try to book the gig in person, it’s likely the venue will turn you away and tell you to email booking management.  Also, make sure to book gigs at least one month in advance to give yourself and the venue enough time to promote the show.  

Promote! Promote! Promote!

Create flyers and posters for each event, then submit your event to local magazines and newspapers.  Create an event on Facebook and Our City Radio, make sure to invite fans to your online events and be regularly active on the event page to get people excited for the show.  Also, make sure to hang flyers in venues at least a month in advance.

It’s All About Who You Know

In this business it’s all about networking with the right people.  Getting to know other musicians, especially with similar music style can get you more connections and opportunities.  You can hop on another bands tour or be asked to cover a gig for them.  Another good way to network is social media.  You can join music groups, search for local promoters, and easily connect with others in the industry.

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