This is one of the most frequently asked questions we hear. How do I get bookings? People think they need a manager to get bookings but in reality, there are other factors that can play a major role and give you way more bookings then the right manager. Actually to find the right manager is a whole nother chapter.

Get bookings is actually simple. Do as many free gigs as possible, grow your fanbase and the bookings will follow… Sounds to easy right? Check the words that I used one more time, I said it’s simple but it won’t be easy. It will require you a lot of work to get to that point. Be your own booking agent until you start selling out shows in your hometown. You need to be able to sell out shows for about 150 people in your city and cities nearby. This is when you start getting interesting for a booking agent.

It’s all about what you can move. There are two reasons for that:

1. Booking Agents don’t work for free
2. If you don’t rock your own crowd why should anybody else book you?

So number 1 is that they need to get their check. Let’s say you get a sold-out show 150 people times $10 per ticket. This means your revenue is $1,500. Off this money the booking agent percentage is interesting but if you are struggling to earn $200 per show it’s not appealing to any booking agent. Think about it, a professional booking agent makes his living from that commission of your revenue. This commission lays anywhere around 15% so it has to add up. This is what makes it so difficult for musicians with small or no fanbase to get a professional booking agent. And believe us you only want the professionals!

Number 2 is about your reputation. If you are looking for a booking agent, then you must convince the agent why anybody would book you. And one thing I want to get clear ahead of time your music doesn’t matter at this point. A lot of upcoming musicians see it the wrong way. They believe because of their high-quality music they will rock the crowd as soon as they get the right bookings. But in reality, it’s the other way around. You have to prove first that the crowd rocks with you by building a fanbase and establishing your name. If you don’t have a fanbase and already rock shows, there is a very small chance of getting a professional booking agent.

Build a Fanbase

So this is what you need to do, get you 100 raving fans. 100 raving fans will change your whole career. These 100 raving fans will help you to establish a fanbase of thousands the fastest way possible. Attend everywhere you can. Make yourself a name in your city, hand out mixtapes, run social media, open mics and so on. And everywhere you go you make sure to interact with the crowd make them follow you on social media and have them downloading your mixtape etc.

Live Shows

As mentioned go to every live show, you can attend. If you want to get bookings it’s important that your performance is on point. You have to be on top of your game especially if you get bookings in new cities where you might not be as familiar with the crowd as in your hometown. If you are able to make an unknown crowd rock with you, you won. So see those performances as a playground to learn, but take is serious, no matter how small the crowd is, always perform as you would in front of a filled stadium.

Develop Relationships with Venue Owners

While performing around your city make sure to network with everybody. You never know who will open the next door. Some of the most important partners, in the beginning, are the venue owner and promoters. But sometimes you are lucky and somebody actually is looking for new artists to watch. On the other hand, don’t forget to network with other musicians who you feel. If you like somebodies music, let them know and get connected. Maybe this person will recommend you at his next event.