From the point of view of a folk club organizer, there is a bit of a difference between what would make me go to see a new act, and what would make me book one.

Word of mouth would encourage me to go and see them, but to book them I would probably want to see them perform somewhere first. If that is not possible, I would definitely want a CD to listen to. I also have to take into account what the tastes of my audience are, as well as my tastes, although we are pretty much aligned, and also their suitability for the venue, which in our case is a smallish acoustic space, set up as a coffee shop.

In our fairly small Sydney folk scene, it helps if people who want to be known go to as many folk clubs as they can and do floor spots. There is no money in it, but it pays off if you are seen. That's how the word of mouth can start.

As far as CD's are concerned, they can be misleading. Sometimes they are overproduced, and not really representative of what we would be getting. That is very annoying. Occasionally, the performers are better live than their CD's, although that is not common. One act I have booked for next year, sent me a CD but I had never seen her. I was unsure on the strength of the CD, but when I saw her live at a festival, I was so impressed I booked her on the spot.

In other words, have a demo or CD that is fairly representative of what your performer is like live.

And I agree that a good website with MP3's helps too.