Getting gigs at Festivals / Clubs

Subject: RE: Getting gigs at Festivals / Clubs
From: Rasener
Date: 12 Jul 06 - 06:47 AM

Agree there Anahata. However that good mailing list needs to cover the area that the performer is appearing.

No good a performer recognised in Devon sending e-mails to all the people down there. If they don't have anybody near my club, it would be a waste of time.
This comes back to the point of how well is the performer known in the territory they are visiting?

Subject: RE: Getting gigs at Festivals / Clubs
From: treewind
Date: 12 Jul 06 - 07:18 AM

My cunning plan is to make regional mailing lists.
Mine will be by county, but it could be some other system.
I'd send a promotional message to the list for the county where the gig is and typically to those adjacent.

Anahata

Subject: RE: Getting gigs at Festivals / Clubs
From: GUEST,Tom Bliss
Date: 12 Jul 06 - 07:24 AM

Exactly - the trouble is we already have about 50 thousand (I wish), and it's too late to ask where they are!

Subject: RE: Getting gigs at Festivals / Clubs
From: Rasener
Date: 12 Jul 06 - 07:41 AM

Spammer Bliss LOL

Thats a good way Anahata, and I am sure it will pay dividends in the future.

But seriously guys, you should be able in general to rely on the club to do the promotion especially if they are paying you a fee. Surely they want to recover as much money back as possible and provide a reasonable number of people to see you. I can never understand people who don't. Unless of course they just want to share you all to themselves. :-)

Subject: RE: Getting gigs at Festivals / Clubs
From: GUEST,Tom Bliss
Date: 12 Jul 06 - 07:59 AM

I agree it must be up to the clubs to do the main promotion, it's their bank balance after all. But we do have quite a few 'fans' who've met us at festivals, theatres or village halls, or came to us via internet CD sales for example, who are not habitual club visitors, and probably don't read the local folk mags either. They've signed up precisely so they'll know when we're next in the area, but we don't use the list for that purpose because we really would be spamming!

Subject: RE: Getting gigs at Festivals / Clubs
From: GUEST
Date: 12 Jul 06 - 09:22 AM

Tom - why don't you email everyone on yor list, explain that you are changing the way you hold your database and ask them to let you know where they are - it worked for the band I work for. Quite a bit of work at my end but worth it now.

Subject: RE: Getting gigs at Festivals / Clubs
From: treewind
Date: 12 Jul 06 - 12:07 PM

"They've signed up precisely so they'll know when we're next in the area, but we don't use the list for that purpose because we really would be spamming"

Er..., so how do you use the list?

Anahata

Subject: RE: Getting gigs at Festivals / Clubs
From: GUEST,Tom Bliss
Date: 12 Jul 06 - 01:15 PM

CD launches, occasional news, major tours when we're going everywhere anyway, and emergency notices when a gig is cancelled at the last minute. We should use it more, though, and I have thought of guest's suggestion before, but it's a lot of work to field all the emails and add the data to the database, and I'm both busy and lazy - plus I suspect a lot of people wouldn't actually answer. Many seem to see email as in 'entry only' medium!

Subject: RE: Getting gigs at Festivals / Clubs
From: DebC
Date: 12 Jul 06 - 05:45 PM

Hi Tom Bliss, Anahata and all,

I have separate mailing lists for the US and UK. The UK one is email-only, the US one is both snail-mail and email. When I am going to be in a region of the US, I send out postcards targeting that specific region and listing all the gigs in that region. I use Filemaker Pro and I can restrict the database to a range of postal codes.

My email lists are opt-in. This means that I send the person an email inviting them to join and click on a link. If they do not want to join, the invite email can just be ignored. Anyone on my lists can be unsubscribed anytime. So the only folks on my lists are people who want to be there.

Anyone in the UK who would like to be on my UK list does need to send me an email as then form on my website is only for the US list.

One thing that was interesting: in the UK, I have put mailing lists out and no one signed them. Is that usual?

Debra Cowan

Subject: RE: Getting gigs at Festivals / Clubs
From: GUEST,Tom Bliss
Date: 12 Jul 06 - 06:53 PM

Hi Debra

I find people only sign if i make a big point of it during the gig. I find it hard enough to remember to plug the CDs, radiobritfolk, the next gig etc and often I forget to tell people about the list. Some gigs no-one signs. Possibly people know they can see where you are playing on your website so don't feel a need to go on the list. We get about 800 hits a week, so maybe that is what people prefer.

Tom

Subject: RE: Getting gigs at Festivals / Clubs
From: Sooz
Date: 13 Jul 06 - 02:46 AM

I haven't bothered to sign up on mailing lists for ages. I keep up with the doings of artists I like through their websites and with what is going on in a 40 mile radius from our local publication "Folktalk" on paper or on line and our local radio station.
For our local events I only book artists I have seen live and who I think will go down well with our audience. I've broken this rule only three times to book artists on the strength of an unsolicited CD sent through the post. Two of these were very good moves and the third wasn't. I always listen to CDs and pass them around our committee but out of hundreds only three made it pass the "see live first" barrier!
I always try to get our booked artists featured on local radio station and encourage them to send a CD. It may not affect the turnout on the night but it does raise the awareness of a wider audience and have more effect further down the line.
As to getting bookings for ourselves, we try to visit as many clubs and festivals as possible. This does lead to bookings, but we have also fallen into the trap of visiting the ones who seem to like us quite often so they don't need to book us!

Subject: RE: Getting gigs at Festivals / Clubs
From: GUEST,maryrrf
Date: 13 Jul 06 - 09:25 PM

I was extremely fortunate, when I decided to try my luck with a 6 week tour in Scotland in 2006, to manage to get 11 gigs. I accomplished this by a combination of phoning and e-mailing, and sending out promo packages. None of them had ever heard me live (because I'd never performed in Scotland before). Every organizer I talked to was very nice and helpful and although it did take a lot of persistence I thought 11 bookings wasn't too bad for the first try.   

In Richmond, Virginia I help run a small concert series that's been going for about a year - well it stopped for a while because we lost our venue but we think we've got that sorted out so we can get back up and running. So this has given me the experience of being the booker, whereas for many years I've been the one looking for gigs. I do book acts that I haven't seen live on the basis of their websites, their soundclips or CDs, word of mouth, and also judging by other places that have booked them. Our focus is strictly traditional, so that narrows the field quite a bit.   So far we haven't had one act disappoint us. There were a couple of times where we didn't manage to bring in much of an audience, but there doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason to that either. We've had complete unknowns bring in a fairly respectable crowd, and some people who are quite good and known locally who didn't manage to attract many people at all. I think a lot depends on what else is going on at the time in the area. We do most the promotion, but we are delighted if the artist has an e-mail list and gets the word out.

I will mention one thing that is a real turn off - and that is a performer who doesn't have at least a basic website. We do a lot of our promotion by e-mail,and it really helps if we can direct people to a website that has a few pictures and soundclips. I think nowadays a website is an absolutely necessary tool for an artists who wants to get booked. That said, there have been one or two people that I liked so much I whipped up a basic website for them - so I guess for me talent and a strong committment to traditional music, making them a good fit for our series, is the important thing.   

As for myself, I've pretty much decided that chasing after bookings was starting to make music too much like work, and prefer to just sing and play for myself at home, or on the occasions when I can make it to a get together with like minded folks.

It has been interesting, however, to get a feel for both sides of the gigging experience.

Subject: RE: Getting gigs at Festivals / Clubs
From: GUEST
Date: 13 Jul 06 - 09:53 PM

I admit to skimming through some of the posts here but readily agree with what a few have to say. We have hade quite a few artists which have no known "name" and heard only by promo CD. Despite the lack of awareness, we have built an audience, and continue to build an `audience through sheer determination and persistence, booking good acts, even though quite unknown, and relying on quality performers. Sometimes those who lack quality are disappointed at not being booked. If bands want to be booked then do your stuff, do a job, please the bookers who will then look after you and pay a reasonable fee. Fair do's

BTW ; Have you heard The Crooked Jades or The Stairwell Sisters?"

Subject: RE: Getting gigs at Festivals / Clubs
From: the lemonade lady
Date: 26 Jul 06 - 06:36 PM

Just a little update: We (Shot Dogs) [myspace.com/shotdogs] had great fun doing our showcase at Llantrisant Folk Club in Pontyclun, S. Wales on 12th July. On the strength of it Andy Jackson from Miskin has said we are to perform at his festival at Easter next year. The reception was wonderfully welcoming and I've never laughed so much. Pat Spoons is such a clever hostess! I highly recommend this club if you're in the area.

Sal

Subject: RE: Getting gigs at Festivals / Clubs
From: GUEST
Date: 26 Jul 06 - 06:53 PM

Tom, my mailing list is filed on cards by postcode. When I'm doing a gig I check the postcodes of surrounding towns,etc take them out of the boxes and then send an E mail to those same people on my mailing list in the computer which is arranged by name. Easy. Other way is to send out a three monthly E mail of gigs to all on your list using the scattergun technique.

Subject: RE: Getting gigs at Festivals / Clubs
From: GUEST,.gargoyle
Date: 26 Jul 06 - 10:12 PM

Universal since "Homer sang the Illiad" it has always been...

"who you know"

Summer 2006 the best season ever - (with particular thank-you's to the UK and European restrictions) knowledge based exploitation, because of Max and the Mudcat and its freqent contributors.

My Gawd How The Money Rolls In!!!

Sincerely,
Gargoyle

Bail me out of jail in INDIA.