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How To Negotiate A Gig For Your Band
Once you have located a club or venue that would be suitable for your band, try
calling the venue and ask for the person who books bands for the club.
Offer to send out your Band Press Kit and
Demo CD and let them know you would like to call back
in a few days. Call Back once they listen to your demo and review your Press Kit.
Remember club bookers usually work at night so you may have to call during the
evening or at night. Now that you have sent your Press Kit (Including Demo
CD) and
have a potentially interested club booking agent, it's time to negotiate a gig for
you band.
Start up bands you may want to offer to play for free to get
exposure for your band. Eventually, you may gain a fan base and shows and
have to negotiate a gig. Now that the club booker has listened to your
demo and may be interested in your act, it's time to negotiate and get your band
a gig. Many times a booker has a specific price or arrangement that they
have for bands. For example, there are a variety of ways a club can pay
for your bands services. They may offer Door or a percentage of the Door
amount. This means that they will charge a fee at the door to whoever
shows up to see your act. So, what you make is up to how many people you
can draw to the venue. The more people you get to the show the more you
will make. The club may also only give you a certain percentage of the
door. Negotiate this ahead of time so you know what percentage you will be
making at the venue.
A club owner may also offer you a Flat Fee to play the club. For example,
the club may offer $200 for your bands services. This is a flat fee and
they should pay you that amount no matter how many people come to the show.
You still want a good number of people at the show for exposure and to keep the
club owner happy. Another way that clubs pay you is a flat fee plus door
which means you'll get a guaranteed amount plus door or a percentage of door.
Sometimes, you can negotiate free food or drinks for you band as well.
Talk about all these things when negotiating with the club band booker.
One Tip to remember. Just because you negotiate it, doesn't mean that you
will get that amount at the end of the show. Some club owners are more
reputable than others. One excuse a club owner may use to short your
negotiated fee is that you didn't bring in enough people to the show. So
make sure you promote your gig. So, if
you don't have a signed contract, it may be difficult to get what you verbally
negotiated. Most start up bands don't have contracts signed and just want
to play music. While this may be ok at first, eventually you'll want to
get a contract signed or get in with a booking agent that will take care of this
for your band. A booking agent will negotiate usually a standard fee for
getting your band a gig. They will take a percentage of your earnings, but
they will do all the negotiating for your gigs. If you want to learn how
to work up contracts for your band a great resource is the book 'Music Law' How
to Run Your Bands Business. It comes with a CD containing all the basic
contracts your band should need. It's a great do it yourself (DIY) Resource for
bands.
If you plan on negotiating a show with a verbal agreement just be aware of the
pitfalls listed above. Try networking with other bands and make sure which
clubs are reputable and which ones are not. Chalk it up to experience if
you get stiffed on a gig. It happens to almost every band at some time in
their career. It just gives your band more reason to play reputable clubs,
use contracts, and possibly get a booking agent.
Some other things to talk about with a booker are PA Sound, Sound Techs, and
Lighting. Ask the venue if they have any or all of these items. If
so, do they charge the band to use their services. It depends on the
venue. Some clubs have PA's and sound guys, some do not. If the club
does not have a sound board etc. you will have to supply the PA, Sound Tech, and
or Lighting. Make sure the club will pay you enough to cover these items.
Check with your local music store to see if they rent out these items and supply
a sound tech. You will need to give them an idea of the venue size (how
many people will be at the venue), When, Where, and How long you will be
performing at the club. These will all factor into the price. The PA
Rental Co. will quote you a price based on what you tell them. These
services can get expensive depending on the venue, so get a quote before you
negotiate your pay for a gig.
Listed above are some tips on negotiating gigs for your band. These ideas
should lead you in the right direction to start booking your band. Good
Luck on negotiating your next gig.
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