Re: So Sensitive
Posted: Fri May 21, 2010 12:15 am
From my knowledge, the really good booking agents that work for a lot of the bigger indie labels and have all the good relationships won't just book for any band. They usually want a band that will definitely make them some money and I don't think they charge upfront. Unknown bands are usually stuck with the pay before they work for you guys.Le Chat Noir wrote:I don't know how it works Stateside, but here it is actually illegal for legit booking agents to charge money up front - they are only allowed to operate on a percentage of fee basis.baytamusic wrote:I've always wanted to hire a booking agent in past bands, never wanted to pay for it.
We used to just do the best we could doing it ourselves. It gets easier the more times you go out since you make contacts. I haven't toured in 8 years though. The internet is much better now.
We only talked to one bunch in the States, who wanted something like 3 grand up front to organise a tour! Of course, over here we just use booking agents to organise the shows and do all the gear/accommodation booking and such ourselves - these guys were a full-on PR company too and wanted to help us with promotion, gear hire etc. Still, that's 3 grand we don't haveI'm quite happy doing it ourselves over here, but for an organised US tour we'd need someone who knows the scene over there to help us out!
Thanks for the link Wendigo, will check it out.
That being said, one of my buddies is in a band on Matador Records and he said what really helped them get big was a publicist. My advice would be to book the best shows you can by yourself, and hire a publicist to get you some hype in the respective cities before you play there. They'll get you in the local publications and maybe some radio play on the indie labels there, among who knows what else. Obviously the internet plays a huge roll in promotions these days as well. That's our game plan when we get our stuff rolling.
