How to Book Venues for Your Band
Before you book a venue for your band, there are a few things you will need to do. This includes having a demo and putting together a press package. After distributing this material to potential venues, you might make some contacts. Make sure to treat the various promoters you meet with respect.
- Make a demo or finished CD of your band. To book a venue, you need to have something that managers at venues can listen to. You can rent a studio to record your demo, although you can also make a home recording if you have an audio recorder available. To save the cost of printing CDs, you can also direct promoters and booking agents to a website (such as Myspace) where you upload your music for others to listen to.
- Put together a press package of your band. This will include information about your band, including a description of the style of music it plays. Also include any press coverage and snippets of positive reviews.
- Distribute your demo and press kit to potential music venues. This would include bars, nightclubs, coffee houses, farmer's markets and seasonal festivals. Take a stroll around your neighborhood to see whether there are any venues that you might have overlooked. Whenever you find a venue that you think might host a music show, leave your demo and press kit with the manager of the establishment.
- Send your music demo and press kit to various booking agents. As an adjunct to contacting venue managers, you can use booking agents to get you gigs. Booking agents have contacts in the music business who can open doors for you, especially if they like your music. The booking agent will receive as his payment a percentage of whatever your band makes at the venue where he helped book you.