HOW TO BOOK YOUR FIRST GIG!

So you’ve read our previous pieces about getting on in the music business. Now you’re ready to perform live! Here’s some tips on how to book your first gig and take your music to the people in real life!

Make a demo

You need a way to demonstrate your talent and your style to the booking agent. A recording of your best song or a YouTube video of you performing a cover or an original song is the best way to show a booker what you can offer.

Build your online presence

Make sure to have popular social media platforms to promote your music and gigs, such as twitter, instagram, facebook. Put your music onto spotify and soundcloud.

Research venues in your area

See what music goes down well in venues in your area and what will best fit you or your band. Make sure to research the venue to see what the size is, if there are any age restrictions and is it easily accessed for transport requirements.

Make a list of contacts

Create a list of contacts of the venues you are interested in. Perhaps talk to other smaller artists/bands in your area to see if they are willing to do a set for your gig as well and then maybe when they are going to be doing gigs, they will have you as part of their set, it’s all about networking with venues and other people.

Face to face

If you can go to the venue, when it’s not peak time, to speak to the manager or the promoter. This way you are able to pitch yourself, give them a demo and talk to them about what you want to do for your gig.

On time and be professional

Make sure to turn up on time as this will give you time to set up everything, soundcheck and it’s respectful to the staff as well. Make sure at the end of your set, promote a new song/album and give your business cards out and encourage people to sign up to your mailing list to keep up to date where you’ll be playing next and when.

Hopefully these tips help you to secure your first gig, let us know if they’ve been helpful and where you’ll be performing!

About the author

There’s a lot of music out there - good music. At Essentially Pop our remit is that we cover music that deserves to be heard, with a particular focus on independent artists. That doesn't mean we won't cover your old favourites - rather we hope to give you some new favourites as well.

We no longer accept unpaid PR agency work. We believe the creative arts have value, and this includes writing. As always, we will write about artists who contact us - or who we contact - for free - but we can no longer work free of charge for PR agencies. We work hard, we put in a lot of hours writing, and we ask that you respect that. Contact us for our very reasonable rates.

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