Members skylaiden Posted March 30, 2009 Members Posted March 30, 2009 Or is there some other music business person I should be looking for? How much do these guys cost?
Members sharnrock Posted March 30, 2009 Members Posted March 30, 2009 The music business person you should be looking for is the bar or club manager/owner. They will get a gig at their bar/club. You don't need a manager to do this. If you're booking a national tour that is different. Until then, you're going to have to work. Your music isn't going to take you anywhere. It's where you take your music.
Members skylaiden Posted March 30, 2009 Author Members Posted March 30, 2009 Makes sense. At any rate, do you know how much managers or publicists are, and how much easier they make it to get gigs? Depending on the figure, we just might pay a guy to do the work for us.
Members skylaiden Posted March 30, 2009 Author Members Posted March 30, 2009 Anyone else want to weigh in?
Members MDLMUSIC Posted March 30, 2009 Members Posted March 30, 2009 Sounds to me like what you want is a booking agent. They don't make any decisions about your musical styles or what kind of show you do. They just book you into a venue and take a cut of your pay, usually 10 to 20 percent.
Moderators daddymack Posted March 30, 2009 Moderators Posted March 30, 2009 Sounds to me like what you want is a booking agent. They don't make any decisions about your musical styles or what kind of show you do. They just book you into a venue and take a cut of your pay, usually 10 to 20 percent. Exactly...a Publicist won't get you gigs, and a manager, well, until you are rolling in dough, you don't really need one.Put together a kit and go find some local booking agencies, or approach clubs oy uwant to play.
Members connonaut Posted March 30, 2009 Members Posted March 30, 2009 Anyone know of any good booking agencies in the NY/NJ/CT area?
Moderators daddymack Posted March 31, 2009 Moderators Posted March 31, 2009 what, no google on your computer?
Members connonaut Posted March 31, 2009 Members Posted March 31, 2009 what, no google on your computer? I guess the reason I'm here and not Google is because I could get info from guys who have already worked with these biz people, so I can have a better idea of what to expect.
Moderators daddymack Posted March 31, 2009 Moderators Posted March 31, 2009 Fair enough...okay NuYawkuz, can ya help dis guy out or wut? (I was born in Brooklyn)
Members Kramerguy Posted March 31, 2009 Members Posted March 31, 2009 I guess the reason I'm here and not Google is because I could get info from guys who have already worked with these biz people, so I can have a better idea of what to expect. I agree. Google results are mixed at best, most of the stuff that pops up are dot.com startups with gmail accounts for contact info, most likely 40-year old fat bald guys living in their moms basements, and most likely the best they can do is book you for a $50 gig at an old folks home. Gotta know people.
Members MDLMUSIC Posted March 31, 2009 Members Posted March 31, 2009 I agree. Google results are mixed at best, most of the stuff that pops up are dot.com startups with gmail accounts for contact info, most likely 40-year old fat bald guys living in their moms basements, and most likely the best they can do is book you for a $50 gig at an old folks home. Gotta know people. Actually, with the way things are going out here in SoCal gigwise, I'd be pretty happy to land a $50 gig at an old folks home.
Members connonaut Posted March 31, 2009 Members Posted March 31, 2009 Actually, with the way things are going out here in SoCal gigwise, I'd be pretty happy to land a $50 gig at an old folks home. I'd have to agree!
Moderators daddymack Posted April 1, 2009 Moderators Posted April 1, 2009 Actually, with the way things are going out here in SoCal gigwise, I'd be pretty happy to land a $50 gig at an old folks home. sad to say...I thought you were going solo for the big $...
Members connonaut Posted April 1, 2009 Members Posted April 1, 2009 So HC Forums, any positive experiences with booking agents around NY/NJ/CT?
Members Kramerguy Posted April 1, 2009 Members Posted April 1, 2009 try these guys, kinda not your area, but they do have some stuff: http://www.mediafiveent.com/ The beauty of booking agents is that you are not under contract with most of them to exclusively use them, you can get 3-4 different agents and you only pay for gigs they get. **note - NEVER EVER use a booking agency that wants a monthly or up-front processing fee, on top of the gig cut / percentage, to use their service(s). No valid agency should ever charge you extra. (some agents DO charge monthly fees, but don't charge per gig, which is okay, but not preferred)
Members MartinC Posted April 1, 2009 Members Posted April 1, 2009 Anyone else want to weigh in? A PR agent could be the best money you ever spend if it's the right person. They can get you press, TV, radio, etc. But only if they are experienced. They use their contacts to make stuff happen. They have relationships with journalists, etc. I think it could be a waste of money to pay someone who's not experienced in the area. But for paying gigs, you need a good agent.
Members connonaut Posted April 1, 2009 Members Posted April 1, 2009 Ok, got it. Great stuff. Thanks fellas.
Members Brad Litton Posted April 3, 2009 Members Posted April 3, 2009 A publicist might be good for actually getting the gigs, i.e. receiving calls about possible gigs, but a manager is good for going out and talking to venues to get gigs and should handle the management of the gigs. The PR agent should be used for promotion of gigs and such, either way, both are handy to have around.
Members Karma1 Posted April 9, 2009 Members Posted April 9, 2009 I've been looking into publicists lately, and man, they are expensive! One guy I spoke to who has some high profile clients charges $2500 a month. A couple others were in the $4000 to $7000 range for a PR campaign. I'd have to sell a truckload of cd's to break even on that kind of expense, let alone make any profit. I'm not looking for gigs as much as promo and publicity for my albums.
Members connonaut Posted April 10, 2009 Members Posted April 10, 2009 I've been looking into publicists lately, and man, they are expensive! One guy I spoke to who has some high profile clients charges $2500 a month. A couple others were in the $4000 to $7000 range for a PR campaign. I'd have to sell a truckload of cd's to break even on that kind of expense, let alone make any profit. I'm not looking for gigs as much as promo and publicity for my albums. Wow, that is balls. I guess if you're popular enough, you can afford that sort of thing though.
Members MusicGuy101 Posted April 11, 2009 Members Posted April 11, 2009 I guess if you believe in your material enough and feel all it takes to sell a unit is someone reading about you and looking you up cause it's that good, then you need to get your name in front of as many people as possible and a PR campaign will help with that. If it's worth the investment ... depends if you're looking at it only in album sales (which dam, if you get a return on it, please share who ran your campaign), or the potential opportunities that come from it? Back to the post though, the business person you're looking for is a booking agent.
Members connonaut Posted April 11, 2009 Members Posted April 11, 2009 recording an impressive number of full-lengths albums plus an assortment of EPs and ... Later that year, BYO Records got the band to release the NOFX/Rancid split .... making them one of the most successful independent acts of all time. ... to achieve a position on the US Billboard charts, peaking at number 63. ... There is no question that I think about NOFX's success. It's inspiring. I really, really like to know how they did it.
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