Endorsments

Do any of you guy's have endorsment deals with any drum manufacturers? If so, how did you go about getting it? Did the company go to you or did you go to the company?

Be in a good band, playing good shows, all the time, get on the road, tour, sell some cd's.... then they will find you.

Oh, sure, I've got lots of endorsements. Tama, Remo, Sabian, Vic Firth, Adidas, Kellogg's Pop-Tarts... Heh heh.

Seriously though, most companies' web sites have a page with endorsement criteria. Most of them are like what joe stanman said above.

Eli

they dont do it just to help someone out by giving them free {censored}... its advertising... so unless you are in a place thats going to be exposing their product to what they consider potential customers, they probably wont be intrested. You see a ton of {censored}ty musicians get endorsements because they are on stage in front of a ton of people and are exposed alot. however, teachers can get pretty good deals relatively easily. they generally dont start off giving you free stuff either, usually discounts and the ability to get some new products faster etc. your best bet to getting free anything associated with being in a band [women, clothes, sticks, drums, food, drinks] is to perfect your package [band] and your presentation [show and records] and prove to them with packed clubs and DIY album sales that you are a worthwhile advertising venue.

Right now I have a few pending deals. one with RegalTip and one with MRP drums...basicaly they have me doing a lot of advertising, Mark Ross (MRP) sent me a bass head for my custom kit, and both companies are probably going to sponcer my Cliniqe later this summer.

I get asked this a lot at my site(s) and in email. Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz (drummer for Weird Al) actually took the time to write a great response on this some time ago and I typically just refer folks to his site to the endorsements FAQ.

http://www.bermudaschwartz.com/

I'll echo Jon's admonishment to never endorse anything you don't believe in.

#1 - practice.

#2 - Practice More.

#3 - If you want endorsements, start with local stuff like a music store for you & your band or local microbrew etc... . You want free stuff and your name associated with a brand name, so do we all, but that's not always going to happen. Start small and build up.

I know that you have to be a good drummer to get them. Thats not what Im asking. I've been drumming for seven years, and I play shows with my band regularly. I just know people who say they get their heads and sticks for free from endorsment deals. Thats all I'm talking about. I never said I want my name associated with a brand name. Being someone who has played all over, I just have never been approached for an endorsment of any kind. So, I was wondering If you have to go to them. Thats all.

chances are - you will not get approached.

My girlfreind was endorsed by Rocket Shells.

She is in the middle of writing an article for a couple of different mags...once it's been approved by editiors for copy....i will post it. It answers all of your questions.

You basically have to have something worth offering the company that you want to endorse you. This comes in the form of exposure and drum sales. In Jennifers case (girlfriend) she is required to pass out promotional material for Rocket Shells, mention them on stage and put information about them on thier bands website.

So you know most endorsements are only partial but can be very substantial. As you proove your worth - you get more of an endoresment. JUST playing in the local area will not be enough to get it done - you must be able to make money BACK for the company. If your band is touring then you have a shot.

Ill let her post the article when finished - as it will be more complete that what i can type so look for it in a few days.

What you may want to consider is sending out press packs to the companies your interested in dealing with. Get yourself to the NAMM show and go meet the senior brass of the company. Then it's up to your sales skills....you will need to sell yourself as a drummer - not on your drumming skills - but what you to offer as a drummer to a drum manufacture, stick or head manufacture.

Good luck

To add to what Steamyz wrote...

If you are looking for endorsement from one of the big manufacturers (drums, cymbals, heads, mikes/PA, cases), then you need to be known on a regional, national and international level. Being known means 'visibility' and 'influence'.

To quote the Sabian website re endorsement:

"By the time your career has reached the point where an endorsement is a possibility, chances are we will already know who you are."

Smaller manufacturers may consider endorsing bands/players with less visibility and influence, but they aren't going to just give stuff to any drummer (I wonder how many companies actually give their products to artists). Let's face it, they want to move their companies up the ladder and one way to do that is to work with influencial bands/players.

I would say focus on building your level of visibility and inlfuence. Do this by playing as many shows as you can (not just in your home town/state) AND attend events like NAMM to press the flesh with the manufacturers.

I'm sure the article Steamyz's girlfriend is putting together will offer some interesting insights.

Sound advise indeed. To accent your points....the smaller companies look to start with lessor known artists. This is really the back-bone behind Jennifers endorsement. Being marketable as a female was the other key. Rocket Shells is looking to capture the female drum market by launching a female oriented line of drums. Because of the carbon materials properties being such that you can get a bigger sound from a smaller drum - it work perfectly. Also the ability they have to customize and create diverse colorings (you can use fabric and lay under the poly finsh coat as YOUR final coat - fully customized) lends itself towards the female market. So you see why they would be looking to endorse a female drummer in the scene. I'm sure they will also look to pick up a MAJOR female drummer on the national/internation scene.

NAMM is how it started with here - meeting with Paul Hewitt of RS as she sat playing their drums. He said most girls sit down a whack around and say they are with their boyfriends...she sat and played...and shes in a band hopefully on it's way.

From there he said to call her to work out a deal. She did - sent a re-worked band press pack and CD (made herself more prominant in the press pack) and sent it off. She then followd up a week later and lect i knew we were on are way up to Sacramento to pick out a fully custom set of drums.

I tell you all of this to give more of an idea of how she made it happen for herself. It helped finding a company that was looking to get into the female market - but put on your thinking cap and you can do it too.

Here are some ideas

Find a drum company or stick and head company that has a LACK of local dealers in your area. Maybe your local drum shop does not carry much of thier stuff. Make contact with your local stores and talk to them about carrying the products. Get names and numbers. Contact the manufacture your looking at "partnering" with or being endoresed by and tell them "i play here - and here and here - here is my music - i live here - and here is a list of local stores with contact info i think may be interested in carrying your product. I play every so often and know allot of drummers in the area - and i think they would be impressed with your products as am I.

Start there - fill in all those blanks - but chances are you MAY get looked at depending on how you do your homework.

Hope that helps :-)

I think its really important to not get an endorsment because of an endorsment but truly believe in the product you endorse.

Its true the bigies out there dont give any stuff away just because you play a lot...but why should anyone give it to somebody who is more interested in free-goodies then the actual product?

I ve been offered endorsments from "lesser" known-brands but I couldnt see the point in playing on a set/cymbals while I knew I had a better (in my opinion) sounding set at home..

Also contacts helped a lot, as you can see below I have an endorsment of Masterwork cymbals.

I really helped I knew the founder of the company before he started this new brand BUT..I would not choose to play these if I didnt like them better then the cymbals I played true out the years...

Good point! I think it is very important to seek the company you want to work with.

What most people dont get is that it is a cymiotic relationship - one that is mutually benificial. In "our" case with RS - we are providing not only the above mentioned exposure BUT also recording samples with the MAY/Audix internal MIC system for them to study. Since i run FOH and tech for Jennifer when playing live as well as my own gigs - feed back from us is valuable to RS. They do not have too many $10,000 kits with the MAY system floating around. In fact they have only 2 drummers touring with them now and only 2 full length recordings done with the MAY system in thier drums. Both cases did not yeild the type of stuff i will be providing. I will also be engineering and co-producing her bands next disk so i will have the hands on feed back.

Some of the things i am documenting:

May/Audix mic placement and proximity to batter head

Tuning differences

Live recording

Live sound

Set-up time variances at different LA venues

FOH staff opinions/interviews

So you can see all of this makes endorsing an artist worth it to a small company like RS. LOVING the products (it was love at first site and sound with RS) you work with is important.

Small companies dont have the time and resources the biggies do for stuff like this. They dont have product managers and a marketing department. Offer to help with this - prove yourself to be trustworthy, knowledgeable and careing about their company.

I am really pleased with this thread - i for one would like to see more intelligant discussion among us drummers than "who is the best drummer thread".