The Music Hustle

How to Book the Gig

Andy Penk

• Publisher: New Degree Press
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781636763781
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Médias et arts de la scène
• Subtopic: Musique et affaires

Believe in yourself. Believe in your songs. Believe in the music.

The Music Hustle: How to Book the Gig is the essential guidebook for budding musicians looking to break into the local music scene; full of valuable anecdotes and savvy advice from several successful gigging musicians, as well as venue owners and record label employees from across the country.

This book helps you define yourself as an artist and will answer the questions:

• What is the best way to get in contact with a booker?
• How can I use social media to improve my chances of scoring a gig?
• Why should I bother networking with other musicians?

Whether you're a solo cover act, band, original singer-songwriter, or parent of a musically-inclined child, by following The Music Hustle 's practical tips and tricks, you'll be practiced, professional, prepared, and prosperous in no time flat.

CHAPTER 1

WHO IS THE “MUSIC YOU”?

After I booked my first gig at the dive bar in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, I didn’t suddenly know what I was doing. Yes, booking one gig made me feel like I could book more and motivated me to hustle to a variety of different places, but having gotten through the door at one place did not mean every other door was going to open up for me.

I thought about what a professional would do and then attempted to do it. I made a Facebook page that had a brief bio about who I was. I connected with someone to record a cheap demo CD to give to venue owners. I ordered some business cards to slip into the CD cases for when I gave them to the venue owners or restaurant managers I spoke with when attempting to book. Doing these things in an uninformed manner didn’t help me.

Now, having been gigging for about six years, I know the ins and outs of the process: how to present myself, what to say to a booker, what information to have prepared for a booker, etc. I have played hundreds of gigs, and I have a network of musicians from across the country who have been playing gigs much longer than me, who I have since discussed with the best practices for successfully scoring gigs. But back then, I lacked a clear strategy. I did not have much of a pitch to present to venue owners. Aside from the general notion of offering live music, I did not have an in-depth understanding of what exactly I was offering and what my value was to the venues.

For example, and this is jumping ahead a little bit, when I got my first gig, I did not know enough songs to fill the requested three-hour time slot, and I did not have a lot of time to learn a ton of songs. So, I just started googling chords of songs I was familiar with—the genre and the decades in which the songs were released were irrelevant—and learned around forty seemingly random songs. The gig did end up going well enough and led to more gigs at this bar, but it easily could not have. Playing a ton of unfitting songs together, I had no discernible genre or style. Beyond that, I failed to consider what kind of music folks at a dive bar would care to listen to on a Saturday night.

These two components—defining one’s style and understanding one’s audience—help constitute what I will call one’s musical self, or as I will refer to it from here on out, one’s “music you.” To understand the “music you,” you need to answer the questions surrounding who you are as an artist. What is your genre? What is the audience you appeal to? And likely, the most crucial question for you as an individual is: what is your motivation for wanting to perform live music? Let’s take some time to break down each of these questions.

Determining your genre may seem like an easy first step; however, I would contend most people who want to play live music may need to think a bit harder about it. As a musician, you may already have a genre you like to play. Maybe it’s jazz, or maybe it’s rock. Maybe it’s rap, or maybe it’s pop. Maybe you like playing stuff from a variety of genres. Regardless, the first step is being honest about the kind of music you like and want to play, as you may find more opportunities to play specific genres over other genres.

Let’s say, hypothetically, you live in a town with only rock and roll clubs, and you are a classical pianist. Would you be willing to play rock and roll music instead of your preferred classical music so you could perform? There are probably few cities and towns that only have venues that facilitate one music genre. Still, my example presents the reality that you will have more opportunities to play music if you are willing to play other genres aside from the ones you personally like the most. In my experience, I have found more venues facilitate the performance of mainstream genres—pop, rock, and country—than other genres like jazz, blues, and metal. That is not to say that if you are not playing pop, rock, and country you won’t have the opportunity to play your music for an audience. I only mean you may not have as much opportunity to perform as a musician playing in the more mainstream genres.

So, the question you need to ask yourself is: am I willing to play another music genre for more opportunity to perform? I can’t answer that question for you. Only you know whether you will be happy playing a music genre that may or may not be your preference and having that genre be all or a part of your brand.

I would be remiss not to note there are plenty of musicians who are juggling different projects. By doing so, these musicians ensure they stay happy playing what they want while also dabbling in other styles they may not be as interested in so they can perform more. However, if you use this strategy, my suggestion is one of your projects be a band so if you are a solo artist in your other musical venture, there is a clear distinction of the difference between your two projects. The next step is to establish a clear expectation of what your audience can anticipate hearing from each project.

For example, Edgardo Cora, a professional drummer in the Greater Cleveland area, performs in a multitude of bands. Each of these projects is relatively different from one another. One is a blues group, while another is a jazz trio. He also plays in a pop-rock band. While he may gain the most personal enjoyment from playing in his jazz group, he plays in a variety of different groups with varying genres because, at the end of the day, he really just loves to play drums and make music for people to enjoy with his bandmates. His “music you” isn’t defined by being a jazz drummer exclusively; his “music you” is being a drummer who is open to any and all musical opportunities that present themselves, regardless of the genres to which they pertain.

Moreover, it helps to consider the audience you are playing for, particularly concerning the genre or genres you have decided to align with the “music you.” People have different musical preferences, and the places they frequent largely determine the type of music you would hear there. For example, if you go to a dive bar, chances are you aren’t going to hear smooth jazz. Or, if you go to a jazz club, you’re not going to hear someone playing Today’s Top 40. There are two lessons here. First, think like you are your audience. Find out where the people who like your music are and hustle to get in the door. Second, don’t force yourself through a door where your audience isn’t. In other words, if you want to play at a particular venue but the audience isn’t comprised of people who like the music you play, stop trying to get in the door and look for other, more appropriate places for the “music you.” You will not find success playing for people who do not want to listen to you, so find the people who will.

Let’s engage in another hypothetical situation to illustrate putting yourself in your audience’s shoes: Let’s say you are a singer-songwriter, playing exclusively original material. You have never played in front of a live audience before. One of the important questions you should ask would be: are there venues in your area that facilitate original music? If you google this, the results will likely show you large theaters that tend to host up-and-coming and/or established touring musicians. You may be a great musician, but don’t flatter yourself into thinking a booking agent at these places would take you seriously yet. Remember, you have never played a gig before. Instead, you should put yourself in the shoes of your audience and question: where would they go to hear live music that is different from what they’d hear from the typical cover artists? Typically, the answer would be at open mics or coffeehouses. Playing at an open mic or a coffeehouse connects you with people who already like live music. It allows you to perform your original songs and get real feedback from new listeners, who may become new fans. I’ll discuss open mics in much more depth in Chapter 4, “Why Should I Go to an Open Mic Night?” Open mics are a great way to both expose your music to new audiences and get yourself through the door to play music at a new venue.

Once you know your genre and who your audience is, you have almost finished defining your “music you.” The remaining component is your motivation, the “why” behind why you want to perform. Is it because you love to share your musical talents with those around you? Is it because you are looking to monetize your talent? Is it a bit of both? Answering the question of motivation will determine some of the actions you may or may not be willing to do when hustling for gigs. Let’s say your primary motivation is monetary gain. Would you be willing to play a pro bono gig at a venue to get in the door? Or would you be willing to play a gig at a venue that doesn’t pay its live musicians apart from a tip jar? Maybe you would be willing to play a pro bono gig as an opportunity to potentially expand your audience. Motivation is a deeply personal matter, especially when it comes to one’s finances, so these are decisions you have to make.

Alternatively, let’s say your primary motivation is a passion for playing live. What if you need money at some point, but you have already established with all of the venues you play at that your talent isn’t worth paying for (by never asking for payment or an established willingness to play pro bono)? Maybe some venue owners will look kindly upon your request, but others very well may not. Again, it is up to you how you want to position yourself as far as the monetary side of gigging goes. If you don’t care if you get paid, that’s your decision. If you do want to get paid, again, that’s your decision. The choice is yours to make.

I would add, however, there is certainly nothing wrong with playing music for monetary gain. If you are good at playing music and someone wants to pay you for it, there is nothing wrong with that. As a college student, playing live music at bars and restaurants on weekends helped pay my student loans. I know there are music purists who contend musicians should only play out of passion rather than for money. They are more than welcome to hold that view. I am saying you should not feel like wanting or needing the money playing live music provides is bad; moreover, you should not feel like a disingenuous musician if that passion for performing isn’t your primary motivator. You probably have bills to pay, so you shouldn’t feel bad about playing music to pay them, even if someone else doesn’t like it.

Having defined your genre(s), audience, and motivation, you now know your “music you” and are closer to beginning your hustle to book gigs and perform. However, before I close out this chapter, I would like to add some final advice—directed mainly toward musicians looking to play centrally at bars and restaurants—about connecting genre, audience, and motivation.

From my own experience performing at bars and restaurants, I’ve learned playing songs people know is typically the best way to keep playing at the venues you are established at and get on the books at more venues. People tend to like what they recognize and often stick around after eating or drinking if they recognize the songs and like your sound. Although you may have great original material, it is unfamiliar to your audience. Unfamiliar songs tend to make the audience disinterested, often causing them to leave venues that are not recognized or branded as overtly music-oriented. In contrast to bars and restaurants, music-oriented venues—such as coffeehouses or music clubs—host live music with great frequency, with audiences typically looking favorably upon unfamiliar music, and consistently feature artists who don’t play covers in favor of originality.

Yes, I am suggesting if you want to maximize your profitability on the bar/restaurant level, you should “sell out” to some extent. I know that may be controversial to say, but please stick with me. That does not mean you should never play your original music. It just means if you want more gigs, you should know many songs people know and play at places where people want to hear covers, like bars and restaurants. That doesn’t mean you also can’t play where your original music is appreciated; you just need to find your balance for what you can tolerate artistically and financially. Most importantly, don’t pigeonhole yourself. It’s hard to rebrand yourself once you become either the “cover guy” or the “all original songs guy.”

The final point I will raise is the advantages and disadvantages of playing in a band, as they significantly affect motivations. There are benefits to being a solo artist. As an individual, you will typically earn more than what you would make as a band member, and when booking, you don’t need to wait to consult with everyone’s schedules. Also, space in the venue is less of a factor to consider as a solo artist; you don’t have to worry about how much room you need to set up a PA system, amps, drums, and the rest of your equipment. Additionally, you don’t have to deal with drama from other bandmates, and the decision of what genre and songs you play is solely yours.

As far as disadvantages go, you may find some venues prefer a live band’s cohesive sound. You may also find when you cover certain songs, they feel empty without some of the other instrumentation that is filled in by a band. Additio...