Music booking agents, or otherwise in the music business as just “booking agents” are a very rare breed of people. At first glance, they can appear like your best friend but behind the scenes boy are they complicated to figure out.
I have personally spent plenty of time in offices with music booking agents, learning analyzing and listening, and have signed multiple bands that I’ve managed to multiple agents over the past 10 years, and the one thing that constant shines through is one very simple strategy to attract the ideal agent for your band.
The Word Of Mouth Game
Let me ask you a very simple and plain question. Would you be more likely to check a band out or go to a movie because a good friend told you about it that you trust and respect or some random guy that you just met in the coffee shop?
It’s really a no brainer if you think about it.
Music booking agents are no different. Think about it for a moment. These guys sit on phones all day long booking shows and placing deals. Their phones are practically stuck to their ear. Each day about 10 new cd’s come through the door unmarked from unkown people trying to attract their interest.
Compare that with a call from either another booking agent, who they admire and respect, someone at the local radio station or a local record label rep and they are raving and praising your band.
Which band has a better chance of attracting more music booking agents to their shows?
Consider the following aswell. If anyone else in the industry calls this particular agent and wets their appetite about your band, that automatically also sets you up as an artist or band that they would be able to sell quite easily because there is already a vibe out on you guys.
That makes the job of a booking agent much easier!
Some basic “Word Of Mouth” Tips
Identify a select few of agents who you want to attract, no point going after to many
Find out how you can crack into their social network
Ask yourself the following questions -
Do you know any of their friends?
Do you know anyone who knows them already in the music business?
Is there anyway, to try and find out where they hang out?
Try and get some editorial and press in local papers that agents are likely to read
Are you friends with other bands who already have an agent and can put in a good word?
The bottom line here is that music booking agents are probably some of the busiest and hard to track down people. Between their phone calls and personal lives, the fastest way to attract any agent and get them along to your show is to adopt some sort of word of mouth strategy and rely on other people’s testimonies.
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