How to NOT get booked-

[Jakedog]

Alright, outside of playing for a living, I have a part time (2-3 nights a week when I’m not booked) job helping my buddy run his dive bar/DIY local music venue. We book everything from our weekly jam night, to local cover bands, to smaller and lower tier touring acts and singer/songwriters. We even do some (kind of) exclusive ticketed only listening room shows for what would be some surprising acts here, with a room that that holds 40 people max. We’re not getting rich. But we’re keeping the doors open. Anyone who has ever been to our room? Loves it. With that in mind, you gotta read the room, bro. Do some research. Find out who and what it is you’re contacting before you get silly. This is a PSA for indie acts, and DIY’ers, and local cover bands everywhere who are relying on these types of small, independent, local venues. It’s what I put out tonight in response to a weird happening. If it helps someone understand better, that’s good.

A whole lot of us small venues are still struggling a lot. A whole lot of us are operating on less than skeleton staff. At any given time, there could be two people on duty in the whole place. And we’re killing ourselves for you. We are. And we love you. But you gotta give us an inch. So here goes-



“How not to get booked-

Message me asking, then message me again less than an hour later with an attitude. Yes, the internet is immediate. I’m sure you a got a notification that I saw your message. That’s all good. However…

Life is not immediate. People work. People have things going on. If you’re not prepared to wait 24-72 hours for some kind of response, perhaps you’re in the wrong line of work. And getting snotty will not help your case. Ever.

I know things have been different here. Since the pandemic? Everything is different. What is not different is our commitment to bringing our patrons and the community the best music we can hope to with the room and resources that we have to work with. Give us a minute. Please. We haven’t changed, the world has. And we would appreciate your understanding.

That said, impatience and silliness will get you nowhere but ignored. I promise.”

Just a heads up from me and my boss, and every other person busting their rumps to keep these small local music spots alive. You are not helping yourself, or anyone else by getting silly about not having a response in LESS THAN AN HOUR.

Thank you.

 

[jvin248]

.

I can see them, some twenty-somethings who's cousin's buddy's girlfriend said her ex's brother knows a dude at a record label in Nashville-Angelus who promised to sign them soon and they ain't got no time to mess around!

Keep the lights on over there - it's a hard gig for any small business these days.

.

 

[Tim S]

@Jakedog , thanks for helping to keep venues like your buddy’s bar open and featuring live acts. It has to be frustrating to receive repeated texts looking for a quick response.

But to be fair to the other side, if they are trying to book a stream of nights, I could understand their frustration in not getting a quicker response. It sounds like they want to play your buddy’s bar as a first choice. Leaving them in limbo prevents them from booking an alternative venue whose opportunity may be slipping away by the hour.

Far-fetched? Maybe, but it’s one of a multitude of possibilities. A simple “Not now, busy. I’ll text you tonight” reply might be enough to satisfy both sides. It shows you read the message and it resets their expectations.

 

[Gene O.]

Message me asking, then message me again less than an hour later with an attitude

That's crazy. I'd say anyone that does that deserves to be ignored. Really, a 72 hour response time would be great! Even a 1 week response would be okay. Sometimes our singer, who books most of our shows, gets frustrated from venues that take many weeks to respond, only to notify her that their calendar is full, or the ones that never respond. But we've learned to just say "Oh well, it wasn't meant to be" and move on because none of us are depending on gigs for our sole income.

 

[ale.istotle]

I thought this was going to be about crazy acts. Death metal Tibetan throat singing Johnny Cash impersonator setting off illegal pyrotechnics during Wagon Wheel or some such.

 

[WalthamMoosical]

Death metal Tibetan throat singing Johnny Cash impersonator setting off illegal pyrotechnics during Wagon Wheel or some such.

Oh so *that's* why The Aristocrats can't get gigs any more.

 

[Peegoo]

Yeah, with instant media comes instant gratification.

Or that other thing.

 

[bottlenecker]

@Jakedog Are you cool with posting the name and location of the venue? I love small rooms and may be doing some solo touring.

 

[Ron R]

@Jakedog , thanks for helping to keep venues like your buddy’s bar open and featuring live acts. It has to be frustrating to receive repeated texts looking for a quick response.

But to be fair to the other side, if they are trying to book a stream of nights, I could understand their frustration in not getting a quicker response. It sounds like they want to play your buddy’s bar as a first choice. Leaving them in limbo prevents them from booking an alternative venue whose opportunity may be slipping away by the hour.

Far-fetched? Maybe, but it’s one of a multitude of possibilities. A simple “Not now, busy. I’ll text you tonight” reply might be enough to satisfy both sides. It shows you read the message and it resets their expectations.

Frustration is no excuse for copping an attitude with someone. While it might still be annoying to the club to hear back from you an hour later, I'd wager the attitude more than the timing is the problem here. But I suppose you would be doing the club a service - letting them know up front you're likely to be a PITA to do business with.

 

[Marc Morfei]

Alright, outside of playing for a living, I have a part time (2-3 nights a week when I’m not booked) job helping my buddy run his dive bar/DIY local music venue. We book everything from our weekly jam night, to local cover bands, to smaller and lower tier touring acts and singer/songwriters. We even do some (kind of) exclusive ticketed only listening room shows for what would be some surprising acts here, with a room that that holds 40 people max. We’re not getting rich. But we’re keeping the doors open. Anyone who has ever been to our room? Loves it. With that in mind, you gotta read the room, bro. Do some research. Find out who and what it is you’re contacting before you get silly. This is a PSA for indie acts, and DIY’ers, and local cover bands everywhere who are relying on these types of small, independent, local venues. It’s what I put out tonight in response to a weird happening. If it helps someone understand better, that’s good.

A whole lot of us small venues are still struggling a lot. A whole lot of us are operating on less than skeleton staff. At any given time, there could be two people on duty in the whole place. And we’re killing ourselves for you. We are. And we love you. But you gotta give us an inch. So here goes-



“How not to get booked-

Message me asking, then message me again less than an hour later with an attitude. Yes, the internet is immediate. I’m sure you a got a notification that I saw your message. That’s all good. However…

Life is not immediate. People work. People have things going on. If you’re not prepared to wait 24-72 hours for some kind of response, perhaps you’re in the wrong line of work. And getting snotty will not help your case. Ever.

I know things have been different here. Since the pandemic? Everything is different. What is not different is our commitment to bringing our patrons and the community the best music we can hope to with the room and resources that we have to work with. Give us a minute. Please. We haven’t changed, the world has. And we would appreciate your understanding.

That said, impatience and silliness will get you nowhere but ignored. I promise.”

Just a heads up from me and my boss, and every other person busting their rumps to keep these small local music spots alive. You are not helping yourself, or anyone else by getting silly about not having a response in LESS THAN AN HOUR.

Thank you.

Good advice in this instance and all parts of life.
Even in an office this happens. Someone sends you an email then 10 minutes later calls you to see if you got the email. NO. I'm doing something else right now. I'm not just sitting around doing crossword puzzles waiting to get an email from you.

 

[Cosmic Cowboy]

Alright, outside of playing for a living, I have a part time (2-3 nights a week when I’m not booked) job helping my buddy run his dive bar/DIY local music venue. We book everything from our weekly jam night, to local cover bands, to smaller and lower tier touring acts and singer/songwriters. We even do some (kind of) exclusive ticketed only listening room shows for what would be some surprising acts here, with a room that that holds 40 people max. We’re not getting rich. But we’re keeping the doors open. Anyone who has ever been to our room? Loves it. With that in mind, you gotta read the room, bro. Do some research. Find out who and what it is you’re contacting before you get silly. This is a PSA for indie acts, and DIY’ers, and local cover bands everywhere who are relying on these types of small, independent, local venues. It’s what I put out tonight in response to a weird happening. If it helps someone understand better, that’s good.

A whole lot of us small venues are still struggling a lot. A whole lot of us are operating on less than skeleton staff. At any given time, there could be two people on duty in the whole place. And we’re killing ourselves for you. We are. And we love you. But you gotta give us an inch. So here goes-



“How not to get booked-

Message me asking, then message me again less than an hour later with an attitude. Yes, the internet is immediate. I’m sure you a got a notification that I saw your message. That’s all good. However…

Life is not immediate. People work. People have things going on. If you’re not prepared to wait 24-72 hours for some kind of response, perhaps you’re in the wrong line of work. And getting snotty will not help your case. Ever.

I know things have been different here. Since the pandemic? Everything is different. What is not different is our commitment to bringing our patrons and the community the best music we can hope to with the room and resources that we have to work with. Give us a minute. Please. We haven’t changed, the world has. And we would appreciate your understanding.

That said, impatience and silliness will get you nowhere but ignored. I promise.”

Just a heads up from me and my boss, and every other person busting their rumps to keep these small local music spots alive. You are not helping yourself, or anyone else by getting silly about not having a response in LESS THAN AN HOUR.

Thank you.

That is the business-end of the slow, quiet death of live music venues. Coming out of a situation where we were told our businesses and livelihoods were 'non-essential' and thus forced to close. About 60% of the venues in my area have never reopened, and the ones that have are really struggling to hire good help.

It spreads well beyond music venues. It is a rare exception that I patron a business and am treated with competence, and professionalism. Usually its an understaffed crew working double to compensate to the workers who called in or just didnt show up.

Godspeed brother and thanks for keeping live music going in your locale.

 

[Marc Morfei]

Sometimes our singer, who books most of our shows, gets frustrated from venues that take many weeks to respond, only to notify her that their calendar is full, or the ones that never respond. But we've learned to just say "Oh well, it wasn't meant to be" and move on because none of us are depending on gigs for our sole income.

Yes, it does work both ways. I have found that generally venues never respond to messages. Emails, voice mails, doesn't matter, nothing works. I have to physically go there, find out who the decision-maker is, figure out when they are going to be there in person, go there over and over again hoping to catch them... It's a lot of work. I find that once you actually make physical face-to-face contact in person, it's a breeze. "Sure, let me get my calendar!" Bookers are usually very friendly and accommodating, and I often can book a gig on the spot (sometimes not). But it's brutal trying to get their attention.

 

[Twang-ineer]

This has nothing to do with the entertainment industry, this is across the board. People who do not understand that they serve a business need (anything you get paid to do), ultimately will fail. Then they will find another line of business to be in.

Do them the kindness of not reinforcing bad behavior, let them fail, maybe they rise above it, maybe they don't.

In business, if you put something in writing digitally (text, email, IM) it is a 24 hour turn around. If you need an immediate answer, call voice, maybe you get a response.... leave a message and expect a call back in 24-48 hours.

Poor planning on your part, does not create a sense of urgency on mine. - and yeah, I work with large contracts all day, I pay people and bill clients, everyone has an urgent issue... get in line and wait your turn. Next time, anticipate your need and get in line earlier.

And a s pointed out above.... if you are standing in front of me in person.... I will very likely hire you or put you to the front on the line..... You just proved you have the single most important hiring criteria that I have.... you showed up. And face to face, gets an immediate response, even if it is a negative, even if it is "I will get to that", being present is an all important skill.

 

[ReverendRevolver]

I'm used to letting a communication sit for like 2 days before pestering. But I got ghosted by some moron booking a festival last summer. I wasn't "booked" but when the booker says "I have slots available this day and this day, when are you available " and then "X day works better for the lineup if you can do it" then nothing, it made me remember why I prefer the old show up and talk to person booking at the bar way.

 

[Dan German]

@Jakedog Are you cool with posting the name and location of the venue? I love small rooms and may be doing some solo touring.

Has @Jakedog responded yet? I mean, c’mon, it’s been half an hour!

 

[bottlenecker]

Has @Jakedog responded yet? I mean, c’mon, it’s been half an hour!

Yes. Very quick and pleasant response. Very professional staff! 5 stars.

 

[Mindthebull]

Yeah um, this is a joke right? There are so many easy ways to not get booked. Attitude is by far the easiest. There are 100s of great bands all vying for limited number of spots in independent venues that are struggling to stay in business anyways. They don’t need you. They really don’t.

We have been booking our band for over 10 years at various clubs like this in southern Ontario and if I hear back from a venue booker in less than a week that is a win. And I have had some bookers who don’t respond ever and others who respond in 6 months.

Music people are weird mostly, no offence (arent we all for doing this anyways?), and some are downright strange so if you want to be in the so called bus you learn to suck up a lot of crap.

 

[Short on cash]

Yes...


"I texted you 5 minutes ago and you haven't answered me. I guess you don't have time for me. What is wrong with you ? I need an answerer now.
My time is important. Jerk"

You mean like that ?

 

[Marc Morfei]

There are 100s of great bands all vying for limited number of spots in independent venues that are struggling to stay in business anyways. They don’t need you. They really don’t.

Yep. Great lesson to always remember: Nobody owes you ****.

 

[Marc Morfei]

"I texted you 5 minutes ago and you haven't answered me. I guess you don't have time for me."

Haha. I briefly has a girlfriend who was like that. Emphasis on "briefly."