How to get Gigs or Support Slots as a Band / Artist / Musician

How to get Gigs or Support Slots as a Band, Artist or Musician

So, you’re a band, artist or musician who wants to get gigs or support slots.. Well I’ve got a few tips that will help you out

Number one: get involved in your local music scene. Attend local gigs, get to know other bands, the local promoters, and see what you can do to help out. The best way to learn something is through experience and if you’re offering to volunteer for a promoter or help out bands, they’re going to jump at the opportunity. If your town or city doesn’t have a music scene, then create one. Get bands and promoters together and organise something in a venue that has the potential for it.

Even house shows Chances are, if there aren’t any music events, you putting one on will draw a crowd. Number two: If you don’t ask, you don’t get If your local venue has just announced a tour date with a band that you really like and you think that your music goes with theirs, get in touch with the promoter or venue, ask if it’s possible for you to open for them. Secondly, get in touch with the band who are on tour and ask them directly.

They might not always get back to you but it’s doubling your chances Hell, if you know the tour company who are putting the tour on, get in touch with them as well. As the saying goes, “fortune favours the brave”. In this industry, it’s all about who you know, not necessarily what you know, so get out there and start making relationships with different bands, promoters and venues. Get your name about.

Number three: Do it yourself If you’re not getting the gigs or support slots you think that you deserve and no one is willing to take a chance on you, then do it yourself Most towns or cities have music venues or at least buildings that can be hired. Hire it, get all the equipment you need, promote it yourself, charge a modest door entry price, get other hardworking productive bands on the bill, spread the word and make it happen And, as a side note, next weeks video is based on promoting and the best ways to do it, so keep an eye out for that.

And finally, number four: Avoid pay-to-play at all costs. For those of you who aren’t aware what pay-to-play shows are, they’re quite common in London especially Promoters, if you can even call them that, will ask bands to buy a certain number of tickets to sell to their fan-base and generally get, say, $1 for every $5 ticket they sell That might not sound terrible, but the problem is, bands who play those shows will generally bring their fan-base and that fan-base will only watch that one band who they came to see, meaning, the band will play to an audience they already have, rather than the potential of making new fans.

It’s basically a way for individuals to scam bands into bringing people from out of town to the show for the promoter to profit from Pay-to-play leeches on bands who want to succeed and those who want to come to London in the hope of being spotted by A&R But honestly, it doesn’t work like that so please, boycott pay-to-play shows, pay-to-play promoters and let’s stamp it out once and for all.