Approaching Music Agents
The marketplace for gigging musicians has always been fierce but never more so than in 2011. A simple search on the internet will reveal hundreds if not thousands of wedding bands, function bands, tribute bands all looking for gigs. Therefore if you are serious about a career in music then finding an entertainment agent should be top of your list. But how do you stand out from the rest?
Entertainment agents have hundreds of requests each month from acts looking for work. These days agents will only work with the best – after all they have a reputation to uphold as an entertainment agent of quality. You will need to make sure your promotional materials are crisp, clear and of outstanding quality. The most important factor is your recorded demo or a live video of a performance. Spend some time and money in the studio recording until it is as good as it can be. First impressions count!
You need to look honestly at your abilities. Can you really compete with the level of other acts out there. If so be confident selling yourself to the agents. Many acts tend not to sell themselves very well. Be confident in your abilities and other people will believe in you. Be clear about the type of gigs you hope to get. You may be a live wedding band or you may want to target the corporate bands market. Agents will usually want to work with these types of bands as they can command a decent fee ( of which the agent will expect commission ). They may be less willing to work with pub bands as often the fees are lower and it may not be worth the time of the agent.
Once you are sure you have everything you need you should contact agent who work with bands in the field you wish to work in. All too often bands don’t research agents thoroughly enough and send rock demos to funk band managers who simply won’t be interested. Make sure after you have made contact you wait a couple of weeks before giving the agents a call. You don’t want to pester them but you do need to make contact.
If you put out the right impression from the start and you are musicians of a good quality you should be able to find a music agent to represent you. Good wedding bands, corporate bands and function bands in 2012 are highly sought after so the opportunity is out there if you want to grasp it.