Episode 001: Thinking Beyond A New Roadmap to Get Great Gigs

A New Roadmap to Get Great Gigs:

We all need some direction, a place to start, a focal point, a reminder of our artistic purpose and how to reimagine our booking conversations. Get Great Gigs Podcast will help.

It might be crazy to launch a podcast promoting how to Get Great Gigs during the COVID era. But this would be a great time to offer some support. Here you will find guidance to some fresh ways of thinking about how to use this time strategically now and in preparation for better days to come.

This podcast will serve as a helpful point of reference to get you through this time with purpose. I’ll share mini-masterclasses, inspiring interviews with industry professionals and other artists who have had successes that might motivate you.

SHOW NOTES

Jeri Goldstein was a booking agent and manager for 20 years. She was a concert promoter and tour manager. Currently she coaches performing artists, agents and performing industry professionals. Her award-winning book, How To Be Your Own Booking Agent THE Musician’s & Performing Artist’s Guide To Successful Touring is now in its 4^th revised edition. With over 55,000 sold world-wide it has been used as a text by music business courses in the U.S. and Canada. She presents live and online seminars and courses.

[03:07] This debut episode has two parts:
Part One includes the things you could be doing now to stay connected with venues who cancelled your upcoming gigs from this spring and possibly summer.

[04:05] Part Two: 5 Career Igniters for Self-Managed Artists tool that will help you determine exactly where to go next based on where your touring career was before COVID.

[06:05] Part One: Staying Connected with the venues you were supposed to be playing this spring and summer.

[08:01] Here are some strategies that you might consider doing no matter your target audience or venue type.

Make a list of every gig that just got cancelled.
Categorize them by the various venue types.
Take the category with the largest number of cancelled gigs.

[08:53] Things for you to think about:
Can you present your show in an online format?

[09:26] Talking Points for a Phone Conversation with Your Contact.

[09:59] Say this: “Having an aspect of cultural programming planned into the week, could prove to be a break for teachers, an attention-grabber for students and a relief for parents working at home.”

[10:12] You want to help during this crisis and provide a cultural enhancement to the school day.

[10:40] Offer a Solution and salvage some cancelled gigs

[10:55] Work on any of your other venue types to create appropriate scripts.

Think about your audiences
Plan your programming
Consider your talking points
Then contact them

Now, review your marketing materials and communications.

[11:49] Consider these questions:

What audiences do you serve that might offer an opportunity for an immediate gig solution? What are you doing to nurture those relationships for immediate possibilities and future opportunities?

[12:20] Part Two: You Can’t Get There From Here If You don’t Know where Here Is 5 Career Igniters for Self-Managed Artists Tool-

[13:03] This tool will help you determine exactly where to go next based on where your touring career is currently. How you manage these 5 Career Igniters for Self-Managed Artists can determine how successful you will be managing your career.

[14:13] 1. Section One – Your Career Overview:
Do you have a big-picture perspective of your total career?

[14:34] 2. Section Two – New Ideas:
Are you open to new strategies and opportunities?

[14:55] 3. Section Three – Industry Insights:
How much you know about your industry, the people who might be able to move you forward in your career.

[15:19] 4. Section Four – Opportunity Awareness:
Are you alert to new opportunities when they are presented to you?

[15:41] 5. Financial Oversight:
Do you understand what investments make sense for you and when to make those investments to maintain a profitable career?

The 5 Career Igniters for Self-Managed Artists will be so valuable to you as you get a deeper understanding of where you are now in relation to where you want to be. This is your starting point.

LINKS:

5 Indie Career Igniters Tool

Live Stream Resources:
Bandzoogle: Live Streaming Resources

Folk Alliance & APAC:
Webinar Ask an Expert
Live Streaming Resource Information PDF

COVID-19 Resources:
Folk Alliance & APAC Resources
webinar replays, resources for stimulus, performance, insurance, and more.

Join Me Next Week

I’ll be talking with David Wimble, creator of the Indie Bible, The Indie Venue Bible and the Booking Agent Directory and now Indie Bible Spotify. David’s been publishing these directories for over twenty years and has been a major help to many artists, so you don’t want to miss that episode.

Theme Music

Thanks to Dan Crary for providing the Get Great Gigs theme music, Thunderation, and for doing the voice-over open and close to the podcast. Check out his music at DanCrary.com

Thanks for listening!

Until next week, thanks for listening. I appreciate you subscribing and being a part of the Get Great Gigs community of touring artists. Your work really enriches our lives. I’m thrilled to be able to give something back to you so you may continue to do what you do by booking more gigs to reach more people.

GetGreatGigs.com is the musician’s and performing artists resource to help book more gigs for more money and turn possible into profitable.

One Final Note

During the COVID-19 Pandemic, we are helping musicians one T-shirt at a time with our T-shirt and song project, “I’m Smiling at You Behind My Mask.” A portion of every T- Shirt sold benefits MusiCares, a Recording Academy charity to help music people in need. Go to 360smiling.com for details.