Booking Agents

Now that I've taught you how to book a gig on your own, it's time for some notes about booking agents!

Early on in the game, booking agents are really not necessary. In fact, unless you are regularly selling out shows you've booked yourself, it will be almost impossible for your band to even acquire a booking agent.

Why?

Well, first, booking agents usually work for a percentage of the earnings, so unless you look like a good investment, they won't spend their time on your band.

Secondly, booking agents are not working solely for the benefit of the bands they book(that's more of a promotion manager's type). Booking agents are also working with the venue managers they are sending artists to. A booking agent is only as good as his or her word, because if he/she sends enough bad players to a venue, that venue will not longer accept that booking agent's recommendations and will let other venues know that the agent is pushing poor product. So, that agent is not going to take a risk on your band unless he/she knows you can deliver.

Finally, booking agents work by location, not by assigned band. So you will have one booking agent for one area of a state, another for a couple towns over, etc. This means that you really won't be working with booking agents until you've grown to the point of moving well out of your original state.

So, say you've gotten to this point, and you are ready to start working with a booking agent. Congrats!
If you have a manager, then the manager or the tour manger should be communicating with the booking agents for you. However, if you do not(which is becoming more and more common), it really comes down to networking.

You can start by reaching out to booking agents in your hometown and asking if they know of other agents in the regions you want to reach out to, and you may get some good feedback. My advice, though, is to look at an area and plan out what venues you would like to play, and contact them, and ask if you can get the name of the booking agents they regularly correspond with.

When you've contacted the booking agent, communicate regularly and do your best to trust his/her's judgement. If he/she says not to play a venue you think is just perfect, you would do well to listen. It may just be the time of year, it may be another factor, but it's good to remember that the booking agents knows what to expect out of an area better than you do. If you recall, booking agents work for a percentage of your earnings, so it is in their best interest to have you playing often as possible in their area; they want you to succeed!