“Booking THE Gig” by Bryan Duncan

Posted on September 2, 2011 by admin

One of the main reasons rock stars are so short on gratitude is their failure to understand what their agents have to do to book them. If you have the latest hit on the radio or a million dollar ad campaign year not gonna be too hard to book. But most of us are just short of a couple a side jobs to pay the rent. Inflating your monetary value over the phone is always harder to do than inflating your ego. The job description for a booking agent probably starts with “must have the capacity to thrive on rejection”.

I took a ‘telemarketer” job once in college making cold calls to sell liner’s for trash cans. It was a thankless job on both sides of the receiver. Fortunately I had a sense of humor. It eventually got me fired. I took to calling rude people back and adding some “throw this in for free” commentary. But I obviously forgot the experience once I was singing on a regular basis.

I had this booking agent. He was a soft spoken man and faithful to his work. But behind my back he would refer to me as “T-Rex”! I would hold him personally responsible for every delayed flight and irritation at the airport and mishap at the gig. I was known for throwing “the incredible hulk” tirades at him over the phone. As a lead singer I truly had the ability to “project”…and with a “heavy metal” vocal tone. It might be one of the most embarrassing segments of my life to date. But even in my early 30’s I just didn’t get the process.

I think every artist should spend a month or two doing all the jobs that people do for them. I’m getting that opportunity now after thirty years.

Promoting; marketing; accounting; negotiating; those are all just the tip of the ice berg. Where the rubber really meets the road is booking! Convincing a bystander that your 12 song set list is gonna change the world or make ‘em a rich man. Songwriting is NOT the most creative aspect of the music business! Listen to a booking agent convince a promoter that you are worth months of non stop advertising and planning for a one night stand, especially when they’re not that familiar with your “life changing” music or your thirty thousand website hits, which we all know is the same 14 lonely people who don’t have jobs.

You might have thought evangelists cornered the market on miraculous overstatement of the facts. Like those healing services where fifty people are healed of having one leg shorter than the other by an inch. Praise God! And now we’re gonna take up the offering.

You want to be a big help to your booking agent? Define things to them that are only obvious to you! Why did you write that song? Why do you want to share this story with others? What will they get out of hearing it? What do you like about people generally that isn’t just about them liken you? What is your passion about? I hired a consultant recently who noted that I spent most of my time defining myself by ‘What I was not”! “you need to make a list of resonators” he said flatly. Who in the world makes you sit up and say “I like what they’re saying” or “I love their work” or even “I respect who this person is”! Not only is it good for your poor attitude about life but it gives the right kind of ammunition to your front line for the trench warfare that is every booking agent’s daily job.

If music really changes the world it starts before a note is played. Booking the presentation is where the real dots are connected. I don’t care how cool you look or how great year project art is. Somebody has to believe that you have something to contribute to an effort they are already involved in! Now I know its hard to take. Realizing that the world is not gonna swoon simply because you had a moment with year guitar. Maybe you could write a song of appreciation for the lonely guy sitting at his (or her) desk calling out on you’re behalf. Now while every head is bowed and every eye is closed how many of you would signify by the uplifted hand that … YES, my booking agent has died for me several times this week and I have been ungrateful. Thank you, I see that hand… hands all over the room. Let us now ask the booking agent for forgiveness. If the calls aren’t coming in, maybe you haven’t defined yourself enough!

About the Author

Bryan Duncan is a Grammy and Dove Award-winning Contemporary Christian artist. He is best known for his role in the Sweet Comfort Band and subsequent solo career that, combined, spanned more than twenty-five years. He is currently involved with the Nehosoul Band and “Radio Rehab” podcast.  http://www.radiorehab.com

Foreword by: Ricky B. Rogers – NehoSoul Band/Fused Management

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What Does It Mean To Be A Success? By Ed Englerth

Posted on June 16, 2011 by admin

“What Does It Mean To Be A Success?” By Ed Englerth

Whether someone is putting a band together, or doing the solo thing, there are various reasons why. Sometimes it’s just because you like to be with the people in the band or the folks you meet. Eventually you want to do a good job so you can keep doing what you like doing. Or you want to “make it” or be a “success.” Unfortunately most artistic types are much better at their art than at being organized as a business. It’s called the music business for a reason. Now, I’m not saying you need to know all about business, but you must ask yourself, “What does it mean to be a success?”
Don’t fool yourself with, “I want to be famous.” Many people are famous who are not successful or happy. How about rich? If you want money, the people in the music industry that can even make a living at it, let alone get rich is crazy small. Some artists just want to express themselves via their music. That’s cool, but somebody’s got to pay the bills. I was extremely stupid when I first moved out of my parents house to “make it” in the world of music. If it hadn’t been for some good friends and help from my parents, I would have starved and ended up living in the street. While this may give you great material to write a song, that kind of inspiration can only be endured for so long.
So what does it mean to “make it?” You “make it” to a goal. Put together some short and long term goals. Where do you want to be in five years? What about one year — six months? Next week? What do you need to do to get to those goals?
You’ll need information about the business of music, as well as the music side. You can find information on the internet, but the internet also has a lot of distractions. A more focused business plan or music business book may be where you should start. Your local library has information both in books and online data about running a business, like how to copyright your songs, etc. Libraries have books about what other artists did to get to where they are.
If you can get a job in the music industry, even if it doesn’t pay very well, you can learn a lot just by paying attention to what’s going on around you. How do the people run their business? So here’s where this article ends and where you answer the question, “What does it mean to you, personally, to be a success?”

About the Author

Ed Englerth performs “Moody Intelligent Folk Jazz Blues,” both solo and with his band, playing mostly guitar and bass and singing lead. He has released eight solo CDs the latest of which is “Hope Dream Sigh.” He owns and operates BlueSideDownStudios in Hastings, MI. Visit him at www.BlueSideDownStudios.com

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“What Springsteen Says” by Tom Jackson

Posted on April 1, 2011 by admin

Tom Jackson“What Springsteen Says” by Tom Jackson

In an interview in USA Today, Bruce Springsteen commented on his live shows and why he’s had such success. He said “record sales go up and down… we tour a lot and we’ve had a pretty consistent audience.” So the question is, WHY has he had a consistent audience?

Well, Springsteen says “in the end, music is an emotional medium, a sensual medium.” He also says you ask for your audience’s investment in your music because you’re “in a relationship with them.” These are clues to what makes a great show.

Obviously, as musicians, the music IS emotional to us.  But I believe the key to Springsteen’s success has been his emotional connection with the people in the audience.

So how do we emotionally connect with our audience? By playing Bruce Springsteen’s songs? I don’t think so! You see, his songs, his passion for the music, who he is onstage, the authority with which he does things onstage – those are his strengths.

There are three reasons an audience goes to a concert: 1) to be captured and engaged, 2) to experience moments, and 3) to have something change in their lives.

Now, audience members don’t consciously walk into the building and say “OK, capture and engage me, give me some moments to experience, and, darn it, make sure you change my life!” But when those things do happen, you’ll have a fan forever! That’s how Springsteen has built his audience.

So let’s talk about the first of those 3 reasons: capturing and engaging your audience.

From a content standpoint of what happens onstage, the arrangements of most artists’ songs are wrong for a live show. Songs need to be rearranged with space left for spontaneity, for authority. Songs need to breathe in a live show!

I often use the example of the Simpsons – the 30-minute sitcom (in reality it’s 22 minutes with 8 minutes of commercials!). The writers know that whatever they’re going to say has to be said in those 22 minutes. In the same way, when we write a song we want aired on radio, it needs to be 3 1/2 – 4 minutes long.

But if it’s a different medium, those rules change! When the writers of the Simpsons did The Simpsons movie, they would have had a pretty angry audience if they had stuck to the 22 minute format.

So when we’re playing live, our rules change, too. We need to leave space. We need to develop moments within the song. We need to bring the audience into the creative process by breaking down a musical part and developing it onstage – whether it’s great harmonies, great rhythmic stuff, or whatever.

From a technical standpoint, each song you play doesn’t sound the same, but dare I say (even though I’ve never seen YOUR show), I’ve seen enough shows to know most of your songs look the same onstage. And that’s a mistake!

To an audience it makes no sense when songs that sound different or have different things happening within them all LOOK exactly alike. As a musician, you’d never think of using the same tone, same drumbeat, same theme lyrically in every song. That would be silly.

So be creative with each song onstage! Not just musically, but visually as well, to keep the audience engaged. I’m not talking hokey or canned…I’m talking about keeping the integrity of the song and who you are as an artist, and using the technical skills and the tools you have available to be visually creative communicators from onstage.

Just like a guitar player and his pedals can change tones, we have tools to change the way things look onstage. These are things we need to learn so our show can be creative.

About the Author

Tom Jackson is the #1 Live Music Producer in the industry. He has developed the Live Music Method, an onstage method that makes your live show engaging and memorable, exceeding audiences’ expectations, creating fans for life. Tom has worked with nearly every genre from rock to pop to Christian Gospel, impacting hundreds of major artists from every genre, such as Taylor Swift, Jars of Clay, Casting Crowns, NewSong, The Band Perry, Sidewalk Prophets, plus a multitude of independent artists. For more information about Tom Jackson and his Live Music Methods, check out OnstageSuccess.com

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