1. Do Your Research!
With the gigmit FESTIVAL & VENUE DATABASE you can easily and quickly find contacts from festivals. However, before you send out your applications, you should first get an idea of the festival. This is the basic requirement if you want to get booked at festivals. Research all available information and find out the theme or what the festival is all about. You should definitely not apply to a metal festival as a jazz band. After that, it is important that you know who you are sending your application to. Also, find out how many slots are given out in total or how many of them are still open.
2. Keep It Short!
As time is usually short – especially for event organisers – please keep your information short and to the point. It would be a shame and a waste of everyone’s time if your application was not even read or opened. So get to the point and make your music interesting. Festival promoters get loads of emails every day. So one or two of them can get lost in the shuffle. So be unique and convince them. The easiest way to do this is with a perfect gigmit Artist Page. When you apply via gigmit FESTIVAL & VENUE DATABASE, your regional social media and streaming data are automatically inserted as booking arguments at one glance.
3. Start Small And Local!
Of course, it’s every musician’s dream to perform on a big stage in front of screaming masses. But don’t forget that when it comes to big and renowned festivals, competition is fierce. It’s not easy for newcomers to push through. That’s why it’s advisable to raise your fame factor by playing in smaller local festivals, which you’ll then be able to use as a reference for your international career. Even if the fee doesn’t quite live up to your expectations – when you get the chance to play, you should go for it.
4. Prove Yourself!
All the musicians think they’re the best and exceptionally good. But how many outsiders say the same about your project? So make sure that your application, your EPK, includes at least one relevant press quote and a link to a live video of you. This way, bookers and promoters can get a better impression of you, your talent and your performance and make a quicker decision. If you have filled out your gigmit artist page completely and can say “It looks convincing!” you are on the right track.
5. Have An Online Presence!
Diligently maintain all your social media channels. This way you can increase your chances of getting accepted. In the digital age, it is a MUST to use all possible tools and constantly expand your internet presence – not only since Corona. However, the pandemic has made the need for a social media presence even more obvious. Because not only your fans but also bookers and promoters use social media to check your fan base and activity.
Your social media data can be a leading factor in festival booking as well. With gigmit Fan Insights, promoters are able to see your social media numbers from Spotify, Facebook and now Instagram right from your Artist Page! It allows them to decide whether an artist has the potential to fill in the venue capacity. Read more about Fan Insights.
Unlike club booking, high regional fan and streaming numbers, which indicate that many fans come to your gig, are not quite as important for festival booking. The festival audience also comes to the festival and buys tickets for other reasons – e.g. because of the headliners. Online festivals, on the other hand, have different rules. Learn more about the differences and perspectives of festival and club booking here.
6. Keep In Mind All Costs & Expenses!
It often makes sense to see festivals and showcase gigs as an investment in your career. Here you can increase your popularity with a single live show in front of a larger audience in one fell swoop – faster than you would achieve with “your own” concerts and “your own” audience. Don’t forget that playing festivals may involve financial expenses. So be prepared and calculate beforehand exactly what the gig would cost you (insurance, accommodation, food, equipment, travel, etc.). For up-and-coming artists, the first fees will not be very high. So be aware of what you are taking in and ultimately spending.
7. Network Till You Drop!
Networking is king! If you want to be successful in the music business, you have to take every opportunity to get to know other musicians, bookers, managers, etc., and include them in your network. Start in the local music scene and slowly but surely work your way up. Arrange nice collaborations and always be present. Personal contacts are the best way to get booked at festivals.
And remember that consistency is a key. That’s why we recommend you to contact venues and festivals every week and our Habit Tracker is here to help you with that! You can keep track of how many promoters you have been in touch with and if it’s enough to achieve your goal. In gigmit we believe that in the era of collaboration, artists must connect not only with promoters, but with fellow artists as well. From now on, artists can do so very easily directly with their Artist Profiles. You just need to log in to your artist account and start networking from the Artist Search, the Fan Charts or directly from your Artist Watchlist.
Read more about the Habit Tracker here and expand your horizons.
8. Stay Up-To-Date And Be Quick To Act!
Some festival slots – especially the smaller ones – can be offered at the last minute.
From now on, the last added venues are shown at the top of the Festival & Venue Database list. Therefore, you are able to see all new and fresh places to perform.
Do not lose your time and send a message to preferred venues straight from the detail page. gigmit provides you with a personalised email template that makes the best impression! gigmit users can easily manage their relationship with each promoter on a more personal level.
So always have all your info and arguments ready and check your emails regularly!
Go, find your festival gigs on gigmit!
