How to Get Gigs For Your Band This Christmas

December is refinance mortgage refinance key time of year in the gigging calendar for any serious semi pro band or musician. You may think venues will have sorted their Festive schedules out months in advance, but this is often not the case. New Years Eve is the one night where the majority may have booked tried and trusted acts but this still leaves a lot of nights for you to go for.

Here's how to find self cert loans this December - even if you don't have a music agency or band management.

START NOW
Start your Xmas band marketing campaign immediately. Once the Xmas decorations appear in the shops even the most disorganised venue will start to panic about getting their entertainment sorted.

EXPAND YOUR AVAILABILITY
If you only get gigs at weekends, consider going out Monday-Thursday as well in December. Many venues have party nights through the week and it will increase your chances of work if you're flexible about the nights you'll play.

KNOW YOURSELVES
Be sure in your own minds what sets you apart from other bands at the seasonal time of year. buy car insurance will help you convince venues to book you. "Party" is one key word. If you're a covers band for example, you could learn a couple of (bearable) Xmas songs. Then you can slip these into your sets and use them as part of your pitch to venues:

"We do a party section in the 2nd set with some Xmas numbers which always always get the crowd going"

ASK YOUR CURRENT VENUES
You should always be aiming to secure repeat Minnesota Lemon Laws on the night at any band gigs you play. When you're playing a band booking in October and November, after the gig ask:

"We're getting very busy now for December. Do you want to put a couple of dates in the diary now while we've still got some left?"

CONTACT NEW VENUES
If you're actively on the look out for potential new venues you'll have a list you can approach (or re-approach). Ask them how satisfied they are with their current bands and tell them about your own.

FOLLOW-UP APPROACHES WITH A NEWSLETTER
If a target venue says "thanks but no thanks" or "we'll think about it", or even "We're fully booked", get a simple one page band newsletter out to them within a few days. In it, highlight any party and Xmas related material. Next to your contact details include the statement:

"Some dates in December still available. Call Tony on 01234-56789 for details"

WRITE A PRESS RELEASE
To get some exposure for your band in the relevant local press you'll need to come up with a reasonably newsworthy angle to appeal to the entertainment editor. Take a look at some of the news that gets into the local papers and you'll see your submission needn't be earth-shattering. Have you got a new band member or website you could feature in the release? Do you have an upcoming local gig that might be worth a mention or a recent one and a good picture of you in action there? Make sure you photocopy any press coverage and get it out to all target venues.

Finally, remember that every venue has bands cancelling. So no matter how late it might seem, make sure you keep your name in front of them through newsletters and press releases etc. That way, your number will be the one they'll call if they need a band fast over the festive period.

Gareth Bird is an active semi-pro musician who gigs regularly at venues like the Hard Rock Caf. He has his own Sales & Marketing business advising a number of leading European companies and is the author of Gig-Getter: How to get more gigs than you can play. Gareth has written about getting gigs for Total Guitar Bass Guitar & Reverb Magazines.

www.gig-getter.co.ukwww.gig-getter.co.uk