Wondering if anyone here has ever registered with any type of local or on line service for musicians/entertainment.
Right now I'm working on the senior circuit thing, but as I progress as a solo entertainer, wondering if looking into this is worth my while?
Any bad or good experiences out there?

Thanks,
Jill

Jill-

In my expriences, I've used them twice...with mixed results.

When I was in my early 20's, I was in a band out of Pittsburgh, PA that played regionally. We travelled from Chicago to Jersey...A few large talent agencies (DiCeaseare-Engler and Kresge, I think) were invaluable to our success. They kept us working enough to warrent 2-3 week road trips and got us a few opening act gigs as well.

In my current role as a OMB performer, I find agencies of little use to me. In Dayton, most of the Agencies are small 1-3 man shops that are run by other working musicians who typically also play piano and/or sing. Realizing they'll ALWAYS skim the best jobs off the top, I've had good success marketing myself. My business is about 65% Nursing homes/Retirement communities and 35% Animal clubs, coporate/civic clients and private parties (Weddings, anniversaries, etc...)

This Saturday past I booked my 370th show for this year...so, I'd say working hard and staying organised in your booking approach should yield reasonable results. There are many professional OMB-ers on this website who can make the same claim about how successful you can be doing your own booking.

On the other hand, your area may be very different. Go visit a few agencies and get a feel for what they can do for you. If your target is upscale private parties, coporate events, etc...It might not be a bad idea to include them in your marketing plan. They'll want a promo kit up front including a quality head shot, audio demo, bio info plus references. You may not work that often-but, it just really depends on what you're looking for.

Good luck either way you choose to pursue...


Bill in Dayton

Thanks so much Bill-
yes, in the future, I would eventually like to include private parties, etc, - and may test the waters on the use of an agency for those types of events.
For the senior circuit, and close local jobs, i'll stick to my own marketing for now!! Thanks for sharing your experience with me on that -

Jill

I've had dealing with 4 agencies here, and most were not worth a damned. You're usually better off by doing your own marketing and promotions.

Gary

MUSICIAN BEWARE

thanks to all for the advice!
I won't waste time looking!

Jill

Hi Jill

I think you have to approach and shop for booking agents the same as any other service or commodity.

The band I played in for years in Wisconsins often took jobs from a great booker who quite often got us a lot more money than we were able to get.

I also know of some solo acts around here that also get a lot more money through their booker than they can. Lots of times it's private parties that they would have never known about in the first place. I asked this one girl vocal/keyboard act what her agents get for commission, thinking it might be 10%-15%. She said she didn't know or care what he got because of the very high paying gigs, as in $500 worth for a single for just a few hours, which I don't think is too bad.

I used an agent a short time ago looking for work. She got me a gig right away about 3 days later.

I have also contacted several other agents in the area. They all need a promo package.

I feel that I am really doing more interviewing of the bookerthan the booker is of me. I feel my demo speaks for itself.

So, in short, I feel it's like shopping for anything else. I think anything is worth a try. I know I'm pretty good at reading people and spotting a BSer. But, even then, you may not know until you give it a try.

Right now I am checking into bookers a lot farther away than I originally planned to travel, only because the local bookers are basically confirming what I have found out myself, which is, at the present, there is not really that much work around this area.

Do what you like, but I personally think anything is worth a try.

Best
Scott Langholff http://www.ScottLMusic.com

thanks scott - for looking at the other side of the coin!
I'm not ready to completely discount this in the future, but I think for the senior circuit, i'll handle my own bookings . . .

Right now, while I'm trying to completely change gears and song genre's from what I was performing in my last duo . . . (60s - 80s rock, pop, some country) I don't want to waste a whole of time on things that won't matter right now, since getting up and running (and performing) is obviously my #1 goal.

Once I feel comfortable with my solo self - then perhaps i'll be ready to look around again for a place to "list" myself with.
Hudson florida is certainly not the entertainment mecca of the state, but I'm quite close to Clearwater and Tampa, which is a whole different world of opportunities!!! Thanks again for your input!

Jill

Jill, you might want to try using www.gigmasters.com for a few months to see if it works for you. Our band was hired for a few weddings using this service.

Al

thanks al-

i spotted them on the web, and wondered if anyone had ever used them. Are you still listed with them?

Jill