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How To Get A Properly Paid Gig

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What are we trying to promote?
If you have been following this series you will be aware that our approach has been solidly (some would say cold bloodedly) practical. From the start we identified the reasons why anyone would actually be prepared to pay you to perform (the title of the series is, after all, “how to get a properly paid gig!). This approach is very useful in the context of promotion. It gives us a definition of exactly what it is that we are attempting to promote:

“The thing we are trying to promote is whatever it is that you have that would make someone want to pay you to perform”

This definition will probably come as a surprise to you but there is logic here. The whole exercise described in this series is the investigation and analysis of a section of the music landscape with the specific purpose of identifying what and how you can perform musically in order to obtain properly “paid gigs”. We have identified the commercial imperatives that confront venue owners, agents, bookers or other potential sources of these gigs when they make decisions about who to hire…and pay and finally we have decided on an approach. The whole project assumes that this approach is commercially viable, i.e.: that it is one that is likely to attract enough punters to convince hirers that they should pay you. Once you have been hired, the purpose of promotion is to let punters know that your approach is now available to them and probably to point out to them the reasons why they already like what you are offering.

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FROM THE EDITOR

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In times of economic insecurity I personally believe that the self-employed (which of course includes most musicians) are always better placed to weather the storm. Which is why I have never understood why banks (who after all caused this mess) have always looked down their noses at people who are only gainfully employed by themselves. After all when you are self employed you have learnt the skills necessary to juggle competing bills, multi-task and pick up work wherever and whenever you need to. You generally have a few strings to your bow and so you are not relying on one stream of income – which when it dries up can leave the traditionally employed devastated.

The other interesting fact, or was it gossip that I recently heard, was that during hard times people become more generous to beggars and charities – the theory being that they have more empathy for their plight – there but for the grace of god (Allah, Buddah, Jesus, insert deity here)... As many punters don’t seem to be able to discern buskers from beggars this could also provide some extra much-needed cash flow to the working man and woman on your local street corner.

So rejoice in the recession – and if you still can’t find the positives in the world economic downturn then you can always write a song about it and finally clear that writer’s block you’ve been suffering from.

Til next time – don’t forget to spend, spend, spend for your country,
Megan Albany
Editor

MEGAN ALBANY

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