Identify someone in your act to be the main contact for dealing with venues. This person should be organised and a good communicator. Remember – first impressions count. Venues will get a lot of confidence if your act is professional and easy to work with.

Put together a digital ‘one pager’ that contains the following:

• Name of your act
• Contact details – name of main contact, email and phone number
• Biography – 50 words max. Make it short and to the point.
• Photo – include a high res 300 DPI photo that represents you and engages people.
• Three tracks of your music – embed them in the page rather than just adding links.
• Video of your live performance – embedded in the page
• Two relevant quotes about the band that promotes what you’re about.
• Social media handles, usernames and tags with active links.

Research how the venue wants to receive gig enquiries and email the digital one pager to their preferred contact (usually on their website). When pitching your act, emphasise:

• That you can draw a crowd
• How you stand out musically
• How you plan to promote the show

Always be polite and professional. The venue has to have confidence your show will be a success – give them that reassurance.

Other tips for getting gigs

• Link up with local promoters that program regular band nights.
• Make friends with other artists and suggest working together to put on a package for a venue. For example, three artists perform on one night and promote the night together.
• Residencies are also great artists and venues to grow a fan base. They also minimise the logistics for the venue.