BOOKING PROMOTION 101 - Reference Letters!
New for 2015: This is an amazing observation. In 17 years of having people apply to work here, almost all of them have said "references available by request". Yet, in those same 17 years of artists inquiring about hiring us, the number of them saying they have letters of reference from venues is: Zero.
How can this be? Aren't the artists passionate about getting their music to the public? Don't they want to do at least the basics to make this happen? It's certainly not like they don't know about references; every one of them has a "dayjob" resume with references, and some even have reference letters from previous jobs. Why then would they not have anything at all for what is supposed to be their passion? Many artists/performers do have gig schedules on their site, showing where they played. But then, every dayjob worker has a list of previous jobs too. Why then are there no reference letters? Were all these places bad events?
Well it's time to change that. From now on, all of you will have reference letters. Don't do anything until you get some letters from previous gigs, and don't do a new gig unless you plan on getting a letter from it. The basic purpose of a reference letter is for the person at the venue to say "this artist performed for me and I can tell you first-hand, that you'll want them". But why are letters important? Doesn't the music just speak for itself?
No, it doesn't. Venues don't really care about the music; they don't make any more money because the music is "good". They make money only when more customers PAY to come in, or when customers PAY more for food and drinks because they stay longer. If live music (no matter how good it is) does not make the venue more money, the venue will change to non-music performers (like comedians, magic, etc), or will just stop live performances all together. I've seen it happen many times.
Venue people won't believe you if you tell them that your last gigs were "great" and "had lots of people". They won't even believe you if you say "45 people paid $10 at the door just to see us". They'll just smile, or they'll say "sounds great, we will consider you") and assume you will say anything to get the gig. They will, however, believe other venue people who have no reason to lie, and every reason to tell the truth. These "other" venue people should have some sort of idea of what works and what doesn't. So there is every reason to believe them and what they say. And that is what a reference is.
So here's how to do reference letters properly:
First thing is to realize that people really don't really write letters for you; instead, you write the letters for them, and ask them to sign. Second thing, is to do anything you can to get a copy of their letterhead, or create their letterhead yourself; at the very least get a copy of their logo/sign and put it at the top of the letter you create. And yes, we are talking here about physical paper letters that you will mail and also take with you on personal drop-by visits to venues, and which you will also have PDF copies of for attaching to emails, as well as web-versions which are just JPG pictures of the whole letter.
The absolute best is a blank physical letterhead from the venue that they give you; you write the letter, and give it to the person to sign it, then you take it and make your paper photocopies, then scan it to make your PDF and JPG version. But how to make all this happen? How do you even ask, much less get finished, these letters? Here's how:
Step 1: Before ANY gig, even if it's just in someone's living room, ask them if afterwards you can get a reference letter from them. Almost all of them will say yes, as long as the gig goes well. Tell them you'll save them the hassle and you'll write it yourself, and they can read it and sign it after the gig.
Step 2: Ask if you can get a copy of their letterhead beforehand, in order to prepare your marketing materials; offer to drop by a day early and pick it up, or they could mail it to you. If they say they can't give away even one sheet of their letterhead, then say ok and prepare to build your own from their logo/sign.
Step 3: Take the letterhead you got from them, or made yourself, and put your text on it and print it out for them to sign after the gig.
Step 4: Do the gig, and ask the person to sign the letter. If the letter has wrong words, numbers or prices that you pre-filled, tell them you'll fix it later and transfer their signature to it, and you'll send them a fixed copy to see.
Step 5: After the gig, make your paper photocopies, and your PDF and JPG versions. Put the papers in your postal mail / drop-by media kits, and attach the PDFs to you emails, and put the JPG versions on your site in a VENUE COMMENTS section. The Venue Comments section can be hidden if you want, so that only venue people you send links to can see it.
Now for the fun part: The text! The reason you write the letters yourself is that venue people, and really almost all people, will just never get around to writing it themselves. And, even if they did write it, it's never as good as it could be even though they are really trying to help. These people are just not writers. So save them the trouble; if they insist on writing it themselves, fine. Otherwise, here's are some options of what to say:
From: Bob Jones, owner.
Venue: Cheese Sandwich Bar and Grill
Location: North Indianapolis, Indiana
To Whom It May Concern:
The artist ______you_______ performed at my Cheese Sandwich Bar and Grill last Friday night for two 45 minute sets, and they noticeably increased the sales of our Super Cheese Grande dinners. We have some Friday nights with no performers, and some with performers, and I'd say that ______you_______ probably sold an extra _______ dinners for us. This more than offset the $______ I paid them, and I'd be happy to have them back again. If you have any questions you can ask me directly at 555-123-4567 or my cell 555-987-6543 or my email bobcheese@gmail.com, and also I'd be happy to consider performers that you recommend that have performed for you.
Regards,
______________________________
(Bob Jones)
From: Sally Smith
Venue: Main Street Yoga
Location: Upper Bronx, New York
To Whom It May Concern:
The artist ______you_______ performed at my yoga studio last Sunday afternoon. I pre-promoted the afternoon as a live-music event and charged $35 for the 90 minute class, instead of the $20 for regular classes without live music. We packed in about ______ people, which is about all the class can hold. I paid ______you_______ a reasonable fee of $_____, and I think a very good job was done. Several of the class asked when the next live music class would be held. I'm recommending ______you_______ to my yoga friend who has her own class across town, and I think ______you_______ is a great fit for other yoga, pilates, and meditation groups. If you have any questions you can ask me directly at 555-123-4567 or my cell 555-987-6543 or my email sallyyoga@gmail.com, and also I'd be happy to consider performers that you recommend that have performed for you.
Thanks,
______________________________
(Sally Smith)
From: Rockin Rick
Venue: Basement Blues and Guitars
Location: Downtown Houston, Texas
To Whom It May Concern:
The artist ______you_______ just performed at my rock and blues guitar shop and basement stage last Thursday night. James, the lead guitarist of ______you_______, came in earlier that day to do three demonstrations of our new _______ guitar to the customers, which I pitched as "understand it during the day, and listen to it at night". Two of the three free daytime demo's were full (about ____ people each), and the third was half full, and about half of all these came back in that night to pay $12 for ______you_______ to perform, of course using our new _______ guitar. I even sold _____ guitars the next day because of it. So yes, these ______you_______ guys rock, are clean, do a good job, were reliable, and were worth every penny of the $______ I paid them which included the gig and the three demo's. If you have any questions you can ask me directly at 555-123-4567 or my cell 555-987-6543 or my email rockinrick@gmail.com, and also I'd be happy to consider performers that you recommend that have performed for you.
Thanks,
______________________________
(Rockin Rick)
From: Thomas Johnson, Booking Asst.
Venue: Fresno Amphitheater
Location: Fresno, California
To Whom It May Concern:
The artist ______you_______ did a wonderful mostly a-cappella performance for us at our Amphitheater on 3/4/2015. Our venue holds 2500, and between ______you_______ and the followup act _________, we had 1700 for the night. We billed ______you_______ as an a-cappella early-evening warm up for the somewhat louder full band ________, and as such we served about 250 full dinners, 125 sandwiches, and 375 drinks, which is a very nice addition to the $17 paid at the door. We paid ______you_______ $12,000 for the evening, and included a night at the local Hilton hotel. I would like to have ______you_______ back again, maybe for our fall festival series. If you have any questions you can ask me directly at 555-123-4567 or my cell 555-987-6543 or my email fresnoamp@gmail.com, and also I'd be happy to consider performers that you recommend that have performed for you.
Thanks,
______________________________
(Thomas Johnson)
From: Cindy M.
Venue: Coffee Grounds
Location: Rocky Mount, North Carolina
To Whom It May Concern:
The artist ______you_______ played a 45 minute set at our coffee shop on 5/12/15, and did a great job. We could not pay them directly but they had their tip jar, CDs, and t-shirts on a table next to them and it looks like they sold several items; they had their fan-list email signup page too, which we don't mind at all. Best part was ______you_______ was just loud enough to entertain but not loud enough to stop people from talking (and did not mind the blender turning on an off!)
If you have any questions you can ask me directly at 555-123-4567 or my cell 555-987-6543 or my email coffeegrounds@gmail.com, and also I'd be happy to consider performers that you recommend that have performed for you.
Thanks,
______________________________
(Cindy M.)
From: Samantha Tonny
Venue: Samantha's Weddings
Location: Boston, Mass.
To Whom It May Concern:
The artist ______you_______ played two 35 minute performances at a recent wedding that I did the planning for. Although a small part of the cost of the whole wedding, their performance probably had as much impact as the cake itself. They really knew how to incorporate the bride and groom into their performance, even having them join in singing a few familiar songs. And while they did bring a full setup with folding stage (was outdoors on grass) and lights (was early evening), they did not over-use them and made good with solo mic walkarounds so as to mingle with the approx 300 crowd. I paid them $1300 and will be using them in future weddings here in Boston. If you have any questions you can ask me directly at 555-123-4567 or my cell 555-987-6543 or my email samwed@gmail.com, and also I'd be happy to consider performers that you recommend that have performed for you.
Thanks,
______________________________
(Samantha Tonny)
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