Getting gigs isn’t always easy
How can unsigned bands get booking agents to take them seriously—and ultimately work for them?
By Sally Brown

Representing bands such bands as The Nadas and Deep Blue Something, Hello! Booking owner and agent Eric Roberts has an ear for what he calls a “together” band—one that’s looking to be signed and represented by his agency.

Roberts’ agency, based in Albertville, Minn., receives about a half dozen emails a day (through word-of-mouth, as the three agents’ emails are not listed on their website), on top of six to 12 demos and press packs each week. This is not uncommon for music booking agencies, Roberts says, and only increases the already-high competitiveness of the industry.

It’s common knowledge that album sales have continually declined in the last two to three years due to technology and the ease of downloading and sharing files. In this ever-changing electronic world, Roberts says that live performances are becoming more important and a key player in determining whether to sign a band, or whether to pass them up. Consequently, the business model is increasingly playing a bigger role in the industry.

There are three main factors that Roberts and his agents take into consideration signing a band or a musician. First and foremost is the sound of the music. Though Roberts’ agency is not genre-specific, number one on their criteria is that they have to like the music. Roberts’ agency signs bands that vary stylistically, but are all great performers and songwriters.

When asked of the importance of demos and press packs in this time of live music, Roberts still stressed the quality of these, and says they typically are submitted in Sonic Bids or MySpace formats, though they also receive CDs and photographs. The number two criteria is that an act must “has it together.” Roberts describes the act as a team that gets things done—such as having a website, having an email list broken down into different market types, developing a plan and vision, press and media coverage. When asked how Roberts sees this organization, he says, “you can tell by the dates and shows lined up, and press coverage.”

The third criteria regards the connections of Roberts in the industry. As a music vet who played in a band before breaking into the agency side of the industry about ten years ago and continuing his successes by expanding the business, Roberts has become familiar with many club owners, promoters, and just the music community as a whole. “And,” Roberts adds, “they always tell the truth.”

Hello! Booking talent buyers have booked bands in range of venues, from the smallest of clubs to the largest of festivals in the United States and Europe. Roberts’ other principal agent is Brian Swanson. Together, Swanson and Roberts bring a collective 27 years of music business experience to their artists and talent buyers, along with familiar relations of those in the industry from all over.

This emphasizes the fact that band members and musicians need to conduct themselves politely in every regard—as an honest and forthright professional—“or it will bite them in the ass in a matter of time,” Roberts says, frankly.

Another bad idea is to constantly and continuously contact agents for attention, especially after being rejected. Of course in this industry, everyone wants and might have the potential to be a rock star; and so really, who can say who is and who isn’t? With this, Roberts says, some rocker-wanna-be’s do not stop when they should. Instead of trying to keep at the same uninterested agent, Roberts says to look for another, or keep at it yourself.

Many applicants want to know where they should play, or how they get where they want to go. Roberts suggests simply looking up bands they admire and seeing where they play or how they got there.

Truly, Roberts says, with the vast amount of information available on the Internet, the resources are at your fingertips. “It’s common sense,” he says. “Use your head.” In fact, just by typing in “unsigned bands” in a Google search, one can find many websites dedicated to the cause; with tips, forums, news, directories, interviews, competitions, and more…all literally at your fingertips.

Put simply by the expert, “If you do stuff, stuff happens.”