what is a standard press packet that is used to get gigs? just wondering what people are using for booking... please help...

cd or dvd?
pictures?
website?
band bios?

what else?

thanks..

A DVD is better than a CD. But it also costs more to produce. Everything else you mention is pretty standard. Have a professional photographer take your photos, and consider hiring a writer to write your bios and band descriptions. Any local press quotes are good too. You don't want your press kit to be cluttered though. One high quality picture, CD or DVD, a concise band bio, and your contact info should be enough. The idea is to make yourself look as professional as possible. If your promotional stuff looks pro, then the club will assume your music and band are pro quality as well.

Maybe put 20 to 30 second clips of your 3 best tunes on there. Not enough to make it a chore to listen to, but enough to make them interested.

A MySpace page is a good idea, too. Maybe put a link on the disc, so anybody who puts it into a computer, will have a direct link to your site?

quote:

Originally posted by Swain:
A MySpace page is a good idea, too. Maybe put a link on the disc, so anybody who puts it into a computer, will have a direct link to your site?

Oh, thats a cool idea!
Also I if we are cold calling ( or luke warm calling a place...) I usually try to include any write up's/reviews you've had if they're not in the bio, and/or promo ( not porno ) materials ( tshirt, stickers, swag) business card...

An electronic press kit isn't a bad way to go, especially considering the lack of resources one needs. Having a hard CD or video available upon request is also a good idea...

Digital press kits tend to get the quickest responses, from my experience. I hate to promote the tacky teenage battleground that is MySpace, but having a spiffy band page on there really serves all the purposes of a digital press kit and then some.

...and it's so easy...and cheap, to do. We've got a website, myspace, and a presskit..but ( for us at least) 9/10 times it's word of mouth, and workin' it...

A business card with the website address is an inexpensive thing to add to the marketing tools. That way you can still promote yourselves, to everybody. Business cards are handy. You carry 10 or 20 with you, and hand them to anybody who "might" be a good contact. Probably a one-time set up fee about $50 to $75 at a good print shop.

Sure, you want a full Press Kit for clubs, promoters, etc. But, a quick business card is invaluable.

For some of my Guitar Instruction, I do group classes for Kids ages 10 to 16 years old. For these classes, I work with another Instructor. And we have Custom Stickers printed up, with our names and phone numbers on them. Kids LOVE stickers! They are slowly "popping up" everywhere. LOL The printer (A large local company, who prints up most of the area's political signs, props, etc.) said our stickers had the fastest turn around time they'd ever seen. I picked them up from the Printer, and gave some to my students that day. I also left a few on the front counter of the music store. THAT NIGHT one of the Printer's employees saw our sticker on the Bass Guitar case of a local band, at the club he went to! And I didn't even know any of the band members, or even of the band's existance. SWEET!

So, more than a Press Kit, if you can find a way to appeal to a "Target" audience, you may get more referrals than you can shake a stick at.

Good luck, Bro!

Bigtophalloween mentioned the electronic press kit, or EPK, which is a very good idea. Go to sonicbids.com to find out more.

cool.. thanks.. this is "my" first band.. never dealt with booking before.. it's a whole other (painful) world. joelbyron- do you use sonicbids? has anyone else had success with these kinds of websites?

thanks..

I am blessed to play with a guy ( singer) who is BRILLIANT at talking us up and into places ( what the hell, he's usually in a bar anyway...) Mr. Personality, thank goodness because I am a pretty anti-social sumbitch...he's always draggin' me into crowds, meeting, and chatting up people...one thing he does that I have seen be very effective is remember peoples names!!! He actually keeps a piece of paper in his wallet that he jots down new people he meets during the course of the night and how/ if they connect to other peope he/we know...not only between sets at our gigs , but working the crowd at other peoples...alot of work but it tottally pays off...I on the other hand can't even always remember our drummers name ....oh and if you can set up a band email acount ( a free one is fine we use buffalo.com...I'm sure most cities have one...) and establish a band calandar there, make sure that everone has the password and puts up dates they are NOT available to play, and check it often...it will cut down (not eliminate - trust me) the back and forth checking before you can say "yes" to a gig it may seem like overkill now, but before you know it you'll realize that your dealing with alot of BS with people's different scheduals to fit gigs in...the quicker you can say yes or no the more proffesional you look and the fewer gigs you'll miss out on...oh yeah and have fun!

dirty murphy brings up an excellent point. There's an old cliche' about front persons and lead vocalists not "pulling their weight" with bands. However, work is work, whether it's loading out gear or schmoozing with fans and patrons. If a band has a front person that naturally possesses the sort of type-A charisma that will bring folks in for your next engagement, turn 'em loose to schmooze, that's Marketing 101.

One band that I work with contains a non-ugly female vocalist who will take photos with kids and sign posters and photos and CD's after a show. That sounds like a lot of work to me, as I'm far more comfortable with loading out my gear and going on down the road with my sweaty self after a set.

Why would I want a charismatic front person to load gear if they can instead generate further future revenue and build a buzz within the same time frame as the grunt work would occupy? I wouldn't, unless they're just lazy by default.

I totally agree with Dirty and Corleone. The more friends and contacts you make the better the following and better gigs. A decent band with at least a couple of great personalities and go a lot farther than a great group with no people skills, at least at the smaller level where you deal with your audience constantly.

The band I used to play with years ago had a great following everywhere we went because we actually made friends everywhere and kept in contact with them when we were in town. It's nice to have friends no matter where you play. People love to know the guys in the band even if your playing the local shithole down the street.