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If you have the burning desire to learn how to become a booking agent, you’ll need to realize that there is one apparently impossible bit of a paradox to work around before anything else can be worked out in this business. Now, what could this be? Well in truth, this is one of those lines of work that needs the wisdom and know-how that can only come from many years of experience in order to properly begin in this field. See the puzzle here? It’s highly important to note that there are very many things that can easily cause such a business to fly apart which must be avoided, and a great many opportunities which can be taken advantage of, that to any newbie in the field can remain otherwise unseen. So how might a newcomer to this line of work be able to benefit from experience when there is yet none accomplished?

Here is how to become a booking agent without having first acquired any experience of your own; learn from the years of experience that others who have risen to success before you can provide for you. Pretty darned simple, isn’t it? It sure seems so… but who in their right mind would mentor a growing source of competition? Who in this line of work would freely give out such invaluable data which was all hard-earned throughout many long years of trial and error?

Truth be told, there are many who have worked in this field for years, even decades, and have now moved on to guiding and mentoring anyone hoping to learn how to become a booking agent who have just begun to play this particular game. Such masters are the ones you need to be searching for, as the rich wisdom they wish to impart to you is nothing short of a treasure.

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A lot of artists and bands often feel that getting signed by or being offered a recording deal is the ultimate goal of their musical career. In some cases this can be true but frequently it can be the start of a whole new set of issues that no artist could ever foresee or desire.

These days a recording contract is nothing more than a big advance of money to be recouped by the recording company through sales of your product. If it doesn’t sell to expectation you still have to pay the money back somehow. Music companies are a business and they are there to make money not lose it. It is no different than going to a bank and getting a loan to market your music your self, except the recording companies have the methods to make the product sell, get airplay and distribute the product throughout the country or even the world. Recording companies loan you the money to make the music and get their money back by distributing it. Typically artists make a small fraction on CDs- most of the money comes through merchandise and tours.

If you can get a recording company to get behind your music, that’s good. But beware of recording companies who try to influence and change your sound, often to the point of rewriting your songs and even changing members of your band or, worse still forcing you to record songs made by other peoples.

Here are some difficulties that can happen to musicians who get signed and think they are on their way to fill stadiums around the world.

Getting shelved!
A band gets signed, gets some cash advanced for recording. The songs are recorded and completed but the record company ‘shelves’ your act and you never sees the light of day but you can’t take your product anywhere else because you are already signed. Often you can’t even play live gigs without giving a % of your performance fee to the record company. This happened to Billy Joel who waited his five year contract out playing in piano bars.

The song gets changed.
Often you will be all ready to record your songs and the record company will bring in a co-writer or producer who alters your compositions beyond all recognition to “fit in with label’s style.” You started to make a hard rock album and you end up with a rap album with all your instruments removed and samples replacing them. You thought you were Metallica only to end up like Jack Johnson. Then you have to go and promote something you really hate and your product is no longer recognizable.

Where did all the money go?
Beware the big advance of money, to make and promote your music. If it doesn’t sell you will have to pay the money back, with interest, just like the banks. How do you pay it back? Live gigs, touring, radio shows, shopping centers for the next ten years. How do all those artists who make millions of dollars end up bankrupt? All the bills they didn’t know they had to pay. They had so much fun, they never watched where the money was going. Read the fine print so you don’t end up like MC Hammer.

Where did my band go?
Quite often musical differences between band members and record companies are solved by the company getting rid of and replacing any member of the band who doesn’t agree with them. They are always trying to get work for their own players and artists who have already been signed. Quite often you will find all your guitar player’s work re-recorded by the studio guy or producer to fit in with the label’s sound or smooth over tensions within the band.

I thought I was a musician not a pop star.
Increasingly recording companies are trying to “cross media” any act in anyway they can. They will market you anyway they can, and they will get you to do things to increase your and their exposure any way they can. You may end up on dog food commercial, on big brother or, god forbid, on Australian Idol. Many recording companies are just offshoots of the big media groups who control TV, radio, music, and the print media, and they will market you anyway they see fit to re-coup their investment in you. Most musicians have a short shelf life so companies want to maximize their profit now before the public listens to the next big thing. (We’ve all heard of the sophomore slump!)

Remember that the music business is 95% business and 5% music. Try to go independent if you can, promote yourself on the web at sites like Axebay and build your own presence in the world. The more successful you are in the beginning the more bargaining power you have with the recording companies. If you do get an offer, get a good lawyer. You don’t want to waste five years in piano bars.

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You’ve got it, you’re going to put together a huge, glossy press kit, fill it with bios, press releases, fact sheets, photos, graphs, statistics, brochures, covering everything that ever happened in your life, with every possible bit of information that you have on yourself and your company, and you’re going to send it to every media outlet you can think of. Interesting plan, if your aim is to throw money away and alienate the media. To begin with, unless you have loads of disposable cash, you’re going to go broke. More importantly, chances are, that it’s going to be incredibly boring, not to mention annoying for the media to receive all that information – information they never requested. Press kits can be effective, but only if they’re used sparingly and shrewdly. Don’t inundate the media with information, and if you’ve hired a firm, don’t give them carte blanche in the matter. Too many PR firms have a tendency to send out press kits en masse. It’s a common practice, but a wasteful one. Also, keep in mind, public relations firms can make a heck of a lot of money charging their clients for high-priced press kits.

Frills and fluff do not make a . Buy yourself some two-pocket folders at any stationery store. Buy a good median-priced folder; you don’t want the most expensive, but you don’t want the cheapest folder either. Inside the folder include copies of any articles or interviews you have appeared in, a fact sheet, a short bio about you and your company, a press release, and any visuals or photos that you believe are important. No fluff, only include the pertinent stuff. That is your press kit. First send a release, make a follow-up call. If a producer or editor asks for a kit, send one, but only to people who have requested it. Be selective. Be smart.

Also, modify your press kit to fit the media that you’re sending to. You may not want to send the same press kit to Time magazine that you would to Runner’s World or Forbes. Be discerning in who you send the kits to and in the materials you include. It will pay off in the long run.

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After attending countless artist showcases through the years as a former talent booking agent with the William Morris Agency, I’ve decided to touch on some practical ideas that will help promote your artist career and give you an increased chance at a possible record deal. After exploring much of the information available online, I determined to stay with easily grasped concepts and ideas that would help artists avoid some of the common mistakes.

First let’s make it clear that not every act deserves an artist showcase, at least not in the light of pandering to record labels in an ongoing campaign to secure a record deal. If you’ve read any of my articles, you know I try to tell it like it is and so once again, I will not shy away from the truth that not every artist deserves an outlet to showcase their “talent.” The reason is not simply because the band is no good, but because maybe there is not a maturity or serious quality from the members or a definitive goal in place that everyone is rallying around. Other reasons may include lack of a unique playing quality or an act that is simply playing cover tunes. Let’s talk about cover tunes for a minute.

Don’t play cover tunes unless they are specifically asked for, or unless you are a cover band playing wedding gigs, etc. If you are truly looking to get a record deal, then showcase your own music. This notion that your audience can relate to you and your band simply because you are playing music that everyone knows is false and misguided logic. Would you have cared, the first time you heard one of your favorite groups, that you knew any of the material – I bet not. You were so into the music and groove you wanted to hear more and buy the record. You think of big groups today that at one point were nobody, and just imagine hearing them for the first time, would it have mattered? – I bet I’m right again. Moral of the story, play your own music.

Before you begin to look at the possibility of a showcase, look at your objectives. Each showcase doesn’t necessarily have to be about the record deal, but that should certainly be your ultimate objective and therefore, everything that you bring to the table ought to encompass and revolve around that goal. For example, you might showcase a particular groove and set of songs, which you would like to take out on the track and test. Is the audience really digging it or is it not you. Likewise, you can showcase for a lesser goal, but yet an important stepping stone to a record deal signing like pushing upcoming events or visibility to obtain additional bookings, etc.

As you start planning a showcase, who will attend? – Friends or will music industry personnel be present? Each artist showcase ought to be driven by a marketing approach. Do you have an artist logo, professional bios, pictures and press kits made? These can not be a “friend of the group did it for us,” looking press kits. They have to shine and look pro like music industry individuals are already in play and are looking at your act. Don’t overlook these elements. You might check out artist press kits, bios and press blurb writing at ReelMusician.com.

How will you go about promoting your showcase? You have to look beyond stapling flyers to telephone polls, etc. Have you thought about creating a jingle or station ID or local radio personality piece for free in hopes that you will get some radio and TV exposure? You ought to look at local radio stations and write a mix according to the style of the station and your band – see if you can’t get some promotion that way. Cable TV advertising is fairly inexpensive. You might consider going in with everyone in the band and buying some advertising from cable or local TV stations.

If you don’t already have it, and I’m sure most do, get your web site up and going and make sure that you have a page for upcoming events along with pictures, bio, contact page. Websites do not have to be expensive. You can get your website hosted for $5 – $10 a month. You most likely won’t get a lot of traffic, but you will get credibility with the public and within the music industry crowd – This will prove to be invaluable later on down the road.

What will your showcase consist of and what can you do to stand out from the crowd? Your act needs to look like they’ve been at this for years with a comfort level exuding from who the band is. How long is the showcase? You’ve heard the old expression, always leave the crowd wanting to hear more. Far better to do a rather short showcase with knock out tunes then a lengthy, drawn out, can’t wait to get out of there, gig. Work with your song lineup and tweak the number and length of your set at rehearsal until it feels right. Have everything figured right up front. Who’s going to speak when and try to hit all of the “what ifs,” as much as you can. You want this showcase to “wow” the listeners and create some momentum and energy.

Re-think your image and make sure that it matches who you are. People are not that stupid and can almost immediately recognize when an image is forced and manipulated and not natural to the group. Better to have a natural image, true to who you are, than an image that you think just has to go with your style of music.

In closing, make each and every showcase count, with calculated marketing and a thought through line-up so when the music industry execs start showing up, they have something to go back to the office with!

The press is a great resource for any company. Media exposure can greatly enhance any branding effort. Today’s technology allows for a confusing array of possibilities relating to your company’s press kit. Many business owners make common mistakes when assembling these kits. The following are some easy tips towards creating the press kit best suited to your company’s needs while avoiding common missteps.

The first components are obviously the basics. Essentials include company overview, description and history. All contact information is required. Testimonials for your product are very helpful as are independent and objective reviews from trusted sources. Any previous press coverage should also be included. This could include reference within trade or industry publications. Business card printing might be necessary in that the cards included must be of the highest quality. If yours are not it is time for a new batch.

Your press kit should reflect the industry in which you reside. For example, if your product is sold to young snow boarders, then you’d have a fun and edgy theme. Conversely, if you resided in a more conservative field like selling software to attorneys then you would desire a more professional and staid motif. You should keep this theme consistent and not vary it between recipients. This rule parallels the same concept relating to consistency within brochure printing and catalog printing.

Today, technology makes it possible to submit your kit electronically using no paper at all. The ability for media devices today to hold reams of data encourage some marketers to cram as much as will fit into the presentation. This often proves to be a fatal mistake. Information overload can turn off the reader. Keep your information concise. This can prove beneficial if it prompts a follow up phone call from the recipient for further information. Much better to have that opportunity for a personal pitch which wouldn’t exist had you conveyed the additional information within your media kit.

Keep the content in your kit current. If you are including old news that reflects poorly upon your organization. Review the materials in your kit on a continuous basis. Update it with the newest references and testimonials received by your product or service. Make sure your content conforms to the current reality taking into consideration any applicable recent events.

The fourth estate is a powerful weapon within your branding arsenal. Experienced marketers know that relationships developed with the press are worth their weight in gold. A good press kit is the way to initially get your foot in the door. The first ones sent out are the most critical. Create yours with care and thought.

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Enjoy these snippets from Indie Buzz Bootcamp 2008: Ariel Hyatt on how to sell from the stage without selling, and Bob Baker on the PBS pledge drive approach to making money with your music. For more info on the next Indie Buzz Bootcamp event, visit www.IndieBuzzBootcamp.com To learn more about Ariel, her book, and her Cyber PR service, visit arielpublicity.com For more music marketing tips from Bob Baker, visit TheBuzzFactor.com MusicPromotionBlog.com Camera work by Lee Mueller of 100th Monkey Productions www.youtube.com www.myspace.com

Music bands need to produce promotional materials to boost music sales and music show engagements. People will be aware of a certain band through marketing materials like stickers, posters and mugs. In addition, these kinds of promotional items can also be used by people as decorations and displays.

Some people who are interested in design love decorating their personal things, rooms and houses with items that interest them. For music enthusiasts, pieces of memorabilia or promotional materials from their favorite bands can be used as decorative items.

Printed Stickers – Often times, bands resort to sticker printing as a method of producing creative marketing prints. Stickers are good marketing tools because they can be put in many flat surfaces like walls, cabinets, doors, notebooks and guitar. Band stickers appear in different sizes and designs. These kinds of prints may include images related to music, motivational texts, or band photos. Fans and supporters may display these stickers anywhere they want.

Poster Prints – Creating band posters is very common among music bands. These posters are used to promote a band’s shows, gigs, concerts and other musical activities. It is also a creative idea to put the design of a band’s album cover. This way, a specific band will be able to promote their music to people. Poster prints are bought by fans and kept as memorabilia. Most of the time, people bring their favorite band’s poster for autograph signing. In addition, band posters can also be used as decorations in rooms and homes.

Promotional Mugs – Mugs are also considered as band promotional items and giveaways. Mugs can be used as marketing tools or decorative pieces. These items are also useful for people. Promotional mugs can also be used for coffee, alcohol drinks and other beverages. For a more creative idea, people can simply put pens and pencils on a mug, and display it on top of a table. Children can also put shells, beads and colorful marbles on the mugs, displayed on the living room.

With creativity, people can make use of the said promotional items in decorating their rooms and houses. Band promotional materials can be transformed into creative decorative pieces that can accentuate personal things, rooms and houses.

Are you tired of playing miniscule gig after miniscule gig only to generate pennies? Are you tired or working that second job, just to scrape up enough dough to put gas in the van to get to gigs? Maybe you are one of those people who feel the have exhausted every option there is? Well, if that sounds like you, then you have come to the right place. Have you considered or even explored online music promotion?

If you are a newbie to this concept then hold on because you are in for a ride. Once you discover how many music promotion resources there are online, then you will be amazed at where your career goes. You can be the most talented artist out there, but if no one knows who you are then it won’t mean a thing.

Independent music promotion is on the rise. Artists and musicians alike are sick of sitting around waiting to get signed. They are ready to reach the masses on their own. And the awesome thing is, they have all the music promotion resources they need and all within arms reach. These artists are sick of waiting and you should be too. But you have to do something about it.

First things first, get a website to start with online music promotion! Chances are that since you are a musician, you are not an internet savvy tech guy or gal but that’s ok. There is a plethora of help out there, you just have to want it and get it! Do you realize that by acquiring a website, you can sell CDs, build an immense fan base, write and send newsletters, book gigs, post bios and have a specific place of reference for anyone to go to who wants to know more about you or your band?

Another bonus of independent music promotion is that you keep basically all of your profits! Doesn’t get much sweeter than that, does it? You might be thinking, how can I do this on my own? Well, you can and you will with the right guidance. So, now you know your first step in your quest to conquer online music promotion. Now all you have to do is make a plan and accomplish those goals, one by one. My suggestion is to find powerful music promotion resources that will guide you through creating, designing and marketing your website.

Many amateur bands are seeking for opportunities to make their music be heard by people through any possible means. With this, members of a specific band must be flexible enough to deal with different kinds of people and build positive connections with them. Furthermore, the band members may not know that they are actually talking with a big-time recording studio owner or boss.

Once a band was given a shot to perform live in front of a recording studio representatives, or submit demo CD’s to recording companies, its members must be prepared enough to give their best. In addition, preparing for various promotional materials like a band press kit and demo CD must also be included on the overall preparation.

Having more rehearsals can help an amateur band perform well everywhere, in a rehearsal studio, on stage or even in front of top executives of a recording company. A band can spend more time in practicing and recording their music to analyze flaws and weak points of a certain song. Band members can always do a revision if possible to enhance their music.

Preparing a band press kit is also a necessity for any band. A band press kit or portfolio contains the demo CD, band profile, band photo, list of songs and a business card to create visual identity for the band. Amateur bands can express themselves through die cut business cards, a more personalized form of business card that suits a specific need and purpose. Amateur bands can also seek for reliable printers to create their band photos. This is important because quality photos can show professionalism. Photo printing and business card printing are just some of the many ways that amateur bands can resort to.

With these kinds of preparation, it is possible for an amateur band to get an opportunity to record their songs and be widely known. Band members must consider the saying that applies to all people: “If you fail to prepare, prepare to fail.” With that saying, amateur bands must consider preparation as an important part of their success.

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As today’s networks are growing, becoming most expensive to operate and even more complicated, the number of distributed networks and remote branches are also increasing rapidly, creating a need for efficient console servers.  And with budgets for network management staff dwindling, it is becoming even more important to build in capabilities to improve the response time to an outage or other problem  This makes remote power management a key element in efficiently managing your data center.

While some businesses are utilizing UPS (uninterruptible power supplies), a substantial number are not implementing a remote power management solution to provide them with the full range of protection and cost savings available to them via a remote console server.  These power management console servers are network-managed devices that allow remote control of the power on a per-receptacle basis, allowing remote cycling of equipment and other management capabilities.

For many equipment issues, cycling power can be the fastest – or only – way to correct problems. Through a remote console server, technicians can monitor power, perform a remote reboot and control individual power receptacles. If a system freezes, the technician can remotely reboot power and quickly return the network to operational status.

The benefits of remote power management include:

reduction in required site visits;
quick recovery from software lockouts;
ability to activate standby equipment and remotely shut down defective equipment;
remote monitoring of power consumption to identify any changes;
reports to audit power before making the decision to add equipment;
ability to control power sequencing.

The single most important justification for remote power management is the cost savings related to site trips previously required to alleviate common issues, including:

restoring network connectivity via remote reboot of key servers or network equipment after a failure;
remotely activating standby equipment and shutting down primary equipment;
increases in power consumption from attached systems that can indicate an impending hardware failure;
knowing in advance whether equipment expansion or upgrades can be done within a rack pdu’s power level;
sequencing power to outlets on power up to eliminate current inrush and maximize use of circuit ratings;
maximizing runtime by shutting down non-critical equipment.

A UPS is sometimes considered sufficient protection for equipment, but a complete power management solution provides control in addition to power outage protection. Advanced power management is often integrated with other remote management resources to simplify management and reduce the number of interfaces.

These technologies are called out-of-band management or out-of-band networking and are implemented on console terminal servers. The most common interface used for out-of-band management is a serial connection to the service port of servers, storage, routers, switches, and other types of network equipment. Through a single interface, an administrator can manage power, console terminal servers and environmental and security management for a wide variety of applications.

Complete power management – beyond the protection of a UPS – can be a critical element of network management for today’s businesses. A properly-configured power management system can provide around-the-clock remote power access and real-time monitoring that allows the data center manager to address a large number of common network problems without the need for a site visit. With this capability, businesses can greatly reduce the cost of network downtime without increasing network management staffing costs.

Every aspiring musician out there desires to know the secrets of How to get a record deal. I know, I know, there are so many record labels out there; it is so hard to know what every one of them is looking for. Fortunately, there is one common thread that they all share. They are all looking for someone who is marketable!

For a record company, how much money they see themselves making off of you is ultimately the deciding factor. Your music, your performance, your lyrics and your talent are crucial as well but they have to be able to sell you in addition to your music.

On the quest to getting the ultimate record deal you may find that you have to somewhat reinvent yourself. Now, don’t get me wrong, you don’t have to change who you are as a person but you may need to sit back and take a look at how you present yourself or your band. Do you have charisma, a star quality, sex appeal, uniqueness—all of the above? What are the defining characteristics of your style? What sets you apart from the thousands of others out there trying to get signed by a record company?

Do you look and act the part? This is what it all boils down to! You have to be confident, experienced, dedicated, professional and original. Originality is key! The music industry doesn’t need another Brittany Spears or 50 Cent. The music gurus want new, fresh people that are going to rake in the dough!

If you are serious about working on how to get a record deal then you need to get creative. Add to your list of things that you have to offer the music industry. See a stylist, write more songs, network, take music lessons, get a website, prepare a demo package, market yourself because no one else is going to do it for you!

If you are having a blockage of ideas of how to be creative and original then take a look around you. Who are the top selling bands/musicians out there today? What makes them marketable and unique? Different genres will have different answers but doing this may give you some clues. Don’t go and copy people because this defeats the purpose of the exercise. But explore ideas of what is out there. If you desire a record deal then look at those who have one and figure out why they got one!

Not every musician will have their fame handed to them on a silver platter. If you are not related to someone in the industry or don’t already have an in then you are going to have to work to get that record deal. Remember, image is everything in the music biz so get one that is memorable and most importantly marketable.