Thinking of working with music booking agents for an upcoming event? Here’s what to do to make sure the process runs smoothly.
Choose the Right Music Booking Agents
Besides choosing a singer or band for your event, one of the biggest decisions you’ll have in the process of booking entertainment is choosing music booking agents. Making the right decision will have an enormous influence on the number of musical artists available to you, how much you pay for them, and how smoothly the performance goes. So there’s not much room for error!
We’ve written an entire article with a checklist of what to look for in artists managers and music booking agents. Things like making sure they have a large portfolio of well-known artists, they’ve got at least five years’ experience, and they can provide other entertainment services like A/V and production are all on the list.
Decide on an Event Concept
Before you can decide what type of music you’d like at your event, it’s important to first get a solid idea of the event concept, theme and purpose. This way, you’ll avoid booking something like a string quartet only to later decide you’re having a Mexican-style fiesta. The booking agent team at RUSH can assist with event concept production, theming and styling if you’re struggling to come up with something suited to your guest list.
Seek Recommendations
Once you’ve got a solid idea of what you want your event to look and feel like, ask your booking agent for music artist recommendations. They’ll know better than anyone which bands can get an audience dancing, and which soloists consistently deliver moving performances. As long as you have a rough idea of what you’re looking for, ask your booking agent for names and you can get started on listening to song samples.
Communicate Everything
After you’ve listened to a few recordings of potential musical acts, send your booking agent a list of preferences. A great booking agent will do everything they can to book your first preference, but if your event date is set in stone and your desired act is unavailable, having a few backup options is smart.
Then, give your booking agent as much information as possible on the performance times, venue and equipment available to the artists. If there’s anything missing (like sound equipment), your booking agent will be able to help you organise this.
The music booking agents at RUSH represent a number of major touring artists, bands, soloists, DJs and classical acts. To book entertainment through our agents, please get in touch.
