Have you ever lost a recurring gig due to someone new taking over the position of the person who was responsible for booking you? I have a few times and it is the worst. I spend a lot of time cultivating relationships with my venue booking people but unfortunately that all becomes a waste when someone new comes in and decides to switch things up a bit on the music calendar without including you.
That’s what I call, The Switcharoo.
It happens when your buddy who books you once a week or once a month at the venue takes a new job, a promotion, gets fired, or whatever the case may be and leaves you hanging. A new person then takes over for your buddy buy they have no clue who you are. Now you’re back to square one trying to make inroads with the venue. If this person decides not to book you, that gig and the money you’re relying on from the gig is lost.
There are a few things you can do to avoid becoming a victim of The Switcharoo.
Expand Your Connections
In the music business, it’s not always what you know but more like who you know. Your best bet is to get to know as many people as possible. When it comes to venues you’re performing at regularly, you’ll be way better off getting to know more than just your booker.
This scenario happened to me recently. I almost lost one of my recurring gigs because the guy who was booking me got a promotion and left. There was another staff member there who I had made friends with and luckily, she took over his booking duties. So it was a smooth transition and I was able to keep my gig. If it weren’t for that extra relationship I had, it would have been harder for me to keep that gig.
Staff turnover in venues is a real problem for independent artists. It makes it hard to keep gigs and keep good relationships with venues going. That’s why it’s important to be friendly with more than one staffer. You never know what can happen.
— The Crafty Musician (@IndieArtistsDIY) May 15, 2018
There’s a lot of staff turnover everywhere, but in the restaurant and hospitality business it seems to be prevalent. As an independent artist who depends on earnings from your gigs to pay actual bills, this is not a good thing for you. To avoid this, you should try your best to get to know the owners, bartenders, hosts and hostesses and some of the servers as well. If you’re playing hotels and clubs, get to know the event planners and sales managers too. You don’t have to be best friends with everyone, but at least get to a first name basis with them. Be strategic in who you reach out to knowing in the back of your mind that in case the person who books you disappears, you’ll have these people you can reach out to for help with making a connection with the new booker.
Find ways to make connections with other staffers at the venue. That way, in the off chance that your booker goes away, you’ll still have connections there. Find out who the owner is and send them a thank you card every once in a while. Reach out to the other managers there and make friends with the bartenders and/or hostesses.
+10 Things Venues Won’t Tell You About Your Booking Pitch
Pay Attention to the Tide
As artists we have a certain skill set that not everyone has. We can sense undercurrents – negative things happening under the surface that’s not easily detectable by the average person. But if you’re an artist, you have a gift to detect these things. If something doesn’t feel right, it’s probably not right and you should pay attention to that. If you sense something’s not right with a recent conversation you had with someone or maybe your booker said something that was unsettling for you. It may be time to brush up on Plan B and possibly even put it into action.
I had a weekly gig that was bringing in over $1k a month. After a conversation with the manager, we had a sinking feeling that the restaurant may not be doing to well. Plus, when we first got the gig it was said more than once that they were “trying to build their patio business.” They had us playing out on the patio, but there weren’t too many people coming. We were so ecstatic that the gig was so lucrative that we didn’t even want to think about it going away. Unfortunately, the restaurant shut down and our $1k+ gig was cancelled, abruptly. It was a very tough blow. I remember going to a burger joint right after we got the news and not being able to speak due to shock. We were devastated and we were seriously unprepared. Which brings me to my next point…
[bctt tweet=”Being in business for yourself as an independent artist is a freedom like none other.” username=”IndieArtistsDIY”]
Keep Your Options Open
When you get your gigging calendar filled, don’t get complacent! Anything can happen at anytime. Always have multiple irons in the fire. Keep a list of replacements and start figuring out who the bookers are over at those places and start to build relationships with them. You never know, one of your recurring gigs might get abruptly cancelled. Even if you don’t have room in your calendar, you should always be looking for more gigs. Having other venues in place to fall back on is just smart business and it will help you avoid getting into a financial rut if one of your good paying gigs is abruptly cancelled.
Being in business for yourself as an independent artist is a freedom like none other. You get to make your own schedule and travel whenever you want. However, it is often scary and stressful since the money can be so unpredictable. Finding ways to resolve potential problems ahead of time is a great way to avoid those traps. Expanding your connections can help you save a gig in case of staff turnover. Unfortunately though, losing a good paying gig is sometimes unavoidable. That’s why keeping your eyes open for potential problems and potential new opportunities is super beneficial.
