Great Band, Dodgy Name!

In my position as Supreme Leader over at Hire A Band towers, I'm privileged to have the final say in who we add to our roster (I'm not always asked, but when I am, I have the final say)!

Our latest signing, Glasgow Wedding Band, Dead Man's Shoes bring an awful lot to the table.  But for the story behind their name and the revealing truth on what they were almost called, have a read at our latest blog.

The Best London Wedding and Function Bands?

In our never ending quest to find and present to our clients the very best entertainers the UK has to offer we think we may have excelled ourselves just recently.

In our latest blog on the Hire A Band web site we feature three of the finest bands London has to offer.  We've cunningly entitled the blog, London Calling. It features info on three great London wedding and function bands.

If you need to hire live wedding entertainment in London, or you need a band for a corporate event or private function, or for that matter you actually play in a London based band and want to know what the competition is doing, then have a read at our blog.  There are several chain of consciousness moments, but that's just the way we roll.

Enjoy and repost please.

How to Price Your Wedding Band.

At Hireaband, we get approached by new acts seeking representation every day. The majority of applications fall at the first hurdle because their submissions are incomplete.  The worst simply contain a few introductory lines of text and maybe a web link.  Others contain some demos, some images and some biographical info. None of this is enough to divert a busy agent from his daily tasks to go to the bother of finding out more about your act - tough but true.


The problem is so acute that I'm planning a blog on how to submit to agencies.  In the meantime, here is a link to the page on the Hireaband web site that explains what we need from new applicants.

If we're happy with the demo material and we've either seen you, heard of you, or (rarer) you're already represented by another agency whose judgement we trust, then we're good to go and happy to offer representation.


So How Do I Decide What To Charge ?

If you've been around for a while, you'll have a fairly consistent fee that generally secures you a booking. That's the fee you should quote your agent.

But what if you're a new band or just testing the water in the wedding market? (and remember this is about wedding bookings only)  What price should you decide on?

The first thing to do is ask the agent what your competitors are charging. Now with the best will in the world, not every band is created equal. Market leading bands can essentially charge what they like and of course you need to get to that position too - it's good for you and good for your agent.

So don't set your fee to match the busiest bands on the agents books.  They've been around for a while and have earned the right to charge the fees they're charging.  In my opinion, you should set your fee as low as you can stand for an initial number of bookings.  As you get busier, make an increase but make it modest and set it for another number of bookings.

As your diary fills, you are in a much stronger position.  If you're turning away bookings regularly, that's normally a good sign that it's time to up your fee.

Here's the reason for starting low. Say you decide that despite the fact that the best selling act most similar to you is charging £1000, you're going to charge the same.  Sit back and watch the bookings roll in, right?  Wrong.  You'll pick up some bookings, no doubt, but not enough to get your diary inky.

So four months later you're sitting with two bookings in your diary and you realise that to eat, you're going to have to drop your price.  Two things will happen, first, you'll be tagged as a band that couldn't command the original fee and second, inevitably, the two people that have you booked will find out you're now cheaper and will demand a reduction in what they're paying you. If they've already paid, then you've just bought yourself some hard feelings.

The fact is it's always better to put your prices up than bring them down. So don't start with prices so high that you're forced to reduce them. Go out lean and mean - win a reputation with your agent and your customers and if you're good enough, you'll be among the top earners in no time.

Del Cotton
Managing Director
Hireaband.co.uk

The Hireaband How to guide to hiring musical acts for your wedding.

Popular bands book out first, so if you’re getting married in the spring or summer, start thinking about the entertainment for your wedding 12 – 18 months in advance. Don’t panic though, even popular bands have the odd summer date available and most will be less busy in the autumn and winter months.

You should be wary of bands or agents who don’t take a deposit. By accepting your deposit the band has agreed to keep the date of your wedding reserved for you which will prevent them dropping your booking for one that pays better or is closer to home.

You should expect to pay anything from £50 upwards as a deposit.  It’s essential to get the fact that you’ve paid something in writing. Where possible always pay by debit or credit card as this acts as another guarantee of your booking.  Admittedly this is difficult for many bands but all agencies should be able to offer this facility.

Get a contract from your band – at least a letter confirming all the details, including the venue, date, performance times etc.  Don’t leave anything to chance. Get every detail in writing.

Check with your venue about their requirements from the band.  Does the band need to be insured or have their equipment tested?  Most venues now require this. Don’t wait till the day of your wedding to find that the band isn’t allowed to play. If a band doesn’t have these essential documents in place, hire another one.

If the venue has a sound limiter, which is increasingly common, check if the band is OK with that. Many are not and won’t perform in venues with these in place.

Trust your agent. An agent’s reputation (and therefore success) is based on them providing you with good advice. They know the best bands, deal with all the paperwork, handle all the payments and make sure the bands keep to an expected standard of performance and behavior.

To find the best agents, look for testimonials from previousclients. Make sure they’re members of The Agents Association of Great Britain and see if they’ve won any awards (i.e. The VOWS Awards.)

Here are the top ten questions you should ask your band (or the bands agent) before you hire them;

1.       Do you have Public Liability Insurance and is your equipment PAT tested?

2.       Do you have testimonials from previous couples

3.       Do you issue contracts?

4.       What happens if more than one of you is ill on the day of my wedding?

5.       How long do you play for?

6.       How long is your break and do you play background music during this?

7.       Will the band I hire be exactly the same band that turns up on the night?

8.       How long do you need to set up your equipment?

9.       Can you play a ceilidh set if required?

10.   Will you acknowledge all payments including the final payment in writing?

Advertising, Agents, Commission and Gigs.

These are incredibly tough times at the moment - you don't need me to tell you that. There are new bands and agencies popping up every day, some good, some bad but all competing for the pounds in our customers pockets. There are new magazines and seemingly dozens of new wedding shows all insisting that if we don't pay them to attend we'll be missing out.  Bands that were booking heavily just 24 months ago are now struggling to fill their diaries.  Is there a return to the good times on the cards?  Probably, but not for another few years yet, however I think there's a way we can lessen the impact of the current situation and in fact prosper through the months and years ahead.
The answer is embarrassingly obvious, do more of what works and stop anything that doesn’t. The real trick is in knowing which is which.

Over the years I’ve spent tens of thousands of pounds in advertising and marketing first as a busy gigging musician and then as an agent with Hire a Band Ltd.  For what it’s worth, these are my words of wisdom which you can either choose to pay attention to or ignore as the ramblings of a daftie.

Wedding Fairs
Mainly pointless. You’re making up the numbers and usually paying for the privilege.  Only even remotely effective if you get to play live. Even then you’ll have to play at such a low volume that you’ll be able to hear the loud “tuts” of the other exhibitors moaning that they can’t hear the punters.  Unless a hotel actively promotes your act – don’t bother.
Even the SECC show has to be balanced with the cost of being there (and probably gigging on the Friday and Saturday) against the actual income generated. If you stand in the causeway of the SECC after the show, you’ll see hundreds of brides dump their carrier bags many of which will contain your expensive leaflets and CD’s. Those that do take them home will dump all the guff on the table and bin the vast majority. Who in their right mind will listen to a dozen demo CD’s – they’ll all sound the same 30 minutes in, no matter how good you are. If you can’t measure the success of a marketing strategy – stop doing it.

Wedding Magazines
When Hireaband first started advertising in the wedding press, we were one of only a few advertisers in the entertainment section.  Now, in any wedding magazine, but especially in the more effective ones, the entertainment section is one of the largest. An advert less than a quarter of a page is, in my opinion, pointless.  No matter how big an advert is though, there’s very little way of measuring its effectiveness. You need to see advertising like this as a punt – and it can be very expensive. Some advertisers ask people to quote codes to get a discount etc. – we’ve tried it and it simply doesn’t work.
At Hireaband.co.uk  we spend about £15,000.00 + VAT every year in the Scottish wedding press alone with full and half page ads and the occasional quarter page.  It’s difficult for any one band to spend that kind of money and get a return.

Wedding Supplements in Newspapers
Fish and chip wrappers – just don’t even bother – ever!

Individual Band Showcases
These work well.  Most bands will allow couples to come to a rehearsal and see the band in action.  It’s free and effective but – you need to attract the couples in the first place which takes us back to advertising.  You can also really only have a few people at a time which also eats in to your rehearsal time.  The best way to do this is to take a few pub and club gigs and use these as a mini showcase. You do need to chase up the client after the event – you can’t expect them to call you the next day to book you and you also have to remember that there are literally hundreds of bands doing the same thing.  People only have so much time, and although there are those who love to travel the country watching bands, they tend to book the first one they say months ago and you’ve gone to a lot of trouble for nothing.

Your Own Web Site.
A web site is essential.  In this day and age if your band doesn’t have its own site or appear on an agency site then you may as well hang up your Fender.  Build the site and they will come – or will they? Web sites are like opinions, everybody has one.  They’re not cheap either – the free ones are fine but if you want it to be more than just an online brochure, you’re going to have to spend. We just rebuilt ours to make it mobile friendly with no change from £10k plus VAT –and remember we already had a site – this was just a rebuild!
So now you’ve got your site and you’re in the Google game. You have to spend like a Saudi Prince to get anywhere in Adwords or with Search Engine Optimisation.  Again, using Hireaband as an example, we spent more than £30k in online marketing last year. We’ve got three months of this year left and we’ve already surpassed last year’s spend.  It’s actually hurting me to write that number down.

Agents
Bastards! I hated agents when I was gigging.  Sitting there behind their desks, taking calls, sending me to dumps and taking a big chunk of my hard earned cash for nothing. Right bastards!
In an ideal world, there would be no agents.  Our diaries would be full of great paying gigs. No one would ever cancel on us, we’d never have to chase for payment and we’d always be expected just to play till our normal finishing time then get changed in a swanky dressing room before leaving the ground floor function suite via the well-lit completely safe exit directly in to our waiting van parked right outside.  The customer would then waive us off with fond wishes for a safe journey.  Aye right! What are you smoking?

Here’s the deal.  Agents appeared two minutes after the first band formed and they’ll be here for months after the last one has split up, trying to cover the gig with another band. They are at best a useful source of bookings and at worst a hindrance to your efforts.  Either way they’re here to stay.
So, is there such a thing as a good agent? Well here is the way to find out. Test any agency you currently work with against this list;

·         Does the agent get you work?  Now before you go “Aha” ask yourself, does the agent get anyone work?  If they make a lot of bookings, just not you, then you have to ask yourself some questions.  But before you do, ask the agent why they think you’re not booking. If they can’t give you an honest answer then it may be time to part company for the good of you both.

·         Is the agent passive or active?  In other words does he/she wait for the phone to ring or do they actively seek bookings for the acts they work for.

·         Do they advertise in the right places or just rely on their web site?

·         Do I work for the agent or does he work for me?  Ask the agent.  If he tells you that you’re out for him that night – bin him.  You’re out for yourself and to all intents and purposes, he’s your employee. The real boss is the person that has booked you.

·         Are they likeable?  This seems petty but it’s important. People buy from people. If your agent thinks he’s Alan Sugar, is aggressive or argumentative, you’ll eventually realise that he’s a duffer.  Business is about relationships and an unpleasant individual will eventually fall fowl of the customer.  Seen it happen so many times.

Commission and who should pay it.
This is how an agent makes his money.  He provides you with a service and therefore is entitled to be paid for it.  Originally all agents would ask what an entertainer charged and then would deduct his commission from that fee.  Adding the equivalent of the agency fee on top of your standard fee so that you’re left with your usual money after commission is a relatively new thing, and with the dominance of the internet it’s simply no longer viable.  Why on earth would a client book the same act from an agent that operates like this when he can save possibly hundreds by hiring direct?
The internet means that an agent can take the time to promote your band, recommend it, add video and audio to the agency site and then advise the potential client of your fee and where she can see you live (probably at one of his own showcases) and then armed with that free info, the client finds your own web site, gets quoted a lower fee and the agent is on to plums!  If your agents still operates like this, he’ll be gone in 12 months.

Commission is the most effective form of advertising there is. Why? Because you only pay when the agent comes up with a gig for you.  You can advertise all over the internet, have a fancy web site, put adds in the wedding press and write your band name in the sky in pink smoke – but there’s no guarantee you’ll get a single booking.  The only guarantee is you’ll get a bill.

Why are there different rates of commission between agents?
For two main reasons.  The first is directly related to the stage an agents business is in.  In the beginning most agents need acts.  So they go for the lowest possible rate to attract bands.  Also, in the early stages, these businesses don’t have enough turnover to be registered for VAT.
However if a business is growing then at some stage VAT is inevitable, so if you’re getting work from an agent not registered for VAT, enjoy it while you can.  If he’s any good, it won’t last long.
Different rates between agents are due to the different levels of service.  If an agent is ambitious, they’ll reinvest the money they make in their business.  An agency charging a higher rate of commission should be spending more on advertising and systems than an agency on a lower rate.  In effect, the commission you pay is contributing to your own future bookings.  But remember, you can’t lose.  Our rate for instance on any gigs we don’t get you is 0%

Exclusive or sole representation?
Is a great idea….if you’re the agent. But if you’re an entertainer it’s a total rip off. The only time sole rep is worthwhile is if your agent gets you all the work you want. If you still have holes in your diary that you want to fill then by being exclusive with one agent, you’re automatically closing your diary off to others who may fill the odd date for you.

Ultimately agents should be competing to get you bookings. You want agents working hard to fill your diary before a competitor does.  If an agent has exclusivity, there’s no pressure whatsoever on him to keep you busy.  You’ll perhaps be flavour of the month for a while but showbusiness is fickle and when the next shiny new band comes along, that agent will do all he can to keep them happy in the hope that they’ll go exclusive too.  They’ll get your gigs.

Even the Musicians Union advises against this policy. You’d never put all your eggs in one basket in any other aspect of your life, why do it with your diary?  One last point on exclusivity; I’ve been in this business for 27 years.  I’ve never known a band stay exclusive with any agent for more than a couple of years.  It sounds like management and that seems glamorous but a manager offers a level of service and dedication that an agent never can (or would want to). Of course the agent may be smoother than a baby’s bum, but my friends you are lining his pockets for almost no effort on his part.  Don’t do it.  But if you’re wet behind the ears and you feel you must, then at least never pay the standard rate of commission.  If he gets your diary, you should pay a discounted rate of commission.

That’s all for now.  I’ll be posting more blogs on this site as circumstances allow.  If you’re reading this and you’re band is not on the roster, please visit www.hireaband.co.uk and say hello.