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GIGREEL PRE-SESSION RESULTS (BOOKING AGENTS (Hurdles in getting audiences…
GIGREEL PRE-SESSION RESULTS
PERFORMERS
Participants
Remaining participant a booking agent for a management company
All performing musicians were their bands' own managers
All but one were performing musicians in bands
One of participants was a booking agent for regular club night at Brisbane venue
Applying for shows
Direct to venue via booking agents or straight to band they want to perform with
Booking agent participant - Direct to venue
"Hey we should hook up and play together" with other bands
Contacts the bands first, then books a date with venue
Venue agent gets contacted by bands on a daily basis saying "Give us a gig!"
Prioritieses band bookings based on reputation
Based on who you knew in the scene
Early shows consisted of going out and asking for gigs, but then eventually over time a reputation would be built and the promoters would come to the band
Reputation tipping point for bands
Does the promoter want you to sell tickets or do they just want a good time?
Promoters will rely on bands that promote the hell out of their show
Social media promotion of band
Fb Content demotion that's been shared via another app
Surrounding posts also get demoted as a result
More engagement on some apps than others
Paid posts becoming a problem for emerging bands
Only 10% of followers see organic posts
Getting followers to your band
Spamming issues
The "Friend Request then Follow Request" issue
Tagging en masse issue
Need to be strategic - engagement strategy
PATRONS
Discovery of shows
Social media & word of mouth
Social media
Social media & seeing posters
Social media & word of mouth
Social media
Social media
Social media & Spotify
Discovering new local bands
Facebook and Instagram/word of mouth
Seeing a new band supporting a familiar band's gig (4)
Instagram hashtags/friend recommendations
Word of mouth/gets contacted a lot/is a promoter = exposure to new bands regularly
Favoured genres
Metal (all)
Blues (1)
Folk (2)
Classical
Indie (1)
Admission purchase
Knowing the bands - buying tickets from band
Many local-level shows work through third-party ticket providers, depending on venue
International band - usually purchase tix from local support
All pay cash at the door, but will generally take digital option if it's offered for convenience
Multi-band festival - band attendence
Participant hanging with friend in the social area - friend is keen to see an unfamiliar band. Participant will follow their friend to see it.
Participant sees about half of the bands they intend to see
"Something else catches my eye - I can afford to miss one half of a set for another"
Depends on the changeovers - if everything is on schedule without delays
Missing bands
Due to separation of social areas from the stage area, might get distracted hanging or smoking with friends and miss a band.
One participant reflected - Intended on seeing half a dozen bands, but only end up seeing 2 or three
One participant spoke of a time when they set alarms on their phones for the timeslots of the bands they wanted to see the most at a festival.
Depends on how organised you are as a person - alcohol can have an effect
Smoking area serves as a distraction from the bands
Staying on top of schedule
"If it's on a poster somewhere"
One of the above participants snapped a photo of the run sheet at a festival
Two participants agreed that while the timetables are on the event page on social media, they preferred to avoid using socmed.
Frequency
Once a week (3)
2/3 times a month
Once a few month
twice a month
Once a month
BOOKING AGENTS
Majority of participants were their own band's booking agents
Booking frequency
3 participants in bands - Once every 6 months booked their own shows
Booking/PR agent booked for four different bands
1 participant in band - once a month
Acquiring support bands - application judging
One participant was more inclined to genre similarities rather than how popular their supports were.
Do I book the band with 20,000 followers who gig too often? Or the band with 100 followers who have a lot of passion?
One participant liked to strike a balance between genre similarity and drawcards - more variety = more people at show
Judging bands who actively promote to pack out the venue
Attitude
Booking/PR agent booked a band who booked two shows in a weekend. When they confronted band, the band backchatted the agent's integrity
Negative attitudes a no-go (x2)
Even if they don't match the style, they might be cool people who know how to put on an engaging show.
Audience engagement potential
Hurdles in getting audiences to shows
Ticket price
Gig clashes within a region
Lack of communication between promoters
"Nothing for three weekends - then suddenly there's 6 gigs on in one weekend!"
Bands need to book shows months in advance - hard to forecast the scene and potentially clashing shows
"How close is this gig to my next paycheque?"
Location and transport to venue
Bands need to find the right frequency of gigs to keep audiences engaged
Time of year - hard to get audiences around Christmas
Promoting social media
Invite capping on social media
Hard to pay for advertising when banners require text
Spamming risks
Paid advertising
Bands are doing video content to be more creative and engaging and stand out amongst the text posts
Agents gaining reputation - eventually more people are coming to the agent's shows indescriminately
Running the door
2x agent will sit the door themselves
1x agent will outsource it to someone else
1x agent will do shifts, depending on length of show
Risks and challenges with cash only
Underage people sneaking in
Objections to ATM fees at venue
People sneaking in with groups of friends
Cash Only is starting to become a problem at gigs - merch and admission
People object to $2 ticket fee online, but then object to the $2 ATM fee at venue!!
How to tell if people are enjoying the show
Audience verbalise their enjoyment
Pre-sale numbers
Unreliable gauge. You may get 10 pre-sales, then 100 at the door, or vice versa.
Crowdsurrfing
"When are you playing again?"