Jazz Services

Live Work

In this section we look at how you can identify and contact your ideal gig; we define the live jazz landscape by identifying the different type of live music promoters and what they do, we identify the venue team both production and marketing; give the key components of both a promoter and a musicians gig budget and define the main points involved in a booking contract and a band’s rider.

Identifying your ideal gig

Why is it your ideal gig? What does it provide - maybe it’s a festival gig and it can bring you to the attention of a bigger audience, or maybe it’s a showcase gig and you hope that somebody from a record company may spot you, whatever it is, the important thing is to know why you want to do the gig. By identifying the why, you will then be able to evaluate the success of it and will be able to identify how to build on the achievement and create the next step from this step.

How will you go about getting it?

Do you know the promoter, do you know what they like, how would you go about getting the gig. Would you just put a letter in the post to the Dear Promoter, of the so and so venue, I would like a gig, best wishes ….. unlikely. You need to do your research and the more information you have the better. Rather than think OK I want a gig on the jazz stage at Glastonbury and then write a letter to Dear Jazz Stage promoter at Glastonbury, think OK who do I know who has played on the jazz stage at Glastonbury, do I have their number, if I don’t, who do I know who has their number and I can say has recommended that I speak to them. So then you can contact the musician who has been recommended to you by a mutual friend or contact and ask them about their experience of playing at Glastonbury and how they got the booking and what kind of deals are in place. If they can’t give you the information then they may be able to recommend somebody who can but they probably will give you a feel for what the gig is like. By the time you reach the programmer of the stage, you will have a much stronger picture of who they are, what they are looking for, the type of deals that they offer and be able to contextualise what you have to offer in a much more appropriate and focussed way.

What contacts would you need to make it happen?

It may be that you don’t know musicians on the circuit that you want to be on. If that is the case then maybe you need to be networking more with musicians and looking around for where there are jam sessions and opportunities to meet other musicians. Go to bars, go to other people’s gigs, go to the free stage at festivals, get out there and make contacts. Musicians exchange information and help each other and they are your network. If you ask music programmers and promoters how they make their choices for what to programme, they will list record companies, agents, festival organisers, other promoters, colleagues and musicians. People in the industry know that musicians know about other musicians and are the best source for hearing about new talent and interesting musical collaborations. Look at the success of Myspace – this is a musicians social network and is being tapped into by the industry to find out what is going on. So develop your network of musicians and develop your reputation and get people talking about you.

What’s the next goal, how do you build on this achievement?

So you’ve got your ideal gig – what next. Think about how you want to build on this achievement, make sure that the band is fully rehearsed and totally professional on every level. Let everyone know, invite press, industry contacts, promoters all the people that you have wanted to reach and can help you in your career. Let your fans know, give incentives for them to come along and support the gig so that you have a great audience. What ever the gig, always imagine that there is one person in that room who can help you on your journey and they are the person you are performing to. After the gig, send a thank you to the people who booked you and made it happen and keep in touch with them, it all adds to raising your profile and reminding people that you are there and increases the likelihood of a return booking.

The Jazz Landscape

Type of gigs

  • Showcase – this is generally the term given to a gig where industry professionals go to check out new talent
  • Club night – this is generally a term for a themed night within a venue ie a venue may have DJs on Friday and Saturdays and put on live acts on a Wednesday in the area of world and jazz
  • Corporate events and function gigs
  • Concert
  • Festival - There is a huge range of festivals from community and local festival, through to major festivals both in venues and green field.
  • Tour

Different promoters

  • Live music producer – these are music promoters who put on a range of music events including festivals, commissioning of new works, creating collaborations, they may pursue funding and sonsorship for events, organize tours, stage bespoke events (events that have been requested by somebody ie BBC Jazz Awards) and programme concert series. A good example of a live music producer in the area of Jazz in the UK would be Serious music producers who are the producers of the London Jazz Festival.
  • Music Programmer - normally the term used for people who are employed to programme music events ie employed by a venue ie arts centres, pubs, clubs, concert hall. Or they may be employed by a conglomerate ie Mean Fiddler. Their defining characteristic is that they programme to a given brief and are normally constrained by the ethos of the employer.
  • Festival organizer- this is normally project based – for example Cheltenham jazz festival – the committee will employ a festival organizer to programme and oversee the organization of the festival within a stated budget.
  • Independent promoter – these are the people who would take on programming a night within venues ie negotiate a deal with a venue and put on the club nights. They take the financial risk and are effectively hiring venues to put on events.
  • Venue – the owner of the venue may programme directly

Negotiation

When negotiating fees for gigs its always good to understand and have an idea of the position of the person who you are negotiating with. Negotiate with a budget in mind. Below are the key areas for budgets for promoters and musicians.

type of deals

  • flat fee - guarantees
  • fee + percentages
  • guarantee against a percentage

Promoter’s costs

  • PRS 3% gross box office
  • Production costs
  • Artiste fee
  • Marketing costs
  • Administrative overheads
  • Venue hire

Promoter’s income

  • Box office
  • Funding (PRS)
  • Sponsorship
  • Subsidy through record company support
  • Employed by venues to programme a project, series or festival

Artiste’s costs

  • Musician fees
  • Rehearsal costs
  • Backline/production/equipment
  • Travel
  • Accomodation
  • Insurance
  • Management/agent commissions
  • Marketing and publicity/photographs

Artiste’s income

  • Fee
  • Sale of records
  • Merchandise
  • Tour support (record company)
  • Touring subsidy (PRS foundation, Jazz Services, Arts council)

Why book the act or take the booking

Understanding the motivation of both parties is also good for negotiation because when are talking to the promoter you can contexualise the gig within those points.

Assessment & evaluation

What was the purpose of the gig from the artiste viewpoint - i.e. income, album sales, press reviews, building new audiences, attracting the industry, performing to fan base, working in new line up

…and for the promoters

  • Relationship with the artiste
  • Relationship with the management or agent
  • Relationship with the record company
  • Relationship with the venue/owner
  • Raising profile through the press
  • Money
  • Relationship to another promoter ie sub contract or create a filler gig

Who's who in venue management

Once you’ve negotiated a deal with the promoter, then you will need to coordinate with the technical team and the marketing and promotion team. Below is a whose who in the venue team. Check out the section on riders/contracts/stage plans and technical requirements.

 

PRODUCTION

  • Stage manager, promoter’s rep
  • Sound (PA) and lights
  • Crew, technicians
  • Artist/crew catering
  • Emergency services
  • Security, door staff

Venue marketing

  • Ticket design, print, outlets ie ticket agency, retail outlets, box office
  • Poster & flyer design, print and distribution
  • Advertising, PR including tv, radio, press

Contracts and riders

Contracts: could be for an artist, venue, supplier (purchase order), sponsorship deals. Broadcast rights. The contract will be personal to your requirements and will always contain the following sections/terms. Often referred to as Heads of Agreement.

Names of parties

  • Date/venue/length of show
  • Details of agreement of service
  • Payment terms
  • Cancellation
  • Insurance
  • Obligation/restrictions (exclusive)
  • Signatures

Contracts are totally negotiable. The offer is always based on the budgets.

The Rider

A condition of the agreement will include subject to rider. The rider traditionally rides on the back of the contract and includes the requirements for the artiste. These terms must be complied with or the contract is null in void. A rider is personal to the artist but normally includes the following:

  • Technical – sound, staging, lighting
  • Travel
  • Accommodation
  • Hospitality
  • publicity
  • stage crews
  • publicity/billing