In an exciting new opportunity for musicians and event planners, the GigRoster™ Referral Partner Network has launched, offering a simple way to earn additional income by connecting clients with premium entertainment options. This innovative program rewards participants with a 5% referral fee for each successful booking made through their recommendation.

It works for Musicians and Performers, whose band or act might be unavailable, or the requested style of talent doesn't match their offerings. Instead of missing out on these opportunities, the GigRoster™ Referral Partner Network allows them to refer clients to GigRoster™ for a suitable match. When the referral leads to a booking, you earn a 5% referral fee – it's that straightforward.

For Event Planners, it is simply an enhancement of their service offerings which is always a priority. By referring clients to GigRoster™ through their unique link, they ensure clients have access to a wide range of curated entertainment options that match their tastes and budgets. At the same time, the event planner can earn a 5% referral fee for each successful booking, adding to their revenue stream while helping their clients secure top-tier entertainment.

The program is open to event and hospitality professionals, including performers, event and wedding planners, caterers, venues, and other related services.

How It Works: Program memebres refer clients with whom they have personal contact for specific events or performances.
Referral Fee: 5% of the total amount paid to the booked entertainer is paid to the members as a finders fee.
It is important to know, only the initial referrer for a specific event will receive the referral fee. If the client was previously referred or contacted GigRoster™ independently, the referrer will be ineligible for the fee.

The program is designed as a personal network. Referrers must have direct interaction with the client they are referring. Referrers, must ensure the client is aware and consents to being referred to GigRoster™. Clients must be aware that they will be contacted by GigRoster™, referencing their referral. In this way it is really a very person to person process that helps the client find talewnt resources for what they will need for their event.

The GigRoster™ Referral Partner Network is a win-win for everyone involved. Clients gain access to excellent entertainment options, and you benefit financially for your referrals. There’s no cost to join, so take a few minutes to sign up and start turning your connections into rewarding opportunities.

For more information visit GigRoster.com or to join the program by filling out a quick application and start earning today!

In the ever-evolving landscape of the entertainment industry, GigRoster™ has pioneered a new approach to provide important support to musicians and performers. Beyond the traditional booking platform, GigRoster™ introduces its Referral Partner Network, a program that rewards you even when you're not the one on stage. This initiative serves as a testament to GigRoster™'s commitment to creating opportunities for performers to earn, showcasing its unique position in the market as not just a platform for securing gigs but also as a partner with all of its users.

The Essence of the GigRoster™ Referral Partner Network
At its core, the GigRoster™ Referral Partner Network, similar to an affiliate program for musicians, is ingeniously designed for musicians and entertainment professionals who find themselves in situations where they can't accept a gig or they don't match the client's needs. Instead of turning down these opportunities, GigRoster™ equips them with the ability to refer these potential clients to its platform. When the referral leads to a successful booking, they're rewarded with a 5% referral fee. This process not only ensures the client finds the entertainment they're looking for but also guarantees the performer a slice of the pie, making every referral a chance to add to their earnings.

Why It's a Game-Changer
This referral program is a beacon of hope in scenarios where availability or service offerings don't align with client requests. It dismantles the traditional all-or-nothing outcome of gig bookings. With GigRoster™, performers have a pathway to profit from their professional network and insights without the direct exchange of services. It's an effortless integration into the revenue stream, costing nothing but the effort to connect a client with GigRoster's vast network of entertainment options.

The program is designed to ensure fairness and transparency. Only referrals from genuine, personal interactions are eligible, emphasizing the quality and integrity of the connections made through the platform. This ensures that every participant in the network — referrers, performers, and clients — benefits from the highest standards of service and satisfaction.

How to Participate
Joining the GigRoster™ Referral Partner Network is straightforward and free. The referral fee, calculated as 5% of the total amount paid to the booked act, is a significant incentive. For example, referring a band that earns $2,500 for their performance nets you a generous $125 referral fee.

To kick things off, musicians and performers simply need to complete a brief application and agree to the terms. Once done, they can dive straight into making referrals right away. APPLY HERE

The requirements are simple yet strictly designed to protect the integrity of the referrals and ensure that clients receive the best possible matches for their entertainment needs. From ensuring customer permission to making sure the referral is for a specific event, GigRoster™ has laid out clear guidelines to foster a trustworthy and effective network.

A Win-Win for All
GigRoster™'s Referral Partner Network reshapes the landscape for performers and event professionals, presenting a paradigm where opportunities for earnings extend beyond the stage. It's an invitation to leverage your network and knowledge, rewarding you for connections that lead to successful bookings. This program stands as a beacon of innovation in the entertainment industry, emphasizing GigRoster™'s role not just as a platform for booking gigs but as a comprehensive partner in the success of performers and event planners alike.

With GigRoster™, every referral is a step towards a more prosperous career in the entertainment industry.

Don't Forget you can still make mon ey by GETTING booked too. If you have not claimed your free online profile on the GigRoster Platform, Get Started Here!

Here's why you should prioritize booking sooner rather than later

Seize the Best Opportunities: The entertainment business operates on a schedule that often requires events and venues to plan well in advance. By booking gigs early, you position yourself to secure prime slots at the better venues and events. Whether it's festivals, corporate events, weddings, or private parties, the most desirable gigs tend to get booked up early. Don't wait until it's too late and risk losing out on these coveted opportunities.

Secure Higher Paying Jobs: It's no secret that the best-paying gigs are often booked well in advance. Event organizers and promoters are willing to pay a premium for quality entertainment, especially if they know they're booking a reputable act. By committing to bookings over a year in advance, you increase your chances of landing high-paying gigs that can significantly boost your earnings.

Build a Consistent Schedule: Booking gigs early allows you to establish a more predictable and consistent schedule. Rather than scrambling to fill your calendar at the last minute, you can plan ahead and ensure a steady stream of income throughout the year. This not only provides financial stability but also gives you the freedom to focus on honing your craft and delivering exceptional performances.

Avoid Getting Stuck in a Cycle of Lower Paying Gigs: Delaying bookings can lead to a vicious cycle of accepting lower-paying contracts out of a need to fill your schedule. By committing to being available over a year in advance, you break free from this cycle and position yourself for higher-paying opportunities. Remember, you set the value of your talent, so don't settle for less than you deserve.

Maintain Professionalism and Reliability: Booking well in advance demonstrates professionalism and reliability to event organizers and clients. It shows that you take your craft seriously and are committed to delivering top-notch performances. It also shows that you are in demand, which is a key method of creating even more demand. This can lead to repeat bookings and positive word-of-mouth referrals, further enhancing your reputation in the industry.

There is no time like the present to start booking gigs for your act. Don't let the fear of commitment hold you back from securing the best opportunities and maximizing your earning potential. By booking gigs sooner rather than later, you set yourself up for success and ensure a thriving career in the competitive world of live entertainment.

And really, why are you waiting? When your GigRoster Talent Coordinator Reaches out to you, know your schedule and be ready to accept the gig today if it is available today and get ahead of the game. Your future success depends on it!

Within the music realm, the age-old entreaty to perform for "exposure" or at rates well below industry standards persists as a challenge that numerous musicians and band leaders grapple with. While the prospect of exposure holds an undeniable allure, the real challenge lies in attaining a delicate equilibrium between creative passion and receiving due compensation for the honed skill and unwavering dedication you bring to your craft. It's imperative to recognize that, in most instances, the exposure promised by prospective clients tends to fall short of its hyped potential. Consider performing for an audience of 5000 guests, for instance – the influence on your career trajectory would likely be minimal. In stark contrast, an opportunity to grace a prestigious platform like the Late Show with Stephen Colbert holds the promise of an exposure genuinely worth deliberation. In the following blog post, we will explore an array of strategies meticulously crafted to offer guidance to musicians and band leaders when faced with solicitations for gigs that offer subpar compensation or are touted as "exposure," though often they simply represent customers unwilling to meet your established rates. The aim is to empower you to traverse such scenarios with finesse, all the while ensuring that your true worth remains uncompromised.

Above all else, it's essential to acknowledge the intrinsic value of your musical expertise. The hours dedicated to honing your craft through practice and refinement are countless. Your talent is inherently deserving of equitable compensation, just as with any other esteemed profession. In many instances, the event in question might be hosted at a venue or catering facility where staff are compensated and rental fees are paid, rather than relying on the premise of exposure as currency. It's crucial to remember that being a professional musician entails a skill set that is both rare and specialized, surpassing the expertise required by most individuals in the event industry. Consequently, the assumption that such expertise should be rendered for free stands in stark contrast to its true value – a notion that warrants thoughtful consideration.

When responding to a low-paying or exposure-based gig request, it's crucial to communicate your worth while maintaining professionalism. Politely explain your standard rates and the reasons behind them. Educate the potential client about the costs associated with performing – from equipment maintenance to travel expenses – which may not be immediately apparent to them.

While occasional exceptions may arise, it's prudent to steer clear of performing at a discounted rate or for free, unless truly exceptional circumstances are at play. Such exceptions might involve alignment with your brand, exclusive networking prospects, or a highly desirable target audience. However, these potential gains must be evaluated meticulously, ensuring they genuinely offset the compromise on your established value.

Establishing Your Boundaries: It's essential to predetermine your boundaries and adhere to them steadfastly. Delineate the aspects open to negotiation and those that remain non-negotiable. For instance, a judicious approach could involve capping the number of reduced-rate gigs you undertake annually, thereby preventing a continuous undervaluation of your artistic proficiency.

A Cautionary Note: Keep in mind that when you perform at an event for a reduced fee or free of charge, it often translates to exposure primarily to a clientele seeking gratis performances. This cycle can inadvertently lead to more requests for undercompensated appearances, undermining your worth in the long run.

Pro-Tip: Get used to the practice of describing your work as performing rather than simply playing. Although the term "play" may imply leisure or recreation, it's important to disassociate this misconception from your musical endeavors. While creating music can indeed be a source of enjoyment, akin to various other vocations, it's essential to remember that this is your profession – you are a skilled professional performer.

Educating Buyers About Your Value

Develop an online portfolio that showcases the strength of your past performances, collaborative endeavors, and a spectrum of events where you've provided your talents. By sharing this with potential clients, you have the opportunity to vividly illustrate your expertise and dedication, enabling them to appreciate your value on a deeper level.

Among the array of tools at the disposal of all professional performers, is the option to create a complimentary premium profile on GigRoster™. This provides an excellent avenue to authentically spotlight your skills and background. Moreover, investing in a professionally designed website tailored to your craft can further accentuate your professionalism. These collectively contribute to conveying why your pricing structure is not only reasonable but also inherently justified, echoing your commitment to your craft.

Some clients may genuinely not understand the costs associated with hiring musicians. Consider offering an educational component in your responses, detailing the expenses involved in putting together a top-notch musical performance. This not only informs the client but also positions you as an expert in your field.

Finding Common Ground: Exploring Flexible Solutions for Meeting Both Your Needs and the Client's Budget

When a client stands firm on a low-paying proposal, consider introducing alternative avenues. In certain instances, budget constraints might genuinely restrict their ability to secure professional services. However, it's not uncommon for clients to simply underestimate the true worth of your contribution, or music in general as a paid service.

Rather than contemplating the notion of performing entirely for free, consider suggesting alternate arrangements that align with your interests. For instance, you might propose a shorter performance duration, recommend a more intimate ensemble, or explore innovative performance formats that accommodate their budget while safeguarding the integrity of your value proposition.

In the realm of music, local exposure often holds limited sway in propelling your music career forward. When faced with requests for low-paying or unpaid performances, it's imperative to handle them with care. Your remarkable talent, unwavering dedication, and relentless efforts merit fair compensation.

A band, entertainer, DJ, or performer always needs a contract when booking a gig to ensure that both the performer and the customer, venue owner or promoter understand and agree to the terms of the performance. A good contract always specifies details such as the date, time, and location of the performance, the length of the performance, and the compensation that the act will receive.

Most importantly, having a contract in place helps prevent misunderstandings, especially for people who may have never hired entertainment before. The contract can also protect the interests of both parties and ensure that all legal and financial obligations are met. In other words, you get paid, as agreed.

Additionally, a contract can provide a sense of professionalism and legitimacy to the act’s business dealings. It demonstrates to the client that the performer or act is serious about their performance and committed to delivering a high-quality, professional service.

A great contract, or booking agreement, provides clarity, protection, and professionalism to both the act and the client.

At GigRoster™ we want to always protect the acts that we book so the first step in confirming any booking is in the details. Creating a great contract, or as we call it, a booking agreement (agreement sounds more friendly, but it is just as binding!) is how every great booking starts.

What Should Be Included in A Contract to Make It Effective?

The simple way to remember what a basic contract needs is, just like a reporter does a news story. A good story, as we learned in school, always includes “The 5 Ws”. Who, What, When, Where, Why.

• Who is the customer and who is the performer?
• What kind of event is this?
• When is the date, start and finish time for the gig?
• Where is the location and address for this gig?
• Why… What is the paid/compensation?

To spell it out, a great contract should include the following elements:

1. The Names of the parties. The Name of the act, signatory (who will sign for the band) and the name of the purchaser, whether it is a private party, such as for a wedding or a company, such as for a performance at a venue or a company event (in which case you will need the signatory for the company). Also, phone, email, and mailing address for each party to the contract.
2. Performance details about what kind of performance this is, for example, wedding reception, bar entertainment, company party, festival stage show, etc.
3. Date and time of the booking, including, in most cases, set-up time, performance start and end times, the contract may also outline the length of the sets, the type of music to be played, and any other special requests or requirements.
4. The location of the performance needs to be clearly specified with a performance address, name of the venue, if it applies and possible where in the venue if applicable (For instance if it is in a hotel, which ballroom).
5. Compensation: The contract should clearly state the compensation that the band will receive for the performance, including any deposit or advance payment, and when the final payment is due as well as payment options that you will accept, such as cash, credit card, or check (and who it should be payable to).
6. Cancellation policy if any. The contract should include a cancellation policy, which outlines what will happen if either party needs to cancel the performance. It should specify any cancellation fees or penalties that may apply. Some acts do not allow for cancellation. This is our policy at GigRoster™ unless both parties mutually agree to the cancellation.
7. Signatures: The contract should be signed and dated by both the act’s signatory and the purchaser (or the purchaser’s designated signatory) to indicate agreement and understanding to the terms and conditions of the performance.

Additional considerations that would be common to include, depending on the type of performance would be:

8. Technical requirements: The contract may include technical requirements such as the sound system, lighting, and stage setup needed by the act. It should also specify who is responsible for providing and setting up the equipment.
9. Liability and insurance: The contract may need to specify the liability of each party and outline any insurance requirements, such as liability insurance or worker's compensation insurance, depending on the needs of the client.
10. Promotional materials: The contract may specify how the band's name and promotional materials will be used in the promotion of the performance, including any restrictions on the use of the band's name or likeness. Also, what types of promotional material will the purchaser need from the band in connection to the performance.
    

These are some of the essential elements that should be included in a contract to hire an act when you are booking yourself. Of course, when going through a talent agent or talent buying system, most or all of these will be handled by the agent, including even the insurance requirements and arrangements for technical requirements. These are not difficult things to include though if you are doing it yourself.

For insurance needs if you are not going through a talent buyer like GigRoster™, you can refer to our blog on event insurance.

Depending on your comfort in dealing with legal issues and practices, it may be advisable to have the contract reviewed by a legal professional to ensure that it is legally binding and enforceable. Remember, GigRoster™ is not a legal professional so the information here is, while good advice, it is not legal advice or a legal opinion in any way.

Can I download a contract to use for booking my act?

There are several places where you can find sample contracts to hire a band online. Some options include:

• Rocket Lawyer offers a wide range of legal documents, including contracts to hire a band. You can customize the document to your specific needs and download it as a Word or PDF file.
• LawDepot offers a free band performance contract template that you can customize to meet your needs. The document covers all the essential elements of a band performance contract.
• Documatica Legal Forms website offers a selection of free and paid legal documents, including contracts to hire a band. The documents are customizable and available in various formats, including Word and PDF.
• Bandzoogle offers a free sample contract for bands that covers the essential elements of a performance contract. You can download the document as a Word file and customize it to your needs.
• If you book through one of the DIY booking websites where you list your band and deal with the client directly, they usually provide a contract as part of the process.

Remember that these templates are just starting points, and it is important to review and customize the contract to fit your specific needs and circumstances. It is may adobe, again, advisable to have the contract reviewed by a legal professional to ensure that it will be legal and binding. Since, like GigRoster™, not all these options are from legal professionals.
The bottom line is the contract, or booking agreement, is the best way to make sure everyone is on the same page and fully understands with realistic expectations. It’s easy to do!
For your convenience, here is a Basic Sample Contract to Hire a Band, Music, Entertainer or DJ. Feels free to cut and paste into your own document, then modify it as discussed to fit your specific needs and situation:

Remember, you agree if you use this booking agreement for your own use that GigRoster™ makes no legal representations or warranties in connection to it.

Entertainment Booking Agreement

This agreement is for the booking of entertainment services as agreed to. Please return this agreement by (date)
Name Of Entertainer/Group - Provider of Services
Herein referred to as “The Performer”

Name Of The Purchaser of Services:
Herein referred to as “The Purchaser”

Number Of Performers:

Name, Address & Place of Engagement:

Dates, Starting and Finishing Times:

Type Of Engagement:

Compensation Agreed Upon: $__________for up to__________hours.
$__________for any additional hour beyond contract time, available only by mutual agreement.

Payments Will Be Made as Follows:
$__________Non-Refundable deposit, to be paid in advance with return of contract to confirm booking.
$__________Balance due on or before date of performance, prior to start of performance.

Payments should be made payable directly to:

Performance: This agreement and the terms and conditions contained herein may be enforced by The Purchaser and by The Performer. In the event that legal recourse is sought to resolve any dispute, the losing party shall pay the prevailing party all reasonable legal costs. The Purchaser and The Performer agree that any legal dispute shall be adjudicated in the appropriate court of legal authority.

Cancellation may only be executed by mutual written consent of all parties to this agreement. In the event of cancellation by The Purchaser without mutual agreement, compensation shall be rendered in full as set forth herein unless waived in writing by The Performer. Deposit is non-refundable except in the case of default or non-performance by The Performer. Or by mutual agreement of all parties to this agreement.

Other Contractual Conditions Included in The Agreement:

___ Parking shall be provided or compensated for each performer on the engagement and is not included in the performance fee.
___ Technical requirements are in the included technical rider document, fully incorporated herein.

Time is of the essence in this agreement. The terms and conditions contained herein constitute the entire agreement between the parties and any other agreement, verbal or otherwise, shall not be enforceable except by written mutual consent of all parties. Any changes including time(s), compensation or any other conditions must be made by written addendum signed by all parties.

Phone address and email for The Purchaser:

Phone address and email for The Performer:

Purchaser_______________________________ Date _____________

Performer/Signatory______________________ Date _____________

Here some of the most popular rock songs that people will definitely want to hear live.

1. Mr. Brightside – The Killers

First released in 2003, it’s the band’s number one song in the U.S. In the UK, it’s the longest charting song in history. To this day, Mr. Brightside remains a staple song at weddings, college parties, indie rock shows, and international music festivals. A song that was made by Millennials for Millennials – but beloved by all generations.

2. I Can’t Get No Satisfaction – The Rolling Stones

It’s hard to believe that The Rolling Stones’ first number one single in the U.S. was conceptualized by Keith Richards in a dream, but it’s true. This song shows off Keith Richards’ ability to use the famed fuzz pedal as well as his lesser known songwriting talents. I Can’t Get No Satisfaction opens with the most infectious use of the fuzz tone in history, three notes leading the charge in the British blues rock invasion of American shores in ‘65. Followed by Mick Jagger’s passionate retelling of a dream Richards once had, this song is one of the main reasons why The Rolling Stones and their seminal blues rock sound remains heavily popular today.

3. Don’t Stop Believin’ – Journey

In the more than 30 years Journey has been doing live shows, Don’t Stop Believin’ hasn’t had a night off in their set list. There’s a simple reason for this. While it’s not always easy to measure a song’s fame or level of influence on its audience, when a song is officially designated as the most downloaded song of the 20th century, there’s no denying that the people want to hear it.

4. Livin’ on a Prayer – Bon Jovi

Whether you love it or you hate it, Livin’ on a Prayer continues to be one of the most infectious songs ever written. Whether you’re at a grimy Seattle hole-in-the-wall pub or a sandy karaoke bar on the other side of the world, you’re bound to hear this song at least once a night. And as this year’s recent public sing-alongs have proven, everyone still knows the lyrics. A crowd favorite if there ever was one.

5. Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen

The only reason this song is last on this list is because not every band is equipped to cover it. Bohemian Rhapsody is not only a popular song, it bridges the gap between musical snobs and Freddie Mercury’s adoring fans. The worst that any critic can say about this song is that it’s overrated, and that’s just because the entire history of rock music has hundreds of songs that can stand comfortably numb beside Bohemian Rhapsody. Be that as it may, there’s arguably no other song in rock history that is as hard to cover as it is popular. No wonder it’s the most streamed song of the 20th century.

These are just a handful of the most popular rock songs that people will want to listen to once live gigs resume. And while these are far from the only songs worth covering, these five are the most in-demand. For the latest gig updates do check out our other articles.

Exclusively written for gigroster.com

Many performers at some point in their careers work with entertainment agents to secure bookings but how do these people get into the booking side of the business. Is it something anyone can do?

It does take the right kind of person who can work on the business side of the entertainment business. If everyone were good at doing the business of music and entertainment, there would be not much need for talent agents! The most basic traits you should have are a deep experience in the business and an outgoing People Person type personality. Without those two you would start with a profound disadvantage. The personality, while it is something you can enhance, is most likely something that needs to be hardwired within you. If not, all the knowledge in the world won’t help. As for the experience in the business, at GigRoster™ we’ve found that people who have spent many years performing, ideally as a bandleader or business contact and performer in an act, have the wide range of experience with everything from marketing, negotiating, contracting and the technical needs of a performing act among other things. The jack of all trades nature of being a bandleader can prepare you for the industry knowledge part of being successful.

Sure we’ve all seen agents portrayed on TV. They could be anything from a cigar chomping big wig to a frenzied power broker yelling at customers or artists, their assistant or all three. Is it Rueban Kincaid or Jerry Mcguire or Ari Gold? Just sit back and collect the 10%? Sorry to burst the bubble, but no. None of the above. There is not too much that is realistic about any of them. Being an agent or Talent Coordinator is a fun career, but it is rarely frenetic or crazy. At least not if you are doing it right. You are a part of the actual business side of the entertainment business. See how that works, half entertainment, half business. If we put them together then there is money to be made by both sides. Glamorous? Maybe occasionally, but mostly it is simply like building any other business where you are connecting a service/product with people who have a need to be filled. And by the way, It’s usually more than 10%, just to get that straight up front.

Talent Coordinators and agents need to create contacts with corporate and private customers who may be able to use entertainment services as part of what they do, whether it is corporate promotional events or planning a personal event. You are expected to know the norms methods used in the industry and the trends in entertainment that are working. These always evolve so you’ll need to be curious and always learning. Although the record industry is a different area of the business, think of the great Clive Davis as an example. Clive enjoyed and, as of this writing, is still involved in finding the next great thing. Born in 1932 you’d think he may have stopped knowing what great pop music was in the 50s or 60s. But No. He worked effectively for over 50 years and always knew what the next big thing was. A good Talent Coordinator has this ability. It includes setting aside your personal taste and simply knowing, and truly appreciating, what great entertainment is, no matter what the genre.

Let’s take a step back though. The term Entertainment Agent is a rather vague term and could mean a number of different things.

• A Talent/Personal Manager would usually be considered the person who handles almost all aspects of what an act does in the business, with the exception of getting on stage and doing the performance. This is particularly involved in the artist’s or act’s career development. This could also include any or all of the duties, of booking, marketing, travel arrangements, negotiating and general career development.
• A Booking Agent is typically only responsible for the actual booking of the event. Negotiating, and contracting. Most national acts, bearing in mind that in this case there is money to justify it, would have a personal manager who then works with one or several booking agents to arrange the performances.
• A Talent Coordinator is a little more Customer facing. They fill the function of booking, but often not on an exclusive basis for a few acts. While technically they are paid from the proceeds of an event or performance, They serve the customer and performer in equal measure. Most often they will act as a talent buyer for the customer, Marking up the services that they purchase from performers or entertainment acts. They work closely with customers to help them coordinate the right talent for their events. Think of them as 50% booking agent and 50% Event Coordinator. They rarely would be involved in the tasks that would typically fall to a personal manager since they may literally work with hundreds of available acts.

A few basic industry explanation of the business, compensation and duties can be found at Vault, Berklee College of Music, How Stuff Works and at Career Trend.

WikiHow can explain some of the basic differences between a Talent Manager and a Talent Agent (also known as a booking agent)

Depending on the focus of where you want your career to go you may gravitate towards one area or another, or in some cases a hybrid version, such as a talent coordinator who also offer some Talent management services for certain performer clients or booking agent services for certain acts

Depending on your focus It helps to have a little of each of the following aspects in your background.

• Marketing
• Leadership “Take-Charge” Skills
• Public Relations
• Negotiation Skills
• Tenacity and Patience
• Salesmanship
• Communications
• Legal Logic
• Entrepreneurship
• Administration

Why Is Experence as A Performer So Important?
If you’ve worked in the business as a professional performer then you will have a built in advantage in credibility as the entertainers you work with will have a level of respect and communication that may otherwise take you years to develop. Likewise you can talk with customers from the standpoint of real life experience doing the sorts of things they will expect at their party, wedding or concert event. You will have an understanding of the needs, the lifestyle and especially the capabilities of your performers, both in terms of their musical or performance level as well as what is actually possible in a live performance situation. Musicians will usually afford you a level of respect and understanding when they know you are one of them that they would not for an outsider who is an agent just because they like music. Even when an outsider has proven their meddle in the business there is still a feeling that the agent does not know the hard work and dedication entertainers have put in to hone their craft. It’s why for instance at GigRoster™ it is in most cases a prerequisite to be an associate Talent Coordinator.

Many of your customers will get their ideas of what they want at their event from what they may have seen on TV or in movies. As a performer and Talent Coordinator you’ll know that making the magic on stage is much more about hard work and preparation and not very much about magic happening as it does on the big screen in the wedding scene of a romcom. Of course if done right, there is the magic!

Working as a performer, in front of others, on stage also may be an indicator that you have a personality that you can turn on and connect with your customers who are, after all, an audience. While it is important as a successful Talent Coordinator to be able to work across many genres, there is a great deal of crossover in the business. Being a blues musician will still help you when you are arranging and booking talent for a festival that may have 10 different bands covering jazz, rock

Everyone who is successful in this business has a different mix of the skills needed to be a Talent Coordinator, but be assured it is not the right career for just anyone. Most people don’t thrive in this area of the business because they have unrealistic expectations of the work that goes into it. In addition to all the skills and background, sometimes it just takes a lot of experience and a lot of time and persistence. We run into amateur “agents” all the time and they are not doing a service for their artists(s) no matter how well intentioned they are. The same can be said of event planners. Just because you like to throw parties for your friends or go out and see music it is a long way from there to being a professional coordinator for talent or events. There are too many times to count where we’ve seen a good band leader who has to pick up the slack for a weak event planner at a party or reception. Don’t kid yourself if you don’t have both the desire and experiences that will set you up for success.

Do You Ned To Be Good At Selling?
Many people express to us they would like to be an agent or talent coordinator but they don’t want to really be doing any selling. Or maybe they just freeze up at the idea that they will be a sales person. Unfortunately if this is not in your skillset then you probably will fail in the booking agent/Talent Coordinator side of the business. That’s not to say though that you need to be a huckster or used car salesperson type personality. Far from it. This is not your grandparents type of selling. In fact, if there is any high pressure involved, you are simply doing it wrong. On the other hand you have to be good at engaging with prospects and letting them know the benefits of using your acts and even more importantly, your services. In this business you are more a guide helping people get what they want. Listening and getting prospects pointed in the right direction to fill a need, or even a dream of what they want for entertainment. It is the very essence of strategic booking sales.

Strategic Booking Sales
At GigRoster™ part of our training includes Strategic Booking Sales For Talent Coordinators. Remember the days of one-size-fits-all? One size never did fit all, did it? It was similar to what professional sales were like where one approach was considered effective for all customers. Those days are now over, and today strategic account management (SAM) is the method of choice.

What changed? An emphasis on individual customers and their needs became the most important priority for Talent Coordinators and GigRoster™. Instead of going at a sale one way, you, as a Talent Coordinator, now need to understand how to identify key targets, learn who the gatekeepers are, how to approach them to gain information and discover how to get a foot in the door and then become the easiest way for them to fill their needs.

GigRoster™ Talent Coordinators can best develop their strategies by understanding the strategic sales process and the competition. We teach how to build customer satisfaction and individual performance through customer relationship management (CRM). It’s all about relationships. We literally built our back office system on the Hubspot CRM platform to help our Talent Coordinators develop this.

Working With Your Customer Base
You always need a way to organize your customers because you could have a few hundred in your pipeline at any given time. You must stay in touch, give them valuable input, answer questions, gather information and be there to guide them from the inception of an idea to the implementation of the entertainment for their events and follow-up afterwards.

Making sure you have an accurate and usable customer contact list with customers and companies in the right categories will be a powerful tool for your business. This means you will always be curating, which is just a nice way of saying, keeping the contact up to date. Making sure the email and phone number is correct. Checking to see what type of customer they are categorized as so you can bring them up in your filtered searches. Keeping good notes on what they do and how we can work with them. What kinds of talent do they book. What time of year do they usually book it, etc. The GigRoster™ Hubspot Integration provides a very robust way of making sure your customer list, truly the heart of your growing business, is useful to you by combining every different customer function.

We've done a great deal of customization for the GigRoster™ Hubspot Integration. It can look like a daunting task when you are just starting in the business, but it provides a virtually endless resource that will let you grow your business as much as you'd like with a healthy mix of repeat customers and new customers.

As you begin to build a strong business with your repeat customers, selling will begin to take much more of a backseat role in how you help your customers. In each sales relationship your goal is to cross the line from someone who is selling to someone who is on the customer’s team, working, sometimes literally, in concert with them! Then your job becomes even more enjoyable as you have the freedom to use your creativity to create great bookings and events for them.

Does this sound like your mindset or the way that you can thrive? Yes, you do need to be able to sell, but you won’t realize you are even doing it as you build your customer base.

How Can You Start Building If You Don’t Have A Customer Base?
At GigRoster™ we teach the proven method of reaching out to 10 new potential buyers or legitimate prospects every day. It might seem like pretty basic knowledge that if nobody knows about your business, they can't buy from you. But oddly enough we see that as the major reason why any of our team members may not do well as a GigRoster™ Talent Coordinator. They simply are not getting the word out to enough customers or potential customers and the most basic way is a simple personal phone call or email to someone who is a potential or presumed buyer of talent.

What does this involve? Simply making a commitment to take pride in your business and letting 10 new people who do not know what you do understand all the things you can offer when they are ready to book entertainment. This does not mean bulk emailing or sending a postcard (or even 100 postcards.) It needs to be truly interactive and personal. In order to count it needs to be a two way street. It does not have to be, and will rarely be an instant booking on such a contact. It must, however, be a contact which involved two way communication. Acknowledgement that they understand what you do and that they can reach out to you any time they have the need. In other words, if you send an email and get no answer, it does not count. If you make a phone call and leave a message but never get a call back, it does not count. If you email someone and they say "Thanks, but I am not looking for anything",Thank them for getting back to you, and yes, that counts even if it is a "No" for now.

Network Network Network!
It is, in its basic form 10 - 2 way encounters with people who could potentially use you either now or in the future. No, It really does not take long. Often, like browsing the internet it leads you down new paths and opens new ideas as you reach out and spread the good news about your business. Check out the kinds of customers you may want to consider at the end of this article.

The Goal: 10 personal contacts per day, 5 days per week The Result: 50 contacts per week, 50 weeks a year (OK, yes there are 52 weeks per year, take a few weeks off!). That's 2500 new contacts each year who can potentially hire you directly OR refer you to others. It's not magic. It's just math, and in the promotion of your unique product, it works!

If this sounds like something you can do then being a Talent Coordinator or agent might be a success for you.

There Is A Steep Learning Curve
It is good to realize that being a Talent Coordinator or Agent is not something you can do well from day one usually, but if you have the right tools, then you can certainly get off the ground much faster. If you want to do it as an independent “one person shop” that is certainly possible. You have the advantage that unless you invest a lot of money into the business in advertising or infrastructure you’ll be able to take your time and learn the ropes as you go. You can’t really go out of business unless you fail financially. We can tell you some pretty good stories of silly mistakes we made when we started up. Over time, we learned and built GigRoster™ into a nationwide concern. It can be done.

Working as an employee or independent agent with a larger organization is something that works well for many so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. The infrastructure is in place and the training and support system gives you the confidence to start booking talent as soon as possible without the worry that you are not prepared with everything from a stable of acts to formal contracts when the time comes. The training and resources that an established organization can provide is really the key to success. Someone has already made all the mistakes and has a robust system in place that is a turnkey solution to build a business as big as you’d like to. In this case you will either be on salary or more often a commission split that lets you choose, how, when and with whom you will work. Larger organizations also have the ability to provide leads to you to supplement your personal prospecting efforts.

GigRoster™ Professional Entertainment offers an excellent opportunity for people in all areas of the entertainment industry. Booking, Artist Management and Event Management is certainly not a new concept, but GigRoster™ created a system that allows you to get started quickly in growing a business that is suited to your abilities and interests. There is virtually no limit to the direction you may grow your business but one thing is sure; The resources available through GigRoster™ to you as a Talent Coordinator are like none other organization. This system allows you to step into the “game” and play ball with the major players because you will have at your immediate disposal more resources than most talent buyers or talent managers ever have, let alone what any individual can put together on their own.

If you want to apply with GigRoster™ go to the career page and complete the application

Here Are a Few of The Types Of Clients That Talent Coordinators May Be Providing Talent For!
Airports, Alumni Student Organizations, Anniversary Parties, Art Gallery Openings, Assisted Living Facilities, Associations, Awards Night Parties, Baby Showers, Bachelor Parties, Bachelorette Parties, Banquets, Banquet Facilities, Baptisms, Bar Mitzvahs, Bat Mitzvahs, Barbecues, Beach Parties, Birthday Parties, Boating Yacht Clubs, Breakfasts, Breweries, Bridal Showers, Brunches, Car Shows, Casinos, Casino Events, Casting Calls, Catering Services, Celebrations, Chambers Of Commerce, Charity Organizations, Children's Birthday Parties, Chinese New Year Parties, Christenings, Christmas Parties, Church Services, Cinco De Mayo Parties, City Or Municipalities, Customer Appreciation Parties, Club Events, Cocktail Parties, Colleges, College Reunions, Commercials, Commercial Shoots, Commitment Ceremonies, Community Events, Concerts, Conventions, Corporate Events, Corporate Functions, Country Club Events, Cruise Boat Parties and Events, Cruise Ship Talent, Dances, Dinners, Dinner Dances, Divorce Parties, Easter Celebrations, Election Day Parties, Elementary Schools, Engagement Parties, Entertainment Venues, Events, Event Facilities, Event Planners, Gala Functions, Fairs, Father's Day Parties, Festivals, Communions, Fraternity Parties, Fundraisers, Funerals, Golf & Country Clubs, Golf Events, Government Organizations, Graduation Parties, Grand Openings, Halloween Parties, Hanukkah Celebrations, Happy Hours, High Income Customers, High Schools, Holiday Events, Holiday Parties, Hospital Special Events, Hotel Events, Jazz Festivals, Jazz Nights, July 4th Parties, Labor Day Parties, Library Concerts, Live Music Venues, Luaus, Luncheons, Mardi Gras Parties, Marriage Proposals, Meetings, Memorial Day Parties, Memorial Services, Middle Schools, Mother's Day Parties, Movie Openings, Multi-Day Events, Museums, New Year's Eve Parties, Non-Profits, Nursing Home Events, Oktoberfest Parties, Parades, Photographers, Picnics, PR Advertising Agencies, Adding Your Business to Preferred Vendors Lists, Press Media events, Private Individual Events, Private Membership Clubs, Private Parties, Proms, Quinceañeras, Rehearsal Dinners, Religious Organizations, Resort Events, Restaurant Events, Retail Stores, Retirement Parties, Reunions, Saint Patrick's Day Parties, Santa Claus Events, School Assemblies, School Districts, Shopping Malls, Sorority Functions and Parties, Sports Teams, Studio Sessions, Team Building Events, Temple Events, Thanksgiving Celebrations, Top Tier Large Customers, Trade Shows, TV Shows, Valentine's Day Parties, Veteran's Day Parties, Vineyards and Wineries, Weddings, Wedding Ceremonies, Wedding Cocktail Hours, Wedding Planners, Wedding Receptions… the List goes on, but in case you are wondering, there is nothing on this list that GigRoster™ has not booked talent for in the past.

What can you think of that we've missed!

At GigRoster.com, It’s our job to help musicians get great gigs. Any professional performer can have a free listing by registering their act and they are eligible to be booked for gigs. We’ve been helping musicians and performers for over 30 years and that's why it makes us even madder when we see scammers trying to rob and take advantage of hard working performers.

This pernicious scam has been going on for years but as time and technology advance it becomes even more sophisticated. We still get questions from performers who are suspicious, but not sure it’s for real, worried that they may be passing on an easy to book well paying gig. We don’t mince words. This is pure and simple a con that is designed to steal your money and likely open you to identity theft! It is despicable that as hard as everyone in our business works to provide professional talent services that we need to deal with low-life criminals like this, but it’s out there and you need to recognize it from the start.

It plays on the desire of most of us professionals who are always anxious to book a great gig with the pay we deserve and sometimes it can blind us to the red flags when a supposed customer or client is saying they are ready to book your act for a great price. It looks like a good deal and easy money, but wait!

How Does It Work?
Usually it happens like this. You are approached by what seems to be a serious client asking to book your act on a certain date. Often it does not include the location, but you assume it is local. The location is usually not given until you answer the request which is always by email or through messaging, such as facebook messenger or through a booking platform or even by sms/text message. At this point they know where you are if they look you up on the internet or any number of booking sites.

Once you’ve replied to the scammer the con is on and they will begin working you. They will ask what the price is, and, believe it or not, it will not matter what price you give them. They will agree to it no matter how ridiculous. You could be a solo guitarist and tell them it's $3000 an hour and they will readily agree. There is your first red flag. This one might be harder to catch unless you know they are con artists from the top, since most likely you will give a reasonable price and the scammer will agree. Great! You’ve got a gig and for once it was easier than talking the customer into it. Fantastic. Let’s do the contract. No wait, let’s not do that!

There are typically a few more red flags to tip you off. Often the purchaser is currently out of the country, so they will need a little more help from you in setting up this gig, and, because of their location, for work or some other excuse, they are not able to call you and go over details on the phone. It doesn't matter where they tell you they are at, they are not there. Be assured they are not inside the USA or Canada either, where they would be vulnerable to things like law enforcement. So they will tell you many times they are working through an event planner or that they’d like you to also function as their event planner. They, or their representative, will be forwarding you a check (it will come, but watch out, it’s a fraudulent check, cashiers check or money order!). They may offer to pay you by credit card. That’s a little more recent but since many artists now have a way to take payments by credit card, this is even slicker. And no, that does not protect you either. It is a stolen credit card. When it is reported or the issuing bank flags it as stolen, that money is coming right back out of your account, just like it will from a check, cashiers check or money order! It may not come out as fast as you think though. It could take 30 days or more to be reversed. Long after you think it is cleared funds. It is not.

Now the part that is always a part of the scheme. They will want to overpay you for your services, pretty much no matter how much you are charging them. Since they are outside the country currently, they just need you to help them out by taking a larger payment, keeping your portion and sending the extra to the event planner or other event professionals after the check or credit card clears. Sometimes more than one if they think you will do it. They may even offer to add another fee of $500-1000 for your trouble in making these arrangements. They will request it by check or by money order. Never by credit card. They will be vague as to why they need the money to go through you (see some of the common excuses in the red flags below). Intelligent and well meaning people DO fall for this, caught up in the excitement that they have a gig that is going to pay very well. It does not matter what excuse they tell you as to why they need the money to go through you, their new best friend and event planner, but no matter how they explain it, the overpayment is where they make their score.

You may say, “But if they pay by cashiers check or money order, that’s the same as cash and I can just go down to my bank and cash it.” WRONG. If it is a cashiers check or money order, sure, your bank will take it. In a few days they will “clear” it and you can even take the cash out of your account. But when it bounces, and it will, then you are responsible for that money. Even if it means your account is overdrawn. Most often it will be on a foriegn bank, a real one, so don’t bother checking. The advantage of drawing it on a foreign bank for the scammers is it could take 30 days or more before you know it is fake and the money is pulled back out of your account.

The will be weeks after you have forwarded the extra money to the other fake event professional(s) with your own perfectly good check. Yours will actually clear in a few days and the money will be out of your hands forever. Now, you have lost perhaps $1000 to $1500 or more of your own money and the $5000 fake check that they sent you isn’t worth the paper they themselves printed it on. Next you may even have to start dealing with bank fees for overdrawing your own account, bounced check fees. Yes, the bank charges you too when someone writes you a bad check through no fault of yours.

A credit card version of this works the same. They will overpay you using a stolen credit card number and then you just need to send the overpayment money to whomever they have told you needs to be paid by check, cashiers check, or money order because the person you are paying is temporarily unable to accept credit cards or any number of other excuses. Your money will be long gone before the credit card payment is reversed for fraud, which could take over 30-60 days.

Sometimes they are not able to make a credit card work if you request they do that and they will ask if they can send you a check instead, pretending there is some problem with their card. There’s a problem alright. That means your credit card system which probably has good technology and has enough protections in place that their AI has found the transaction suspicious and won’t take it. At GigRoster, we’ve had scammers try it 20 times, over several days! Failing each time of course and they still try to make the transaction happen long after we’ve ascertained that they are playing the old con. We can usually spot it right away though.

Here Are Many of the Red Flags You Can Look For

• The gig is too easy to book. The purchaser has little or no questions other than price and wants to book your band or act with no further information, promo, video or questions.
• A gig request that comes with vague details that they then provide you AFTER they find out who you are and where you are located. At this point they can simply google a local wedding or event facility and say, that’s the location. They can’t have too many specific details about you or your location in the original email, since the email is being sent to thousands of people.
• The performance date is an odd day of the week. Such as a wedding on a Tuesday. Sure it’s possible. We’ve done many week day weddings over the years, but the scam works better with musicians if they choose a night to inquire about that they are pretty sure you are not booked. That will also be a date you are very anxious to book since you are not getting too many calls for a Tuesday wedding reception.
• Any time a purchaser wants to pay you more than your asking price in advance. Or if they agree to pay a ridiculous price without question. To test this we’ve told scammers that a basic DJ service for 2 hours would be $15,000. No problem. If it starts like this, something is wrong and you need to stop right there and cease communication.
• If the purchaser says they want you to help out by forwarding money to their event planner, or to act as their event planner and pay or some other person involved in the event. Come on! You have to wonder why they don’t just send it to that provider instead. (But don’t get into a discussion about it, they will make up excuses: The credit card system is down, I can only send this one large check signed over to you, etc.)
• They need to pay you by credit card and have you send a check, cashiers check, or money order to another person working on the event because their credit card service is temporarily down and we need to get payment to them ASAP so we can have the event. This is to create urgency. If you can’t help them out, you won’t be able to perform at the event and look how much you’ll lose. WRONG!
• The purchaser is vague about the details and time. How many purchasers do you know that are not very clear about start time?
• The verbiage in the emails or messages sounds like they are trying to write the Queens English but not doing very well at it, or using large or unusual phrases or terms. They are redundant in their answers and it appears they are working from a set of prewritten general answers. Not speaking great english in itself is certainly not a reason to suspect anyone, but it may be if it is combined with a number of these other red flags. And honestly, as you’ll see in the examples below, it is not hard to spot if you are aware of it.
• The purchaser cannot be reached by phone. No way, no how. Even if you offer to call at any time of day or night at your own expense. Nigerian Princes simply are not equipped to take phone calls. As you know though, now with any cell phone it is pretty easy to place a call anywhere in the world using something as simple as Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp or any number of hundreds of voip apps or protocols. If they are better at the scam, they will tell you they can reach out to you by message only since they are at sea on a ship, deployed in the military or even that they are deaf, or in the hospital with terminal cancer (that’s especially good, since they will play on your sympathy and mercy to help them now in their time of need, never mind that it does not seem to be the best time to plan a wedding or anniversary).
• If they give a lot of unrelated details to you, then you know they are copying and pasting the scam to many in our industry, not just musicians

What if you just want to play along and see where it goes?

Don’t do it. You will not be punishing this person who is probably in a remote country and is working this scam on many people at the same time, having sent out thousands and thousands of emails. Sure, maybe you’ll waste some of their time, but that about it. You’ll waste yours too, and yours is actually valuable. The longer you engage the more chance they have to convince you it is real, or gather more information about you even if you are just messing with them, which may well lead to identity theft.

If you are thinking you can just take their check and deposit it and see how it goes? No harm in just seeing if it clears and not sending them any money, right? Nope. About the best you can hope for is that you’ll end up paying some bank fees. You’ll also expose your account to possible fraud or identity theft since your account number is now on the canceled check.

Read through the examples of real initial letters below so when you so when it's your turn to get that email or message, you’ll be ready with the delete button! Just knowing about this common scam is going to protect you from falling victim. Share it with your fellow musicians and performers. While it is probably not realistic to expect we can stop it, at least those within your circle can see it coming and close the door in the face of these criminals.

Examples:
See below for just a few examples of what kinds of verbiage they use. Notice the similarities between them and the ways in which they work on drawing you in. Some of these are so pervasive that we have received exactly the same email many times as they attempt to reach out to an individual band or performer listed on GigRoster.com. We’ve not corrected any grammar below for purposes of illustration.

Good morning Mary. How are you doing and how was your night? hope it was splendid. firstly. i would like to say i am so grateful to read from you and fulfilling your promised as you said. i want you to know that i am currently out of town at the moment for a special assignment as a US navy officer i am on the sea at the moment that is why i choose this medium as a means of communication due to bad network and i will be coming back to town by ending of next month that is why i want you to handle everything for me because i am making this as a surprise for my wife. More also, there is no way i can sign this agreement here unless you resend it and make it a way i can be able to sign in through internet or through microsoft word.

Thank you so much for your full package of services and i really appreciate you for taking your time to elaborate them to me I am okay with the cost of your service. Does that include processing fee + tax because i would need you to do me little favor,I will like you to kindly coordinate deposit of $3500 for my limo driver that will pick up my wife, family members and some guest to party location and i want you to be rest assured that i will pay all CC fee and taxes. i will be making advance payment of 50% of the service and i want you to calculate everything together and send me the total estimate and agreement so that i can sign. Less i forgot kindly let me know about the payment if you have gotten the merchant setup so that we can proceed with the payment. i want you to know that once i make the payment and fund hit your account i will surely instruct you on what to do and we can proceed from there. i will also be given you $200 as a tip for all the inconvenience and i would be so glad if you can handle this for me perfectly. Thanks for your understanding and your cooperation.

Hello,

Thanks for your prompt response.

Due to the nature of my job, it's kinda hard to plan a successful 10th year wedding anniversary party with intent to make it a surprise party to my wife, and this has prompted me to reach out to you for assistance. I'm already having lots of stress planning this event on my own. I've made out a list of what I thought would be essential for my event to ensure its success. My event will hold on Thursday, March 30, 2017 in Toronto, ON, and I want all logistics taken care of by you.

Venue
Making proper arrangements for flowers and decor
Photography services
Catering Services; (Italian Cuisine, buffet style)
I'd prefer a DJ and would like R&B and Jazz music.
Event color : White and Lemon
3tier Cake
Budget: $14,000.00

I would like to inform you that all payments to vendors will have to go through you as my event coordinator and you'll have to take care of all logistics and plans for my event as I'm officially out of town because of work. I travel a lot and that's because I work 24/7 on a ship, I'm a Sailor, but my ship has been scheduled to berth on March 25, 2017, 5 days prior to my wedding anniversary. My party time is 3pm to 7pm and expected guests are 50. I'll like to know how much you charge for this kind of event and deposit payment will be made with my credit card in other to formally secure your services once I have a contract from you. I believe you can bring a level of service that surpasses anything we’ve seen before.

I'll be looking forward to hear back from you so we can proceed with necessary arrangements.

Thanks and best regards,
Leo Carter

Hello,
Thanks for your prompt response.
Due to the nature of my job, a Seaman/Sailor, always on a ship taking cargo from one destination to the other, it’s kinda hard to plan a successful 10th year wedding anniversary party with the intent to make it a surprise party to wife, family and some friends all on my own, I guess I need help. I’d like to hire the services of an event planner in regards to my upcoming 10th year wedding anniversary which is coming up on Jan. 28. 2017, in Bryan, TX, but I don’t wanna host this event at my residence, I’m already having lots of stress planning this event on my own that’s why i want you to please coordinate this event for me, as I do believe that you will do me a lovely party and thrill my guest to the best of your ability.
Listed below are the services needed for the event:
Getting us a venue is very important
Making proper arrangements for flowers and decor
Photography services
Catering Services; food and drinks for the guest I presume my guests would like to try a new cuisine. but it shouldn’t be more than my budget.
I’d prefer a DJ and would like R&B and Jazz music.
Event color : White and Lemon
3tier Cake
Budget : 14k
I would like to inform you that all payments to vendors will have to go through you as my party coordinator/event planner and you can get all the necessary arrangement done for my event as i am officially out of town because my work makes me travel a lot and that’s because I work 24/7 on a ship, so I’m always on the high sea but I will be in town 5 days prior to my wedding anniversary. My party time is 3pm to 7pm, Expected guest is 50. I’ll like to know how much you charge for this kind of event. Deposit or full payment, will be made asap with my credit card once availability for venue is confirmed by you. I believe you can bring a level of service that surpasses anything we’ve seen before.
I’m anticipating your earliest response.
Thanks.

Image by B_A from Pixabay - Thank You!

In the midst of a pandemic it may seem short sighted to say that live entertainment is not going away any time soon, but in fact, It is really more long sighted than anything. It is simply a matter of learning from history. Music and entertainment are woven through the fabric of every crisis and challenge the US and in fact the whole world has ever been through. Like nature, it may be held back or perhaps have its course altered, if not just temporarily, but it always emerges and lives.

It is true that during the height of Covid-19 live music and other types of entertainment really can only happen under a very specific set of circumstances in order to comply with the safe guidelines. Even with those limitations, where people are following the strictest of guidelines it has found ways to let us know it is still there.

Over the last months we’ve seen very creative ways of presenting live performances. Anything from widespread virtual shows to amazing live events where, for instance, at a drive-in theater the band is on stage, even socially distanced from one another, as the audience stays in their cars and listens to the performance on their car radio. We saw instead of a crowded tree lighting ceremony at the local mall an event that became a sort of reverse parade, with guests driving through route waving at Frosty, Rudolph, Santa, Mrs. Claus (singing & playing guitar, no less) along with musical groups, stilt walkers, laser lights and more. Festive and fun but a whole new way of providing family entertainment in a safe way.

Some Things Must Change
Experts tell us, some things will change forever. This is not to play into the hands of those who sadly believe this will never go away and things will never be good again. Some things will change forever, for the better.
There have been a lot of new ways in which business has been done in 2020. Offices have in large part moved to a Work-From-Home model. It turns out that in many ways it has worked very well. Companies may, going forward, need less physical office space. They might be able to go to a hybrid version of WFH and work in the office. Person to person collaboration cannot always be replaced with a Zoom meeting and there is an ongoing discussion of whether the efficiency of WFH stacks up to working in a dedicated work space. This is just one example of how the pandemic may cause things to be done differently going forward when Covid-19 itself is no longer a pervasive threat.

People will also, no doubt continue to do more and more shopping online. The trend was going in that direction anyway but the pandemic may have pushed more people into, for instance, grocery shopping online and having the groceries dropped off on the doorstep. Is that so different than it was in the first half of the 20th century when you’d call the grocer and they would make up your order and have the delivery boy drop it by? The pandemic may have just gotten people on board with it who have never used such a service as grocery delivery before and discover they like it. Of course this does not even fully take into account the trend that has been growing for years towards online shopping for almost anything.

Some Things Cannot Change
We hear from so many people that they really miss the human interaction. That can be anything from the energy of a crowded bustling restaurant, to going to concerts, shows, weddings and gatherings of all kinds where entertainment is a part of it. We may not be able to do it now, but it is not a secret that people want to get back to enjoying entertainment that isn’t on their big screen TV or laptop, no disrespect to Netflix!

Think of the music business over the years. Over a LOT of years. As long as there have been musicians or performers of any kind art, music, entertainment, comedy and more have all evolved, but one thing does not change. Seeing live entertainment is an experience that, in person, has its own power that transcends the performance itself. Nobody thinks seeing a band on YouTube compares to seeing the same band perform live, whether it is a national touring act or a local rock and roll band in the park. Yes, it will take some time, but our advice to our many artists on GigRoster.com is, be ready! Music and entertainment will be back, and maybe bigger than before.

Use the time to plan and prepare and hone your art because if anything, the pandemic is creating a growing hunger for seeing live talent. A need that nothing else will fulfill of having the energy, the emotion, the feelings that seeing a live performance can bring to people and the audience around them. It could be a DJ on stage, a solo singer doing opera, an 80 piece symphony orchestra or band playing original rock. Everyone is anxious to see real talent when it is time to return. It will be gradual, yes, but in time, this too will pass and music will be there as it has always been, through the history of mankind, growing, changing, evolving. People are realizing that music and entertainment is not an optional activity. It is vital to life, and we’ll know we are on the road to healing when the music is back. And make no mistake, it will be.

Whether it is a talent buyer like GigRoster.com selling an act to a client or the act themselves trying to get a booking, if the price is not on the table, up front, then the client is stuck and simply cannot consider booking. It is as simple as that.

Does this mean the price has to be low? Certainly not! Many factors go into determining a fair price, but that’s a different discussion. What does matter though is that you give your client prices for all the options you are offering them. Seems obvious, right? Well apparently not to everyone!

You would be surprised how many times as a talent buyer at GigRoster we ask an act to give us their price and availability for a specific event with date, time and location and, even having clearly asked for a price, they tell us yes they can do it but never say how much it will cost (and sometimes want to know, if this is a confirmed booking!). Wait… how can we hire you if we don’t know the charge?

Likewise sometimes we will see talent buyers send options to a client, already knowing the specifics of the gig but without getting the prices from the act or acts they represent. Maybe one of the acts that didn’t answer the question or maybe the talent buyer hasn’t even reached out to the acts yet. It doesn’t matter. The result will be the same.

Not Giving A Client Prices?

It Is A Waste Of Time!

Even worse, if you don’t get prices to the client pretty soon, you will lose a pretty good percentage of those clients because of it. They will walk away if you are not clear. No client can ever book entertainment without first knowing the price. Period. If you are sending promo to anyone for a specific gig, without pricing, why bother?

We have been told, in any kind of sales, clients can and will object to many things that you must overcome before they are ready to make a buying decision. No matter what you are selling though, far and away the largest objection, the literal bottom line, will be price.

To make it a bit more difficult, many times a client will not be comfortable to ask the price. Very few people enjoy negotiating anything in our culture. Even more true with booking talent in our business. This is a service which often involves potential clients who have no experience ever booking talent before. Have you experienced the case where clients that you were in contact with have become unresponsive after you reach out to them? It’s probably because you are not reaching their comfort level in letting them know what the act is going to cost. In many cases they will just feel uncomfortable. In the worst case they will feel played and manipulated like they’ve just encountered the worst caricature of a used car salesman you can imagine. So they go dark. “How much is it going to cost? ...How much you got!!” Let’s not be that person!

It is understandable that you don’t want to shock the client and scare them away with price. You might even be holding back on price because you really don’t want to get a rejection. Well nobody likes rejection, but let’s face it: They need to know. If they are thinking $300 and the price is $2500, don’t you want to know that sooner rather than later? Maybe it’s a little more typical though that you are not nearly so far apart on the price. Get it out on the table so the pain, if any, is over and you can start selling the wonderful benefits of booking this great professional act! As we all know from booking talent for many years that sometimes the price is actually no problem at all. Yay! The client may be more than willing to pay the asking price. Just remember, in no case can the client pay the asking price if you don’t ask.

Providing great service to your clients starts with getting them good information on what will work best for them and the easiest and most important information that must be included? Price.

Price Matters When You Are Booking Entertainment?

Without the price, nothing else matters!

Reach Out To 10 new Potential Buyers Every day!

It might seem like pretty basic knowledge that if nobody knows about your business, they can't buy from you. Well, every performer and act is a business and you need to ask yourself, If someone needs to find me, will they even know I exist? We see that as the major reason why any of our great GigRoster™ artists may not do as well in booking events shows and performances as they'd like. Referral business is the best, but nobody refers you if they have never heard of you. Most performers are simply not getting the word out to enough clients and the most basic way is a simple personal phone call or email to someone who is a potential or presumed buyer of talent.

What does this involve? Simply making a commitment to take pride in your business and letting 10 new people each and every what you do so they can understand all the things you can offer when they are ready to book entertainment. This does not mean bulk emailing or sending a postcard, or even 100 postcards. That has become increasingly ineffective. So much so that you should feel good if 15% of the recipients open your bulk email, and very few will every take action. No, we are talking about personal contact. person to person, one by one.

In order to count it needs to be a two way street. It does not have to be, and will rarely be a booking on such a contact. It must, however be a contact which involved two way communication. Acknowledgement that they understand what you do and that they can reach out to you any time they have the need. In other words, if you send an e mail and get no answer, it does not count. If you make a phone call and leave a message but never get a call back, it does not count. If you email someone and they say "Thanks, but I am not looking for anything",Thank them for getting back to you, and yes, that counts even if it is a No for now.

It is, in its basic form 10 - 2 way encounters with people who could potentially use you either now or in the future. No, It really does not take long. Often, like browsing the internet it leads you down new paths and opens new ideas as you reach out and spread the good news about your business.

The Goal:

10 personal contacts per day, 5 days per week

The Result:

50 contacts per week, 50 weeks a year (OK, yes there are 52 weeks per year, take a few weeks off!). That's 2500 new contacts each year who can potentially hire you directly OR refer you to others.

It's not magic. It's just math, and in sales of your unique product, it works!

Professional Entertainment’s GigRoster.com is a national talent buying agency. Presenting premium talent options to our clients across the USA through our network of local talent buying agents is something we have been doing for over 30 years and one that is growing in popularity fast as we add tools and marketing options through our local offices and online interface.

So why does GigRoster require that any group, performer or act is listed with us if they would like to be booked by our talent agents?

Think of it this way. Like any big company we need the services we hire with our company to be registered vendors. It is pretty simple. By being registered, it addresses both the continuity of the acts we make available to our clients as well as the legality that lets us promote you in various ways and pay you for your professional services when you are booked.

Clients Need To Be Able To Review Your Act Presented In A Clear, Consistent Format
You always have complete control over what your content is, how you present pictures, videos, descriptions and more as long as it is within the Terms Of Service, so our clients have a complete organized picture of what you do. As talent buyers it really does not work to send information piecemeal to a client who is making a buying decision. It is difficult for our clients if we send a hodge podge of links and attachments such as a youtube video, song list, a few mp3 files, a document, a picture attachment or any number of other formats or promotional tools. Having them in an organized format makes it much easier for the client to get the full picture of what you do. There is no cost for you to create your profile page and you can update it and enhance it at any time, as often as you’d like.

Talent Buyers Can Find You When It’s Time
Our talent buyers are based in cities across the USA and Canada. We need to have complete information available to every buyer so it is easily accessible when they have a client looking for what you do. Sure it would be easy to just email some promo to the corporate office, but can you imagine how effective that will be if we were to in turn send that out to all the talent buying agents across the USA? There would be no way they can assimilate and organize it and more importantly, they would never find it or remember it without a system to find what they need, when they need it.

Why Do We Literally Require A Listing?
In order to book you as an independent contractor we need your act to be listed as a vendor with the consent to the Terms Of Service that you agree to when you create a listing page. When you create a listing you agree that we can provide your promo material to potential clients either directly or through various types of marketing. You also warrant that you have the right to use and disseminate that media and promotional material.

Our talent buyers need current, accurate contact information that allows us to reach out to you for purposes of booking, contracting and getting you paid. Your contact information is not available publicly but is only for internal use. In fact we will not give your contact to anyone even if they contact us and request it. Your contact information does not appear on your public profile listing page except to note the city & state where you are based.

In regard to promo, we simply cannot send links to promo that is outside our system or even allow links from your profile listing to include outside links. That is for reasons of both continuity and user experience. Our commitment to our clients is to provide an easy to use platform with good information. It is a pretty poor user experience to click on a link for a YouTube video or an mp3 only to find that it has been taken down or is a dead link. Additionally, GigRoster is formatted to work with all types of devices from desktop and laptop to pads and mobile devices so all forms of media will play easily on any device.

What We Don’t Need Or Ask For
We don’t need is any form of payment. Being listed with GigRoster.com is free.
We don’t need an exclusive right to book you. You are free to pursue any clients you want. We are a talent buyer, not your manager.
Your information stays secure. It is not sold or disseminated in any way except in marketing in a general way and providing your listing to qualified clients who may be interested in hiring you through GigRoster.

Go Ahead. There Is Nothing To Lose!
Since there is no fee to you for being involved, there is really no reason not to list yourself with GigRoster unless you are not interested in working through our platform and network to get more gigs!

Create Your GigRoster Listing Today

There are many things you can do to optimize the free listing you have on GigRoster.com so that you can get offers to work for paying clients. After all, that’s the bottom line. If nobody sees your listing along with everything you have to offer you won’t get gigs. And that is, after all, why we created GigRoster.com for you instead of just Roster.com!

1. Make sure you take full advantage of the opportunity to include almost unlimited media. Is there another online talent booking service that gives you the ability to load virtually unlimited media at no cost? Not that we are aware of! Take advantage: Get your listing supercharged with pictures, videos and sound clips where appropriate. If you don’t have great media on your GigRoster listing, how many offers should you expect to get (answer: expect zero). We have no idea why people even bother to create a listing on the platform with the very minimum of information on the site. Wouldn’t it save time to just not make a listing if there is nothing to look at? Nobody will EVER consider your act if they don’t have even the most basic promo to get them excited about what you do. Sell the sizzle. It costs you nothing.

2. Be sure to make use of the GigRoster reciprocal link. You can and should place it on your own page as well as putting it on facebook or any other site leading people directly to your page. This has an effect on the strength of your Google presence. Inbound links to your listing is one way Google rates how legitimate or popular your page is. The code for that link can be found on “more” tab when you are editing any listing. The more inbound links you have, the more the cumulative effect, not just from those links but in optimizing your page for search engines.

3. Utilize the style fields to list all the major styles your clients will search for. On the GigRoster site, Google knows where your act is located and what you are near. You don’t need to be actually located in the major city to get search results in the major city and surrounding metro area. For instance if you are based in Salem, Massachusetts, you’ll still come up in any search where a client is searching in Boston. HOWEVER, if you don’t have the major styles of entertainment you provide in the style section, there is a good chance you will not be found in the way a client searches. For example: If you play all styles of jazz and you only put one style, jazz, in the style search, you may well not come up when someone searches for a "hire a swing band in Boston".

4. Make an seperate listing for each individual act you have. Some artists just have a single act, but many have multiple, distinct acts that should be marketed on their own. On GigRoster you can have multiple individual listings within your single sign on account. Don't worry, that's free too. If you provide a German band, a French band, a jazz band and a rock band, don’t even think of making a single listing for “The John Smith German, French, Jazz & Rock Band” Google won’t like it, and neither will any client. If they want a German band they don’t want to think you are going to play rock and jazz too. Sure, we know you don’t have to but does the client? Does Google? Make a separate special page for each act. That’s the reason you branched out in the first place. Don’t torpedo your chances by throwing everything into one big confusing pot!

5. Your description needs to help people find you. The long description does much more than just give basic information about your act. Don’t simply put in one or two sentences. Give your clients all the detailed information they need and at the same time let Google crawl the description to see what you offer. Google and GigRoster BOTH use a pretty advanced algorithm to match what clients are searching for. Make sure you are incorporating phrases that people may search for. Think about how an average person would search, not how people in our entertainment business would search for you. If you are a wedding band, consider instead of saying “We do receptions, parties and events” try: “We are a fun wedding band playing dance music for parties and affordable reception music” Why? Then Google can easily tag you into search for “Wedding Band”, “Dance Music For Parties”, “Affordable Reception Music” as well as any number of variations on those. Your paragraphs need to be well written and easy to read. Don't make them read like a keyword search. that will not serve you well when a client is on your page. The description is not a list of keywords, but a well written description does include plenty of key search phrases. The sort of thing the average Google searcher would be putting in the search engine when they want to find an act like yours.

Pro-Tip: Give your pictures descriptive names before you load them onto your listing. A Google search can find those pictures and lead people to your page!

6. Google your act name and see where it shows up in various kinds of Google searches. Find out what terms, besides just the actual name of your act will come up in a search. Try different things and adjust your GigRoster listing accordingly. What pages DO come up if not yours? What's on those pages that makes a search engine find the? See how you do, adjust where needed, then try it again in a month and see if your results are better. It is not instant. Google crawls the site frequently and notes changes, so later when you search again, your results will improve! By the way, yes, we know there are other search engines out there besides Google, but in the real world, the call it googling for a reason. According to Business insider (https://www.businessinsider.com/how-google-retains-more-than-90-of-market-share-2018-4) More than 90% of all internet searches are taking place through Google and the company subsidiary Youtube. Google is the one that matters. Optimize for Google and the others will find you too.

7. The Title and URL of your act is in the title of your page and this is very important. Google does look at page title AND the URL when considering what will best match someone’s search. It considers it rather strongly in fact. It should not, however, be too long. We suggest you keep it simple so anyone searching for your act, will easily find it. You can also put a very brief description in the title and URL along with the name of the act. For example instead of The Bearcats, how about “The Bearcats Rock Band”. A couple of things to keep in mind. You can keep your Gigrosting listing URL simple by adjusting that in the edit function. It will inherit the full title of the act unless you manually shorten it. For example, make the title of the act “The Austrian Boys German Band”, It is grammatically correct and reads well. You can make the URL of the page just "Austrian Boys German Band" so the URL is: https://www.gigroster.com/listings/austrian-boys-german-band instead of .../the-austrian-boys-german-band. No reason to waste valuable URL data on "the" which Google will ignore anyway! Finally, make sure no matter what the title of your page/act is under 100 Characters, including spaces, or less. Yes, you can get away with a longer one but it won't help. it will be truncated on the tab, and more to the point, Google will give less and less weight to words that are further down the URL string. 100 max is usually considered ideal.

8. Consider the big picture on GigRoster. People searching on the GigRoster, Google or any other site are going to get results based on: Title, style, location and description. Make sure all 4 do their own individual tasks of helping people find you whether it is through a GigRoster Search, or a broad internet search. When people want the kind of entertainment you provide you want to make sure they find your listing, and when they click on it, they are rewarded with all the tools to make that buying decision.

They can’t hire you if they don’t know you exist. Nothing is more disappointing than knowing that a client booked a different act when you know you really would have been perfect for the event. All because they never found you, and could not consider hiring you. Update your listings as often as you’d like as you learn what works best, whether it is a client searching our site, an internet search, or one of our talent buyers who would like to present you to a client.

Performers, Entertainers, DJ’s, Event Planners… Why Let Business Walk Out The Door? You can join as a licensed GigRoster™ Talent Coordinator and make commissions on booking talent with no starting fee and no monthly membership. It costs nothing to get started so, if you are qualified and have the experience you may want to join our team of entertainment professionals who are making income. Build your business at your own pace, full or part-time.

If you are currently a performer, musician or entertainer, this opportunity will be an excellent way for you to simply take what you are already doing well and expand it into a successful business and add a new stream of income.

How many times do you turn away business because your act may not be exactly what the customer is looking for? Maybe you are already booked for a date the customer would like to hire you and you can't be in two places at once. A perfectly good booking opportunity goes marching right out the door, even though you have done everything to gain the business. Why not capitalize on what you are already doing well? You can provide an excpetional service for your customer, even if your particular act is either unavailable or not the right fit for that particular gig.

When the customer asks if you are available to provide the kind of performance they are looking for, wouldn’t you ALWAYS like to be able to say yes? …And then get paid for it!

As you explore the resources GigRoster™ makes available to you as a Talent Coordinator, think about some of the ways you can build your own business based on your skills, experience and interests. We think you will find some exciting opportunities in this rewarding career. As a GigRoster™ Talent Coordinator you will have new challenges every day and the thrill of knowing that, instead of waiting for someone else to call the shots, you are in charge of your future as you help customers find and book the right talent for their event or business.

GigRoster™ offers an excellent opportunity for professional entertainers to build a career as you guide customers in making their entertainment choices. Our people are the heart of our success and this may be a great way for you to be involved in the planning side of all sorts of exciting bookings. If you are an experienced entertainer and you love working with people you’ll want to explore how easy it is to get started coordinating talent as a Professional Entertainment Consultant.

Is this for everyone? Of course not. We are selective in who we work with because we will be dedicating time and resources to your business. The people who are most successful at this are typically professional performers who do their own booking or booking for one or more acts they perform with. These individuals have the experience of the whole process from initial contact to providing promo, to contracting the engagement. Of course with the GigRoster™ system you have great tools, but nothing can replace the experience and skill of person to person contact and rapport. Another type of person who is usually successful is a professional event planner who will have the option of partnering to booking great talent for their customers for events they are managing or, of course, booking talent for any event or venue at all. If you fit one of these two categories, this may be the right move for you.

As an owner associate, will be able to hit the ground running. Why is that? Because we’ve done all the groundwork for you. You won’t be left feeling like you are lost in the dark. We’ve already lit the path for you by providing you with a totally interactive web site with an extensive, always growing roster of entertainers, as well as back end resources and tools to help you manage your customers and your business.

Some of the tools at your disposal include:

• Your own web page to help guide your customers in choosing entertainment, powered by The GigRoster™ Interface
• A robust back office system of building your customer list, tracking, following up, communicating and booking built with the HupSpot System and the proprietary GigRoster™ integration
• A dedication 800 number with your own extension so you can choose your own business hours and keep business organized, make and receive calls, send and receive text messages and more with the GigRoster™ & Ring Central, at no cost to you.
• The GigRoster™ Team site. An internal training web site that teaches you everything from A-Z from how to work with all of your resources, to how to build your business and creat a strong income over time.
• The enhanced Google for work Google Workspace on your business, including a suite of paid productivity tools and apps at no cost to you. From improved productivity to revenue growth, Google Workspace drives business results.
• Your dedicated GigRoster™ email account, fully integrated with all of the above GigRoster™ tools. You'll always know when customers are engaging with you whether by phone, email or text.
• All contracts and payments are processed through the office to make your booking and event tracking easy.
• Access to over 6000 registered performing acts who want to work
• Easy referral interface to allow new acts that you'd like to work with to register in the system for free.
• Plus much more. With our years of experience and suite of cutting edge tools, you are ready!

What's the easiest way to start, once you've been accepted as a new GigRoster™ Talent Coordinator? One step at a time. You will not pursue every area at the beginning. Each associate builds his or her business in a different way. We encourage you to:
1. Focus on your strengths
2. Build your business step by step focusing on creating repeat customers
3. As you start be sure to make full use of the GigRoster™ staff to assist you, answer questions and provide the resources you need

Are You Ready?

Your Opportunity Starts Now!

For more information or to get started Visit The GigRoster™ Career Page where you can tell us a little bit about your background and experience and apply to join the team!

Whether you were approached directly by one of our associates when we found a need for the type of entertainment you provide in your area or you came to the site on your own accord, you have found yourself at the GigRoster.com sign up page and made yourself an account. Congratulations! You are now available for potential clients on one of the fastest growing performance rosters in the country, and with no cost at all! But what next? There are a number of actions you can take to make the most of your GigRoster page, all of which will help to improve your listing’s quality and attractability to potential clients.

1. Make a listing! Even though you’ve entered your contact and personal information, there still isn’t yet a public listing for your band or performing act. You’ll want to put your best foot forward and move onto the next step by clicking “New Listing” and completing the necessary steps to create a top-shelf listing to make the most of your account.

2. Make a great description. We see many new sign ups every week, all of which we are happy to host on the platform, but nothing is more disappointing to see than a new listing that is lackluster to the point of uselessness. We are committed as a company to the quality that we provide to our clients and part of that means quality listings, and blank listings with insufficient details don’t make anyone look good. So take the extra 2 minutes and write yourself a great description! Chances are you may already have a quality write-up on your website or other online resource, and there's nothing wrong with borrowing that same text. It is important to the whole community of performers on the site that we present quality content for buyers, so you’ll need to participate in that. Remember, the end goal is to get gigs and get paid, and a business card with nothing on it won’t get you very much business. And don't forget to push the "Update" button to save your work before going to the next section!
Need some tips for a good description? Check out this article from Bandzoogle to get some tips on creating a great musician's write-up.

3. Find your Best Images. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Though your description is a vital element of the listing, don't stop there! If you've been performing for any length of time then you doubtless have collected some array of fun and exciting images depicting what you do, so be sure to make use of that resource when completing your listing. Remember to use a degree of editorial finesse here - having no images just won't do, but there's little reason to follow a professionally taken shot with a blurry cell phone image from 2002. Craft your images to build the persona you want to sell, just like a traditional press kit.

Pro Tip: When people search on GigRoster they will get a number of options suggested, hopefully yours among them. Their initial exposure to you will be the first of your pictures and the first 1-2 sentences of your description. Front load your listing with the best picture first and start your description with something that generates client interest at first glance. The goal is that they click and go through to your full listing!

Here is a listing from a new "act"

Looks like Dan has a little work to do!

4. Upload Video and Audio. A great description and amazing images is a perfect way to attract a client, but to really make a sell more detailed media should be included. It may not apply to all Listings - for instance, a Santa Claus performer does not need any audio. It is, however, especially important for bands and musicians, as even the best image in the world would never truly explain what you do as well as the simplest video or audio track. Take the extra 5 minutes and find your cleanest audio and snappiest video footage to make your listing stand above the rest! Don't worry, there is no charge for adding some nice media files (but it might very well cost you if you don't!) Numerous times we have had a new performer register with us only to be booked for an event that very week, so create your listing with the intent to sell what you do and sell it well.

Pro Tip: If you include audio clips or video clips, the search results - along with your first picture and 1-2 sentences - will include a small icon indicating you have audio or video (or both). Which listing on the search results do you thinks clients will most likely choose first when searching for the perfect entertainment?

5. Make Listing Visible. Don’t forget to select the “Publish Your Listing Online So Clients Can Find You” checkbox, located at the bottom of the Listing Info tab. We do it this way so you can get your listing just right before everyone in the whole world can see it. If you fail to click this box, it will stop your listing from being visible online and that’s no fun. There’s no use making a killer listing if no one can see it!

6. Link External Websites. So now you’ve gotten yourself signed up, made a great listing (or two... or three!), and clicked the “Publish Listing…” check box. Your listing is live, but what now? You could call it a done process, but to go the extra mile we have given members the ability to create an in-page link from your web site. This will get crawled by search engines like Google and Bing (https://www.bing.com/search?q=gigroster) and in time your direct listing will begin showing up in client searches on the major engines (as well as hundreds of smaller ones). This gives you the ability to direct potential clients right to your full GigRoster listing. Let them find you first and skip all the competition! The linking code can be found under the “more” tab of your listing, where a very short code would simply be inserted into your website.

Pro Tip: When you look at your listing and compare it to other similar listings or other similar pages on the internet, can you honestly say THIS will make clients excited to hire me before anyone else? If you can’t, maybe you're not done yet. Your GigRoster listings are always easy to update, but start off right and make sure when potential clients see your act, they see the sizzle right from the get-go!

So easy! If you’ve gone through the time to sign up, there’s no reason to waste a potentially great resource and not follow through with these simple steps to make sure that you have the most impressive listing that your performance can muster! Just remember that the GigRoster staff is always available to help out if you have any issues with these details, and are more than happy to assist should any issue come up. We succeed when you succeed, so let’s all work together to make this a great year for live performances!