How To Book Career Building Shows: What Many Bands Don't Understand

One of the most important things I've learned is the difference between opportunities and good opportunities. When you're an independent, you can't really afford to waste time playing shows that aren't doing something for you, and this boils down to focusing on one thing: playing career building shows.

When you focus on playing as many career building shows as possible you will see better crowds, better response from industry people, and faster growth. So what exactly does a career building show entail?

A great career building show has:


A captive audience
This generally means opening slots. For many bands, they need to come to terms with the fact that they shouldn't be headlining tours yet. It may seem obvious, but if you do not have a core, loyal fanbase you really are better suited to an opening slot. Headling tours sound cool, but when there are only 20 people in the room, they don't feel very cool. Start booking opening slots for local bands as much as you can and then work the crowd and make them your fans.

The attention of the right people
Playing showcases and industry events can be super valuable if you can get the right people to come. The only way to make these really count is to put in the time before the event and email a bunch of the industry pros in advance beforehand. Sometimes, at conferences, there can be literally hundreds of bands. If you can make some sort of connection before the event, you've got a huge step up on the rest of the crowd.

Fans that really count
What it boils down to is realizing that certain places and certain people matter more to your career than others. For example, play a lot of smaller towns on weekend, because it pays well and there area always a lot of people

But the truth is, no one cares if 200 people came to your show in Nowhereville, USA. People care about your draw in the major markets like LA, NY, Nashville, Portland, or wherever your state's capital is.

So get out, and play shows (opening slots, showcases, etc.) in an important city, and watch your career grow. Because in those cities, are people who could actually, genuinely influence your career.

Why many artists wait to tour
Many independent artists will simply avoid touring until they have a full tour of career building shows lined up. If you're booking your own shows, you're probably make five to 15 fans per show. (Realistically speaking, not pessimistic) That's great, but it takes a long time to build up a grassroots following that way, and the road is long and hard,. It's not for everybody.

Waiting until you have a full support tour lined up is an absolutely valid strategy, simply because it puts you in front of way more people, and it looks way better from an image perspective. I'm not saying touring is bad- in fact, I'm a big advocate for it- but there's a way to do it more efficiently.

Why "career building" doesn't usually mean "money making"
A tough reality that you'll face when making the conscious decision to focus on career building shows will be the fact you will make less money. Generally, the whole reason you will play a show that wasn't  career building is to make more money. You could do an opening slot for $50 and beer or play a small town bar for $400. The choice, should be clear.

I realize that the opening slot is a better long term investment, and that $400 is still going to be there next weekend. The truth is, sometimes you need to play just for the money. And that's fine, but never forget that if all you do is play for the money, that's probably all you'll ever do.

What it should boil down to is recognizing opportunities and deciding whether or not they're good opportunities. What are they going to do for you? Make that call, and then make some great music.
[via Sonic Bids]