How To Get Gigs As An Opening Act And Grow Your Music Career Way Faster
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Want some help getting music gigs?
You’ve come to the right place.
This music career article will help you get gigs as an opening act (and eventually become the main act ‘other’ bands will dream of getting music gigs to open for)...
Plus: do it without the common problems bands face in the music industry, such as:
- getting ‘ghosted’ by club owners and promoters
- having to ‘chase down’ people you want to talk to about getting music gigs who always seem to be ‘unavailable’ when you call.
- struggling to ‘unseat’ the established bands in your area who seem to be getting music gigs left and right, while your band is being ignored.
EMAIL TO GET ACCESS
By submitting your info, you agree to send it to Tom Hess Music Corporation who will process and use it according to their privacy policy.
Bold claim, I know.
But as you are about to see...
It’s not all that hard.
And the first thing we need to address is:
Why should you try to get gigs as an opening act? Isn’t it better to aim for something more prestigious, like: being the headlining band right off the bat?
Answer: You first goal should be to get gigs as an opening act because that is the best way to ‘lower the risk’ the club owner sees in your unknown band.
You see, when you’re an unknown band, you have virtually no credibility.
So, all you can do when inquiring about getting music gigs is promise things that sound good. But the truth is... no club owner can realistically trust your band to even ‘show up’ to play...
Much less – bring fans to your gigs and help the club owner sell more food and drinks during the night of your show.
This is a good example of something I call ‘music industry risk’.
So, the best way for the club owner to mitigate their risk is to put you in front of a band that IS proven. (This way, you get a chance to prove yourself and earn your music career stripes as you get gigs as an opening act. At the same time, if your gig doesn't go well, at least the club has a proven headlining band to salvage the night.)
Over time, if you continue to prove yourself, you will climb the ranks in the music industry and eventually become the headlining band.
Now that you understand why it’s far easier to get gigs as an opening act, we have to explore....
5 key mistakes bands make when they try getting music gigs (and reaching out to clubs) in their area…
… as well as a new & different way to reach out to clubs about getting music gigs that works a heck of a lot better than the approach most bands use.
Here are a few common questions musicians ask me when I show them the above infographic with the common music career mistakes musicians make when getting music gigs:
Question: But Tom Hess, what’s the problem with simply calling the club owner again (to talk to them about getting music gigs) if they are unavailable?
Answer: First, doing that makes you look desperate and needy. And neediness is repulsive for everyone (in and outside the music industry).
But that’s not the only problem with this approach to getting music gigs.
An unexpected cold call makes it very hard to show proof of your music industry credibility.
(Such as: a list of dates of you getting music gigs at other clubs, your ability to attract your fans to your gigs, the size of your mailing list and other ways in which helping get gigs as an opening act is to the club owner’s or promoter’s best interest.).
So, what’s the alternative to cold-calling for getting music gigs in the music industry?
Answer: Email.
Here are a few reasons why emailing club owners can help you with getting music gigs:
1. Most bands and musicians DON’T use email. This means you could potentially be the ONLY person emailing club owners (or promoters) about getting music gigs.
That makes it far more likely you’ll get a reply (compared to cold-calling the club).
2. Remember how I told you that everyone in the music industry is extremely busy (working on their respective music careers) and that is why few people want to invest the time into talking to you on the phone?
Well, guess what: EVERYONE in the music business still checks their email, no matter how busy their music careers are. (All the more reason why - when you use email - you are likely to talk to someone who can help you with getting music gigs.)
3. It’s very easy to ‘skim’ your email message in a few seconds (bypassing that hesitation many people feel at the idea of getting on the phone with a stranger).
4. It makes any claims you make about having a mailing list more believable (because you are - after all - reaching out to club owners via email).
And last but not least:
5. Email makes it easy to present your request (to get gigs as an opening band) from a new angle in every email. This makes it more likely that at least one of your emails will get read and replied to.
And if you have no experience with email marketing, don’t worry.
Download this free music business eGuide with an entire email campaign I’ve pre-written for you that takes out all guesswork out of ‘what to say’ to club owners to get gigs as an opening act.
But getting a reply from someone in the music industry (or even getting music gigs a few times) is just the start to a successful music career in the music industry.
Here are a few more music business strategies that will help you (and your band) go from someone who is simply able to ‘get gigs as an opening act’…
To someone who climbs the music career ladder to become the headlining band and has no trouble getting music gigs on lucrative terms:
Music Business Success Strategy #1: Act Like A Pro.
When it comes to getting music gigs, ‘acting like a pro’ means:
- Always putting on a killer live show. The benefit of this is: you become known as a band that’s fun to watch. Which not only makes it more likely you’ll be getting music gigs in the future, but will inspire more of your fans to come back to your future gigs.
The caveat? You need to invest some of your music career time into practicing to make your live show better.
This will pay off as you advance in the music industry and help you eventually become the headlining band. - Working hard to bring fans to gigs. Remember the open secret of the music industry mentioned earlier: the club owner only hires bands because they want more traffic into their club.
So, even with the most amazing live show, you still want to put in the effort to bring as many people to your gigs as you possibly can. -
Seeing yourself as a partner with the club owner. Through your partnership, you get the opportunity to grow your music career as you get gigs as an opening act…
While they (the club owner) grow their bottom line by getting more customers who have come to see your live show.
Music Business Success Strategy #2: Build A Music Teaching Business.
This advice may seem more than a bit random to show up in a music career article about getting music gigs, but realize this:
Your music students are the best ‘fans’ that help you (very directly) with every aspect of your music career.
How?
Your music students are your BEST fans. They see you every week. They already spend money with you (because they like and trust you).
And they are the most likely people to be persuaded to not only come to see you play live (when they hear about you getting music gigs)...
But also spend money ‘at’ the venue (making the club owner very happy they gave you the gig)...
As well as buying your records and merch (making your music career grow faster).
Music Business Success Strategy #3: Work With A Music Career Mentor.
Ok, you knew this one was coming, right? After all, I run a mentoring program for musicians…
So, it’s very ‘convenient’ for me to say something like: “to have an easier time getting music gigs and reach every other music business goal - work with a music career mentor”...
But it also happens to be 100% true!
Think about it: what top athlete tries to win a gold medal without a coach? What successful entrepreneur (in or out of the music business) do you know of who has succeeded entirely on their own… without the guidance of someone who has walked the same path before?
I rest my case.
Bottom line: you don’t have to get music business mentoring ‘from me’. But DO get it from someone, because it dramatically speeds up the process of reaching your music industry goals.
Now that you know how to get gigs as an opening act, I want to give you (for free) an entire email campaign I’ve pre-written for you that makes it almost impossible for club owners and booking agents to resist replying to you and offering you gigs. This makes it dirt-simple to grow your career as a performing musician and get the music gigs most bands only dream about. Download it today and discover the music career secrets most musicians will never know.
Discover the insider secrets of how the music business works and become successful as a professional musician.
