I love musicians, so it kills me when people treat them poorly.

It also kills me when they treat themselves poorly, or trip themselves up. Being a musician is incredibly tough (I know – I tried to be one for a while), and the last thing you need is to be putting obstacles in your own way.

A huge obstacle that I see musicians throwing in their own paths is executing their booking and gigging process haphazardly, or lazily.

A major example of this can be found in a question that I’ve fielded all too often at Fats (and other places). It’s almost always posed during load-in, or directly afterwards.

Musician: “So, does this place get really hoppin’ on weekends?”

Me: “Well, it really depends on who’s interested in checking out the band that night.”

Musician: “Oh…”

Immediately, the gig doesn’t feel as good as it did just a few minutes before.

Now, I know bands and solo artists already feel like they’ve got a mountain of work to do. Songs have to be written, instruments have to be practiced, gear has to be carted around…I hear ya. Here’s the thing, though. If you don’t have a manager to wrangle booking for you, you will have a much happier time if you work like a really killer manager as you do your booking. This doesn’t mean just throwing more effort in random directions. It means focused effort in the right places.

If a band needs foot-traffic/ walk-ups/ regulars to have a good night at a venue, then a really killer manager focuses their effort on sussing out that part of the venue’s potential before the gig gets booked. If the venue isn’t what the band needs, then it’s “no deal.”

Sadly, what seems to happen is that bands and artists negotiate only the “first layer” of gigs, and don’t dig down any deeper before committing. Once you’ve figured out if there’s a stage and a PA, and what the basic payment terms are, then you need to give yourself permission to ask for even more info. If your act isn’t built around bringing a following to the room, then it’s critical that you figure out who (if anyone) is likely to stop by the venue on your gig date. If the answer you get isn’t satisfactory, then there’s no need to pursue that booking any farther.

This kind of negotiation and homework is especially critical at venues where pay is tied to door money or liquor sales. If you don’t have a committed crowd that follows your act, then the venue must have a committed crowd that follows them. Otherwise, it just won’t be worth it for you, and you’ll leave the gig having worked for peanuts. Some bands can do very, very well on “percentage” gigs, and for some it’s a horrifically bad deal. Know thyself, and then figure out if the venue is a good fit.

Please – do take the time to ask the tough questions about a gig. The questions that tell you more than just the basics. You might not set up as many shows, but the dates you do put together will be much more fun, and much better for your career.