I started working in the music business about 30 years ago. I've done a lot of things in the business. I've been a musician, a band manager, and a promoter. Probably my least favorite part of the business is booking agent.
Booking never came easy to me. It's all about organization, contacting people, and most-important of all, follow up.
When I was booking 1-3 shows at a time, it wasn't too bad. But to be successful in the music business, you have to juggle and book a lot of gigs. You have to make big decisions every time you contact someone. It's tough.
It got easier when I started using the GTD (Getting Things Done) System by David Allen, but only in conjunction with Evernote. Here's how I use it.
I have a Notebook titled “Booking”. Underneath that I have four sub-notebooks:
- Follow Up Booking
- New Venues to Contact
- Reference Bookings
- Upcoming Shows
Every time I get a new place to consider booking. I drop them in New Venues to Contact. When I’m ready, I compile all of their contact info for the new venue. Then I email the venue.
Once I contact them, the Note moves to Follow Up Booking. I post the date I emailed them. I include a link to the email on Gmail. Then I set a reminder to follow up in two weeks. I check back every 2-4 weeks. After a few months, I check the contact information and start over until I get a yes or no.
If I get a no for booking, then I tag the venue as uninterested and dump the Note into Reference Booking.
If I get a yes booking, I rename the Note with the date of booking. I move the Note into Upcoming Shows. I create a list of things I need to do to promote the show. That includes creating events, adding the event to my gig calendar, scheduling emails, creating graphics, etc.
I also duplicate the Note and put that into the Follow Up Booking so that I can try booking the NEXT show at the venue.
After the gig is done, I move it to the Reference Booking Notebook. And I also schedule a Follow Up thank you for the show.
There are still some kinks to work out of this booking method. But I have never been happier to book shows since I started using the GTD system.
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UPDATE
I wrote this month's ago. I still largely follows the same method for booking. But I also use a checklist in Evernote to keep track of venues. That makes it easier to look at all of the venues I'm working with on one page.
