4 Gig Booking Rules All Bands Should Follow

If your band is booking a gig, you should be aware that not all gigs were created equal. Some shows are fun for every band involved, yes, but many shows are just a pain in everyone's neck, and a poor excuse for a wasted Friday or Saturday night. Don't put on a lame show. Here are four tips for booking gigs that are entertaining, fun, and definitely not lame.

1. Don't pay to play. Some venues insist on a fee, or they'll make you buy tickets and sell them in order to play. These are a rip off. Venues should pay your band to play. Pay-to-play shows are without exception always overpriced, they tend to attract a lower-quality roster of bands (because bands that have been around for a while know not to pay to play, it's kind of a vicious cycle), and they're almost always severely overbooked. Reputable venues won't charge you to play.

2.Know thy PA. If there's a sound guy at the show, that's fantastic. But for many shows, bands have to run their own sound. Bands that have their own PAs should know how to use them, and there should be very little time spent on stage trying to get levels and effects right. Make sure all microphones are muted before turning the PA on, too--nobody likes a loud screech in their ear, other than Barbara Streisand fans.

3. No more than three bands to a show. Any more than this and you're going to be pissing off somebody's fans, who came to see their favorite local band and ended up waiting through a minimum of an hour and a half of music. No matter how good that other music is, they'll feel a little bit annoyed that there are so many bands, and chances are the bands won't react really well to 4 or 5 band bookings, either. Shows work the best when everything moves quickly, and that's just not possible with more than three bands (the obvious exception being music festivals and fairs.

4. Book shows at venues where you'll be well received. If you're not going to go over well at a biker bar, don't book shows at biker bars, and if you don't know anything about the bar you just booked a show at, you should do some research and see if it's going to be worth your time. Likewise, play with bands that have similar influences; try to make sure that the people showing up to each show have a reasonable idea of what to expect.

Do you agree or disagree with these rules? Post in our comments section below and let you know what your band has learned from booking gigs.