BOOKING A BAND

BOOKING A BAND:

It's always advisable to hire a band that is well-established and has a known track record. Many bands are "pick-up" bands meaning they are not a band at all, but one person that hires outside "musicians" only for gigs that more than likely have never even played together before!? Some bands use stolen promo & demos taken from other bands, or have hired musicians from other bands for their promo to make themselves "appear" like they are a legitimate band!? More often than not, the person that does the booking for this kind of fake band isn't even a band member or sends someone else to the event and takes a large percentage of the booking fee as an "agency percentage". This occurs usually unbeknownst to the other band members & clients. Bonofide, legitimate booking agencies typical only charge 10%-15% as a finder's fee. The negative result of booking entertainment in this fashion is a loose, bad sounding, unprofessional performance. BOOGIE FEVER receives complaints about bands like this all the time.

BOOGIE FEVER has been together for over ten years and throughout that time it's been the same five guys all along with only one personnel change in that entire time. Even if a client doesn't book BOOGIE FEVER for their event, I would highly advise them to insist that it be noted on any contracts or agreements that the band members that show up to their event, are the SAME band members in any promotional video(s), CD's, DVD's, websites or any other promo. This insures clients won't be unpleasantly surprised on the day of their event by a bunch of strangers they've never seen or communicated with before. Otherwise, a client may end up paying a premium price for an inexperienced band that they will be extremely unhappy with.

THE COST OF LIVE ENTERTAINMENT:

We are occasionally asked why it costs so much, in some cases, to hire a live band? After all, the band is only performing for a few hours and they're taking breaks as well? One way to explain the cost is to think about getting a house built. The person who is having the house built not only has to pay for the building materials, but also for the labor in putting those materials together to form a house. This labor can often be more than the actual cost of the materials.

With live music it's no different. When a client hires a band, they are paying not only for the music & entertainment, but also for the labor of setting up & tearing down all the equipment and transporting it to and from the event, the travel expenses (we all know how high fuel costs are now) and the travel time along with all the other incidental expenses that come with running a live band. (Clothes, vehicle maintenance, instrument maintenance, equipment maintenance, promotional costs, etc.) A three hour performance usually comprises, on average, a total of about eight hours of time and work from the moment the band members load equipment and leave their homes to when they return, depending on the location of the event.

When a client books a budget band at a discount price or a pick-up band as mentioned above, they can expect a group that will:

1. Show up late & leave early

2. Take long breaks or ignore itineraries or schedules

3. Have sub-standard or even non-functioning equipment

4. Will not adhere to contractual agreements

5. Have undesirable & sometimes dangerous personal habits in the way of drugs, alcohol or even cleanliness that would not be permitted in any workplace

6. They may even conduct themselves inappropriately towards guests or wear inappropriate clothing.

7. Look the part, but sound horrible and amateurish. This is probably the biggest complaint BOOGIE FEVER receives.

BOOGIE FEVER has seen it all and grudgingly been a part of bands like this. This is why we started our own band and is where the old adage of "you get what you pay for" is never more true. We hold ourselves to an extremely high standard and truly respect and appreciate every one of our clients. A large percentage of our bookings are from past clients and referrals. With BOOGIE FEVER, we try to be professional ALWAYS! Our professionalism is what we pride ourselves on and what we are known for. Our many testimonials from satisfied clients prove it.

BOOKING AGENTS & BOOKING SERVICES:

While there are many legitimate and honest booking agents & booking services, the sad fact of the matter is, most are unscrupulous thieves whos only interest is to relieve, from clients, as much of their money as possible.

When a prospective client calls a booking agency to hire a band, the agent will often toss out the first outrageous fee to the client they can think of, knowing that most people are not comfortable negotiating or not aware that band fees can be negotiated. For those that are aware, what is being negotiated? It's not the price of the band, the agency already has a general idea of what the band will work for. What is being negotiated is the agent's "commission". As mentioned above, honest legitimate booking agents charge between 10%-15%. The rest can charge up to 30%, 50%, 75% or more. This means if a client hires a band for $2,000, the agent could take $1,500 in commission at 75% and send the band $500 after the gig is over. This, for making a few phone calls!

Typically, a booking agency will call around to see whatever band is available, (it's rarely the best band for a client event), and will always go with the lowest bidder or whatever band will work the cheapest in order to put more money in their pocket. This goes back to the concept of hiring budget musicians. Musicians that work cheap tend to be substandard, difficult to work with musicians. Clients will be able to tell immediately from the first note. It is very difficult to find quality full-time musicians that will work for marginal compensation, so clients are left with the rotten eggs that will do nothing to help the success of a special event, and in many cases do everything to ruin it.

In contrast, BOOGIE FEVER does all their own bookings. We have a few trusted agents that we work with on occasion but for the most part, when dealing with BOOGIE FEVER, clients are dealing with the band directly, with no middle man. The benefit of this is, clients do not have to throw $100's or even $1,000's away to an agent for making one phone call to the band to set up the event. There is a perpetuated myth, perpetuated by booking agents, that booking through an agency will secure a quality band? As stated, agents do not have a clients best interests in mind . . . but theirs!

On the other side of the coin, there are some really horrible bands out there that no agent would ever think of working with no matter how unscrupulous! So how do clients decide on who to book for their events? Look for professionalism in answering questions, timeliness in replying to inquiries, quality of promo, testimonials from satisfied clients, past venues, past events, frequency of gigs, band longevity, etc. If the band is new and untested, it is in the best interest of the client to look elsewhere. Paying clients should not be Guinea Pigs for any band.

BOOGIE FEVER has been a band for over ten years as mentioned, and our combined experience as musicians easily spans many decades! Bands that can't find work usually don't stay together for very long . . . . GOOD LUCK!

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