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Are you a band or artist looking to take on a booking agent for the first time?

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Perhaps you already have an agent but are considering a change?

 

We have prepared the following list of FAQs to clarify what a booking agent’s role is, and to help you decide if we may be able to help you further your live career.

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What is a booking agent’s role?

 

Different agents may offer slightly different levels of services, but here at GCA we believe firmly in sticking to what we do well – that is booking shows.

 

Our role is first and foremost to pitch, negotiate, secure and contract live shows. We will communicate with promoters on the artist’s behalf at all steps along the way from initial interest and negotiations, through contracting and through to verifying after-show settlements and ensuring the artist receives its end payment.

 

We will plan live strategies with artists and / or their management and agree objectives, and will use our very best efforts and pro-activity to build the artist’s live circuit while developing and nurturing relationships between artists and promoters.

 

 

What roles are not carried out by the booking agent?

 

Typically, an agent’s role does not involve promoting shows, designing tour artwork, funding or supplying tour promotional print, managing artist’s social media and websites, general artist management, tour management, tour accounting, funding touring costs, organising visas, etc.

 

While we don’t usually provide any of the above services directly, we are usually able to offer guidance and point artists in the right direction of someone who may be able to help.

 

 

Why would an artist already handling their own bookings make the decision to start using a booking agent?

 

There are various reasons why an artist may decide to start using a booking agent rather than continue booking shows themselves.  They may feel that they’ve taken booking in-house as far as they can and that they need a further source of fresh contacts and the expertise of an industry professional to expand their live circuit and take things to the next level, or they may find that handling booking themselves is simply taking up too much of their time, which could otherwise be injected into creative work. Additionally, they may recognise that being on an agent’s roster, and in the good company of other respected artists already represented, can help raise their profile on the live circuit.

 

 

For what reasons do artists decide to change their booking agent?

 

Often an artist signed to a larger agent may have felt that they have become somewhat overlooked among the sheer number of artists represented by the agency, and are seeking greater individual attention and a more dedicated approach, or they may have been dissatisfied with the level of pro-activity and general communications from their existing agent and are looking for an improvement in these areas. Here at GCA we assure our representative artists of individual attention, with a service tailored to their specific needs, together with full pro-activity and strong communications, at every stage of the booking process.

 

 

Exclusivity or non-exclusive agency agreement?

 

A vital decision to make for any artist is whether they join an agency on an exclusive basis (i.e. with the agent being the artist’s sole agent for a designated territory), or a non-exclusive agent basis (i.e. where the artist may book additional shows themselves or via other agents).

 

While it may appear on the surface that working with agents on a non-exclusive basis may result in more shows being booked, through being able to take work from multiple agents, this is not necessarily the case. Quite often a multiple-agent situation can result in several agents pitching for the same shows at the same time, resulting in confusion, which may appear unfocussed and can be off-putting to prospective promoters as well as causing potential arguments between agents, when there is uncertainty as to which of the approaching agents was responsible for securing a particular booking.

 

Some artists, who have in the past booked all their shows themselves, may feel that by entering into an exclusive agency agreement, they will be worse off financially, as they would now have to pay agency commission on future bookings at venues in which they had previously performed, whereas previously they were booking these shows commission-free. In principle, this seems a reasonable argument, but it is worth considering the alternative view that by having a dedicated exclusive agent take over all bookings, including returns to previous venues, the artist can take full advantage of the exclusive agent’s expertise in the field, particularly when it comes to re-negotiating fee structure, deals and ticket prices with promoters, to ensure maximum financial gain for the artist.

 

An exclusive agent will always feel a more integral part of the artist’s team, which in turn gives them a greater motivation and incentive to work hard and to offer a higher level of commitment to their artist.

 

Here at GCA we feel that having an exclusive agent with one clear vision always results in a more professional presentation, greater overall cohesion and, ultimately, better results. As such, we would always prefer to work with artists on an exclusive basis if possible.

 

 

Do you only take on artists from specific musical genres?

 

No, we are completely open minded when it comes to musical genres and diversity across the roster. While much of our present roster would be considered “classic” or “progressive” rock, this does not mean that doors are closed to artists from other genres. On the contrary, we believe that diversity across a roster can only be positive.

 

 

What level of success does an artist need to have achieved to be considered for the roster?

 

The only criteria would be that there needs to be an existing audience for the artist’s music. While we are here to help develop and broaden an artist’s live circuit, we are not in the business of “finding” an audience for artists. There needs to be an already proven demand that can be built upon.

 

 

Does GCA take on tribute bands?

 

Yes, we will consider tribute bands, but these must be of an exceptionally high quality. Also, please consider first, what competition are you up against?  For example, there are already numerous Pink Floyd, Queen and Fleetwood Mac tribute acts out there and it is highly likely that the venues and promotors we will be approaching will already be booking at least one tribute to each of these hugely successful bands. The tribute market is of course huge and highly lucrative, but it is also somewhat saturated with multiple acts tributing those same legendary bands, which presents limitations. Far better to play the music of an act that is popular but has not yet been over-tributed…

 

 

What do we need to do to be considered for the inclusion on the roster?

 

Simply e-mail us today with relevant material – for example PR biog, photo, video, website and social media links, etc – and we promise to give full consideration.