Bandzoogle logo
  • Features
  • Examples
  • Pricing
  • About Us
  • Blog
  • Try it Free
  • Sign in
Try it Free Sign in

The Bandzoogle Blog

All posts Bandzoogle News Beautiful Band Website Templates Free eBooks Interviews Music Career Advice Music Marketing & Promotion New Features Selling Music Online Website Tips

3 Tips to Help Your Band Book Weddings, Corporate Gigs & More

Dave Cool

Posted by Dave Cool on Mar 13, 2013 in: Music Career Advice

This is a guest post by Drew Stoga from GigMasters, an event booking service that guides party planners and hosts to the right entertainment and party vendors for events. In this post, they offer 3 tips for helping you to book more corporate gigs and weddings:

For bands used to playing open mic nights and sticky dives for free drink tickets, I know there’s some stigma around doing private parties, corporate gigs and, worst of all, weddings. Who would want a high-paying wedding gig anyway? What with their packed dance floors and free food…

I’m laying the sarcasm on a little thick but I think you see where I’m going with this. If you’re an independent band or musician looking to get more stage time and more money, you could do a lot worse than picking up some private gigs on the side. Last year our highest grossing band earned over $88,000 off of GigMasters bookings alone.

Bottom line: weddings and private gigs pay good money.

But how are you supposed to go about booking private, corporate and wedding gigs? You can’t mail your demo to every bride-to-be in town. So what’s a band to do?

Here are three helpful tips to help you get booked for weddings, corporate gigs, private parties and more:

1. Create (At Least) One Great Video

Unlike a club booker who might (and I stress, might) hire your band after only hearing a demo, event planners and engaged couples want to see you in action. Even one decent performance video will go a long way. For clients, it’s the next best thing to getting to see you live.

A word to the wise: If you’re looking to pick up weddings and high-end corporate gigs, make sure you dress the part in your video. Your look absolutely matters.

Check out our 5 Ways to make a Low-Budget Video for more.

2. Build a Song List (of Songs Clients Want to Hear)

Let’s face it, most private clients probably don’t want to hear too many of your originals at their events. That could be a bit of a bummer but it also doesn’t mean you’ll be expected to play Y.M.C.A. or the Chicken Dance (in fact, those songs are more likely to end up on the ‘DO NOT Play List’).

To help attract the right clients for your act, build a repertoire of covers that you love to play. Think Rolling Stones. Think Motown. Think Tom Petty. Think whatever it is you like to hear at your own parties.

Not convinced that wedding bands can be cool? Read this New York Times article.

3. Reviews Are worth a Thousand (of your) Words

No one in the history of the world has ever booked a band based solely on their bio. No matter how great of a writer you are, client reviews say so much more about your band than anything you could write.

A recent study found that 1 out of 3 online reviews are fake. At GigMasters we make sure that 100% of our reviews are legit by only allowing reviews from actual clients who book with us.

Turn great gigs into great reviews with our 5 Tips for Scoring 5-Star Reviews.

Join the #1 Event Booking Service (GigMasters)

But in my humble, if somewhat biased, opinion, the best thing you can do to get yourself more gigs is join GigMasters.

We’ll help you build a killer profile with the works: photos, audio, video, song list, gig calendar, etc. You’ll get leads from event planners, brides and grooms-to-be and normal folks looking to hire entertainment for their events. We make it easy to accept online payments, generate contracts and get amazing visibility on Google and the other search engines.

Build your fanbase, promote your gigs, and sell tickets commission-free on your own Bandzoogle website. Sign up free now!

Why not share this with your friends?

Build a stunning band website and store in minutes

  • Promote your music on your own unique website.
  • Sell music & merch directly to your fans. Keep 100%.
  • Grow your fan base with built-in marketing tools.
Start your 30 day free trial

Free 30 day trial, no credit card needed.

Band websites on an iPad

Share your thoughts

Comments on this post are disabled.

Comments

Rus
Posted by Rus on Oct 16 2014 7:25 AM
Some good advice here. Corporate and Wedding gigs are a great score and payday, but make sure you know how to work with these groups to improve your success.
Davey Hiltz
Posted by Davey Hiltz on Mar 6 2015 3:05 PM
Thanks for the advice, I'm sure getting good reviews helps a ton. I've played at a few weddings, and they've just been for friends. I'm kind of a classy jazz pianist with tweeks toward the vintage style, and apparently people really like that. I've played for several friends at their weddings and now want to consider making it a business, I just have to work out the business details. Thanks for the tips, they'll come in handy for sure. http://www.notesofcelebration.com/cd
shawnmark
Posted by shawnmark on Nov 2 2015 11:06 PM
Thanks for providing some piece of good advice to me. I was searching for live band to perform in my brother's wedding ceremony. I will consider all points you have mentioned. I came across one of the online sites http://giardinostrings.co.uk and looking forward to take the services.
Ron Janora
Posted by Ron Janora on Jan 13 2016 5:14 PM
I have a great band that are looking for gigs. We are all seasoned professionals Ron 602 626 5548
Sky Simone San Diego Wedding Photographer
Posted by Sky Simone San Diego Wedding Photographer on Jan 21 2016 2:21 AM
This is a fantastic post. I've shared it to a harpist friend of mine who performs at weddings in San Diego! As a wedding photographer a lot of this is relevant to me too. Thank you www.skysimonephotography.com Sky Simone Wedding Photographer + Videographer

Get Our Newsletter

14 years of advice, inspiration and resources for musicians navigating the new music industry delivered right to your inbox.

Popular Posts

18 Ways Musicians Can Make Money The 8 things that should be in every band's digital press kit How to Write an Effective Musician Bio (with examples!) How To Create a Perfect Page to Sell Music on Your Website Website Design Inspiration: Best Electronic Press Kits (EPKs) 17 ways to promote your music online 8 Effective Strategies to Sell Your Music Online 5 Steps to Creating an Effective Music Marketing Plan Major vs. Indie: What really happens when you sign a record deal Musicians: You Don't Find A Manager, A Manager Finds You

Free eBooks

A Complete Guide to SEO for Musicians

A Complete Guide to SEO for Musicians [PDF Download]

23 Ways Musicians Can Make Money

23 Ways Musicians Can Make Money [PDF Download]

How Unbelievable Beats Makes Money From Free Beats

How Unbelievable Beats Makes Money From Free Beats [PDF Download]

How Derek Webb Sells Out House Concerts

How Derek Webb Sells Out House Concerts [PDF Download]

Free Webinars

How to (Properly) Release & Sell Your Music Online

How to (Properly) Release & Sell Your Music Online [VIDEO]

How to Book a Tour Without a Booking Agent

How to Book a Tour Without a Booking Agent [VIDEO]

23 Ways Musicians Can Make Money

23 Ways Musicians Can Make Money [VIDEO]

How to Use SEO to Promote Your Music

How to Use SEO to Promote Your Music [VIDEO]

All Posts

Browse our blog on the sitemap page.

Plug Start your 30 day free trial Plug
  • About
  • Press
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Terms & Privacy
© 2018 Sitezoogle Inc.
Need help?
Bandzoogle support team