Click here: The Village Voice: Features: A Crash Course in Cabarets by Tricia Romano

Book More Gigs   
Reply-to: support@onlinegigs.com
To: farnuma440@aol.com,Martbart1, AnalogMan1    
  
  

http://www.onlinegigs.com

This is an invitation to join the Onlinegigs.com quarterly newsletter. This newsletter contains tips and advice on booking live music performances for independent bands and musicians as well as updates and information regarding the web site.

Onlinegigs.com is the only resource to provide Bands and Agents with both a nationwide listing of Venues, Nightclubs and Colleges as well as the essential contact management tools necessary to create lifelong relationships with those contacts. Onlinegigs.com is a serious tool for either part-time or full-time musicians looking to take control of their careers.

Click the link below to receive or free, booking tutorial newsletter.
http://www.onlinegigs.com/cgi-bin/smpro/s.pl?a=1&l=7&e=farnuma440=:aol.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subj:    Onlinegigs.com Winter Newsletter   
Date:    12/11/2002 2:14:08 PM Eastern Standard Time   
From:    support@onlinegigs.com (Onlinegigs.com Newsletter)
Reply-to: support@onlinegigs.com (Onlinegigs.com Newsletter)
To:    farnuma440@aol.com
   
   



=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
ONLINEGIGS.COM NEWSLETTER
**Winter 2002**
http://www.onlinegigs.com
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Welcome to the Onlinegigs.com Community, this newsletter will feature booking tips, upgrades to the site and pertinent news. Onlinegigs.com is the only resource to provide Bands and Agents with both a nationwide listing of Venues, Nightclubs and Colleges as well as the essential contact management tools necessary to create lifelong relationships with those contacts.

It has been an amazing kick-off. We launched in September 2002 and our database has grown by leaps and bounds thanks to all of our new members! But new contact information is not the only thing different to Onlinegigs.com. Be sure to take a look at some of the upcoming features we have been working on.

Onlinegigs.com is leveling the playing field by giving independent bands and agents the same contacts and tools that the professionals use. No more excuses! Every musician needs more gigs and now you have the means to accomplish that end. Take control of your career.

SIGN UP NOW AT: http://www.onlinegigs.com/register.asp


Jay Flanzbaum
admin@onlinegigs.com
EMPOWERING MUSICIANS EVERYWHERE
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=


IN THIS ISSUE:

1)    $800 Tour Support Giveaway
2)    1100 Colleges Added
3)    500 New Venues Submitted By Members
4)    Print Labels Function
5)    Member Drive
6)    New Features Coming Soon
7)    Booking 101: Press Kit Protocol & Tips


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1) $800 TOUR SUPPORT GIVEAWAY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Continuing to further our effort as the ultimate booking tool for the little guy, Onlinegigs.com recently held a random lottery for over $800 in tour support products. Four lucky winners were surprised to receive some free prizes that are vital to every band’s career.

-    The John Moossa Band from Richmond, VA received 5000 custom printed, full color postcards. A $250 value supplied by Get Set Marketing: http://www.getsetmarketing.com

-    Shout 4 the 80’s from Los Angeles, CA received 1000 black & white custom glossies. A $150 value supplied by ABC Pictures: http://www.abcpictures.com

-    MadCap/PDC Entertainment from Hillsdale, MI received 100 duped CDs with on CD printing and window sleeve envelopes. A $175 value supplied by Temple Ball Media: http://www.templeball.com

-    The Mad Dog Trio from Brighton, MA received one free publicity campaign for the performance of their choice. A $150 value supplied by Infectious Publicity: http://www.infectiouspublicity.com


Congratulations to all of you. Every quarter Onlinegigs.com will hold similar giveaways to supply its faithful Members with the promotional tools they need to compete on a professional level. Expect to see full color tour posters, gas vouchers, hotel discounts and more in the months to come. To learn about the Onlinegigs.com social-business model check out the Who We Are section at: http://www.onlinegigs.com/whoweare.asp


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2) 1100 COLLEGES ADDED
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We have been listening to our Members and the loudest demand was for access to a useful College database to use with the Onlinegigs.com contact management tools. All of the information we found on the web was either terribly outdated or just incomplete. We have been working hard to update and finalize our current database and it is now ready.

Each college listing will have the phone number and address to the Student Activities offices as well as web sites and email/contact name if they exist. However to really make this information valuable we have spent the last six months updating each college with Enrollment and Tuition information. Now bands and agents can easily determine the size of a school and the potential budget they may have for entertainment. Don’t forget however that Onlinegigs.com is willing to pay you $1 for each record that Members accurately update and edit, so try to keep on top of inaccurately listed information. It will benefit everyone.

This database is available at absolutely no additional cost or increase in our membership rates. Enjoy and good luck chasing them down! College performances can provide incredible exposure and are usually extremely lucrative as compared to nightclub gigs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
3) 500 NEW VENUES SUBMITTED BY MEMBERS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our new users have not been shy about adding new venues to the database. At a rate of $1 paid per complete record added, how could they? Onlinegigs.com launched in September of 2002 with just over 1000 venues listed, but thanks to the Member community, the site now has well over 1500 venues nationwide. At this rate Onlinegigs.com will be the single biggest, user maintained booking tool on the web. Keep up the hard work! Please remember that the only way a club’s information can be useful to all our members is if it is accurate and complete. Music Styles, Capacity and whether or not they have a PA is crucial information when deciding your eligibility to play a venue you are unfamiliar with.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4) PRINT LABELS FUNCTION        
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now Members can easily print labels for any contact in the database. If you have Flash 5.0 or above on your computer you can simply click on the Print Labels button from any contact record and have the correct mailing address print on a standard Avery label. This is a comprehensive solution to our original Print Labels function and is not PC or MAC specific. To get Flash please visit: http://www.macromedia.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
5) MEMBER DRIVE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The best way to keep this database accurate and constantly growing is to have a number of members working on it from every nook and cranny of the country. When you are traveling or when you meet other bands traveling through your town, be sure to tell them about Onlinegigs.com. If someone joins using your email address in the Referral Code field, they will get a 50% discount off their first month and you will make $5! Not bad for just telling someone about the single most useful booking tool on the web. http://www.onlinegigs.com/register.asp

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
6) NEW FEATURES COMING SOON
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-    Automated Press Releases: Have your performance information (Venue, Address, Date, Time etc.) automatically inserted into a stock press release and emailed out to local press and radio.
-    Tour Date Web Link: As soon as you confirm a performance, the details will be immediately accessible from your own webpage.
-    Driving directions: Calculate distances and get driving directions from any contact in the database to/from every major city in the USA.
-    Comprehensive Nationwide Festival database: Need we say more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
7) BOOKING 101: PRESS KIT PROTOCOL TIPS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We find that a lot of bands are unsure of how to exactly handle sending and following up on their press kits. Below is an outline of steps that have proven successful for a number of bands and agents. Keep in mind that nothing is set in stone and you may have to improvise from time to time.


I. IDENTIFY POTENTIAL LOCATIONS

    A.  Search Onlinegigs.com

         1.  CITY, STATE OR ZIP

         2.  VENUE
              a.  ROOM CAPACITY – if you are new to a market you should try and choose the smaller rooms (50-200 capacity). You can always send your press kit to the biggest, most established room in town but will most likely find them difficult to get a response from.
              b.  MUSIC STYLE – try to search for your band’s specific style of music, if the query results in a small selection of clubs try expanding the styles to ALL.

         3. COLLEGE
              a.  ENROLLMENT – one of the best reasons to play colleges is that it will give you the opportunity to expose your music to a large population of music buying fanatics. If this is important to you then try and select the colleges with the largest enrolled student body in the market you are looking for.
              b.  TUITION – let’s face it the other reason to play colleges is the money. The more expensive a school is to attend the more likely it is that they have a sizable entertainment budget.
    
    B.  Time Frame
         1.  Most clubs book a minimum of two months in advance. But keep in mind that you have to get thru all of the initial steps below before they are going to talk about booking with you. So it is always safe to assume a 3-6 month window from the time you send a CD to the moment you are able to lock down a performance with a new club.

II.  FIRST CONTACT
         
    A.  Schedule Phone Call: CHECK CONTACT
              1.  We find it is helpful to schedule an initial phone call for each venue you are trying to play before sending a CD. This is not always necessary but it may save you some time and money down the line. If nothing else you should confirm the mailing address and the booking contact.

III.  SEND PRODUCT
    
    A.  Schedule Task: SEND CD
         1.  Be sure to set this activity and clear it once you have sent the package. You will find it is very helpful to have a precise record of the date that you put the CD in the mail. MAKE SURE EVERY PROMOTIONAL ITEM HAS YOUR CONTACT INFO ON IT! (CD, Picture, Bio etc.)

IV.  FOLLOW UP
    
 A.  Schedule Follow Up Phone Call: CHECK CD
         1.  Schedule this call for 10 days from the date your CD was sent. This first phone call is just to confirm receipt of the CD. You should not press the contact for whether or not they have listened to the CD just yet. Give them a chance to catalog your band and add it to their pile of CDs to listen to. We also find it more efficient to create an email template that you can use every time for this inquiry. Then simply cut and paste it into an email and schedule your next follow up call.

    B.  Schedule Weekly Follow Up Phone Call: CHECK CD

         1.  Now is where the fun starts. The key here is PERSISTENCE. Of course it is a fine line between being persistent and being a pain in the ass. Some rules of thumb:
          - Before asking about your music be sure to ask if now is a good time for them to talk about booking music.
          - If they have not listened to your CD yet and ask you to call back, make sure to ask when a good time to call them back is. Be sure to schedule your follow up for this date and time.
          - Do not stop calling until you get a firm answer as to what they thought of your music and whether or not they are interested in booking your band.
          - Do not take ZERO response as a not interested, if they do not call you back, do not give up. Leave them a message one week, an email the next and so on.
       - If you get a “Not Interested.” I find it helps to describe your bands music at this point just to be sure that they are not confusing your band with someone else. I was once informed by a talent buyer that he did not like the music that I sent. When I pressed him further he replied that he did not book any blues at his club, but the music that I sent was not even remotely blues. He listened to the CD “again” and I got the gig.

    C. BOOK A GIG – In our next issue we will show you how to create a performance contract that you can email to the Venue and your band members with the click of a button.



 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
<< Onlinegigs.com is an E2M Certified Company: http://www.e2m.org  >>
 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>


**************************************************************
**************************************************************
OUR SPONSORS – Sponsors do not pay http://www.Onlinegigs.com for advertising, but they are required to contribute something of value to our Members either for free or at a greatly reduced cost. Please support these generous companies.
**************************************************************
**************************************************************


-  Get Set Marketing: http://www.getsetmarketing.com

-    ABC Pictures: http://www.abcpictures.com

-    Temple Ball Media: http://www.templeball.com

-    Infectious Publicity: http://www.infectiouspublicity.com

Check out | Gizmo Info | You can check all Gizmo updates anytime!

      Kenneth Farnum, Jr.'s Contact Info
           FarnumA440@aol.com or NYMetroFoosball@aol.com


            PO Box 211
            City Island, NY 10464-0216

            Phone: (718) 885-2480
            Cell: (917) 805-4699
            Fax: (718) 885-0774

           Any comments or additional info for or regarding this site, please contact
           FarnumA440@aol.com or NYMetroFoosball@aol.com

Also, check out Ken's own NYMetroFoosball.i8.com table-soccer site

|Welcome | Gizmo Info | St. Mary Music Program |
| JokePage |