Gig booking agents - advice?

stickyfiddle

Never quite sure where to put this, but this will do. 

We're pushing the band with a slightly updated lineup this year and want to go full beans with a showreel, agent etc aiming for the top of the market - corporate parties, etc etc because there's shitloads of that and fuck all pubs here in the UAE. 

Any advice when talking to potential agents? What's normal in terms of structure, responsibilities and fees? 

stickyfiddle

Anyone?! 

EricTheWeary

FWIW - when we did gigs booked by an agent he would take 15% off the top figure, but what you were left with was still more than what we would have got booking ourselves into places. That was an agency generally finding acts for places, so representing the police training college,a hotel, someone had asked them for a Tina Turner tribute for an anniversary party,etc,etc. We had to satisfy him that we could do what was being asked and he would send us the details and we would sort everything else. 

Another agency we spoke to were more selective in the acts they represented and you had to supply a showreel, publicity photos,etc. They got better paid gigs but you had to be available, have deps lined up if necessary; the expectation that this was basically a full time commitment. 
I've had a couple of dealings with comedians. You contact the Bob Jones agency representing Ted Smith or whatever. Eventually you work out that Bob and Ted are the same person. I also met the Brummy Lady Gaga and she was her own agent under her real name. Interesting how much more credible Fred from The Sticky Agency seems compared to Fred the guitarist from The Sticky Band. 

stickyfiddle

Ta, that's sort of what I figured. (Though i'll admit initial confusion because our bassist is called Fred! ) 

Basically there's little to no music scene here but shitloads of corporate events, and we have good enough players for that, so it's where I want to target, and the easiest route there is letting someone who already has those contacts take a cut.  

This is much more about experience and fun than money, but obv getting paid would be good! 

Any ideas of what's worth worrying about and what isn't worth it as far as showreels go? We're happy to spend some cash on it but don't want that to go to waste. I am already making a list of potential agents as well to get their steer on what they want to see in order to be able to market us. 

EricTheWeary

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/comment/3765157/#Comment_3765157

Discussion there on showreels. Just a nice clarity, no shaky phone footage and no guitar solos. I guess you want this is what we look like and clearly this is this well known song for 20 seconds, this is this other well known song for 20 seconds,etc. 

stickyfiddle

Awesome - that's a good thread I somehow missed!