How to book yourself without an agent

Jayme StoneIf you are a booking agent or artist representative, don’t read this. It’s liable to give you hives.

Canadian banjo master Jayme Stone is an acoustic artist that has blazed his own trails in the music business. Finding unique sources of funding for his work, and interesting new ways to explore the traditional music of the Americas, Jayme has made a career for himself in a fairly crowded folk and Americana field.

He’s also developed skill as his own promoter, publicist, and booking agent. Stone has no animosity towards agents or agencies, but like a great many independent artists he took on these tasks more as a matter of necessity than preference. But along the way, he’s built up a store of knowledge that should be valuable to other indie folks trying to boost their careers without a management/booking team.

Jayme will be sharing his insights in an online workshop on June 20 called How To Book Yourself Without An Agent. Scheduled to run for two hours starting at 6:00 p.m. (EDT), it will include tools and strategies for managing your own career.

Knowing Stone, this is certain to be a carefully organized presentation, geared not so much towards the garagebanders and newbies as is is for serious artists looking to take the next step as performers.

Topics set to be covered include:

  • Finding your niche (or inventing one)
  • Presenters: five types, six phases
  • Booking seasons, timelines
  • Building a badass database
  • Supercharging your workflow with powerful online tools
  • Smart tour strategy
  • Writing an effective pitch
  • Follow-up secrets
  • Negotiating fees
  • Writing contracts

The workshop is being offered in conjunction with Crowdcast for a $100 fee. More details can be found online.

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About the Author

John Lawless

John had served as primary author and editor for The Bluegrass Blog from its launch in 2006 until being folded into Bluegrass Today in September of 2011. He continues in that capacity here, managing a strong team of columnists and correspondents.