How to build relationships with music artists and build repeat bookings

If you’re a venue or an event manager, you’ll already know that musicians have the undeniable power to keep the excitement going from the moment your doors open to the final cheers.

With this in mind, it’s important to create reliable relationships with local music artists to ensure successful events. At GigPig, we believe that the sustainable connections made between musicians and venues are what makes some events stand out more than others. 

When making a live music booking — for the first time or the 100th — we recommend keeping the following points in mind to build and maintain relationships with music artists.

1. Connect with artists

Connecting and getting to know your live music artists before they perform — or even before you make a booking — is extremely important. It’s not just a case of making a music booking, paying their fee, and leaving them to it on the night. 

We suggest that once you’ve found an ideal musician or band for your event to find out more about their performance style. Does their vibe fit in well with your event? Do they share the same goals and values with you and your audience? With a wide array of artists on the GigPig books, you are sure to find the right artist for you and your venue. 

GigPig makes building connections with artists easier than ever, with a dedicated customer care team acting as your artist liaison throughout the booking process. 

2. Maintain clear and regular communication

Your musicians are there to make your event unique, so they’ll be grateful to get to know you, the venue, your audience, and what you expect from them for your particular event. In a world of being left on read, consistent communication from this point onwards can prevent any misunderstandings, allowing your event to run as smoothly as possible.

Begin by talking to each artist so you can understand their goals, their genre, their specialities, how they work and interact with the audience, and any technical requirements or equipment they need to put on a memorable show. With the GigPig platform you can easily add your venue’s set up information, including what equipment you have for artists to use. Afterall, you want the artist to feel comfortable and to be able to perform at their best at your venue. 

When using the GigPig platform you can set your budget so that you can find artists that match what your venue can afford, taking the hassle out of crossed wires with artists when it comes to conversations around artists booking costs.

3. Keep your promises

To build a trusting relationship with any musicians or bands you work with, it’s important to keep any promises you make during your discussions, especially when it comes to going ahead with gigs. This goes both ways — for event managers and musicians.

From promised equipment and payment terms to soundcheck times and riders, both parties should always ensure they can keep their promises and communicate clearly if anything changes. Hold ups, missing equipment and poor communication may seem small, but for artists, they can be the make or break aspects of their venue experience as to whether they decide to continue playing at and working with a particular venue. 

A crucial part of any music and venue relationship is ensuring that gigs go ahead on time, as planned, further cementing a venue as a reliable location for artist performances in the future. With the GigPig platform venue’s are able to manage and easily adjust their bookings, making it practical for the busy and ever changing day to day operations of so many venues. With GigPig, venues are able to cancel bookings up to an hour prior to an event, however, in a world where word spreads quickly we do not recommend this! 

In the unfortunate event that your venue may have to cancel an artist booking, we encourage venues to honour 50% of the artist booking fee to compensate for the cancellation. 

This helps build trust, meaning you’re more likely to get artists wanting you to offer them repeat bookings. 

4. Support their growth and success

Remember, as much as the musicians you book are helping you out with entertainment for your event, you can also contribute to their professional progression. This is a two way street!

As your venue’s booker, you can add value to an artist’s career through internal promotional efforts, by providing positive performance feedback or by tracking their artist development on the GigPig platform. Consider featuring artists in your marketing materials, advertising on the GigPig app or sharing their performances on social media to increase their visibility. Offering opportunities for artists to network with industry professionals during your events can also be incredibly beneficial. Helping with the promotion and growth of artists is crucial to their success, something backed by the UK Government's initiative, supporting the next generation of music artists.

Artists notice when their bookings are appreciated, and it’s something they won’t forget in the future. This mutual respect not only helps build a stronger professional relationship but also encourages artists to return and perform at your venue again and again, helping you build a loyal and talented performer lineup.

5. Pay your artist on time and in full

As a fundamental sign of respect and professionalism across the live music booking industry, you should always pay your artist on time and in full (unless you’ve agreed on a payment plan beforehand). With GigPig you can take the stress out of paying artists with automatic invoicing as standard with our platform. 

Many music artists rely on the money they earn from gig bookings to support themselves and their families — so prompt, full payment is essential. Full and on time payment is crucial for many artists to pay their bills and keep food on their table, but it also shows them that you appreciate their work, while also showcasing your reliability as a venue, paving the way for future collaborations.  

It’s also worth noting that word of mouth in the music industry travels fast and being known as a venue that treats artists well financially will draw top talent to your venue. Nobody wants to be referred to as the venue who never pays on time! 

With GigPig there are no hidden booking fees and booking artists for your venue is quick and easy, whether it is one or a whole host of live music performances. Take a look at our pricing to find the best option for your venue. 

How can GigPig help you as a venue?

At GigPig, we know how important it is for venues to have continuous footfall through their doors, with the NTIA reporting of the financial difficulties experienced by 3 out 4 venues over the last few years. That’s why we’re committed to giving venues and their managers greater access to the artist marketplace on GigPig.

So, what else can you do with our platform?

• Discover new artists: Our catalogue of popular artists is always updating. Watch and listen to their previews to help you make the perfect choice for your event. 

• Create a favourites list: See an artist that you think will be great for the future? No worries. Simply create a personalised ‘favourite’ list to come back to when you’re ready.

• Automated integration: Easily sync your booked gigs with simplified calendar management — compatible with Apple Calendar and Google Calendar. Meaning your artist bookings with GigPig are always at your fingertips!

• Estate management: Do you manage several events in different venues? If so, we salute you! GigPig makes it easy for you to keep up to date with estate management by managing multiple venues from one centralised hub.

For a full list of GigPig benefits, head over to our Venues page to find out more. 

Build and maintain music artist relationships with GigPig

Building strong, supportive relationships with music artists is far more than good practice. It helps you secure repeat bookings, keeps your events at the forefront of everyone’s ‘must-attend’ list and your venue as the best place for a night out filled with live music. 

At GigPig, we’re here to support you and your venue. With our quick and easy gig booking process, we will help you to create memorable live music experiences that artists and audiences will love.

Transform your venue’s live music events today with GigPig and streamline your musician bookings, making it a more manageable and better experience for you and the GigPig artists you choose to work with. Schedule a personalised demo of the GigPig platform today to make every gig unforgettable or check our FAQs for any further information.