How to Get Gigs... 5 Tips on Doing It The Hard Way!

You have practiced forever, and you're ready to let the world see what you've finally worked so hard to put together, but the big question is: how to get gigs

Here are 5 'old-school-doing-it-the-hard-way' tips on how to get gigs for your band.

1. MySpace Build a myspace page & add as many friends as you can regardless of who they are. Myspace can get your music noticed.

It can also be a huge time drain and distraction!

2. Play for Free This may not sound very promising, but you have to start somewhere in learning how to get a gig - right?

This can work if you're smart, opening for other acts, hosting open mic nights, charitable functions, leveraging the event in your favor and build your most valuable asset - a mailing list.

But you can't do it indefinitely.

3. Give away tons of press kits At these events, you're going to meet people who will want to contact you for future possible music gigs, so have demo cds, press kits, business cards always at the ready.

Give as many of these out to as many people as possible… if you can handle the rejection!

4. Networking Getting your logo, demo and press kit out to tons of people is great, but they also want to see you. Network with fellow musicians, fans, venue owners and industry people.

Schmoozing opens you up to people, and can alienate them!

5. Get A Manager/Agent After all he or she is an expert on how to get gigs for your band, so let them do the heavy lifting and get you gigs.

The problem is when you desperately need a manager/agent they often don't need you!

There's an easier way. Here's how to get gigs the smart way.

a. Build a direct relationship with folks who like your music (use Google's keyword tool to discover how many searches are made for songs in your genre. b. Give away your version of one of those songs to them in exchange for their email address and build a relationship.

c. Then partner with your subscribers to set up gigs in non-traditional venues!

This way you are tapping into existing demand rather than attempting to manufacture demand for your music. The tools are out there to do this and they're free!