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greenman99 ( )
New user
Joined: 07 Dec 2007
Posts: 2
United Kingdom
Derby
| | Posted: Tue 15 Apr 2008 10:02 | |
I'm in a Derby 80s/90s pop/dance covers band, getting a few pub gigs, good audience response, but we need an agent to get more & better dates. I've sent mp3s of our pretty good demo to agencies along with our Myspace site but have had little response. Any ideas for snaring a good agent in Derbys/Notts?
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Edited: Tue 15 Apr 2008 11:03 |
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Crispy (44)
Forum legend
Joined: 07 Jun 2004
Posts: 1345
United Kingdom
Yorkshire leeds best place in the world
| | Posted: Tue 15 Apr 2008 10:13 | |
Not so much an actual agent but try www.alivenetwork.com my old band got lots of work from them. 
I also think the amount of bands on MySpace now just devalues the whole music on myspace thing.
Try and get a proper website a .com or .co.uk or something, they look much more professional.
Good luck.
*************************************************
Why don't you just make 10 one louder?
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Edited: Tue 15 Apr 2008 11:15 |
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greenman99 ()
New user
Joined: 07 Dec 2007
Posts: 2
United Kingdom
Derby
| | Posted: Thu 17 Apr 2008 21:16 | |
By whom is it considered rude? I'd have thought it rather poor behaviour on the part of an agent - who stands to make money from an artist - to not even bother acknowledging a genuine submission of recorded material with accompanying details. If they insist on a phone call too, they should make that clear. My experience of agents is that they are lazy, unprofessional fools with little understanding of the public taste, and who promise far more than they deliver whilst pretending to be busy working. But venues use them and hopefully they will get at least some work.
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Edited: Thu 17 Apr 2008 22:19
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Edited: Thu 17 Apr 2008 22:20 |
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petehughes ( 311)
Forum legend
Gold Member
Joined: 21 Dec 2005
Posts: 5310
United Kingdom
Uk
| | Posted: Fri 18 Apr 2008 17:09 | |
I do hope you didnt include your view of agents when you sent them your demo!
Ive never had a problem with agents, but ive always booked an appointment and met them face to face in their offices, this has resulted in quite a lot of work for me in the past...i would recommend this approach as it worked for me.
But if the agents you used before were lazy unprofessional fools, try a decent one next time!
good luck!
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Lemmyisgod (78)
Forum legend
Joined: 28 Jul 2005
Posts: 14516
United Kingdom
Glasgow
| | Posted: Fri 25 Apr 2008 0:08 | |
Or give MI5 a call. Sorry you said you wanted a decent agent. 
FCUK OFF he hinted.
www.musochat.co.uk
That's why it's "God Was Never On Your Side", you know, just sending out a message to people in case they still believe in God: Wrong! God is not gonna help you, God is not answering your prayers, you can pray all your life and you never get a ****ing thing. God is deaf, blind and stupid. I don't like the devil either, they can both get ****ed."
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CEE ()
New user
Joined: 06 Aug 2008
Posts: 3
United Kingdom
Oxford
| | Posted: Wed 06 Aug 2008 11:14 | |
Hi,
I have read the threads on this topic with some interest and would like to share the following information. I am the CEO of an entertainment agency based in the UK. I can understand the frustration some feel with regard to submitting material to agencies. I would like to point out that on average we receive around 10- 20 e-mail submissions from acts per week as well as postal submissions. This means there is a lot of material to look through, listen to and review. We revue all material sent to us although it can take time to do so.
If someone is looking for representation then agencies are the way to go but do not limit yourself to just one, sign up with a number of them. Signing up is free, if an agency wants to charge you to sign up THEY ARE BREAKING THE LAW.
No ageny can guarantee you work, they will try their best but ultimately it is what the clients decides. A good agent will not make false promises. Remember agencies make their money by commission, so it is in their interest to have as many acts working as possible.
There are alot of sub standard agents out there, so choose those that know what they are doing. Call them, make sure they know the law, that they comply with the law, if they don't steer clear. It doesn't matter if you have a good website or not if the act is good then that is what counts.
If you are starting out as an act it is usually not worth contacting an agent, unless you have a pedigree. For acts starting out get some real experience before approaching an agent or you will probably find you are wasting your time. Why do I say this, because it is true. A good agent is not going to send an inexperienced act out and hope all goes well. One let down can lose an agent a client, so they are rightly protective. This may sound unfair, but let me ask you this question, if you were getting married and you booked your entertainment through an agent and that act didn't meet expectations due to lack of experience, how would you feel. Try to put yourself in the agent and clients shoes.
A good agent will not only look after the welfare of clients but also the acts they represent, it can take time to build up a relationship, so be patient.
It is easy to critisize, but I hope you find some positives in this post.
Paul Sims
<a href="http://www.cee-worldwide.com" target="_blank">CEE Worldwide Entertainment Agency</a>
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inyabass (1)
Regular user
Joined: 27 Mar 2006
Posts: 49
United Kingdom
St albans, hertfordshire
| | Posted: Fri 22 Aug 2008 11:43 | |
It's refreshing to get some input from the agency side of things. Thanks for your advice. From an agency perspective, what would you typically be looking for in a "pedigree"? Let's say that the band is new but made of up seasoned musos who have been around the block. Would that be an influence, or would you just judge the act on it's merits in the "here-and-now". It's so tough for new acts starting out these days and the economic situation is becoming increasingly tight.
Cheers
Mark W
The passage of my life is measured out in shirts... |
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CEE ()
New user
Joined: 06 Aug 2008
Posts: 3
United Kingdom
Oxford
| | Posted: Thu 25 Sep 2008 2:27 | |
To answer Marks question,
A band made up of seasoned musicians will potentially have a pedigree. If the members have previously played with other bands they will have live experience, this is the important point. However if a band is made up of professional session musicians who play in studios but have not performed live they would not have a pedigree.
To learn a craft means doing so in public, many bands start off playing pubs and other small venues, the pay is crap but they gain experience. Nowdays the working mens clubs have all but disappeared and they used to be good proving grounds. The other way to go for new bands is to find a good management company who can help them gain experience and also help with promotion.
Paul Sims
CEO
<a href="http://www.cee-worldwide.com" target="_top">CEE
Worldwide Entertainment Agency</a>
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herbie (62)
Forum legend
Gold Member
Joined: 24 Jan 2006
Posts: 1761
United Kingdom
Manchester
| | Posted: Fri 26 Sep 2008 11:15 | |
My advice would be, give an agent a professional attitude and something they can promote and make sure you deliver the performance the agent and client expect, i absolutely guarantee more work will follow. If you dont work at it as a band or act before your go out and perform it will come across and your agent wont use you. An agent will much prefer sending out band he knows he wont have problems with and will give you more work because of it.
Get a reputable and / or established agent though, or you may wait for a loooooooooong time for your cheque, there are some bad ones out there.
Agents like everyone else just want an easier life, give it them and you'll be fine
Apologies if I'm stating the obvious
Good luck
www.thefunkydoctors.co.uk
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Lemmyisgod (78)
Forum legend
Joined: 28 Jul 2005
Posts: 14516
United Kingdom
Glasgow
| | Posted: Fri 03 Oct 2008 0:57 | |
Apology accepted mate.
FCUK OFF he hinted.
www.musochat.co.uk
That's why it's "God Was Never On Your Side", you know, just sending out a message to people in case they still believe in God: Wrong! God is not gonna help you, God is not answering your prayers, you can pray all your life and you never get a ****ing thing. God is deaf, blind and stupid. I don't like the devil either, they can both get ****ed."
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CEE ()
New user
Joined: 06 Aug 2008
Posts: 3
United Kingdom
Oxford
| | Posted: Thu 30 Oct 2008 3:32 | |
Hi again,
Just to let those of you know who use this blog that we now have our own. It is new and still in it's infancy, but we have had positive feedback from others within the industry who understand what we will be ultimately trying to achieve. The idea of the blog is to create an authority site with contributions from not only ourselves but also industry professionals. We hope that topics will cover agents, acts, the law and how to guides. Whilst not all information will be relevent to everyone we hope that in time that we address topics that whilst not of interest to one group will be of interest to others.
It will take time for the blog to establish itself and only good articles or information will make it to the RSS feed, we will also delete spam or material that we feel is self serving, instead of serving the needs of the industry.
We welcome posts that are interesting and that have substance, and that are based on knowledge and observation, not speculation. Some blogs will allow comment others will not. It is not a Q&A site but rather an information site, and whilst some may not always agree with the authors we hope that the material presented will over time answer many of the questions people have.
The latest article is about how to submit an act to agencies, with informed do's and don'ts and some general advice, it is up to individuals though whether they take note or make use of this service.
If anyone is interested you can view the feed at http://www.cee-worldwide.com/rss.xml
Regards to all,
Paul Sims
CEO
CEE Worldwide Entertainment Agency
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