Now take a sheet of paper and write down each date that is on your tour plan.

The next step is to start picking locations/cities that you want to play in. What I did was started close to home, in South Dakota, and worked out. I chose places like Aberdeen, Mitchell, Madison, Sioux Falls....and I knew I wanted to work out to Milwaukee, WI.
So now when you start picking places to play...simply drop in the cities on a date on your sheet. I tried to follow as much of a straight path as possible with each city being about 1 to 2 hours apart. It was easy to see following roads on the map. So your sheet may look something like this:

September 1: Aberdeen
September 2: Huron
September 3: Mitchell
ETC, ETC.....

After you have all 14 dates you can start looking for venues to play. When I did my tour I played coffee shops. So I took my list of cities and looked up every coffee shop I could find and made a list. This would be the list of places I would start calling.

Tomorrow I will share with you exactly what I said to book myself on a tour.

- Chad Sharp

Situation 1: You are a small band that just released a CD. You have been booking a couple shows per month. You have been tracking how many people show up at shows, how many CD's you sell there, and how many venues you contact to set a gig. You want to know how you can work up to selling 2,000 CD's.....so let's look at the numbers.

Gigs: You have played 4 gigs in the last 60 days

CDs: You sold 56 CD's at the gigs

Contacts: You called on 25 venues to set the gigs

So the math is pretty basic, but you can use these numbers to determine what it will take for your band to sell your goal of 2,000 CD's.

First step is to find out how many CD's you average per gig: 56 CD's/4 gigs = 14 per gig.  Next take your goal and divide by the per gig: 2000 CD's/14 per gig = 143 gigs. Now you know that on your averages it will take 143 gigs to sell 2,000 CD's.  How many venues will you have to call to make that happen? Take your calls divided by gigs: 25 Calls/4 gigs = 6 calls per gig.

So if you want to sell 2,000 CD's, you need to book 143 shows and it takes 6 calls per gig. You need to make 858 calls. How long will it take to sell the 2,000 CD's? You had 4 gigs in 60 days: 60 days/4 gigs = 15 days per gig.  Then you take 143 shows times 15 = 2145 days (almost 6 years.)

Most bands will want to sell 2,000 CD's is less than 6 years. How can you make that happen? Look at your numbers. There are some options. Tomorrow I will take a look at how you can dramatically increase your CD sales with small improvements to some areas that you already track. ---- CHAD  C-Sharp Productions

How does this apply to music??

The first thing that singers and bands should do is start tracking their numbers. "What numbers?" you ask....Well let me show you a few things you should start tracking. If you can track it, you can use it to plan and improve. It is the same reason why sports people keep stats.

Things to track:

1. Number of People at each gig

2. Number of CD's sold at each gig

3. Number of hits to website

4. Number of CD's sold on website

5. Calls made to set up gigs

6. Amount of revenue from CD's

7. Revenue from shows.

Once you start keeping track of all this information you can see exactly what it would take to reach your goals. You will start to see your ratios and see where you may need to improve. Tomorrow I will show you some examples of how you can use the information that is listed above. --- CHAD

Here are 5 key tips that will show you how to get gigs. I've used them all personally as have other bands and musicians I've helped. All five have been repeatedly proven to succeed. They can help you become that most indispensable of musicians � - the gig-getter.

1. AGREE YOUR GOALS. Targeting yourself with the ideal number of gigs a month the band would be happy with will keep you focussed and motivated on getting venues to book your band. Agree the minimum price you'll charge venues. Consider building a track record by offering "Trial Price" first gigs on the understanding they will be revised (upwards) for further bookings.

2. UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHAT YOU OFFER. Find out about your local competition. Research other band's websites. Go and watch these bands and see how they differ from you. Ask friends for an honest appraisal of your best and worst aspects.

Force yourself to answer the question:

"What's different/unique about our band?"

3. DON'T CREATE A DEMO OF COMPLETE SONGS. Make a 5 minute medley of snatches of numbers which best showcase all your strengths. The demo should sell itself even before it's been listened to. Include some statement about the covers you play or your genre, a picture of the band, your phone numbers/email address and any testimonials on the CD itself.

4. DRAW UP A LARGE LIST OF TARGET VENUES. The more venues you approach about gigs, the less important each one will seem and so the less stress you'll feel when you talk to any one in particular. Getting venues to book your band is a numbers game and the more targets you have the more bull's eyes you'll hit.

5. SET A TARGET NUMBER OF VENUES TO CALL EACH WEEK. Before and during the phone call Concentrate on what you can do for the venue - not what it can do for you. Keep your focus on how having your band on could encourage people to go to their venue and boost their takings.

The more you practise marketing your band to venues, the more gigs you'll get and the more you'll get your band heard. It may take you "Thanks but no thanks" before you get a booking.  But with determination you'll soon have all the work you can handle as well as a growing reputation as an indispensable gig-getting musician.

About The Author:  Gareth Bird is an active semi-pro musician who gigs regularly at venues like the Hard Rock Cafe and writes for the music press about getting gigs. He has his own Sales & Marketing business advising a number of leading European companies and is the author of "Gig-Getter: How to get more gigs than you can play". © http://www.gig-getter.co.uk.