Does it cost more to book a band through an agent?

Does it really cost more to book a band through an agent?
Yes, of course it does, you are paying an agents fee.

Of course booking a band directly is cheaper.

So why would you pay extra to an agent for a service such as booking a band?

Probably for the exact same reason you use a travel agent to book a holiday.
You know there are some risks involved in doing it yourself unless you are experienced.
If you know how to book a holiday and all the ins and outs of it you could very well book it directly and save some money.

You know that you will save money but it will cost you a little time.

So we have agents simply to save us time and possibly some risk.
It might be the same reason we take our car to the mechanic rather than fix it ourselves or the same reason we’d hire somebody to clean our house rather than cleaning ourselves.

Do music agents cost a lot? It’s all about time management.
Technical things that involve some knowledge like mechanics or accounting or any profession that perhaps involve some specific knowledge……. we often outsource to professionals.

Most of us could do many things and many of us could learn to do many things but the reason we use agents or outsource certain tasks is simply to save time and reduce risk.

Let’s look at some of the pros and cons of using a booking agent to book live music and see if  does it cost more to book a band through an agent.

The Pros & Cons of using a booking agent to book live music.

Arguments for using a music booking agent.

1. You save hours of time of research and googling.
   An agent has hundreds of live acts at their fingertips and can recommend several to you.
   A reputable and decent agent wants you to be happy so is only going to supply you a great act.
2. Peace of mind – less stress and worry
   The agent is also responsible for your act showing up and doing a good job.
   You won’t believe the number of phone calls and emails I get each week late notice from people who have booked live music directly and the act has cancelled on them.I get several of these calls a week. The act cancels within days and the client hasn’t paid a deposit and it’s just a huge hassle.
   This entire problem is no longer yours if you use an agent.  The agent is responsible for replacing the act if the act pulls out. But guess what – the agent wouldn’t even deal with such acts in the first place.
3. Expert party & Event planning experience.Agents are very experienced with booking live music for parties and functions and weddings so they will ask you every necessary question regarding perfect planning and having the day run smoothly.

   If you are not experienced with booking a wedding, which most people aren’t (most people get married once :))
   Then you will have 1001 questions the agent is experienced with.
   They can handle and answer every one and only book a band that is experienced with weddings.

   Arguments for NOT using a music booking agent.

   1. Wider scope of possible acts to choose from.

   Booking an act directly –  you can find any act you like online rather than just who the agent happens to know so there is more scope when you book directly.

   However it’s a bit of a crapshoot or lottery as to how good they are or more to the point how professional they are or how experienced they are especially under pressure if things don;’t go to plan.
   If you are super experienced in looking party bands and you are confident qualifying or sporting a good band by seeing me a video and by talking to them this is great you probably don’t need an agent because you can do that job it will just cost you a little time.

   2. You save a little money.
   Of course you save a little money and you probably feel more in control of the whole situation because you are making all the decisions.

   Using the services of a music booking agent – summary. Do music agents cost a lot?

   Being a live performer and also an experienced booking agent I can easily conclude that the basic reason people use agents is because it saves them time reduces the risk of having an ordinary act rather than a great act.

   And it’s just convenient and good peace of mind should the act pull-out or should some problem occur.

   I also book a lot of direct gigs myself where I deal directly with the client –  these people are booking me direct and not using an agent.

   Seeing both sides of the industry where I am selling to people as an agent and also selling to people directly as a musician I can honestly say it comes down to the professionalism and salesmanship of the agent or the musician.

   All a client really wants is confidence that the service they are buying is going to get them the result they want or solve the problem they have.
   There is no reason to use an agent if the musician you can deal directly with appears really experienced and professional.

   The fascinating thing is that the only musicians I have met that are able to have a full-time career by mostly selling themselves direct to clients are those musicians who also have had some kind of sales background whether it is retail or any kind of sales where they truly know how to communicate and close deals.

   So in saying that I’ve noticed that that is only about 20% of musicians.
   About one and five can actually send a proper email or appear professional on the phone and give the client trust and confidence in their service.

   Sadly I also get a lot of calls from people who tell me I have enquired directly with X act and I can’t get an answer from them. They haven’t replied I can’t get through on their phone etc.
   Even once they’ve paid a deposit to an act – a deal I know nothin about as i wasn’t involved – I get calls help – I’ve booked this guy and he won’t return my call. Not because he’s dodgy or crooked – just slack with business admin.

   This illustrates my point precisely, the client is trying to go direct with the act but the act is one of the 80% of non-business type musicians who just don’t follow through in a swift manner and it makes the client anxious as to how professional they are.

   So in conclusion I would say if you approach an act directly and you are confident they are great perhaps because of word-of-mouth then so long as you can get a good feel that they are professional and they communicate well and you sense that all will be good then that’s fine no need to use an agent.

   However if you are a super busy person and prefer to outsource to professionals where everything is smooth and easy then skip the idea of going direct with a musician and use an agent.

   This way so long as you use a reliable agent you will reduce your risk of anything going wrong and you will save a lot of time.

   So ultimately I guess it comes down to your perception your ability to perceive how reliable somebody is by the way they do business with you by the way they communicate and interact.

   Whichever one – a musician directly or a booking agent – whichever one gives you that confidence…… that will be your answer of who to go with to secure the music for your event wedding or function.