Marketing the Band - Selecting the Target Market
By George O'Brien - Arizona Correspondent
This is a series of articles on building an Irish/Celtic band in Arizona.
Part 1 "Do You Really Want To Be A Professional Musician?" and "Do You Really Want To Do Irish Music?"
Part 2 "Can You Fill The Role Of Band Leader?" Who Is Going To Handle The Operational Tasks Of The Band?
Part 3 "What Kind Of Irish/Celtic Band Do You Want To Build?" and "What Performance Style Should You
Have?"
Part 4 "Who Should Be In The Band?"
Part 5 "What Is Your Repertoire?"
Part 6 "Do You Have Stage Presence?"
Part 7 "Do You Have The Equipment To Run A Band?"
Part 8 "How Will You Find Your First Gig?"
Part 9 "How Do You Plan To Build Your Fan Base?"
Part 10 "Do You Have Media/Marketing Kit?"The term "marketing" can be applied to several parts of the process described in previous segments of this series including determining the category and style of play, making a demo CD, and developing a media. In this segment, I will discuss selecting a target market.
WHO IS YOUR TARGET MARKET?
Most bands have a pretty good idea as to who their target market is when they select their identity (category and style). Some of this is pretty obvious. A pub band targets the pubs that generally have live Irish music. Celtic Rock bands target Irish pubs and rock venues. Folk performers tend to target coffee houses and other acoustic venues. Pop groups tend to go for rock venues, fairs, and other outdoor venues. Celtic New Age performers will tend toward resorts and arts centers. Ceili bands make contacts with dance schools and dance organizations.
Part 12 will focus on the issues related to pub bands/entertainers. For everyone else, the problem is to focus on making contacts that may not produce results for months. This can be frustrating, but it is necessary to make a large number of contacts in order to be effective.
My recommendation is that the band make up a list of likely prospects (venues that hires what the band does), call to set an appointment, and keep tract of the contact to plan for future contacts. In most cases, a demo CD is necessary and more promising venues should be given full media kits.
Samples of Alternative Markets
The following are some of the target markets and comments on their characteristics.
1) Resorts and Convention Bureaus - Some of the best paying gigs in the Phoenix area are at the resorts and for small conventions. Contacting each venue can be time consuming, but the results can be very profitable.
Usually, the process starts with visiting their office and dropping off a media kit. Find out if they book bands directly or only recommend bands to their clients. Plan on making follow-up calls every three to six months.
The difficulty in doing resorts and conventions is that they often require performances during the day and they tend to be quite restrictive as to what kind of music is being done. Many bands are reluctant to play "background music" or do a lot of out of genre material that may be required. This is not a prohibitive problem in that every event has a different set of requirements, but the issues need to be addressed up front.
2) Restaurants - Many restaurants (including ones in resorts) book entertainment directly as well as recommend performers to their clients. Resorts and high end restaurants are often in a position to pay well.
Find out if the restaurant regularly does music and if so, what kind. Sometimes they are looking for a change of pace. Many Irish performers dislike the notion that they are "background" music, but the same might be said for many pub gigs. . Except around Saint Patrick's Day, the required material will be mostly instrumentals and soft ballads.
3) Coffee Houses - There are a large number of coffee places (including bookstores) that book entertainment. There is intensive competition for those gigs. It is rare for an entire band to make more than $100 on a weekend night and many places pay less than that. The reason is that there is not as much profit in selling coffee as there is in selling alcohol. The only way to make money at coffee places is to sell CDs. Some venues generate at least some money from the tip jar. Bookstores (and even a few coffee places) sometimes sell CDs of the bands that play at their location.
Find out what kind of acts they usually book before playing there. The biggest risk at a coffee place is when the band is too loud.
Afternoon coffee house gigs can be a useful for showcasing the band and gathering names for the database. The Celtic Rock group Keltic Cowboys uses afternoon coffee house gigs to expand their visibility and expand their e-mail list. One never knows who is in the audience that might be interested in booking the band.
4) Libraries - Some libraries such as the Glendale Library do a regular (paid) concert series. Nearly every library branch has some kind of budget for live entertainment. One Phoenix library branch does a one day festival with a dozen acts. Find out what their scheduling cycle is and what it takes to be considered. Many library branches do not pay anything for performances. These venues can be treated as "dress rehearsals" and as a way to peddle CDs.
In many cities, the libraries book acts at the branch level. It is probably better to do a mailing to the branches followed by phone calls rather than trying to drop in on every branch library. Media kits are only required for branches that do paying gigs.
5) Parks and Recreation Departments - Many cities do outdoor concerts and run fairs that use live music. The City of Phoenix does a number of events including "Sunday on Central" and various lunchtime concerts at Patriot's Park. Irish bands have proved to be quite popular at these events. It can take some digging to find out who is in charge of entertainment. The selection process for each city is different and is often decentralized. Plan on contacting each person directly.
6) Community and Senior Centers - In some cities, community and senior centers are separate from the Parks and Recreation Department. Many have budgets for music and are inclined to book during the week and often during the day. Irish music tends to do well at these venues and the directors refer musicians to each other.
7) Centers for the Arts - Many cities such as Scottsdale and Chandler have very large centers where they sponsor concerts and other performances. Some of their programs require endorsement by the Arts Commission, but some programs can be done separately such as the Scottsdale Center for Arts "Sunday Affair." The venues have extremely long lead times, so initial contacts may not pay off for many months. None the less, they tend to pay quite nicely and are great for selling CDs.
8) Arizona Arts Commission - This organization generates a roster of performers that have been screened by them. I am unclear as to their exact criteria, but the gigs they generate tend to be some of the best paying gigs local bands can get. Getting listed by the Arizona Arts Commission is usually considered an option only for traditional or "new age" performers, but that is not set in stone.
9) Miscellaneous Cultural Venues - There are a number of venues where Irish/Celtic performers have played including the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix and the Flagstaff Arboretum. These venues are not likely to be attractive to pub bands, but they might be open to a "quiet" set.
10) Specialty Concert Halls - Some places such as the Kerr Center in Scottsdale and the Del Webb Center in Wickenburg do programs that have included Irish/Celtic music.
11) Churches - Usually bands cannot expect to accomplish much by contacting churches. Most gigs are sponsored by someone else. One exception is Unity Church that books acoustic performers for paying gigs.
12) Meeting Planners - Entertainment is often provided at various kinds of conventions and meetings. This could and should include Irish music. There are event planners listed in the phone book and associations of event planners that can be contacted. It would be a good idea to talk send a mailing to the planners followed by a phone contact to find out if they handle music and what kind.
13) Wedding Planners - Irish musicians routinely play for weddings within the Irish community, but there are many people with an Irish background that are unaware of the local Irish community. Wedding planners can only suggest Irish music if they know it is available. These people are listed in the yellow pages.
Doing weddings can be a challenge in cases where they want music to fox trots and waltzes or are looking for rock oldies in addition to Irish music. The band needs to decide how much additional material to add to the repertoire if it plans to do very many weddings.
14) Outdoor Event Planners - Every weekend, there are craft fairs, festivals, auto races, the State fair, etc. throughout the state that are not run by government entities. These organizations should be contacted to determine if they are doing music. Many outdoor events are looking for louder, faster material so the band needs to find out what kind of music they require.
15) Schools - Many schools are interested in programs and workshops done by traditional musicians. Start with contacts made by your fans who have children in certain schools and then expand the contacts based on referrals. Schools are daytime gigs, so the band has to be able to take time off from work in order to make these feasible. A popular approach is to combine doing instrumental workshops in addition to the performance.
16) Colleges and Universities - Touring performers have had some success in setting up workshops and concerts at various colleges and universities. There are two approaches that might be used: 1) contact the event planning people 2) contact the music department. The ability to give a workshop can be very attractive. Some colleges are better geared for evening performances, but the workshops are usually done during the day.
17) Clubs and Organizations - While most members of groups within the Irish community are fairly familiar with the bands, there are innumerable other groups that have a need for entertainment. Clubs with numerous chapters or branches can be a great way to get the word out. Most of these gigs are low paying, but may be valuable in gaining contacts and selling CDs.
WORD OF MOUTH CONTACTS
This is only a sample list of some of the people that might be targeted. In many cases, just getting your fans to spread the word can do a lot to get the word out to people. This is probably the only way to reach people who are not easily identified such as the people within a corporation that plan "in-house" parties and meetings.
It is important to follow up on every lead, no matter how unpromising it sounds on the surface. In some cases, the band may decide that the gig does not fit what the band is doing, but can recommend another band that better fits their needs. This cross referral process means the venue gets exposed to Irish music and may be interested in the original band in another context.
This segment is targeted primarily to folk and traditional performers, but every band should explore alternative venues.
[This is the 11th in the series "On Building an Irish Band in Arizona].
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