As musicians, sometimes we have to make our own luck. If we don't step up to the plate, it may be months between gigs. Rather than wait for gigs to just magically appear, we need to learn how to ask for what we want.
Step One- Preparation
If you are going to ask for a gig, you want to look like a professional musician. Prepare a CD or take your digital rcordings and laptop with you. By prepare a CD or audio recordings, we mean make clean audio recordings that are on the same par as recordings that you would release for sale, edited to remove background noise and professional sound quality. The more professional your music sounds, the more likely you are to walk away with a new gig.
Step Two- Research
Ever hear the phrase "Know thy enemy."? While the hopes are making the venue owner a new ally, at the moment you need to consider getting the gig a conquest. Assume the venue owner is going to try to shoot down the idea and be prepared with comebacks that might get your foot in the door. Better yet, eliminate the arguments before they crop up.
If you are trying to get a gig at a local night club, visit a few times and get an idea of how busy they are. If the owner says "I don't think we have enough business for this" you can say, "Really? I was here last week and the place was packed." This little exchange might get you in the door but it could have been avoided by saying "I was here last week and noticed you do a really good business. There must have been at least a hundred people in here all night and that's just the type of crowd I like to play in front of so I thought I wanted to come meet the guy who can draw a crowd like that."
In this example, you did two things: You avoided the quick NO answer and you made the venue owner feel obligated to help you. If you just told him he is doing good business, how is he going to say he isn't doing enough business to warrant giving you a gig?
Step Three - Don't Ask, Tell.
I know the title is asking venue owners for gigs but the truth is when you ask for a gig in the form of a question, you set yourself up for the quck NO. We are asking for the gig but it needs to be done in a different manner.
Don't say "Can I play here Friday night?". Instead, say "I would like to play here Friday night. What time can I set up my equipment?" Yes, it sound brisk. Yes, it is aggressive. But if you followed the advice in step two, you have already told the owner why there is no reason you shouldn't get the gig. Being direct in telling them when you want to perform further enforces their feeling of being compelled to comply with your request.
You can get the gigs you want. All you have to do is ask for them.
