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This is an amazing observation. In 17 years of having people apply to work here, almost all of them have said “references available by request”. Yet, in those same 17 years of artists inquiring about hiring us, the number of them saying they have letters of reference from venues is: Zero. How can this be? Aren’t the artists passionate about getting their music to the public? Don’t they want to do at least the basics to make this happen? It’s certainly not like they don’t know about references; every one of them has a “dayjob” resume with references, and some even have reference letters from previous jobs. Why then would they not have anything at all for what is supposed to be their passion? Well it’s time to change that.

Well it’s time to change that. From now on, all of you will have reference letters. Don’t do anything until you get some letters from previous gigs, and don’t do a new gig unless you plan on getting a letter from it. The basic purpose of a reference letter is for the person at the venue to say “this artist performed for me and I can tell you first-hand, that you’ll want them”. But why are letters important? Doesn’t the music just speak for itself?

No, it doesn’t. Venues don’t really care about the music; they don’t make any more money because the music is “good”. They make money only when more customers PAY to come in, or when customers PAY more for food and drinks because they stay longer. If live music (no matter how good it is) does not make the venue more money, the venue will change to non-music performers (like comedians, magic, etc), or will just stop live performances all together. I’ve seen it happen many times.

Venue people won’t believe you if you tell them that your last gigs were “great” and “had lots of people”. They won’t even believe you if you say “45 people paid $10 at the door just to see us”. They’ll just smile, or they’ll say “sounds great, we will consider you”) and assume you will say anything to get the gig. They will, however, believe other venue people who have no reason to lie, and every reason to tell the truth. These “other” venue people should have some sort of idea of what works and what doesn’t. So there is every reason to believe them and what they say. And that is what a reference is.

So here’s how to do reference letters properly:
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Go here to read the rest of the article!
http://radio-media.com/booking/booking07.html

Bryan Farrish Promotion is an independent promotion company handling airplay promotion and booking-promotion. http://www.radio-media.com  booking@radio-media.com

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11 Things You Need to Throw Away

The first step to taking care of yourself and de-stressing is to make sure that your environment is in order. Seeing your house full of clutter can affect your mood negatively and make your personal space seem like a place you want to escape from, rather than something to look forward to coming home to. Organize a “throwing out” day every month to make sure that you don’t have clutter building up. Here are some things you should consider purging from your home, and download our printable to help you get rid of items you don’t need!

#11. Old or unused electronics

Have an electric piano you don’t use? Or maybe you just never got around to getting rid of your old laptop or cell phone. Sell your electronics on Gazelle.com and Nextworth.com. These sites are great because they’ll quote you a price for the item you wish to sell. You can also sell it on sites such as Craigslist and eBay.

By Emily Co | 06/12/15

http://www.popsugar.com/smart-living/Things-Throw-Away-21653157

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