So, a question I’m often asked is “How do we secure support slots for bigger bands?” Well, a lot of this ties back to the core thesis of pretty much everything I do, which is “reach out to your community and see what happens.” As you can probably tell, I think this is obviously the best and most effective way to connect with people and make friends. Yet beyond that, there’s another secret to securing your first few good support slot dates on a tour. It involves growing in your region, and using that to show that you’re a band worthy of opening slots. Essentially, what I’m trying to push is that if you spend time growing your draw in the six markets closest to you then you’ll be able to secure — with greater ease — invitations to play regional dates. If you show that you’re pro on that level, then maybe someone will take a chance on you for a set of national dates. Again – it’s about immersing yourself in the community so that people can start to see you are a band worth taking out.
A lot of bands who get on cool regional opening slots but end up wondering why they can’t scale up to national opening slots are struggling with their goal setting. That is to say, they don’t understand why you can’t go from being the local opener for Dark Tranquillity to opening for Dark Tranquillity all across America. The thing is – you don’t. You need to start by maybe opening for a band who are eighteen months ahead of you. You need to start by using the leverage you might gain from playing an opening slot as a way to show people “Look, we are for real, you should pay us $200 in the next town over.” You need to look for a slightly larger band in your region who you can maybe do dates with. Even better, figure out a way to actually help the slightly larger bands — it’ll incentivize them to come out and help you. This is a key shift in the mindset that not enough bands embrace.
It’s not so much about professionalism as much as it’s about figuring out how you can help the people ahead of you. In practice, this can mean anything from offering backline to giving people a place to stay. Be aware though, underneath all this, the real key is ensuring that you’re actually bringing people to the show. Agents notice this stuff, especially when you’re dealing with bands who are only worth a few hundred tickets. The forty people who show up to support you will be counted and remembered the next time there’s an opportunity, and it’s going to lead to opportunities for you because bands notice this too. At the end of the day, the value you bring to a tour is the number of people who show up for you. If no one shows up, then you’re bringing no value. If you’re bringing no value, then why should people risk their jobs losing money and potential income because you want an opportunity?
Remember that every agent is going to assume your band are idiots until proven otherwise. This isn’t because they hate bands. It’s because the sheer amount of stress these people can be under from people acting like idiots is ridiculous. They need to deal with bullshit every day, and they want to minimize the amount of stress this can bring, whenever and wherever possible. This is where being helpful and bringing value beyond just your draw comes in handy. It makes the agent’s life easier. If you keep helping them, then they’ll throw you a bone. Maybe after helping a booking agent by opening on a bunch of local dates, they’ll offer to give you the regional dates with a smaller band. It’s about building the relationship in a way that doesn’t cause more work for the other person, but instead either makes their lives easier or makes them more money for minimal effort.
In terms of pushing your region, I am going to come back to my macro thesis of the ‘twelve market theory’. Basically, this entails looking at the twelve markets around you that you can play fairly regularly — that is to say within six or so hours — and then mapping out weekenders around them. If you do a weekender every other weekend, you’re going to start building your regional following. This has you playing forty eight shows a year without even leaving your region too much and means that you’re starting to grow in a way that bands are going to be interested in. Why is it interesting? Look at you-you’re hitting markets regularly, incentivizing people to come back, and then ensuring piece by piece that your fanbase is actually going to grow and turn into something meaningful! You’ll be able to bring bands to your region and show them a good time in a way that other bands just can’t. You’ll have a week or two worth of good shows to support someone with. When that happens, agents will be beating down your door.
So yeah — if you bring value, and make a point of bringing value, then you’re going to get opportunities. If you just whine that you aren’t opening for cool enough bands in your hometown, then you’re wasting your time. It doesn’t go beyond that. If you’re consistently engaged in your scene, people will see that you are someone who is proactive. You make friends. Friends want to tour with friends. (Editor’s note: link to the most famous book ever about touring). They especially want to tour with friends who are going to help them make more money. It’s really not more complicated than that. If you make a point to meet people, and then make a point to show that your band has real and tangible financial value, then you’re going to wind up getting somewhere cool fast. If you act entitled, well… you’re boned.
MATT BACON
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Matt Bacon is a consultant, A&R man, and journalist specializing in the world of heavy metal. Having worked with everyone from Glam Rock icon Phil Collen of Def Leppard, to post Black Metal titans Alcest, by way of legendary thrashers Exhorder as well as labels including Prophecy Productions and Ripple Music, he has dedicated his life to helping young bands develop. Having started his own blog at the age of 14 he views his career in artist development as ‘a hobby that got out of hand’. In 2015 he formed Dropout Media in order to better support the artists he loves. We sit here now, years later with countless tours booked, records released and deals signed, and loving every minute of it.
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