How to Be Your Own Booking Agent: The Musician's & Performing Artist's Guide to Successful Touring [Paperback]

Jeri Goldstein (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 2004

Since 1998, the award-winning, How To Be Your Own Booking Agent has been among the top selling music and performing arts business books. It is regularly selected each semester by professors teaching music business and the performing arts and continually recommended by musicians and performing artists worldwide. Jeri Goldstein's unique step-by-step guide and resource book is artfully organized into 492 pages of savvy advice, realistic methods and action plans for the performing artist and is now available in its Revised 2nd Edition. This completely updated edition provides current information about immigration regulations for touring artists, new technology advances in digital and electronic press kits and web design basics along with exciting new insights from experienced professionals in the entertainment business. There are 24 chapters enhanced with completely updated resource sections following each chapter packed with recommended books, directories, web sites, businesses and new conferences helping artists achieve their career goals and this revised edition is truly THE Musician's & Performing Artist's Guide To Successful Touring. How To Be Your Own Booking Agent THE Musician's & Performing Artist's Guide To Successful Touring tackles such topics as: The Art of Negotiating; How to Make Cold Calls; Setting Long Term Goals; Effective Telephone Techniques; Creating An Effective Promotional Package; Contracts; The Art of Touring; Managing the Road; Conferences; Trade Shows and Industry Events; Funding Sources; Crossing Borders--U.S./Canada Touring; Marketing Your Act; Accessing the Media: Print, Radio, Television and The Internet; Working with Your Record Company; Working with Managers and Agents; When to Quit Your Day Job; Hiring Help and Ethics and Attitudes.

The information is visually accessible with worksheets and a variety of forms included throughout the book that may be copied for the artist's use and convenience. Jeri has answered most of the burning questions, provided immediately usable methods and tackled many of the foreseeable problems. Most importantly, though, she offers the performing artist a step-by-step guide to create a successful touring career.

Editorial Reviews

Review

" One of the most important music industry books on the market today. Expert advice, tips and career strategies!" -- Shawn Fields, CEO, Editor, Getsigned.com

"Goldstein's book takes a career from oblivion to stardom, on one's own terms, while maintaining artistic integrity." -- RAVI, singer/songwriter, former guitarist of triple GRAMMY nominee, HANSON

"It's the most helpful book on that, "making money, making music" topic that I've ever seen." -- Derek Sivers, CEO, CDBABY.Com

From the Publisher

This award-winning, unique, step-by-step guide and resource book, How To Be Your Own Booking Agent, is now available in its Revised 2nd Edition. Packed with helpful hot tips, savvy advice from industry professionals, realistic methods and action plans enhanced by completely updated resource sections following every chapter including recommended books, directories, web sites, businesses, new conferences and much more, truly is THE Musician's & Performing Artist's Guide To Successful Touring.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 492 pages
• Publisher: The New Music Times, Inc. (February 2004)
• ISBN-10: 0960683038
• ISBN-13: 978-0960683031
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #658,019 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

About Jeri Goldstein

Jeri Goldstein, former agent and manager for some of the top touring acoustic artists on the circuit. Goldstein has booked national and international tours for artists performing in country, folk, gospel, bluegrass, contemporary, classical and children's music. She has also booked tours for theater and dance.

After 20 years of working as an agent and manager, Goldstein authored the award-winning book, How To Be Your Own Booking Agent, The Musician's & Performing Artist's Guide To Successful Touring. Her book is currently used as a text book in Music Business courses at Universities across the US and in Canada. Berklee College of Music, NYU, Belmont University, The Musician's Institute and the Harris Institute in Montreal are among them.

Articles for the self-managed artist can be found on Performingbiz.com, Getsigned.com, Onlinegigs.com, CASA.org newsletter and have been published in Indie Magazine, Music Biz Magazine and GiG Magazine.

Goldstein created a number of innovative programs as a resource for performing artists--Manager-In-A-Box, a consultation program, is designed to help performing artists, agents and managers enhance their career development. The Performing Biz is Goldstein's seminar that is presented at universities, festivals, conferences, and for art councils or to individual groups of performing artists.

Complimenting her 30 plus years as president of The New Music Times, Inc., Goldstein's background runs the gamut working inside the entertainment industry as concert promoter, tour coordinator, and commercial television production engineer for an NBC affiliate station, commercial country radio DJ, photographer and graphic artist. She has also served as President and member of the Board of Directors of the Folk Alliance. Goldstein coordinated the Folk Alliance's Booking Agent Training School for 4 annual conferences.
Goldstein also serves as consultant to the Virginia Commission for the Arts.

She conducts teleseminars, interviews industry professionals, offers weekly audio Biz Booster Hot Tips and an online course, to individual musicians, performing artists, arts groups, universities and arts councils: Booking & Touring Success Strategies & Secrets. The course and other resources are available at www.performingbiz.com

Goldstein has conducted seminars for:
Arts Councils:
Arts Council of the Blue Ridge
Arts Midwest
Arts North Carolina
Arts Northwest
British Columbia Touring Council, Canada
California Arts Council
Florida Division for Cultural Affairs
Indiana Arts Commission
Louisiana Division of the Arts
Mississippi Arts Commission
Missouri Folk Arts Program
New Orleans Arts Council
Ohio Arts Presenter's Network
Ontario Arts Council, Canada
Pennsylvania Arts Council, PennPat
Southern Arts Federation
Tennessee Arts Commission
Virginia Commission for the Arts

Organizations:
The Music Business Institute/Cutting Edge
Enoch Pratt Free Library
Folk Alliance
Independent Children's Artist Network
International Bluegrass Music Association
Louisiana Music New Orleans Pride-LMNOP
Music Entertainment Industry Educators Association-MEIEA

Schools:
Belmont University- School of Business
Carnegie Mellon University
Colorado University at Denver - Music Industry Loyola University - Music Business Department
Music Tech College
New York University - Music Department
University of Kansas - Music & Dance Department
University of Virginia - McIntire School of Music &
Continuing Professional Studies

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gold standard for Music Business books, November 18, 2004

By 

Jeri Goldstein "Publisher" (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Be Your Own Booking Agent: The Musician's & Performing Artist's Guide to Successful Touring (Paperback)

Review written by
Kerry Dexter
Dirty Linen Magazine
Dec.2004/January 2005 Issue

Jeri Goldstein fairly well created the gold standard for music business books that are both practical and wise when the first edition was released in 1998, offering succinct ideas on setting goals, planning for a long-range future as a musician, when to quit your day job, and when to rethink your music career. Along with those came big-picture straight forward advice on negotiating with venues, planning tour routing, how to set up an office, what to include in a letter of intent, and what to look for in a contract, among other things.The latest edition includes all that, organized into bite-sized chapters packed with information and seasoned with sidebar quotes and tips from music industry professionals...There are updates to the resources sections included with each chapter, added information about immigration issues for artists and about creating and using electronic press kits, and materials on web design. New edition or old, it's a book that belongs on the shelf of anyone who wants to know more about the many-faceted business of performing arts, touring and presenting, and integrating that part of a musician's life into a successful career.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential!, November 29, 2005

By 

Megan Romer (Lafayette, LA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Be Your Own Booking Agent: The Musician's & Performing Artist's Guide to Successful Touring (Paperback)

No one in the music industry, be they a musician, club owner, festival manager, booking agent, band manager, merch salesman, etc. has any good excuse NOT to read this book.

It's essential for those who are just starting out, and useful for those who have been in the game for many years. Goldstein's writing is clear and concise, and the book is organized well and peppered with real-life examples and "hot tips", which keep it interesting.

There are dozens of fabulous books on the music industry, from how-to guides to high-level marketing strategy books, but no one should bother reading any of them until they've read this book. It's absolutely essential.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply great, April 28, 2005

By 

P. Marko "markopavic.com" (Rome, Italy) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Be Your Own Booking Agent: The Musician's & Performing Artist's Guide to Successful Touring (Paperback)

This book is great. It's well written and it covers all you need to know about booking and more. If you're serious about your music, this book is a must. Recomended!