How to become a booking agent

Building relationships and connections is the first step to becoming a booking agent. Plus the one thing that motivates us all: a love for music.

If you’ve worked anywhere in the entertainment industry, you’ve probably realized that it’s all about human connection. Not only through the music and live performances but also through interactions with people behind the scenes.

Learn how you can take what you know about the music business a step further and become a booking agent. Our trusty guide below is sprinkled with advice from long-time professionals in the field.

Meet Kevin. He was a booking agent.

Kevin’s one of our Dealmakers at SystemOne. Kevin has 8+ years of experience using SystemOne as an artist booking agent in the music industry. With an ear on the ground, he knows exactly what booking agents need in terms of a booking and scheduling platform.

Kevin started his career working as a promoter. He had to quickly build connections with booking agents and saw booking as the “nicer part of the music world” because you get “to work with the artists you like.” This led him to start a booking agency internship where he helped organize a large festival in Germany.

After his internship, he moved to a bigger agency and began working as a booking assistant creating contracts, generating invoices, and booking flights. He was promoted to a booking agent position in one year. After 2.5 years at the agency, he decided to go independent (start his own booking agency). He ran his own agency for 4.5 years, having met his artists through his previous job. He used SystemOne at his previous agency and as a platform for his own agency, and that’s how we met him! The rest, as they say, is history.

{{kevin-systemone-6}}

Kevin’s journey is similar to most booking agents. Booking agents often start out in entry-level positions in the entertainment industry or even as performers before learning the ropes of booking and show planning. While it’s a highly demanding role in the biz, it’s also a greatly rewarding career. Still interested in becoming a booking agent? Great. Let’s get to work.

Step 1: build experience in live entertainment

One of the essential components of booking is the live element. It’s all about shows. And not only music shows—booking agencies also work with other performing artists like comedy acts, cabaret, and folk entertainment.

So, wherever you’re working or gigging right now in the entertainment industry, ask questions and try to learn more about how the different parts work together. You need a fundamental understanding of all aspects of the business to do bookings.

{{kevin-systemone-7}}

We recently posted about the various roles in the music industry, which is a good primer for you if you’re still in unfamiliar waters.

Step 2: focus on a genre

While there are many ‘unspecialized’ booking agencies that represent a wide variety of artists, they usually have much larger teams of agents and assistants. For example, All Artists Agency prides itself on representing a large portfolio of artists across multiple genres. Seeing as you’re starting out, you’re probably going to work with a small portfolio of artists at first.

{{laura-all-artists-4}}

Most of the time, booking agents focus their portfolio on a selection of artists within a genre. The reason for this is actually very practical and makes good business sense: agents need to understand audience tastes and often help up-and-coming artists find their voice in the market. The more focused your artist portfolio is, the quicker you can build expertise in your ‘field.’

{{aga-ensoul-1}}

Specific music tastes are attracted to certain shows, clubs, or festivals.

If you make sure to attend a handful of niche events, you’ll likely bump into the same people in the crowd and backstage—even in different cities and countries! These moments are opportunities to build genuine connections and recognize the people you may want to work with.

{{kevin-systemone-8}}

Step 3: do a booking agency internship

Accelerate your growth by interning at a medium to large booking agency with a good reputation. One of the ways to choose an agency to approach is to look at who’s representing or booking your favorite artists.

{{kevin-systemone-9}}

Working with artists you’re excited about will help you learn the ropes quickly and connect with the right venues and promoters. It’ll also help you discover new artists along the way that you can approach to work with later.

Step 4: take on a junior booking agent role

Internship will give you the tools you need to apply for a junior role at a booking agency. We recommend this step because you’ll get more responsibilities than an intern, but still have the opportunity to learn while on the job.

A booking agent's primary responsibilities include:

• Understanding deal structures
• Negotiating deals with promoters
• Managing contracts & invoices
• Financial planning
• Coordinating show advancing & tour logistics
• Building and maintaining relationships with artists, venues & promoters
• Using digital tools and booking software (you can use our platform SystemOne for this)
• Team communication
• Project management

Most booking agencies use software to handle these tasks. Demonstrating your experience working with a booking agency platform like SystemOne will increase your chance of landing a junior role at a big agency.

{{laura-all-artists-5}}

Step 5: become a booking agent

After you’ve built up some experience and trust in artist booking, you may feel confident enough to work as a booking agent at an agency or start your own one. It’s really helpful to start your booking agency with a handful of artists you’re already working with.

{{kevin-systemone-10}}

Some last pieces of advice from Kevin:

• Don't accept the first offer. When you receive booking requests from venues and promoters, use your negotiation skills to get the best possible deals for your artists.
• Book venues close to each other. You don't want your artists traveling the whole week, wasting time on the road. Using SystemOne’s Map view, you can easily find venues you've previously worked with and close more deals in the same region.
• But don’t book too close. You also want to make sure there's a certain gap between all the cities so you don't cross artist exclusivity regions.

Your next career move

You know, you can still become a booking agent even if you skip these steps. But there are so many skills to learn for this fast-paced job that we recommend you give yourself some ramp-up time.

There’s no easy way to become a booking agent. You need to build your skills, portfolio & network from the ground up.

What we love about the music industry is that it’s easy to meet people and find new business connections. And it doesn’t feel like business—it feels like extended family. If you make sure to build strong trust relationships and follow through on your word, people will do the same for you. And, ultimately, it will benefit everyone as the artists excel in their careers.

So, take the leap and apply for that booking internship or junior position at an agency. Be comfortable with yourself, connect with people, and learn as much as you can. Before you know it, you’ll have all the skills you need to start representing your own artists as a booking agent.

Frequently asked questions

What exactly does an artist booking agent do?

Booking agents in the entertainment industry manage the live performance schedules of the artists they represent. Their main goal is to book as many shows as possible for their artists to build their careers. Booking agents are well-connected with artist managers, venues, and promoters and try to find the best deals so everyone involved can benefit—especially the artists.

New artists are often discovered by booking agents who then take them on as clients. Booking agents or agencies make money by charging a booking fee for each show.

Do I need a qualification to become a booking agent?

No, you don’t need an official or professional qualification to become a booking agent. But we recommend doing an internship and then working in a junior role at a booking agency to build core skills.

Is there an artist booking platform I can use as a booking agent?

Yes, SystemOne is a platform for artist booking agents to build booking request forms and plan shows. You can use it to automatically run advancing sessions with promoters & venues and eSign contracts. It also offers contact management, invoicing, and financial reporting features. The SystemOne mobile app enables your artists & crew to check their schedules in real-time.