How Rappers Get Booked For Their First Live Show

Getting booked for your first live show won't be easy.

The live music business is very guarded and promoters tend to book artists they've worked with in the past. This is what we call "gatekeepers"
and it puts new artists at a disadvantage.

So to get a chance at performing live on stage, you'll need to be a little creative.

🎤 Start as an opener for a bigger local artist

One way to get booked for shows and build credibility is to perform live at someone else's show as an opener.

Being a opener gives you the chance to prove you can bring fans to your show. Some artists think that they don't need to sell tickets and they should simply show up and rock the stage.

This is absolutely false! You must bring your own fans because that is how you make a name for yourself.

No one will book you for a show if you have no local following and can't bring anyone to your show. Building your own fanbase will also give you an advantage in this music game because you have more power when it comes to performing live and how much money you can ask for.

🤘🏽 Play a few free shows before charging for tickets

When our founders were first getting started and hadn't performed live, they bet on themselves by renting out The Gothic Theater and giving away all the tickets for free.

Yes, they spent money without expecting a dime from that show. The next show they did sold out and they have been making money from live shows ever since.

Back then, you just have to bet on yourself when no one else will.

But we built Qoncert to make it easier for new artists to get a booked for live shows. We know that not every artist can afford to put on a free production so we bet on young artists and help them create a brand for themselves.

💰 Get a sponsor to cover your venue rental expenses

Some venues will let anyone with money book them. No reputation needed.

Many other venues don't want to risk a prime Friday or Saturday night on a newcomer. But if you can find the right venue, and you can sell yourself really well you might just land a sponsor to pay the rental expenses.

We noticed that new artists don't understand how to find or get sponsors on board but it's valuable to learn as much as you can about it and how to sell yourself to anyone.

In the past month, we've helped an artist get on a national tour and he had a sponsor pay the entire cost of it. That's a baller move!

🎟 Buy onto a show as an opener without selling any tickets

If you are new to a city or don't have any fans yet, you can buy onto a show as an opener.

This is similar to covering the minimum tickets that need to be sold. Yes, you are paying a premium to avoid doing the work of pushing tickets but if you want to build a local fanbase that will attend your next paid show, you gotta do it!

So, is this considered "pay-to-play"?

No, this is a shortcut to get your first live show with no work on your part. Performing live is never free, either it costs you time building a fanbase or selling tickets.

Think about everything you've paid money for to be an artists...

• Studio time
• Home studio equipment
• Beats
• Video production
• Paid ads on FB or IG

Being a musician is an incredible career if you can live off it. 

There will be sacrifices you need to make to get to the top and the artists that want it bad enough make it, everyone else does it as a hobby.

👉🏽 Qoncert helps you get booked for live shows and earn money all from one app! Download the beta app to see available shows.

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