Searching for entertainment in a different country on your own  can be a daunting task and may prove difficult. It is advisable to contact a good booking agent or consultant directly so that you can be assured of good quality artists that will arrive on time.

2)    Google .

Google is now providing a more local search’s which will provide you  with a strong base to choose from thus making it easier to find good suitable entertainers in your immediate area.

3)    Referals.

There is nothing more effective than Word of Mouth. A referral from a local  venue or event organiser  can be worked to your advantage.

4)    Local.

Stay local. Be sure to engage in the services of a booking agent that has knowledge of the local area and bands that can be sourced locally.

5)    You tube .

Do a local search in You Tube for bands who specialise in weddings and corporate events. Check out some of their hits on your tube and get a feel for the bands. This will enable you to decide on what style of band you want to play for your event.

1)  Entertainment Booking agent.

Hire from a reputable booking agent. A good agent will do all the work leaving you time to focus on the other important issues of the day. They have a wealth of experience and can offer good sound advice and many trusted options.

2) Guests.

Always keep all your guests in mind. Be sure to consider suitable artists relevant to all your guests music preferences as this is guaranteed to enhance the atmosphere on the day.  

3) Venue .

Be sure to consider the  venue and room size. Don’t choose a large 6 or 8 piece band if the room only caters for 70 people., “Size Matters”

4) Set the Tone.  

Be sure that the tone of the music is in line with the different parts of the day. Ensure that the drinks reception music is not too loud and your guests are able to mingle and chat. Save the up tempo and loud music for the post dinner entertainment.

5) Suit your self.

Remember that it is your “big day” to so put yourself first. Choose music that you as a couple enjoy as this will be a sure way to leave you feeling much more relaxed.

Mark Downing is CEO of Ireland’s largest independent Corporate and Wedding Entertainment Booking Agency http://www.audionetworks.ie/weddings

Sourcing and gathering your content for distribution online will enhance  backlink’s to your site which can ultimately yield to purchases of your music.

2) Free Single give away.

If you are releasing an album, why not pick a single from that album  and give it away free thus generating interest in the album.

3) Mobile networking

Create a link with mobile networks or content net providers. Mobile networks have access to a wide audience base.

4) Start Local

Local is “key”. Everything is going local so target your local audience with iLike and local directories and go from there!

5) Social Networking

Linking is essential.  Use Twitter, Facebook, Bebo  and other social platforms and make it easy for  you to interact with your fan base.

6) Website

Invest time and energy into your own website. A good website will raise your profile and creating backlink’s to your site for downloads and hopefully a chart position. Check out what we did with http://www.audionetworks.ie/

7) Online performance “Live”

Why not record and promote a performance on line. This will be very enjoyable for your fans to watch and will generate an online buzz.

Games Industry

The Games industry is a very profitable business and can widen your fanbase. Promote your tracks to music publishers to be used as backing tracks to computer games. Bands can earn up to $10,000 per track for a worldwide clearance on music for new games.

9) Online music magazines.

Online music magazines can be used to great advantage. Providing them with content, music, images of your live gigs, future performance dates etc. Give them something fresh to write about.

10) You Tube.

Upload all your video material on you tube and ask your friends and fans to review it. Be sure it is of good quality as you never know who may come across you online.

1)

Search Directories.

Search all available directories online,  list of music venues, hotel and entertainment industry professionals. Develop your list of  online contacts to send your ezine and other up to date information about your band.

2)

Reviews.

A positive or negative review can make or break a band. Effective management and control of what appears online can help ensure that your band makes top of the list.

3)

College society.

Effective promotion to the many leading societys within colleges can help build the bands profile very effectively within a campus. Effective guerilla marketing techniques and well constructed viral campaigns can lead to massive exposure to a vast amount of  students at any one time and fast.

4)

Voting.

If your songs are on itunes, youtube or any other leading online music sites make sure that your friends and fans review your music online. Give it the 5 star treatment as great reviews can raise your bands profile potentially leading to more sales online and gig bookings.

5)

Promoters.

Focus on contacting music venue promoters both big and small. Why not touch base with them on a Monday and a Friday with your gig schedual. as you never know when someone has just pulled out of a gig and you may be contacting this promoter at just the right time.

6)

Planning.

Make sure to plan your year around the colleges, festivals and entertainment tours. It’s all about contacing people at the right time with the right information to secure regular booking confirmation.

7)

Festivals. It is easy to find the contact details for festivals throughout a year. Contact your local authority or simply search online to see whats happening in your locality and nationwide. Don’t be afraid to put yourself forward, get stuck in and rally all your fans to vote on the online social networks to ask promoters to include you on the billing.

Competitons. Competitons can increase your profile on line. Being involved or winning creates an awareness and through this you may achieve more attention online and nationally.

9)

Website. There is nothing more effective than  a website that looks good, sounds good , with  excellent video footage and clear MP3. Make it easy for fans to find you and hear what you have to offer.

10)

Advertising. List and advertise your band in Music industry magazines and journals online.

“Remember patience is a Virtue……it takes a lot of work and massive belief. Work hard, play hard and you will succeed”

1)     

Engage your fan base.

There is nothing quite like talking to fans directly. Doing so, can ensure a loyal fan basen who buy tickets, music and merchandise.

2)     

Social Networks.

A great way to build up your fans online and virally distribute your music effectively. Social Networks such as Facebook, Bebo and My Space are the best sites to start with first.

3)

Local Music organisations.

Get in contact with all of your local music rights organisations or associations. They can provide a wealth of knowledge, free databases, links with other Countries and other music organisations online.

4)

Blog.

Blog Blog Blog. Keep fans up to date by updating your blog regularly. This is a great way to keep fans logging on to your blog site and increasing the number of hits to your website.

5)

Content providers.

A lot of the  new websites currently being developed by Nokia,  O2 etc are constantly engaging artists to provide content. This can provide a great avenue for you to promote your new music online.

6)

Direct contact.

Get alll band members involved. I would highly recommend that each band member  targets specific sectors online as part of daily routine. Engaging fans online is now an essential part of any musicians life. Find out your fans birthday and send them a direct greeting.

7)

Build your database.

Build up your fanbase and engage your audience by offering prizes such as free tickets to gigs or free albums and other goodies in return for an email address or mobile number.

Review Sites.

Why not target the top 50 independent music sites online with follow up mails, phonecalls and letters to ensure your band gets a shot of whats hot during your release week.Try and populate as many sites as possible to raise your bands online profile.

9)

You Tube.

This is a very popular site with Google. Uploading to YouTube can ensure that you have a strong online presence.

10) Music magazines online.

As they are niche communities, investigate the possibility of providing them with content, music, images of your live gigs, future performance dates etc. Give them something to write about.  

1)    Twitter. This week Lily Allen used Twitter to hide tickets for an upcoming gig, a simple and effective idea. People tend to follow artists on Twitter so what better way to generate interest on new releases.

2)    Facebook. Currently the most effective tool for reaching the over 20’s. With smart use of flyers, new branded logos and artwork for new album, it is an efferctive form of Guerrilla marketing to dominate your presence online.

3)    Myspace. This website has evolved as the musicians music base has evolved.  A great tool to steer Industry professionals towards your site.

4)    Youtube . One of the best known websites in the world and simply the best way  to promote your video online. There are plenty of other video sites so be sure to use them. It’s free marketing so take advantage of it.

5)    Bebo. Bebo is a great way of targeting teenagers. Teenagers are more likely to pass on your bands information virally to their friends which in turn increase your online hits and thus can help increase your bands profile online.

6)    E-zines.  E-zines are always a great way to keep people up to date with your gigs and news. By sending out monthly e-zines you are further promoting your gig dates and it is very useful tool to enable fans to pass the information on to their connected network of friends and your possible fans of the future.

7)    Automation tools. Tools that can be used effectively to upload your choosen information at any one time to 20 or 30 sites. If tagged properly these tools can increase your links online which effectively increases your profile and gets you noticed.

    Iphone applications. With a massive upsurge in sales of the Apple iphone, always seen as the coolest of gadgets,  your effective use of an iphone widgit could establish your band as cool and one to watch in the future.

9)    Text alerts. A simple and effecticve use of text alerts mean, that like twitter you can send a short, snappy and smart message to promote online activity and gig dates.

10) Website – Last but not least, a well designed and carefully constructed website for example (http://www.audionetworks.ie) with video and seo, snappy graphics, links to all your social networks and information or music clips that can easily be forwarded to a friend will maximise your online potential.

I hope that you find these tips and tools useful. Your bands organisational skills and your bands dedication in using these tools will be a key factor in driving you all towards a common goal of international success through the medium of guerrilla marketing online.

“Never ever give up!”

1)    Bridge the gap between the band and fans. Get the fans involved, they are a bands biggest asset. Keep the fans happy and they will spread the word for you for free.

2)    Start a competition. Why not pick up a cheap acoustic guitar for approximately €50 and ask the Band to autograph it as a prize with free t-shirts or CD’s. Great for raffle prizes.

3)    Use the social networking sites to virally promote what you are doing online. This information will travel directly to fans. This has proved very popular with both REM and Madonna and there is no reason that it could not work for your band. Twitter has proved to be very popular with many artists in keeping fans up to date with backlinks to your site.

4)    Applications – why not use google maps and iphone applications. By creating widgets, these can be very effective as fans pass them on.

5)    Ezine – Create an Ezine as a promotional tool. This provides your fans with the opportunity to subscribe to your Ezine and thus providing them with all the  current information about the band. An Ezine should include photo’s, tour dates and general news. It will also create a trail back to your website thus creating more hits.  

6)    As you build up your fanbase online be sure to keep all the email addresses of fans that contact you via your website. These email address are a quick and easy way to reach your fans and get them to spread to word.

7)    Target brand leaders online and offer them a unique chance to interview, photo and join the band in studio to hear final mix. This will get the fans involved and by doing so will insure word is spread online.

  Create content. Record every performance and studio booking so that you can turn it around as content for youtube and many other video and studio sites world wide.

9)    Backlinks.  Make sure that every document,  file, upload, video and mpeg has a backlink to your main website. This will boost ranking and improve your position among search engines.  For example use http://www.audionetworks.ie

10) Blog, blog, blog! Start a band blog and focus on key words, focus on whats important right now, focus on the local music scene, make comments, stir it up.

All of these tips are free. It costs you nothing but your time, effective management and control, your dedicated band members can ensure that your bands profile will gain momentum and assist in the effective promotion of your new release online.

Mark Downing is CEO of Ireland’s largest independent Entertainment Booking Agency http://www.audionetworks.ie

1)Pre Ceremony Church Entertainment – Why not be greeted by a piper as you and your guests arrive to the church. Pipers  music will certainly give all your guests a lift at the start of the day.

2)Ceremony Music – The number of performer’s during a Church Ceremony can range from 1 to 20 depending on the size of the venue and budget. A soloist or duo can perform with a Harpist, Guitarist, Organ or accompanied by a String Quartet. Alternatively, a Gospel Choir will certainly give the edge to your ceremony and is becoming increasingly popular with Modern Brides and Grooms.

3)/Wedding Reception Entertaiment Music – There are a few seasonal factors to consider in deciding on your Wedding reception music

a)     For Wedding Reception music for a Summer Wedding one should consider the use  of a Latin band giving the reception that Summer or Mediterranean vibe.

b)    For a Winter wedding, a  Jazz or Swing band is always a great option as the music is steeped in the era of the Rat pack.

c)     Garden Wedding Why not look at booking  outdoor Reception Entertainment– As the guests enter the hotel a great wedding idea would be to include some very unusual Wedding Entertainment such as Fire Eaters, Jugglers, Stilt Walkers or even a small Circus Crew.

4)The Meal  - A novel and unusual wedding idea for during the meal could include background music in ther form of  Spanish Guitarists, Harpist, Piano Player See if you can strike a deal with a Classical Quartet to play for the Chruch Ceremony and  during the meal.

As the meal finishes up the perfect way end to any Wedding Event is with  a band ,DJ and  light entertainment. So here are a couple of other suggestions for unusual entertainment ideas that might work for you.

5)Straight after the meal an increasingly popular form of entertainment as seen at many of the footballers Weddings, are the Opera Singing Waiters, they are a great addition to any day and will guarantee that your special day will be the “talk of the town” long after the day itself is over.

6)Before the band come on why not liven things up a short high-energy performance between 10 – 30 minutes long featuring dancers, dance lessons or interactive dancers. With every style of dancing such as swing, Latin, Can Can, Irish or Scottish possible….. Consider your guests here and see what type would be most fitting, you might also have a chance to keep the mother of the Bride happy!  If dancing is not possible at this point what about some Magicians or Comedians.

7)The most important factor to be given maximum consideration too is the Band. The band can often make or break a wedding and therefore it is very important to use a reputable booking agency. They will deal with any problems and be at the end of a phone line to answer any questions that you may have.

8)A good DJ will cover all music tastes. A good entertainment booking company will provide you with advice on what works best ensuring a full dance floor and great night. Its is worth considering booking the Band and DJ through the same agency as they will have worked together before and therefore avoiding songs being duped, also, it will be cost effective as  booking two acts through the one agency you will often be  able to strike a deal.

9)Karaoke – Some couples just don’t want the day to end! Often after the DJ leaves and the guests head off to the residence bar a singalong often ensues…. Why not sing along to a Karaoke machine, a fun and entertaining way to end off that special day.

10) The day after the Wedding many Brides and Grooms often hold a party for close Family and Friends. Why not have a simple guitar duo to enhance the BBQ or party.

Wishing you all the best on your Wedding day. Mark@Audionetworks.

Mark Downing is CEO of  Audionetworks. Ireland’s largest independent Corporate and Wedding Entertainment Booking Agency

Rattle and Hum – This is the only U2 cover band that Bono gave the green light to.This U2 tribute band are known to be one of the best U2 tribute bands in the world. Not only do they sound exactly like U2 but they have an uncanny resemblence to them also. If you can’t have the real thing, Rattle and Hum come in a great second. You get the U2 experience up close.

Celtic Drummers – With high octane rhythms and up tempo beats these celtic drummers are sure to wow any crowd. The high impact and super animated rhythms will live up any crowd and combined with dancers you can add your very own Riverdance to any event!

Irish Dancers – Irish dancing shot to fame in 1995 with the launch of Riverdance during the Eurovision Interval where the most memorable part of the show became Riverdance itself. This put Irish dancing on the worldwide map and saw an increase in numbers registering in dance schools from Dublin to Japan! This high energy performance include any number of dancers from 4 to 24, dressed in tradition Irish dancing apparel this is sure to add an Irish flavour to any event!

Harpists –Classical and Elegant, the harp it one of Irelands most recognisable symbols and Celtic sounds. The harp has proven time and time again to be a very popular choice of music among prospective Irish wedding couples for their church music.

Traditional bands – An obvious choice at any Irish style event. Traditionl Irish music is recognisable the world over with its distinctive sound and use of instruments such as bodhran, accordian and tin whistle. From a simple 2 or 3 piece band right up to a full live session band.

Mark Downing is CEO of Ireland’s largest independent Corporate and Wedding Entertainment Booking Agency http://www.audionetworks.ie

People often ask us the best way to break into the Irish Music Industry and we have put our heads together and come up with the following tips which we hope that you will find useful.

1)    Get yourself heard!  - Try and find as many platforms as possible to promote your music, be it online or by getting involved with college based CD’s. Don’t be too precious,  it’s about getting your music out there to a point that you can build up enough support to go after that elusive deal.

2)    Competitions – It is always a good idea to see if you can create hype around the band. By entering competitons you may be able to fund your next project or to pay for studio time.

3)    Songs, Songs, Songs – Very simply the bottom line is most A n R people will take 20 to 30 seconds and if your lucky 60 seconds to listen to a track and decide if it is a hit or not, it’s all in the song , the lyrics, the melody, some of the simplest songs ever written were completed in just 4 minutes

4)    Find a good manager –  Ask whoever writes for the local magazine or music organisation and see if you can get a recommendation from someone who has been in the Industry for years.

5)    Find a good Agent – Look for a passionate and  dedicated booking agency with a proven track record and good contacts and ultimately with your best interests at the forefront.

6)    Start with the Colleges – Build from the Grass roots up, they will be your first fans and will spread your music virally. College’s are a great place to start performing and perfecting your craft. They also have a large number of events over the year.

7)    Social Networking – Everyone is using Social networking sites these days and you need to be involved in Bebo, Facebook, My Space, Twitter to name a few. You can post your songs online, let your fans follow what you are up to, post photo’s and spread your Music. Get them talking!

    Support a good cause – Giving your services for free at charity events will increase your profile and get your name out there, it costs you nothing. They do the PR, you just turn up!

9)    Be Passionate and divide the different tasks among the band members – assign a task to each band member  then come together as a unit. Be smart!  

10) Build links with Artists and Venues – Strike a deal with a band from another County or Country and agree to host each other so that you will be fresh in someone else’s eyes.

“ Work Hard, Write Great Songs, Get Involved. Use the Web to the Max, Keep the Faith and Believe in Yourself!

Wishing you a Fruitful Career – Mark @ Audionetworks.ie

Mark Downing is CEO of Ireland’s largest independent Entertainment Booking Agency http://www.audionetworks.ie.