What is Wrong with Booking Agencies

There are frequent questions about booking agents and agencies world wide.

There are two kinds of agents—those who never return a call or email and those whose "plates are full." There is never room on their rosters. Under what circumstances would an agency expand its roster? There must be a point where an agency loses a client or discovers someone that is worth the effort to expand.

How did they get their initial rosters in the first place? I know of no agency that is expanding its roster. There must be an agency somewhere that's expanding. These thoughts are echoed by musicians throughout the world.

If the agency clients are so much in demand, why are the majority of their clients' names generally unknown? Does anyone ever start an agency? Why are college music business programs not encouraging their graduates to start agencies? Or if they are, why are the graduates not looking into this field? Perhaps the answer is that today's graduates fear hard work and lack persistence.

In the current climate, I think it's easier than ever to start an agency. Gone are the high phone bills, promotions and expensive press kits. They have been replaced by $39.95 a month for unlimited calling, the Internet and EPKs.

If you can't find an agent or agency to represent you, then ultimately the solution is to bypass the entire booking agency industry and take control of your own booking. As Michael Sembello (Writer of "Maniac" from the movie Flash Dance) said to me "Rome has finally fallen and we have control again thanks to the Internet."

It's time that we all take control and realize that the golden telephone will not ring unless we do the work to make it ring.