How to find local gigs?
One of the best ways to build up a fan base for your band is to get out there and play live as often as you can. But often bands find themselves in a hard place to get a gig. As a freelancer, getting higher-paying gigs isn’t just a matter of signing up on popular platforms. You need to emerge out from shell, establish a great portfolio of past work. Furthermore, you are required to consistently prove yourself through every passing gig and showcase your skills. Here are the sites you must check out , if you’re looking for a challenging part-time gig.
Giglue
Giglue is an emerging platform for artists that help artists market themselves better through various membership plans. You can apply for gigs even through the free membership plan. To get a gig, firstly you need to make your profile & then apply on gigs according to your rightness. Once your application is received, executives would contact you in case your profile is selected. It is always advised to buy the basic membership plan as it helps you create a professional looking website with features such as social media presence, payments and booking,performance score and lot more. The website contributes in building your profile which inturn helps you get gigs.
Guru
Guru lists thousands of freelance jobs in a variety of categories. This site lists opportunities in over 160 professional categories including website design, programming, graphic design, business consulting and administrative support.You can search for jobs by category, payment type (on hourly or task basis), location, and more. This site lets you easily showcase your past work experience and offers a daily job-matching feature to make sure you don’t miss out on any good opportunities. Guru is perfect for the more experienced freelancers. Guru has a virtual “Work Room” where you can schedule your tasks, communicate with employers, share materials, and decide on payment.
Behance
Behance is a network of sites and services specializing in self-promotion, including consulting and online portfolio sites. It is owned by Adobe. Behance is an online marketplace where people in creative industries, including photographers, designers, illustrators can showcase their work to employers. You can also search for gig and part-time work. You can search for gigs by location, field, company, and keyword.
Fiverr
Fiverr claims to be the biggest global network of freelancers. The site offers freelance positions in a variety of fields, from tech to graphic design to music to writing. With Fiverr, you can perform either skilled or unskilled tasks. Fiverr showcases a variety of tasks that people will perform for fairly low rates. You can price your tasks for anywhere from $5 to $995. The tasks are called Gig Packages. Most jobs are only $5 or $10, so while you might not make a lot of money, it is a great site to use for building your portfolio.
Upwork
Upwork is a global freelancing platform where businesses and independent professionals connect and collaborate remotely. With millions of clients, Upwork offers something for every type of freelancer. It provides both short- and long-term projects, hourly or per project task and expert-level and entry-level engagements. Regardless of where you are in your career, Upwork is likely to have something for you. You can track your hours and get paid through Upwork, which streamlines the process when you are working for multiple companies. Upwork allows clients to interview, hire and work with freelancers and agencies through the company’s platform. The platform now includes a real-time chat platform aimed at reducing the time to find and hire freelancers.
Freelancer
Freelancer is a global crowdsourcing marketplace website, which allows potential employers to post jobs that freelancers can then bid to complete in a competitive tender process. Unlike most other platforms, in addition to offering millions of projects, this site also allows members to host and enter contests for which prize money is offered as a reward. Job seekers submit to a project and receive a fixed prize if they are selected. For job listings, job seekers place bids on jobs, and receive the job if their bid is accepted. Not only can you find millions of job offers, you can also compete against your fellow freelancers in contests to showcase your skills.
ReverbNation
ReverbNation is an American online platform that provides tools and opportunities for musicians to manage their careers. It offers both paid and free plans for singers and other artists. The site searchs over 100,000 venues and clubs, and locate those that have booked similar Artists. Artists can create a profile, share it on social media, gain new fans, and sell music as well as find gigs. ReverbNation has free trials of its Pro plan for new users, so you can try before you buy. For singers who exclusively want gigs, a free profile should be enough.
Sonicbids
Sonicbids is the preferable platform for applying to Opportunities, through putting your foot in the door with applications to festivals, booking gigs, and getting your music reviewed and published. It gives you the platform to showcase what you do best, and help you land great opportunities. It is the largest and most successful online booking service for musicians, bands, managers, promoters, etc., as well as corporations and organizations looking to book artists. Sonicbids doesn’t have a free option. You either pay for their standard plan, or get their SuperSonic account which allows you to apply to more elite opportunities and also add videos to your press kit.
Craigslist
Craigslist is not only a platform for buying and selling miscellaneous things, but also a great source of freelance jobs. You can easily browse for local offerings if you prefer something in-office, or you can search by major cities if you prefer working remotely. Craigslist is free, popular, and effective. Just scan the gigs section for singing-related events, or post your own ad by creating an account. Link the ad to your website or post photos of yourself in performance to increase your chances of getting hired.
Backstage
Backstage claims to be the world’s largest resource for performing artists. It lets singers search for auditions using criteria like location, age, and gender. Backstage users can access even more advanced casting/gig search, sort, alert, and application tools, along with a more robust talent database featuring resumes, pictures, video reels, and audio reels of thousands of working and aspiring musicians and performers. Online subscriptions range from $12-$20 per month, but the site often offers discount rates to new members (around $10/month). Although Backstage requires payment to use, it’s easy to use the search feature to find auditions and look them up elsewhere on the internet. For singers searching for big-time gigs, though, this may be worth a subscription.
Gigsalad
GigSalad is the largest, most diverse marketplace for booking bands, performers, speakers and services for events, parties, and gatherings of all types and sizes. GigSalad provides an easy and secure way for event planners to book entertainment and services. GigSalad is one of many pay-for-premium-service websites for finding singing gigs. Free users can receive quotes and communicate with clients via the website. There are several paid subscription levels available for users who want more. The best perk of a paid subscription, which costs $15-$40 per month, is that singers can communicate directly with clients via email or phone rather than through GigSalad. Other benefits include increased visibility and larger deposits.
