Festival Gigs: How to Get Booked and Perform at Music Festivals

Learn how to perform at festivals & get booked. Build your online presence, use Viberate, and master festival pitching.

Viberate
Viberate — Music Data Company
5 min readJul 14, 2023

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Introduction

Are you an emerging artist eager to make your mark on the festival scene? Struggling to find a way in? While landing a festival gig may seem challenging, the right approach and tactics can make it achievable. In this article, we’ll discuss how to transform your aspirations of performing at festivals into reality by building a robust online presence and utilizing Viberate for festival gigs, along with a step-by-step guide to pitching festivals. Let’s dive in and discover how to make your festival performance dreams come true!

📌 Viberate for Artists: Unite every tool an independent artist needs to maximize their career in one hub — including a free website, music distribution, advancing, playlist & festival pitching, and analytics.

Building a Robust Online Presence

Creating a strong online presence is crucial for any artist aiming to break into the festival scene. A well-crafted, user-friendly website showcasing your music, bio, upcoming shows, and analytics is the first step in developing an effective online presence. This allows potential event organizers to gain insight into who you are, the music you create, and your past performances.

Viberate’s musician page can also be employed to display essential information for event organizers. This page features Spotify Top tracks, popular YouTube videos, Top Spotify playlists, music chart rankings, upcoming and past performances, Soundcloud music, industry connections, Beatport tracks, and the latest social media content from Instagram and TikTok — all accompanied by analytics data on audience and music/social media channel performance. This enables event organizers to quickly determine who they want to book for their next event or which artists/labels to collaborate with.

In addition to having a website and using Viberate’s artist page, artists should develop a strategy for their major social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter to maximize their reach among potential festival bookers. Regularly posting relevant content that resonates with your target audience is essential. Furthermore, devising an online marketing strategy can help build brand awareness among potential festival bookers and give them an idea of the kind of artist you are.

Lastly, creating press kits can provide potential festivals with an easy way to learn about your music while also supplying information such as tour dates or album releases that can help them decide if they want to book you for their next event. Press kits should include items like press photos, videos of your performances, and any reviews or press coverage from previous gigs. By taking the time to create a comprehensive press kit, you’ll give festivals insight into the kind of artist you are, which may increase your chances of getting booked for future events.

By following these tips and tactics, artists can take the necessary steps towards turning their dreams of performing at festivals into reality. Establishing an effective online presence through websites like Viberate’s artist page, creating strategies on major social media platforms, and developing comprehensive press kits will help artists secure more festival gigs in the future!

Utilizing Viberate to Land Festival Gigs

Landing festival gigs can be challenging, particularly for emerging artists. However, with the right tools and strategies, it’s possible to increase your chances of getting booked for festivals. One of the best tools available is Viberate, which allows artists to showcase their music and achievements in an easily searchable format.

To get started on Viberate, create a free musician page containing information about your music (including links to streaming platforms), videos, and any notable accomplishments, as mentioned earlier. This will give event organizers an easy way to learn more about you and make it simpler for them to consider booking you for their festival.

Once your musician website is set up, it’s time to get a list of music festivals looking for artists you can pitch your gig to. Viberate simplifies this process by allowing users to search by genre, location (country and continent), festival size, and festival highlights, so they can quickly narrow down their options. Ensure that the festivals you target align with your genre and style of music! Additionally, Viberate offers data on which festivals other artists are performing at, so users can see what their peers are doing and get an idea of where to focus their attention.

When you’ve identified potential festivals, it’s time to send out a pitch. With your claimed artist profile, certain data is already prefilled for your convenience. You simply need to finalize the “Top Live Performances Last Year” section (which is partially pre-filled but can be modified as desired), specify your desired performance fee and compensation options, and craft a compelling pitch message. Make sure your pitch maintains a professional tone while remaining engaging. Include all relevant information, such as the duration of your set and any production requirements, if applicable. Most importantly, articulate why the promoter should select you for the festival lineup.

After sending pitches, don’t forget to follow up! Showing respect by following up on emails and expressing gratitude after being booked demonstrates appreciation, which helps build relationships between both parties — something that could prove fruitful when looking for future opportunities in the industry! Utilizing social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter, alongside creating press kits, are also excellent ways to increase visibility among potential contacts/promoters while providing them with an easy way to learn more about the kind of performance they can expect from artists like yourself! So take action today — start using these tactics and strategies to make your dreams a reality!

Conclusion

Securing festival gigs is an attainable goal for any aspiring artist with the right strategy. By building a robust online presence, leveraging Viberate, and following a step-by-step guide to pitching festivals, artists can take control of their career and make their dreams come true. Despite potential challenges, such as standing out from the competition and networking with potential contacts in the industry, taking actionable steps to secure festival gigs can be highly beneficial.

Remember that communication and networking are key elements of success in this area. Therefore, it’s essential to stay connected by engaging with music blogs and websites on social media, regularly updating your press kit and Viberate profile, and following up on emails sent to promoters. Doing these things will help you stand out from the competition and increase your chances of securing your dream festival gig.

In summary, there are numerous effective tactics that artists can use to secure festival gigs. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can turn your dreams into reality and start performing at festivals worldwide. So, what are you waiting for? Take action today and start using these tactics to secure your dream gig!

Viberate for Artists: Unite every tool an independent artist needs to maximize their career in one hub — including a free website, music distribution, advancing, playlist & festival pitching, and analytics.
Learn more: https://www.viberate.com/tools-for-independent-musicians/

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