Gigging is one of the most important promotional tools for emerging artists, but too many people aren’t making the most of them. Here are 6 top tips to help you maximise your next gig opportunity.

Open with your best song

Many artists try to save the best until last. But if a lot of the audience don’t know your music, this is a bad idea. You should open with your best song to grab everyone’s attention straight away.

Stage Presence

Poor stage presence can quickly drain the atmosphere in a venue and cause people to lose interest, no matter how good the music is. Focus on filling the stage with your presence and commanding it, engaging with the audience at all times.

Keep your set short and sweet

When you’re an up and coming artist you need to leave an impression. Keep your set under 30 minutes to avoid a bored audience who are leaving for the bar. You want your set to finish leaving them wanting more, that’s how you can start building a fanbase.

Don’t just play the gig and go home

Gigs are one of the biggest and most regular networking opportunities you have as a musician or band. Make sure you’re speaking to people, building your connections and extending your fan base at every show.

Play venues that suit your fan base and its size

This seems obvious, but many artists and bands will aspire to play large, iconic venues and will ultimately move onto them too soon. Doing so could result in a room that you are unable to fill, with a poor atmosphere. Playing venues that you know you can sell out will result in a better atmosphere for your audience and yourselves, meaning you will sell more tickets in the future and grow faster!

Tell people who you are

When you’re starting out, most people in the audience won’t know who you are. You need to make this clear throughout your set so that they can find you on Spotify or follow you on social media. Tell the audience who you are between songs, consider using a backdrop or a sign and maybe even sell CDs at the end of your set – sure, most people don’t own a CD player, but they will buy them just to remember you and stream your music later on.