This is a part of a series of a tip off I give in front of the showcase Live at Heart that is going on in Örebro 30 of August to 2 of September. The tip off is not just for Live at heart would work on any showcase festival.
Get the most of it.
Live at heart has a conference part to it. Use that! Most showcase festivals have a conference part, most artist never uses it. Okay, some of the panels might seem boring. Hopefully, they will give you new information. Think of it, not for the panels. It's the mingle before and after that is important. also knowing who is who, get a face on people.
Last year Royal Prospect was on Live at Heart they went on every seminar, if not the whole group at least part of the band. They introduced themselves to Tommy Rehn from Rehn music and asked him to come down to their showcase. This was Royal Prospects first showcase festival and they came in in the last section so they only had one show on the festival. Tommy had gone through the list of bands, but since they introduced themselves he was determined to see them. At the same time, there was a really popular band playing at another venue so Tommy needed to take a decision. And that introduction was why he went for Royal Prospect. The rest is history, Tommy was so excited he signed the band directly after and he is now taking them to the international market.
You can see Royal prospect this year as well looking for a booker. This time they have grown bigger and have three shows during Live at Heart 2017.
Instead of just doing a show you have to drag people down to it. You are faced against 220 good bands so start to mingle and try to be active. Two years ago a Danish band was signed after a panel talking to one of the speakers. The showcase is only 30% of the work, most are the legwork around it. I know myself if someone comes up to me and introduce themselves I usually try to see that artist showcase. By doing that you get a better chance that the important people come down to your show.
Also, the panel is a good way to know what people are doing. Just because they work at a booking agency or record label it might not fit. If you play metal and they work with country music it won't be a match. During the panel sometimes, you find new ways. Maybe this country label has just started a metal division.
I was on a showcase in NYC a couple years ago where I took care of two bands. One band was the headlight, people love that band. But the artist wanted to do some sightseeing instead of going to the conference. The other band I had went to the conference with me. Suddenly I got the opportunity to play two songs acoustically in the mingling part. The band took it and that drew a lot of important people to their showcase in the night. The other artist mainly just played on the festival and nothing got out of it.
This method also works quite well even though you are not playing at the festival. The introduction part is a huge part of the success of an artist.
Think of it as an opportunity to just be chosen, use it.
Here is "Fire" from the gig of Royal Prospect on Live at Heart 2016
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