Booking Agents Turn to Web for Local Acts

Nov. 18, 2008

Story by Pamela Birchard

Elle Quintana, booking agent at Reggie’s Music Joint in the South Loop, says whenever she considers booking a new band, she looks at the band’s Web site, listens to about 30 seconds of the group’s music and “checks out the pictures; see if they look cool.”

She adds, “Then, I’ll write their name down, check the calendar and see if I can put them on a show.”

Quintana is not alone. The Internet has become increasingly important for bands when promoting themselves and finding bookings. It’s not enough to have an innovative sound, be eager to tour and have a fresh look on stage. Bands have to be tech-savvy to survive.

Clubs like Reggie’s use the Internet to research groups before scheduling any bookings. The clubs also promote themselves by listing their upcoming shows on their own Web sites.

The Internet is also useful in promoting the band’s scheduled appearance at the club. “It’s mainly the band’s responsibility to get the word out that they are going to play here,” Quintana said.

She said her e-mail list contains close to 1,000 bands, and it is hard to keep track of “more bands to book than days in the week.”

Reggie’s Music Joint, Reggie’s Rock Club and Record Breakers record store are all located in Chicago’s South Loop. The record store was the first business, established in Hoffman Estates in 1988. The music industry has been through many transformations since that time.

Reggie’s Rock Club shows are put on by MP Productions, which also hosts Bottom Lounge on West Lake Street and Music Box Theatre in Lakeview.

Robby Glick, owner of the three Reggie’s establishments, said owning the lounge and club has been very chaotic. “We’ve definitely learned a lot in the 13 months we’ve been open.” Since Reggie’s is a newer venue, Glick said sometimes they have what he calls “clunker shows,” for which no audience shows up.  “That’s always gonna happen,” Glick said. He added that Reggie’s lets the bands play at the venue again to make up for the failure to attract listeners.

“You gotta give these kids a chance to play out so they get a good forum for their stuff,” Glick said. Through the Internet and other media outlets, Glick, 45, said, “People have kind of clued in that we have a pretty good thing going on.”

Matt Rucins, booking agent for Schubas Tavern in Lakeview, says he uses the Internet to see if a band is trying to promote themselves after he books them, “so even if they don’t get the people out, at least they’re trying and that says a lot. ”

He said he books bands based on what they sound like, where they have played before and if their audience draw is suitable for Schubas’ intimate space. Rucins said if a band has an agent he worked with before and suggested a newer local act, he trusts they are a quality band.

Rucins, 32, has been working in the music industry for 12 years and has been booking shows every night at Schubas for three years. Music venues that host live music every night in Chicago book a local band to add to the number of people who will come to the show.

“I may need an extra 30 people in the venue on a Tuesday, this band can probably do it for me, let’s try to get them in,” Joelle Maggert, one of three talent buyers for 13-year-old Double Door in Wicker Park, said. “Our headliners will be bands we know will have a draw and we’ll use the newer bands for our free shows.”

Maggert, 24, has been working for Double Door for three years. She said she books bands based upon the draw they have around the city by getting word from other venues. “Some newer bands have some trouble understanding how to promote themselves,” she said. “We try to let bands understand that we will help them get their start.”

Maggert said Web sites like MySpace.com and Facebook.com are making a mark in the music industry. “People aren’t doing the footwork anymore.”

Stephanie Gabarik of House Call Entertainment, Inc., said, “If the band has gotten 500 or 1,000 plays on MySpace that day, then we know that they are decent.”

Gabarik, 26, works as the media relations and administrative assistant for Subterranean in Wicker Park and Beat Kitchen in Roscoe Village.

She said some of the tried-and-true traditional methods like fliers, posters and word of mouth still work to build an audience for a band.

Her job is to contact local publications and radio stations to tell them about upcoming shows at Subterranean. On the venue’s Web site, she posts a calendar and a weekly play list of all the bands expected to perform. She sends out “e-mail blasts” and MySpace messages to inform others of upcoming shows and posts tickets for sale on TicketWeb.com. Gabarik said the challenge with confirming a show is “there isn’t a good feedback system until ticket sales are done.”

“It’s hard for the bands to let all their fans know where to come see them,” Gabarik said. “You have to do something to make sure your information stands out.”