Hop Till You Drop's requirements for musicians and bands
Performance skill and versatility
Hop Till You Drop prefers to start by listening to each potential band or individual musician in action. A demo CD comprising of as many tracks as the band has available, or high-quality mp3 sound files online, will give us a clear idea of the band's musical ability. If the band already has its own website, send us a link by e-mail. We can gain a great deal of background information about prospective bands by simply looking at their websites.
We're looking for confident, mature, stylish musicianship within each of the musical genres we promote. We're also looking for versatility. Many of our clients will be organising family parties. Whether it's a wedding, anniversary or birthday celebration, a similar mix of ages will appear in a typical guest-list. All generations are represented - from seven years old to seventy plus. We can successfully market bands that provide something for everyone in their repertoire.
For example, if it's a pop band, songs from the '50s to the present day need ideally to be represented. If it's jazz, a good sprinkling of Rat-Pack Swing goes down a storm (the older generation heard the style the first time round: youngsters have been introduced to it through the recent CDs from Jamie Cullum and Robbie Williams). If it's Irish, all the tried and tested favourite songs and tunes need to be included so that everyone can dance and sing along.
Organisation, presentation and reliability
There is, of course, more to a successful performance than simple musical ability. Presentation is equally important. It's necessary to dress to suit the occasion. An appropriate range of tasteful options from black-tie to casual is generally required. Good quality PA equipment is also essential. These days, with increased emphasis on health and safety in public places, it is advisable to have all electrical equipment PAT tested on a yearly basis, and to hold public liability insurance on behalf of the group.
Reliability and punctuality are also paramount. Organisation sits at the base of this aspect of professionalism. All the logistics of the engagement, including travel time and set-up time, need to be carefully thought through so that the performance takes place on time. Illness and accident also need to be factored in. Deputies for each seat in the band should be available wherever possible so that a dose of the 'flu doesn't leave the band in disarray.
Creating information pages
If we feel that all the above attributes are in place, and that the music the band plays fits into the Hop Till You Drop spectrum, we will be happy to welcome the band aboard, so to speak. We will create a unique Hop Till You Drop account for the band and send you a username and password to allow you to login to the Bandleader's Dashboard. Once you have logged in you will be able to create and edit information pages for the band – to get a feel of what we are after we suggest that you take a look at the webpages created for other bands that play similar styles of music.
To create your pages you will need a general description (about 150 to 300 words) and four suitable pictures of the band. We prefer informal shots of the band performing live, but if you have some staged promotional shots these are usable too. You also require demo soundfiles to upload to your page – you can use as many as you like, the more the better! It is worth taking the time to put together a comprehensive repertoire list to include on the website, as it gives potential clients increased confidence and familiarity. Armed with this information, you will be able to set about creating your unique feature page on the Hop Till You Drop website. There are easy-to-use “how to” videos to help you through every stage of the process and, if you get stuck at any point, we are on hand with technical support.
If the band has suitable video clips of a performance we will feature these on the website. We prefer the video to be posted through to us on data DVD or CD in its raw format. We will edit the video so it suits the requirements of the website and then upload it to the page. Unfortunately, sending links to YouTube clips isn’t enough as we are unable to download the videos in order to embed them on the site.
Aidan will call to set up the band's profile in conjunction with the bandleader in order to create a record of all the necessary information for the automatic quote system, and for the drawing up of contracts. When we have received all the relevant information, Hop Till You Drop is ready to set about marketing the band.
A weblink in return for a listing
If the band already has a website, we ask for a weblink from the band's site to the Hop Till You Drop site in return for the listing we will give you. In the eyes of Google, links to a particular site from other websites act like "votes" for that website - the more votes, the higher the site ranks in the list Google returns for a particular search query. More links pointing to that website increase its likelihood of achieving a position towards the top of the list for relevant keywords, thus attracting a greater number of interested visitors to the site. More visitors means more gigs for everyone! We also ask you to become friends with us on Facebook and, if you have an account, to follow us on Twitter and also to subscribe to our YouTube channel WeddingMusicSecretTV. We will host your videos there.
