Artists, does your application really make people want to book you?
Talent is not enough to get booked. Each season, programmers receive hundreds of applications, and they can only keep a small fraction. Before even listening to your music, they look at your file, your image and the way you present yourself. Some applications make them want to book you. Others are closed within seconds, even when the artist is very good.
The 7 mistakes that make an application invisible
1. The first photo is not professional. A blurry, dark, old photo, or one taken in a bedroom, does not make anyone want to go further. The programmer sees dozens of files: the first image often decides everything.
2. The stage video arrives too late. Within fifteen seconds, a programmer must understand who you are, what you do and what atmosphere you create in front of an audience. If the best moment comes in the third minute, they will never hear it.
3. The biography tells everything except the essentials. A long text, without dates, without stages, without highlights, tires before it convinces. The reader looks for three things: your journey, your concerts, what sets you apart.
4. The links are scattered. A dead link, a private profile, different accounts for the music, the photos and the videos: every obstacle wastes time, and the programmer's time is counted.
5. The technical rider is missing or unreadable. Without a clear rider, the festival cannot assess what your coming will cost it, nor whether its stage can host you. A file without a technical rider is an incomplete file.
6. The application arrives too late. Some festivals are programmed months in advance, sometimes more than a year. An excellent application sent after the files have closed will not even be opened.
7. It looks like all the others. A correct file with no identity stays in no memory. The question the programmer asks is simple: why this artist, on my stage, in front of my audience?
What to do instead
Build a readable showcase. One page gathering your photo, your biography, your stage videos, your music and your networks. A single address to send, which opens within seconds on a phone.
Put the best stage first. The video opening the file must be a real stage, in front of a real audience, with the best moment at the start. That is what sells the concert.
Write a clear, up-to-date biography. Your key dates, your stages, your distinctions, in order, without endless sentences. A biography is updated after every important concert.
Put your technical rider on the page. The number of musicians, the on-stage needs, the equipment carried and the equipment to be provided: everything must be visible without having to ask.
Watch the deadlines. Calls for applications have deadlines. An artist who follows the dates arrives before the others, and their file is read attentively, not in a rush.
What Festival TV offers
On Festival TV, artist pages live on the site all year round, not only during a call for applications. A festival looking for an artist can see their photo, their videos, their biography and their contact details, and partner festivals can spot them at any time.
- A complete artist page, with photo, biography and stage videos.
- Links to your social networks and your streaming platforms.
- Calls for applications under watch, with their deadlines.
- Support to showcase your page and your file.
Create or update your artist page
Create your account free of charge, then create or claim your page: photo, biography, videos, networks and contact details. The file that gets seen is the one that gets booked.
These tips are to be adapted to each festival's practices; always check the official application conditions of the festival you are targeting.
Signature d'auteurMoïse 1er, the Festival Explorer
Moïse 1er's advice — the series
The Moïse 1er Chronicle. Festivals: you have the artists, but have you made people want to come? · Partners and funders · Artists · Managers, producers and promoters · Festival-goers · Backstage
Advice for festivals and pros. The 7 mistakes that keep your festival from being seen · What the programmer looks at in 30 seconds · Your artist isn't touring: 6 manager reflexes · My first festival abroad · Getting booked at festivals · Agent, manager, booker, tour manager: who does what?