Are you thinking about a career as a booking agent? ArtistsHouseMusic.org has a wonderful set of interviews with folks who are at the top of their game in their field. I’ve selected several to help give you a foundation and some guidance for this career path. Let’s get started.

Jackie Nalpant, a booking agent with Monterey Peninsula Artists. In this interview segment, she gives advice to anyone wanting to start a career as a booking agent.

As Jackie mentioned in the previous clip, she loves her work. In the following segment, Jackie goes into very specific detail about her day-to-day life as a booking agent. 

Brad Wavra is Vice President of Touring at Live Nation, the world’s largest concert promotion company with booking rights to more than 160 major venues worldwide. Here Brad gives shares his thoughts on what a booking agent does and the role of a booking agency in advancing an artist’s career. 

Ash Avildsen is a booking agent with TKO (The Kirby Organization), a booking agency that he started which specializes in organizing tours for heavy metal and hardcore artists. In the following segment, Ash talks about how he started his own booking agency.  

The following Ash Avildsen clip is among my favorite of the booking agent segments for anyone who is thinking about a career in this business. Ash describes the role of a booking agent, what the life of a booking agent is like, and how to build your business. Ash believes that you have to make the bands you represent feel like they are your number 1 priority. It’s all about your reputation and it’s worth going the extra mile whenever you can.

Wayne Forte is the President of Entourage Talent Associates shares his thoughts on what a booking agent does. Wayne explains that if you break it down, agents are really like a sales person (for venues) and an employment agent (for artists) all in one. 

What part of the artist’s team does the booking agent work with? Sarah Pelch, a managerial associate for IMG, talks the relationship between the booking agent, the manager, the presenting organization, and the artist when booking a tour. 

From an artist’s perspective, the booking agent provides a very important service. Performing live is critical to a band or artist’s success. As Michael King points out in his article, Tour Early and Often, touring is instrumental in bringing an artist’s act to the NEXT LEVEL. 

It’s important to know when an artist (your potential client) actually needs a booking agent. Nic Adler, owner of The Roxy Theater in Los Angeles, shares his thoughts and some practical advice on when an artist needs a booking agent, and when they should wait. 

ArtistsHouseMusic.org has many more interview segments and articles on the life of a booking agents. As you continue on your quest for more information, search the ArtistsHouseMusic database using the keywords “booking,” “booking agent,” and “touring.” This will yield an arsenal of articles and video clips to help get you started.

Wishing you all the best!