The 'Benefits' of Performing at Charity Events

Posted by The Bash on April 5, 2011

 

Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure

Some performers don’t realize the many benefits to playing at charity events. Besides Karma and the fact that you are helping out a good cause, you can actually benefit from donating your services. From the fans you’ll gain to the exposure you’ll get, it is a win-win situation for all involved.

Future Gigs

First of all, many people attend charity events. The best way to sell your services is for people to see you perform. You never know where your next gig is going to come from. An audience member at a charity event might fall in love with your performance and decide that you would be the perfect fit for their upcoming event. There could even be a few music and event professionals in the room – venue owners, event planners, record company execs. – that you may impress enough to get offers from.

Fans

Even if you don’t leave the event with a new gig lined up, you should leave with a good number of new fans. Having fans is never a bad thing. You can never have enough people talking about you to their friends and family.

Don’t be shy to tell the audience to ‘like’ you on Facebook or to look you up on The Bash. The more people you can get in front of, the more fans you get and the more likely you are to get booked at better venues – even those that require a certain draw.

The more fans you get and the more successful gigs you play, the more likely you are to become the ‘go-to’ band for parties and events in your area. Not bad for playing one non-paying gig.

Press

Besides the potential clients in the audience, most charity events are covered by some type of media. If it’s not your local TV station it may be a newspaper or magazine. This gives you a chance for free publicity. Not only did you play the event, you donated your services! Remember to save any publicity you get – you can use it in the future to secure more bookings at bigger and better venues.

If you get contacted by someone hosting a charity event and they don’t plan on having any media there, it is ok, as long as you get their permission, to contact the local newspaper to cover the event. Not only would this guarantee your name in the paper but the host would most likely appreciate the assistance.

Do the Right Thing

In addition to all this, why not give back to your community just for the sake of it? We all have known someone that has been affected by disease or tragedy. Why not use your talents to give back to the less fortunate and to help your local community? You got into music because you love to play, so why not just go out and do what you love?!

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