Who actually decides which headliner will play at this year's Rock am Ring?
Whether it's for large festivals or intimate club gigs: as a booker, you organize gigs for bands and musicians. Depending on the music genre or the releases of a band (singles, EPs, albums), you book corresponding festivals, tours or short concerts, so-called "showcases", where up-and-coming acts and new talents present their music to a selected audience.
As a booker, you can work for festivals, large recurring events or concert venues. You can also work in a concert agency that specializes in the placement and marketing of artists, or in concert and event production and thus take over the booking for one or more bands. The motivation is to build up artists so that they get noticed nationally or internationally and develop a sustainable fan base. In addition, as a booker you are significantly responsible for the programming of a club or a festival.
You can use your affinity for music, niche genres, and new discoveries. You should also have a great passion for the cause, communication skills and organizational talent. When a festival or concert is coming up, a booker plans well in advance which band will play there. Throughout the year, you'll talk to all kinds of artists, management and promoters. Sometimes you go to concerts and showcase festivals to meet artists and partners in person. However, it is just as important to work by phone and email to clarify the conditions and framework conditions for the performance.
There is no formalized training to become a booker. However, there is the possibility to train as an event manager as well as various study options that deal with topics related to the live music industry. Nevertheless, the profession of a booker is often a career entry job that can be taken on by people from the music industry who already have event experience and the necessary network, as well as people from other industries who are well networked and enjoy organizing.
In the Podcast KLANGKARRIEREN from German Wahnsinn you can find out even more about entering the job market and everyday working life (in German):