Working with agencies and wedding planners

An agency or planner can double a band's calendar in one season, or send you two enquiries a year and a lot of forms. The difference is rarely how good the band is. It is how easy you are to sell, and how quickly you answer.

What they actually want

Agencies and planners are not buying your music. They are buying the absence of problems. From their side, a good band is one that:

• Answers an availability check within hours, not days.
• Has a fixed price list they can quote without calling you.
• Sends a clean quote or confirmation the same day.
• Shows up with the line-up that was promised, on time, dressed as agreed.
• Never contacts the client directly to cut them out.
• Sends a short note after the event so they can follow up with the client.

If you do those six things, you will be recommended over bands that play better than you. Planners in particular talk to each other, and "easy to work with" travels fast.

Agencies versus planners

They look similar from the stage but they are different businesses.

	Booking agency	Wedding or event planner
Who pays them	Commission on the band fee, or a margin on top	The couple or the company, usually a fixed fee or a percentage of the whole event
How many bands they list	Dozens to hundreds	A handful they trust
What they need from you	Price list, EPK, availability, fast replies	Reliability, flexibility on timings, one contact person
Typical volume	5 to 30 enquiries a year, low conversion	1 to 5 bookings a year, high conversion
Contract	Theirs, with commission terms	Yours, or the client's

An agency sends volume with a low hit rate; expect to quote 10 times to get 2 or 3 bookings. A planner sends fewer enquiries but has already sold you to the client by the time they call.

Commission: what is normal

Commission varies by country and by agency, but these ranges are common:

• Agency commission: 10 to 20% of the band fee. 15% is the most frequent number.
• Agency margin model: the agency quotes the client whatever it likes and pays you your net price. You never see the client price. This is fine as long as your net is your normal fee.
• Planner referral fee: often none. Some planners ask for 5 to 10%. Many prefer that you keep your price the same as direct so their client is not paying more for using them.

Two rules protect you. First, always quote agencies your fee net of their commission, or state clearly which it is: "1,800 EUR net to the band, your commission on top" avoids the classic argument at payment time. Second, never let commission push your net below your floor. If an agency wants 20% and your floor is 1,500 EUR, the client price is 1,875 EUR, not 1,500 EUR. See how to price your band for setting the floor.

Exclusivity

Some agencies ask for exclusivity: you work only through them, in a region or entirely. Sign it only if they can show you the bookings to justify it. Questions to ask:

• How many bookings did your top three bands get last year?
• Is the exclusivity mutual (do they promise not to list a directly competing band)?
• What is the notice period to leave? Three months is reasonable; twelve is not.
• What happens to a client who found you directly during the exclusivity period?

A non-exclusive listing with a clear rule about who owns which client is usually better for a working band. The usual rule: whoever brought the client first owns them for that event, and for 12 months afterwards.

Response times they expect

• Availability check: same day. Agencies often check three bands at once and book the first that says yes.
• Quote: within 24 hours of the brief.
• Contract signature: within 3 working days.
• Advance details (set times, rider, arrival): 7 to 14 days before the event, without being asked.
• Post-event note: the next working day.

A band that meets these five times is rare. Being that band is a competitive advantage you can create in a week, without learning a single new song. The mechanics of checking the band fast are covered in availability requests that get answers.

The materials to have ready

Keep one folder, shared with the whole band, with the current versions of:

1. Price list with 3 to 4 options (duo to full band, ceremony add-on, DJ set, extra hour) and what each includes.
2. EPK: one page with a bio of 120 words, 5 photos, 2 videos of at most 3 minutes each, and a sample setlist.
3. Tech rider and stage plot, one page each.
4. Repertoire list, exportable as plain text, sorted by era or style.
5. Insurance certificate (public liability), if your country expects one for venues.
6. A quote template so a full offer takes 15 minutes.
7. Standard confirmation email listing line-up, times, fee, deposit, cancellation terms.

Date every file and delete the old versions. Agencies still using your 2023 price list will quote your 2023 price.

Working the relationship

• Visit once a year. Half an hour at the agency's office does more than 20 emails.
• Send new video without being asked. A 90-second clip from a recent wedding gives them something fresh to sell.
• Report back after every gig they sent you. Three lines: went well, client happy, one detail they can use.
• Never go around them. If a client they introduced asks you to book directly next time, tell the agency. The short-term saving is smaller than the lost pipeline.
• Refer work you cannot take. A band that sends a planner two other good bands when it is busy becomes the planner's first call.

Do this today

1. Make a list of 10 agencies and 10 planners in your region. Note which of them already know you.
2. Check that your price list, EPK and rider carry the current year.
3. Decide your commission stance: net to band, plus their commission. Write it into your price list.
4. Set a rule: every agency enquiry gets an answer within 4 working hours, even if the answer is "checking, reply by tomorrow noon".

Where expert.band helps

Quotes in expert.band are built from a service catalog so an agency-ready offer with schedule, services, coverage and totals takes minutes, and it goes out as a client link (with a PDF button) in the client's language. When an agency checks a date, an availability request reaches every member by email and SMS with a one-tap answer, so you can say yes the same afternoon. The repertoire can be exported as a plain list for the agency's files.