UW | Indie Music Booking — Miranda Elliott

Seattle Indie Music Booking Process

UW, hcde 519 Qualitative research methods, spring 2023

UX Research / Netnography / Interviews

Report

Brief

Our team sought to understand the booking process from the perspectives of both independent musicians and venues in Seattle, identifying their pain points, and exploring successful strategies in booking gigs. This was motivated by the challenges both artists and venues face, exacerbated by Seattle's changing economic landscape and the COVID-19 pandemic, which threatened their survival and made the booking process notably inefficient and opaque.

Process

The research was conducted in two phases:

Phase I included a netnography collecting online observations from social media platforms to understand the general sentiments and experiences of artists, bookers, promoters, and venues regarding the booking process.
Phase II included semi-structured interviews with five Seattle-based independent musicians to dive deeper into their specific experiences and pain points with booking.

Data collection and analysis were aimed at answering four main research questions about the typical booking process: specific pain points for musicians and venues, and strategies that have been successful in booking gigs.

Outcome

The findings revealed several themes:

General Booking Processes: Artists often start with researching venues that fit their needs, using either a cold lead approach (online sleuthing) or a warm lead approach (networking). The process varies by the type of venue, with different tiers indicating varying levels of difficulty and different approaches to booking.
Pain Points for Musicians: These included issues around communication with venues, financial reciprocation concerns, and the importance of social capital. Musicians struggle with venues' lack of responsiveness, poor coordination among band members, handling multiple conversation channels, unspecific venue details, venues being profit-driven, new artists being underpaid, and issues arising from intra-band and inter-band relationships, as well as musician-venue conflicts.
Pain Points for Venues: Venues face challenges in booking being difficult and undervalued, having to juggle multiple responsibilities with booking not always being a priority, preferring pre-packaged bills handed to them, and concerns about financial feasibility and sustainability, especially in the wake of COVID-19.
Successful Strategies: Building a presence in the local scene, being concise and comprehensive when contacting venues, forming a team to share responsibilities, and leveraging networks for better booking opportunities.

The research ultimately aims to guide local independent artists, offer insights for venue bookers and designers of booking platforms, and contribute to a more efficient and transparent booking process in the Seattle music scene. Future work could include developing tools to facilitate connections between artists and venues, sharing venue experiences among artists, and further exploring the dynamics between different venue tiers.