1. What Are The Advantages Of Using An
Entertainment Agency When Booking A Band For
Your Event?
By Paul Wolfe http://www.carteblancheinfo.com
So you’re organizing an event – whether that’s a wedding, a
charity ball, or a corporate function – and you’ve decided you’re
going to have a live band to provide the music and
entertainment.
From here there’s two routes you can take: you can either source
and book your live band via an Agency or book the band
directly. In this article we’ll look at the advantages of using an
Agency to book your live band.
So What Is An Entertainment Agency
An Entertainment Agency is an organization that specializes in
providing live entertainment of all types to clients for events.
So this will not just be bands for dancing to (commonly called
party bands or function bands) but they’ll also supply steel
bands, pianists, harpists, string quartets, tribute bands, jazz
bands and more.
Some Agencies also supply non-music related acts and
entertainment – magicians, street dancers, pick pockets, face
painters, caricaturists, casino tables, circus acts ranging from
stilt walkers to sword swallowers and more.
Entertainment Agencies also go by the name of party planners,
event organizers or event co-ordinators
How Exactly Does Booking A Live Band With An
Entertainment Agency Work?

2. When you make contact with an Agency they will ask you for
some details of your event – e.g. the date and location of the
event, the approximate number of guests attending, the preferred
style of music required, set up and finish times and the
approximate duration of the ‘dancing’ part of the evening.
Then they will try and match your requirements with a number
of bands that are on their books, get ballpark quotes from bands
that have availability that matches the date of your function, and
then get back to you with quotes and information for two or
three different bands.
If you decide that one of these bands matches your requirements
then the Agency will send contracts to both you and your chosen
band and organize getting payment from you and paying the
band. In the run up to the event the Agency will also liaise
between you and the band, making sure that essential
information like maps, song requests, timings etc are all passed
on from you to the band.
So What Are The Advantages Of Using An Agency?
The first advantage of using an Agency is that they act as a
filter. If you do a search on Google for a band – say you type in
“Live Band for Weddings, London” – Google will return
literally thousands of results. And the majority of those bands
that Google returns are average at best. Wading through the
thousands of results to find the good bands – and the handful of
great ones – can be a frustrating, time consuming task.
But that’s where an Agency comes in. Because they’ve already
filtered through the thousands of bands out there and have their
own list of bands they recommend to clients. As with all
businesses an Agency likes either repeat clients – or clients who
come to them by word of mouth – so its in their own interests to
recommend the best bands possible so that the Client – i.e. you
– is happy.

3. The second advantage of using an Agency is the time they save.
Not only do they save time in coming up with a shortlist of
bands, but they also save time once you have selected a band.
The Agency draws up the contracts. The Agency deals with the
Invoicing and financial side of the event. And if you have
questions or special requests to pass onto the band they’ll deal
with that too.
The third advantage of using an Agency is in the event that
something goes wrong. If for some reason the band you’ve
chosen has to pull out of the event, then the Agency should be
quickly able to find a replacement band that’s similar in size,
quality and price.
Are There Any Disadvantages In Using An Entertainment
Agency?
An Entertainment Agency is a service based business – the
service being the finding of suitable entertainment for your
event, drawing up contracts, dealing with the finances and any
questions or issues that arise in the run up to the actual event.
As you would expect the provision of this service has a financial
cost. And that’s the main disadvantage of using an
Entertainment Agency – it WILL cost you more than booking a
live band directly. How much more will depend on the Agency
you’re using. Some charge a flat fee. Some charge a percentage
on top of the band’s fee.
There’s something else you need to know about Agencies in
general before you decide to book a band via an Agency.
Caveat: Not All Agencies Are Equal
Just as there are great bands, good bands and average bands the
quality of Agencies differs too. Some are great, really helpful,

4. with excellent staff that know what they’re talking about. And
some aren’t.
If you decide to use an Agency make sure they’re well know,
have a good reputation, or that they’ve personally been
recommended to you by someone who’s used the Agency
before. That way you can make sure you’re in the hands of
professionals.
Summary
There are literally thousands of bands out there, so if this is the
first time you’ve organized an event using an Entertainment
Agency can make sense in that they can filter out the mediocre
bands plus they can take the responsibility of dealing with all
the contractual and financial issues.
But this service has a financial implication – booking a live
band via an Agency will cost more than booking a live band
directly.
For more information on Live Bands For Weddings, Corporate
Functions and Other Events please visit our website at
http://www.carteblancheinfo.com