If you are a capable singer and fancy moving into the profession of live entertainer for your full time job there is a list of things you should do first. This is a complete guide to becoming a paid singer for hire. The purpose of this discussion is to inform solo singers who intend to sing live vocals over a pre-recorded backing track. A performer of this style would tend to be suited to wedding receptions, pubs and working men clubs, birthday celebrations, christenings to name a few.
To go back to the beginning you need to have established you can actually sing and people tend be entertained by you when you do so. The reason for this is at a performance you will be the focal point of the room and for many of the audience your smiling face is a welcome break from the ups and downs of a working week and they are there to enjoy a drink or two whilst you entertain them. Evidence of this may come from when you get up do a number at the karaoke at your local pub and the crowd erupt like you’ve just won the X-Factor.
The first thing you need to do is work out a repertoire of around 25 songs which suit your voice and are popular enough to please a crowd. You should then buy the backing tracks. There are many established retailers online which specialise in professional backing music. Now you have the songs and the confidence in yourself, you now to rehearse. Now I mean weeks of practice, even months. You could stay in your old job whilst you get ready as this is not an overnight thing. You music master the songs but also work out your talking between the songs as it is the personal touches between the songs that will really connect you to the crowd and turn you into an entertainer. So you now have a show that would make Simon himself proud, you now need to make a little financial investment in yourself.
This will eventually pay for itself through gigs but in order to be taken seriously you must obtain a- PA System and Speakers, A good wireless microphone, a minidisc player or MP3 player, a decent lighting rig, an outfit worthy of an on stage performance. This will be full set up for live shows and when you have along with your own transport you are a one person show ready to perform anytime, anywhere. You can now use this for practice unpaid gigs such as a birthday party for a friend where you set up at their house and perform for experience. Sooner or later you’ll want to perform for money at professional gigs. You’ll need to join a music agency who will add you to their books and match you with clients looking for an act.
To join an agency you need a promotional pack. Again this may involve a little investment financially in yourself but it is well worth it. You need a recording of yourself singing to the backing track. Please don’t use a home computer with the built in microphone, if you’ve come this far, hire a day in a recording studio in order to capture the best sound possible. This will set you apart from the competition as there are more people out there searching for the same gigs as you want. So with your great song made now you need a photograph of you. If you hire a photographer for this also they may be able to offer advice on the right outfit to wear and certain pose to do etc.
Next you must sit down yourself and write a biography for yourself. This should be written in the third person. That means you write as if you’re writing about someone else so you could put something like, Elvis Smith is the leading entertainer in his field today. This is your moment to capture the imagination of the reader so make it catchy and use correct spelling and grammar.
Attached to the bottom of this should be a set list of your repertoire so the agency can match you up to the correct clients so everyone has a great time. See here (Artist Registration page) for a working registration page and apply via this and other agency sites in order to grow your list of contacts. It takes a while to gain full momentum in the music business so I would recommend keeping your day job but providing you have the right stuff you can certainly forge a career in live entertainment with work and persistence.
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