Read this by long-time folk agent Jacey Bedford, who has graciously (or perhaps out of annoyance in answering the same questions in her tenure as an experienced folk musicians’ agent) shared this advice:
Jacey Bedford’s Help Files for Venues and Performers
Jacey’s blog: Folk Agency 101
Not to be cynical, but…be cynical. Establishing relationships with agents in the UK is tenuous business at the best of times, perhaps best done at things like the AFO conference which I’ll write about soon. More likely you’ll have impressed someone called an ‘agent’ because you played a live gig somewhere and someone called an ‘agent’ loved you. Maybe.
If you’re lucky enough to get your hands on a used copy of a now out-of-print folk digest publication, you’ll find out as did I that most agents (I said most, though I mean all) are not looking for new clients. Period. Most if not all are working with a select few bands and artists for reasons that will never be known to you. Accept that it was a personal decision on the part of the agent. One Canadian agent actually told me at the Womex World Music Conference in Copenhagen in October 2009 that he wouldn’t entertain any band that wasn’t pointed out to him by the bands he’s currently working with. Strange but true. I am certain he reflects the ethos of 99% of UK music agents.
Hence, take whatever advice you can get from an agent and be your own agent, or find a friend to do it for you. There just is no other avenue in the UK, sorry to say, unless you’re prepared to persist and deflect a lot of humiliation in the search for an agent, and unless you’re blessed or lucky enough to impress someone who can see £ signs in what you do.
Now…if you need help with sponsorship so that you can secure a UK visa to perform, well, Jacey’s your woman. Read on here: Certificates of Sponsorship (Work Permits) and Taxation.
