Success in the music business is about
separating yourself from the pack. One of the
quickest and most effective ways to do this as
an artist is to find sponsors. Unless you live in
some unpopulated remote region of the world,
then you are probably surrounded by plenty of
potential sponsors for your music.
Basically
any individual, company or corporation doing
business in your area is a possible sponsor.
All it really takes is them wanting to sponsor
you, and then you feeling good about
promoting whatever the product is that they
make, sell, or distribute. In a nutshell that is
how a sponsorship works. Your sponsor
“supports” you and in return you promote
their product.
How does a sponsor support?
A sponsor can support you in many different
ways, depending on their product and how
active they are in promoting it. To give you a
real-life example, my band once had a
sponsorship with Budweiser through a
regional distributor who we met through a
club owner friend after we played his club.
We were invited to this distributors
warehouse where we were given t-shirts, ball
caps, fancy mugs, stickers, etc., all kinds of
Budweiser merchandise including several
cases of their beer. They paid to have a big
banner made with our logo on it, done very
professionally and to our satisfaction. We
would hang it up behind us whenever we
performed. In one corner of the banner it said
“Budweiser presents” with their logo and then
our logo, much bigger and more prominent.
None of this cost us a dime and being
sponsored by Budweiser definitely gave us an
edge up on our competition when it came
time to get gigs in the clubs.
How do you find a sponsor for your music?
1. Target the businesses that actively
promote their product on your local radio
stations or TV, the ones that are already
showing their desire and ability to
promote their product effectively in your
area, city or town.
2. Call or just stop by their location and
meet them. Do your homework first to
find out who are in charge, then make an
appointment and go meet them. Chances
are you may already know them if you
live in a small town or city. Maybe
someone you know, like a friend or a
family member, already has a
relationship with him or her. Use any and
all connections you have to get started.
3. If they run radio spots and you have
original music already professionally
recorded, see if they are open to using
your music for the background music
“bed” in their radio promotions.
4. If you are a songwriter, write them a
song. This can be tremendously effective
as a starting point to approaching a
potential sponsor. Walk in and play them
a song you wrote about them and their
product.
5. Car dealerships are great places to start
looking. Many bands are riding down the
road right now in a vehicle that was
provided by their sponsor. Good chance
that there name or logo is professionally
painted on that vehicle too, along with
their sponsor’s. Car dealerships also do
lots of promotions and events where they
have live music for their customers. Even
if you approach them for a sponsorship
and they decline, making them aware of
you and your music can turn into some
great paying gigs on a consistent, long-term basis.
6. Radio stations can be awesome sponsors.
Many radio stations produce and promote
concerts and in most cases use local or
area talent to open these concerts, not to
mention all the free radio exposure you
can get if they sponsor you, or even if
they just like you. If you have a record
out, having a radio station for a sponsor
can really help you get exposed in your
immediate area quickly. Approach the
ones that play your style of music.
FINDING A SPONSOR by Bronson Herrmuth
© 2010 All Rights Reserved.
Used By Permission
