Are you a musician who has wondered how to make money, or a full-time living, playing music for corporate events and weddings?

There is a large and lucrative market to provide background music for these events.  And while it can be difficult to find the information needed to get started, we have compiled just about everything you need to know in this handbook.

 

My reasons for wr  iting about this topic are two fold.  The first is that I have been playing these events for over a decade and now have developed such a specialized chunk of knowledge that it seems a shame to take my learnings to the grave with me.  The second is that I think that every time another human on earth gets to make a living doing the thing that they love to do that the world is a better place. So if I may help contribute by giving some small piece of advise that allows a musician to

 

This is not a path intended for you to get discovered by a record label or to become a star.  It IS however a wonderful way to make lots of side money or a full-time living doing what you love.

 

In the following chapters we will discuss;

  • What Corporate Events are and how much money you can make playing them.
  • What the basic equipment set up is for solo acoustic guitar gigs.
  • A review of Guitar Loopers and why we use them.
  • Correct Attire and Demeanor
  • Appropriate Song Lists
  • Pedal Board Configuration
  • Contracts and Insurance
  • The BIGGEST SECRET IN THE BUSINESS!
  • Guitar Pedals Review
  • Tips on selecting a microphone
  • A review of some of the most popular PA systems

Before we get into the chapters I wanted to highlight what I consider to be the 3 most important things to keep in mind when working in the world of corporate events. I call these the 3 C’s.  And while nothing guarantees you success, following these 3 principles will make your gigs go significantly smoother, they will you’re your clients love you and think of you as a professional and this in turn will help you get more gigs!

Communication

Communication is King.  I know we are talking about playing music here, but I believe that in life, as a human being on this earth who is trying to interact with other human beings, there is nothing more important than Communication.  This starts with your first discussion with a perspective client, it is instrumental in your follow up emails and phone calls, it is a must when you put your contract together, it is a necessity in speaking about the set-up of the event, and just as important in your post event  follow-up.

Considerate

Contentment

What are Corporate Events and how much money can I make playing them?

Everyone is familiar with weddings and we will discuss some of the Dos and DON’Ts of the wedding entertainment industry in a later chapter.  Less common is the understanding of Corporate Events. Corporate Events can be any number of things, but most often they consist of a large corporation getting some significant number of its employees (be it 50 or 500) together for some sort of retreat, sales meeting, bonus for a job well done, etc.  The Company will cover the cost of all of the employee’s flight, hotel, food and entertainment.

You can imagine how much money gets spent by these corporations to fly, house and feed 500 employees.  This is good news because it means the company is probably celebrating a profitable quarter or year and they have cash to spend to congratulate their hard-working employees.  But for you and I, it means that they are willing to pay for quality entertainment and won’t be “nickel and diming” their vendors. If you follow our tutorial here, you just might be one of those vendors!

A good number of the Corporate events that I have played are a large company’s extensive sales team being rewarded for hitting their sales numbers. They are then given a 2 or 3 day trip where the company sets up cocktail parties, lunches, dinners and any number of other activities for the employee’s to participate in throughout the weekend.

Nearly all of these events require some kind of entertainment. Every cocktail hour, every lunch, every dinner and every party will have at minimum a solo acoustic guitar player and for the bigger parties a full band or DJ.  In fact, they aren’t limited to just musicians, I once opened up for Saturday Night Live’s Norm McDonald. I played music for an hour and then he did Comedy for about 30 minutes. Here is a picture of that night!

Basic Solo Acoustic Equipment Set Up (and cost)

In this chapter I want to cover the basic equipment expectations of a corporate or wedding client as well as a few tips and tricks that will help you out when putting your system together!

If you want to cheat a little you can click here to check out the checklist that we will be going through in this chapter.

While there are some really great events that will have a Stage, Mic pack, cables and a PA (or speaker) system set up for you when you arrive and a super friendly,  knowledgeable, great smelling sound guy ready to cater to your every sonic whim (Ha! Don’t hold your breath…J), the majority of the events will want you to be completely self-contained other than power which the event should provide.  Access to power is something you should specify in your “Performers Agreement”. I require it be within 5 feet of my performance area (then I carry a 20’ extension cord just in case!). See our chapter on “Contracts” to see how best to word and include this requirement in your contract.

While you may be billed as a solo “Acoustic” performer, this does not mean that it is you and your acoustic guitar just singing “acoustically” into the night sky.

To be able to provide music for 50 or 500 people, you will obviously need to amplify guitar and vocal.  So let’s start with your PA (Or, if you are over the age of 90, your “Public Address” system). For our review of 5 of the top PA Systems for Corporate Events and Weddings see our chapter on PA Systems. For the purposes of this chapter, just know that you should have one. Know that your PA system is made up of 2 speakers and a mixer. Know that it should  have a minimum of 150 Watts of power. This should give you enough juice to cover a cocktail party of 50-100 people. I recommend (and use) the Fender Passport 150 or 300. I have one of each.  The newer versions are the Fender Passport Event 375 Watt ($699.99)and Fender Passport Event 600 Watt ($999.99).

The reasons I like the Fender Passport series are pretty straightforward. First and foremost I am just a fan of the Fender Brand. Second, I really like the reverb on the passports. Thirdly it clicks together to form a little briefcase like state for ease of carrying and transport.  When you start playing 4, 5, 6 times a week, you will really start to appreciate conveniences like this.

So if you have a passport (or similar system) that takes care of your mixer and speaker requirement. You should also have two speaker stands to stick those speakers on if you need to get them up in the air.  We recommend the Ultimate Support TS-70 ($49.99).

One last note on the PA, while events DO expect you to be self-contained and able to provide enough volume for 50-100 people, it is NOT uncommon to request that the venue provide supplementary equipment for anything greater than what your system will handle.  500 people spread out at “Dinner Rounds” (Round Dinner Tables) will take up about 6000 square feet (if you ever need to calculate how big an area you need to cover with speakers but your client only knows the # of people, there is a great tool to calculate square footage at Banquet Table Pros https://www.banquettablespro.com/space-and-capacity-calculator).

Going back to the First “C” Communication, it is important that the number of guests and the format that that they will be gathering in (standing cocktail hour vs seated at dinner rounds) is discussed prior to the event.