How To Book A Band Bands For Hire

A live wedding band is a terrific way to get a party going, but very few of us need to book a band every day! So, if you've never booked a live band before, or only booked one several years back, you may think it's a difficult or long-winded job. After all, first you have to find details of cover bands, then find out where they are playing live so you can go and hear them, travel to a distant pub in a grotty part of town, then if you don't like the band you have to start all over again. There must be an easier way? 

Google It!

You could type “function bands for hire” into Google and trawl through 909,000 results, but it would be very time-consuming, and there's no guarantees. You've no idea if any of the bands listed are actually any good, if you can hear a demo track on their website, or if they are even available on the date you need them. If the band has put together its own website, chances are the only contact point is a mobile number, which always seems to be switched off just when you want to call. 

What's more, if you book a wedding band directly that you've found online, what happens if they're ill, break down on the way to your event, or simply don't turn up? Who do you turn to in order to get a replacement band at the very last minute? Google?

The Best Place To Book A Band Is Through A Reputable Agency

Save yourself time and buy yourself peace of mind by booking your band through a professional online music agency like Alive Network. The best entertainment and music agencies have professional websites where each band for hire has a profile page detailing everything you need to know about the band, from what they play to how they look, how they sound and crucially, how much they charge.

Choosing An Entertainment Agency?

How do you know which agency to book with? Which are the most reputable and offer the best service? We'll we're bound to say Alive Network, but let us explain a few good reasons why you should book a band through us.

One of the major differences between Alive Network and many other music agencies or entertainment booking websites is that we're a real business, with real staff, in real offices, with a real history of providing great entertainment at tens of thousands of events.

The first thing you should do when evaluating whether to give your money to an agency is make sure they're a real company and not a one man band run from a bedroom (a fancy web site can make anyone look like a 'real' business), so look at how long they've been in operation, check they have a real contact address listed on their web site, check more than one or two people work there, and try to find feedback from previous customers elsewhere on line.

Secondly, with most other agencies ... once you see a band you like on their web site you have to ring or email to find out how much they charge, or if they are available on your chosen date. This wastes your time when the band you like is unavailable or over-priced. If you can't see prices online, consider that a great deal of unscrupulous agents will charge you whatever they think they can get away with, based on how 'posh' you sound, where your event is, what type of event it is, often pocketing double the bands fee themselves!!

With Alive Network, you can get an instant online price and availability check with one click at our web site. This saves hours of frustration. You just see the artists that are available, within your price range. Simple!

You also have the peace of mind that you will pay the same price as everyone else for the same band, and our commission is always the same low rate, built into the prices you see. There is zero chance of getting ripped off.

Thirdly, the whole reason you'll need the help of an agency like Alive Network is to save you time finding a great band, so it stands to reason you'll want a fast, efficient service, from friendly, knowledgeable staff. Well, that's exactly what you'll get with Alive Network, and it's the number one reason we've grown into the UK's largest entertainment agency. Our customer service is second to none.

Choosing The Band

When browsing through the profile pages of UK function or cover bands, don't worry if you don't recognise any band names. There's a good reason for that. These are hard-working function bands that are out entertaining hundreds of people every week with super entertainment.

They are too busy to enter "The X Factor", too good to play your local pub, and may well get signed by a record company once the industry wakes up to just how brilliant they are! Unless they've been recommended by a friend or you've seen them at another event, you probably won't have heard the name of the bands you're looking at, but that doesn't mean they're not brilliant. 

Alive Network does all the hard work for you in terms of ensuring quality and reliability. We work all year round auditioning, vetting, selecting and developing our roster of bands to be the best available anywhere in the UK.

This is why some of the UK's very best bands for private hire are signed exclusively to Alive Network, and why our bands are the first port of call for many of the UK's leading event planners, celebrity events and corporate awards. 

So, what you should really be asking is, "are the band I've found available on the Alive Network web site? And if not, why not?"

Consider Your Venue

Hiring a function band isn't just about the music, it's also about what band will fit best with the look, feel and energy of your event, not to mention your venue. For example, a four piece function band will fit nicely onto the stage of a smaller wedding marquee or hotel room, whereas an eight piece funk band would look (and sound) better in a larger space, such as a ballroom or hall.

It's also very, very, very important to consider your venue may have sound level restrictions! Venues that have dB limiters set to go off below 85 makes it near impossible for a full, electric live band to perform!

Check List

So, having read all of the above you should have a good idea that booking a band is really easy when you do it with Alive Network.

Follow these simple steps to now get the ball rolling:

1. Enter a search on our web site for the type of band you'd like to book, the date and location of your event, and your budget.

2. Review the list of available acts. Listen to their demo recordings, watch their videos, look at their photos, read previously customer reviews, and add the bands you like most to your enquiry basket (or create a wish list if you want to save your list of favourite bands before submitting an enquiry).

3. Consider the suitability of each band for your event in terms of space and repertoire.

4. Once you're happy with your selection, go ahead and submit your basket as an enquiry to Alive Network, or give us a call.

5. Once we receive your enquiry a friendly, highly knowledgeable entertainment coordinator will contact you to confirm the availability of each act, and help you make your final decision. They'll answer any questions you have, and liaise with the band to make sure that the band will provide you with exactly the kind of performance that you're looking for.

6. When you confirm your booking, we take a deposit and issue legally binding contracts to you and the band, ensuring your booking is 100% safe, and covered against any eventuality.

7. Once you've booked, we're available to you when ever you need us, and the norm is that you'll be put in direct contact with the band a month before your event to fine tune the details.

8. If the worst happens (which is extremely rare) and the band is ill or have an accident whilst travelling to your event, then we provide 24/7 emergency support to find you a replacement band even at extremely short notice.

So, if you want to book a band for a wedding, birthday party, corporate event or just for the fun of it, Alive Network is your one-stop shop for the best function bands in the UK.

And if you really can't find what you want, call us - we're signing up new acts that meet our strict criteria on a regular basis.