In the clip below, Paper Boi, a rapper from the show, Atlanta, had no idea what he was getting himself into. This man is out here performing at colleges. Now, he has to run away since there’s problems with him and some other rap group.

However, Paper Boi, the independent artist didn’t get there by chance. He got there because he understood college markets. I definitely encourage you, artists, to watch this episode as we talk about college bookings and how independent artists can tap into this market.

So let’s begin.

So, I don’t know if you know this, but college students are the biggest age group in breaking and promoting music. In every aspect of their life, music is incorporated someway and somehow. Yet, the biggest way they incorporate music in their life is through their concerts.

Almost every college host concerts either powered by their radio station or a media organization that handles these concerts whether big or small. These guys are always looking for openers like you for these concerts. They want to put on a show and you want the bag, but a lot of you are not ready yet. Why?

  1. EPK/One Page – Some of you artists don’t have this, which is definitely going to jeopardize your career. In my opinion, an EPK is an artist’s portfolio to these organizations. You are trying to persuade these organizations why they should book you for an act. It contains social media, bio, links to videos, performance etc. For more info about an EPK, click here.
  2. Home Crowd Advantage – People are not talking about you because you have not developed a fan base. This puts you at a disadvantage when it comes to college booking. You can’t perform at a college where no one is familiar with your music.
  3. Knowledge on College Bookings – A lot of you independent artist don’t understand how the college booking process works. It becomes even more difficult for you to spread your music because you don’t have information.

These have been the three main problems I have seen with artists trying their best to get their music to colleges. However, there are steps in solving this issue. I didn’t have the answers this time, so I asked, Jonah Rappaport, former president of University Union, to aid me.

So here we go with the steps:

  1. Your first move is to create an EPK/One Page. Without this, people won’t bother to look at you or your music. This should contain your career in about one page and be done by the best writer you know personally.
  2. Every college organization has to research for artists to come to their college and perform. As an independent artist, you want to be in this process. You should have your EPK/One Page published and tuned to give it to these colleges. *Hint: if you can get a college student who works in these organization to vouch for you, your chances increase a little.
  3. If accepted from the research process, you get something called the offering. Here is your chance to really negotiate. You negotiate prices with colleges and you also get a chance to pitch why you are definitely the person they should book.
  4. After that, you sign that contract. Now, you have touched the college market.

It’s a very simple process, ya dig. If you can follow this, you put yourself in a great position to promote your music to a bigger audience. It’s all about people from the ages of 18-29 that will get you to the next level. Will you take advantage of it? That your choice not mine.

This is a guest post by Voicelessmusic LLC, an independent music promotional company that looks to provide artists with opportunities to the next level. We offer consulting, media coverage, and event for the artists to expand their brand.

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Written by Stop The Breaks
Stop The Breaks is an independent music marketing company focused on showcasing independent hip-hop artists. Our goal is to help motivate, inspire and educate independent artists grinding around the world. We provide branding, content marketing, social media, SEO and music promotion services.