Best Way To Get Sponsored?

mcbike said:
I had a question for people who have endorsement contracts though... say your a yamaha endorser and you play alot of festivals and they provide the drumset and it's a DW. does this violate your contract? I've just been playing a lot of festivals lately and they are usually the higher profile gigs I do. Also when you go out of the country and a kit is rented for you you don't always get what you endorse how does that work out?
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Basically, if it's a rent a kit, I tell the cartage company what I play. Most have a Ludwig kit in stock. If not, then it's whatever they have in my sizes, and a plain white head on the front.

Generally, the cartage companies take care of things.

When I am in the UK, Ludwigs distributor is informed of where I will be and they take care of it. John Henry's , the biggest rental in London, is informed, and they can handle it.

I am going to the UK for a Tour in June, and I am actually getting those things sorted out now...!

Funny story. When I was in Moscow with Gloria Gaynor, the management sent all the details of what kit I needed, etc. When I showed up, there was a no name kit from 1973, with heads that were all different, and pitted, and 2 cymbal stands with no felts.

Thankfully, one of the stage hands was a drummer, and new of a decent drum shop an hour away, and ran out for some heads and felts and such. Nightmare.

So, sometimes you just have to polish a turd, and off you go!

Hope that helps.
 
Here's the story of Gavin Harrison's Sonor endorsement deal:

http://www.askgavinharrison.com/articles/137-When-and-how-did-you-get-your-Sonor-endorsement

I was playing in Italy in 2000 when I met Tony Italia (the Sonor distributor for Australia).

He really wanted me to play Sonor drums and told all the Sonor management about me.

When I got home (late 2000) I got a call from Ian Croft (the artists relations manager) and he lent me a Sonor Designer kit. I really liked it so I switched to playing Sonor around the start of 2001 and I've been happily playing them ever since.
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Definitely seems for endorsement deals, they come to you, and oddly enough nobody is knocking my door down begging for endorsements :(

I should mention no company stands to gain any market visibility endorsing me..perhaps thats the issue?
 
I feel that I'm becoming developed enough to get a sponsorship pretty soon and so my question is this.... What's the best way to get a sponsorship?? I'm not ready to sign a record deal yet (and neither are the other guys), but I've heard that getting signed is one of the best and easiest ways to get sponsored. Is that true? Are some companies easier to sign with than others?
I'd love to hear from anyone with advice, especially personal experience, on the matter. Thank you all so much for your time and let's keep the music coming! :)
( haha oh yeah, this is my first post ever, so please be kind )
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Endorsements can be a double-edged sword, but if you are dead-keen to chase after them, play the product because you LOVE THE PRODUCT -Not because you can get discounted or free gear.

An endorsment is a business relationship at the end of the day, and not there as a reward for reaching a certain level of skill or popularity. Sadly, many players do not understand this and this is why I see so many endorsement requests getting knocked back.

Here's the story of Gavin Harrison's Sonor endorsement deal:

http://www.askgavinharrison.com/arti...or-endorsement
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Tony was also of some assistance to me. Hes a great guy.
 
The endorsement deal is a tough road to navigate. Currently I'm with several drum accessory related operations with cool/ interesting products and people I like, Slapstik, Power Wrist Builders etc. These guys help keep me out there with print ads, NAMM gigs and mid range appearence sponsorships. But as everybody's already said, you have to like their product anyway, and they have to be getting something from you. For them the fit has to make ideal sense.

Take Power Wrist Builders. I really do use that product every day in my warmup, and everybody's who's known me for more than 10 minutes knows that. In other words it's not just a prop. And that company has always pushed the notion/among other things/ that properly using PWBs can help provide endurance and make you faster. So for them it makes sense to use me, although I lack the experience of some of their other guys.

Slapstik is interesting because the owner of the company sent me one, and for a while I wasn't sure about it. It sat in my stick bag for months until I picked it up one day and started experimenting. Over time I warmed up to it and did find it beneficial enough to start using in regular situations. Then, when I saw those guys slammed by drum forum trolls from numerous boards, I took some time to defend them because I wanted to. Well, it turns out the Slapstik creators actually viewed themselves as underdogs trying to reach people one drummer at a time. So my story was a good fit, which turned them into my NAMM sponsor. They are the nicest guys in the world, and we have a great relationship.

But, for people at my stage, who have some name rec but aren't universally well known, I think you have to be more careful with the big three, drumset, cymbals and sticks. I know a couple of semi well known drummers my age, who eagerly signed with lesser known companies, to push gear they didn't care about, because they just wanted to say they were endorsed. They regret it now when they try to do the music store clinic shows, and realize their guys don't have the financial means to provide their part of the sponsorship cut. So with drumset and cymbals, I've flirted and had several offers, but I think there's time for that when I am more established and can actually perform on their products at a better level, with more people seeing me do it.

The only paradox in my endorsement situation is the lack of a proper stick deal. Not having that sorted out in the present remains frustrating. Most of the companies have thrown something out there, including some packages from emerging companies, that looked decent, but didn't have the long term legs required to keep up a relationship. Still, this is the only one where I feel in a position to forward a signature product. A 19 year old WFD with other skills and halfway decent name recognition, can absolutely sell a signature stick, especially to younger drummers. But it's my job to convince the company, not the other way around.

But I will.
 
who eagerly signed with lesser known companies, to push gear they didn't care about, because they just wanted to say they were endorsed. They regret it now when they try to do the music store clinic shows, and realize their guys don't have the financial means to provide their part of the sponsorship cut.
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Well said, Matt! Couldnt agree more.
 
Wouldn't you have to be quite famous to get such a deal? Why would a company sponsor someone that nobody's ever heard of? I'd guess that they'd want somone who is always out there in the public eye, someone who sells CDs and tours regularly with a well known band or singer.
 
con struct said:
I'd guess that they'd want somone who is always out there in the public eye, someone who sells CDs and tours regularly with a well known band or singer.
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Correct, the musician's level of exposure and influence governs the deal. It does little good for a company to sign a player who's not known, who plays for an artist who's unknown.

Bermuda
 
I am always so nervous working with rental kits but I have been really lucky i guess. I did a showcase in los angeles and I sent them my list of everything by brand and then we didn't hear back from them. I ended up bringing my cymbals and pedals and stuff becuase I was worried, when we got to the venue for sound check they had everything EXACTLY how I said on the paper. I mean identical model pedals, every cymbal was exactly what I specified. I should have known better that in los angeles these things will be possible.

I just did a 2 week festival and they had a nice dw kit and 3 different snares to choose from at the main stage and then a yamaha stage custom on one of the smaller stages so it was pretty good. I wasn't surprised at the nice gear though because the headliners were hugh masakela, ohio players, los lobos, etc. so they rented nice gear for those guys and I was just lucky to get to play on them.

I'm going to europe next march and I'm worried about it because I think we are going to end up borrowing equipment from some friends over there, but I think it will work out.

Pat Petrillo said:
Basically, if it's a rent a kit, I tell the cartage company what I play. Most have a Ludwig kit in stock. If not, then it's whatever they have in my sizes, and a plain white head on the front.

Generally, the cartage companies take care of things.

When I am in the UK, Ludwigs distributor is informed of where I will be and they take care of it. John Henry's , the biggest rental in London, is informed, and they can handle it.

I am going to the UK for a Tour in June, and I am actually getting those things sorted out now...!

Funny story. When I was in Moscow with Gloria Gaynor, the management sent all the details of what kit I needed, etc. When I showed up, there was a no name kit from 1973, with heads that were all different, and pitted, and 2 cymbal stands with no felts.

Thankfully, one of the stage hands was a drummer, and new of a decent drum shop an hour away, and ran out for some heads and felts and such. Nightmare.

So, sometimes you just have to polish a turd, and off you go!

Hope that helps.
Click to expand...
 
I was playing in Italy in 2000 when I met Tony Italia (the Sonor distributor for Australia).

He really wanted me to play Sonor drums and told all the Sonor management about me.

When I got home (late 2000) I got a call from Ian Croft (the artists relations manager) and he lent me a Sonor Designer kit. I really liked it so I switched to playing Sonor around the start of 2001 and I've been happily playing them ever since.
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I think that name rings a bell is he the editor for the uk based drum mag rhythm?

I'm sure it is, everyone seems to know each other, it's definitely who you know in this industry.
 
Part of the reason I got a youtube channel, other than putting out drum covers, was to possibly get sponserd. I notice alot of people on there put out alot of videos at one time and then stop so I try to space my videos out so if a company is looking at my profile they can see I'm still druming. In addition to drum covers I hope to eventually start making videos about different things about druming. I hope to get sponsered by Sabian so I'm going to switch over to sabian cymbals, and because they seem better than zildjian. The way I see it is that if you enjoy using one brands equipment and you play well because of it than theyre going to notice that. If you look at other famous drummers on youtube like deedlebag you see on his cymbal lineup he plays Paiste and Sabian, I think, and he isn't sponsered by any cymbal companies although he is very popular on youtube. I'm glad I started making my videos now while im 13 so by the time I'm 18 or 19 I might start getting more publicity and hopefully a sponsership deal. I'm not sure if this is the easiest way to get sponsered but I like it and it works for me.
 
No matter how good you are, which band youre in, youtube or not, the bottom line for endorsee companies is that you have to be able to sell product.

If you are playing in front of thousands of people every night, then chances are, youd be a good investment because lots of people are going to see what youre playing.

Similarly, a lot of retailers get sponsorships without being famous, as do teachers, because their influence creates sales for said companies.
 
I wonder if I'd even want to be sponsored, not that it could ever happen to me, but what if you're locked into a drum manufacturer and you pretty much have to play what they give you? You might find something that you like better. Wouldn't that violate the terms of your sponsorship, playing another company's drums/cymbals/sticks/heads?
Wouldn't it be better to just play whatever you want to play, and pay for it with your own money? That way you wouldn't owe anybody anything, and you wouldn't be "owned" by anyone.
 
jwildman said:
Part of the reason I got a youtube channel, other than putting out drum covers, was to possibly get sponserd. I notice alot of people on there put out alot of videos at one time and then stop so I try to space my videos out so if a company is looking at my profile they can see I'm still druming. In addition to drum covers I hope to eventually start making videos about different things about druming. I hope to get sponsered by Sabian so I'm going to switch over to sabian cymbals, and because they seem better than zildjian. The way I see it is that if you enjoy using one brands equipment and you play well because of it than theyre going to notice that. If you look at other famous drummers on youtube like deedlebag you see on his cymbal lineup he plays Paiste and Sabian, I think, and he isn't sponsered by any cymbal companies although he is very popular on youtube. I'm glad I started making my videos now while im 13 so by the time I'm 18 or 19 I might start getting more publicity and hopefully a sponsership deal. I'm not sure if this is the easiest way to get sponsered but I like it and it works for me.
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You're only 13 you've got years to go before you reach near 20! You never know what life may bring before that age.

You'd have to be a good drummer, a very lucky one at that before you probably even get considered a thought of endorsment via an online video website. I didn't know this has happened to people on youtube? I can see why it probably has then if there are alot of youngters watching it's a good marketing strategy, maybe a little exploited.

And just as important: who knows you.
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Just as. Forgot about that one!
 
You clearly have a lot to learn:

'I'm not ready to sign a record deal yet (and neither are the other guys), but I've heard that getting signed is one of the best and easiest ways to get sponsored. Is that true?'

So you think that once YOU are ready, people will be offering you record deals left, right and centre?

'EASIEST WAYS?'

Getting signed is not a matter of easy or hard, it's whether you have something sell-able; and then if you're lucky enough to be discovered.

Anyway, I'll stop pointing out your obvious lack of knowledge on the subject and give you my OPINION - not the truth - or the right or wrong answer, so please don't argue.

In the simplest description, an endorsement deal runs like this:

You have to be able to offer a company the opportunity to market and sell more of there products. It's not about how good a player you are; I'm not judging you, you may be the next Benny Greb for all I know.

So; how can you offer a company that?

First; you have to be accessible i.e. playing a LOT of gigs, or in the public eye e.g. pop sessions, TV appereances etc.

Second; you have to be able to sell the product i.e. be popular or play in such a way that potential customers look up to you, and therefore relate good playing and a good sound with the product.

I could go on, but as I said; this a simple description and MY OPINION; not necsarrily right, but since you asked ... there you go.
 
Save your breath, the OP hasn't been here since the day following his only post, almost 21 months ago.

Bermuda
 
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