How do drummers get sponsored?

DevonWelch

Member
Hey guys, I see alot of youtube drummers and famous drummers getting sponsored "free cymbols, drums, etc" I would like to know how they go about getting sponsored, do they contact these cymbal company's? or what?

And I've heard you had to be in this big professional band but that can't be true because my friend Alexey she is sponsored by Soul Tone cymbals and shes not "famous" or anything, I mean shes really good though, she just makes drum covers.

There seems to be hundreds of drummers on drum websites that are under the "artist" tab I would love to be a artist too..

Do I hafta make drum covers? I have a band but we're not too big yet aha.

Examples of cover drummers that are sponsored -
Luke holland: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gd7auLBuP64&list=UUSRAuXfp7JdIlcVN7Eqctyg&index=1&feature=plcp MEINL CYMBALS
Meytal Cohen: http://www.youtube.com/user/meytalll?feature=CBIQwRs= SOULTONE CYMBALS
Cobus Potge-ey I dont' know..: http://www.youtube.com/user/deedlebag?feature=results_main TRX

And before you say these people are all famous youtubers look at my friend Alexey : http://www.youtube.com/user/alexeydrummer She uses ALL soultone and has a profile on artists at there website: http://www.soultonecymbals.com/ArtistDetail.aspx?ArtistID=857

She got too visit NAMM and see Chad Smith, Tony Royster, all those guys! i'd really wish I could do that too!
 
Well Many companies have applications in .pdf form on their websites. They aren't usually very easy to find but they're there so click around. afaik SoulTone will list you on their website if you ask them to, which is the reason they have so many "endorsers"... however your friend seems to have a more solid deal with them, which leads me to....

It all comes down to your level of exposure and your perceived value as a player. In this case lots of Youtube hits = lots of exposure which stands as a good marketing opportunity for the manufacturer. If they see you as valuable, they take a chance on putting you in ads (if you're lucky, and good) and giving you gear (if you're luckier and better), in the hopes that you will cast their product in a favorable light and boost the bottom line.

I think it's easier nowadays to get endorsements because of the internet and the easy access to exposing and marketing yourself it provides. Steve Smith's applications to both Remo and Zildjian were initially turned down. Can you imagine! The downside is, of course, that more availability and higher market saturation means lesser "artist benefits", if there is such a thing.
 
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I think it's easier nowadays I think to get endorsements because of the internet and the easy access to exposing and marketing yourself it provides. Steve Smith's original applications to both Remo and Zildjian were initially turned down. Can you imagine!

Wow that's insane, they turned down Steve Smith!??! And well my friend Alexey they can tell shes going to be a great drummer so I can see why, shes playing YYZ at the age of 8, so uhhh that's probably helping them out, plus she lives in the area where the Soul Tone company resides.
 
I've often wondered about this myself. I've always assumed that the companies contact the drummer when they get wind of them as an upcoming artist, etc... I've never heard that you can "apply" for endorsements. If that's the case I may get on that cause God knows I spend a fortune in drumsticks, heads and cymbals and could use a lil free gear here and there hahaha.
 
companies want players on their roster that have constant exposure to large audiences

you are basically a commercial for their product

so if you have no vehicle for exposure you will not be on a roster

you can apply for partial endorsements....which in turn are basically a small discount on the product

but even for those you usually need to be working and need to be able to provide tour dates or something of equal exposure ....such as a youtube video with a 500,000 hits

Bermuda has a nice written up piece on this that I have seen.

he should post it here
 
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You can be sponsored by SoulTone. All you have to do is agree not to play anything else, and buy their cymbals which they sell to you at 70% off of the retail price - which is really the same price you can get a discounted Zildjian for at the Guitar Center or other music store dealership. They were signing guys up left and right at the NAMM show.

Now whether or not they realize that they could play whatever they want, because they're basically paying the regular prices for the cymbals, I'll never know.
 
Wait a second, she's 8 years old?
I have a feeling they talked her parents into buying her these and made it sound like she'd be a child star...
 
endorsements are YOU endorsing a company, not the other way around. YOU have to offer something to the company that they would allow discounts on their product - typically endorsements dont mean free stuff, just a nice discount. Many of the large name performers get their goodies for free, but they are national and international touring acts, not a bar band. I do 50-60 gigs a year and cannot get even a stick endorsement. Times are tough and companies dont want to discount more than they have to.

Good luck.

F
 
First off, read this, as this FAQ explains endorsements thoroughly:

http://www.bermudaschwartz.com/endorsement/

Second off, many of these small name youtube only players are not really "sponsored' or "endorsed" by these companies in a traditional way we think of such deals. The fact is, the drummers in question purchased their cymbals, and in-exchange for buying a full set all at once, they get to call themselves endorsed by said company, and get to be listed on the company website.

Many of these smaller companies do not have their products in stores, so in order to make a sale, they have to sell direct to the public. Because they are not sold in stores, they have to rely on other methods to get the word out that they exist and are a viable product.

So buy selling a full set of cymbals directly to a drummer, they make a sale. They let said drummer be an 'endorser' so that said drummer will promote their product. They make said drummer feel good and want to promote their product by letting them go around being an endorser, even though they paid for their cymbals. Mission accomplished: sale is made, and word is getting out they exist and are a viable product.

Further, the company makes said drummer feel special by offering them 60% to 70% or whatever off of "regular price." But keep in mind, since these cymbals are not sold in stores, there isn't any actually a "regular" price, the endorser is getting 60%-70% off of a made up price. The company is still covering their wholesale price, and at most, offering a slight discount for making a volume purchase (i.e. a whole set of cymbals at once).

Keep in mind, this is very different than say the bigger names who have endorsements with bigger name products (see link for more info).
 
Thanks for the mention, and when I first compiled my FAQ, there was no YouTube, and there weren't a zillion boutique cymbal and drum 'companies'. My FAQ applied to established companies with a firm foothold in the market, and it all still applies today.

What has changed is the exposure that YouTube delivers, and the plethora of small, hungry companies offering discounted product as endorsements. Is doing a drum cover on YouTube valid exposure for endorsement purposes? Well, if drummers are seeing the videos and influenced to check out the product, then yes, it's valid.

But, how many of the majors are signing the YT crowd? Soultone, TRX and similar brands are going after them, but you see almost no YT-only drummers with Zildjian, Sabian or Paiste deals. Same with the major drum companies. This division may occur partly because the smaller companies are more visionary (true for some, not true for most.) But it's more likely due to the difference in perception between YouTube drummers, and drummers who are seen and heard in concert and on recordings with artists. I suggest that the major companies are more focused on real-world exposure, than videos viewed in less-than-stellar formats, often with poor audio.

Also, this topic has been discussed ad nauseum. A search will reveal many threads. I'm still amazed that it comes up anew every few months.

Bermuda
 
There is one way, and one way only to get an endorsement deal: You have to make the company money.

You can be the best drummer in the world, but if your name doesn't sell gear you will not get a deal. Companies are not in the business of giving things away; they see an endorsement deal as a pure marketing opportunity.




...actually, there is another way. A lot of smaller companies offer endorsement deals by the dozen and offer their artists a "discount" which is essentially full price. They're exploiting the fact that a lot of (usually young) drummers think that getting an endorsement deal is a goal in itself (regardless of what company offers it), and they're making a very nice profit from it.
 
When the major companies give away endorsements to the majority of their artists, the artist gets products at wholesale cost. This is better then they can get it at a store but the company still makes their usual profit.. I know several people with endorsements all with major companies and they pay what any store would pay to get the companies products.
 
Wow that's insane, they turned down Steve Smith!??! And well my friend Alexey they can tell shes going to be a great drummer so I can see why, shes playing YYZ at the age of 8, so uhhh that's probably helping them out, plus she lives in the area where the Soul Tone company resides.


Being endoresed by Soultone was part of my NGD drum contest prize and yes you can become endores too if you want you can apply..there are some famous drummers that have endorsement or dont have,they have their own reason...they can give you an artist prize if you want too.
 
i can tell you why your friend Alexey is "sponsored"

1. she is 8
2. she is female
3. she has a lot of talent

those 3 things together is a gold mine for a company.
 
Thanks for the mention, and when I first compiled my FAQ, there was no YouTube, and there weren't a zillion boutique cymbal and drum 'companies'. My FAQ applied to established companies with a firm foothold in the market, and it all still applies today.

What has changed is the exposure that YouTube delivers, and the plethora of small, hungry companies offering discounted product as endorsements. Is doing a drum cover on YouTube valid exposure for endorsement purposes? Well, if drummers are seeing the videos and influenced to check out the product, then yes, it's valid.

But, how many of the majors are signing the YT crowd? Soultone, TRX and similar brands are going after them, but you see almost no YT-only drummers with Zildjian, Sabian or Paiste deals. Same with the major drum companies. This division may occur partly because the smaller companies are more visionary (true for some, not true for most.) But it's more likely due to the difference in perception between YouTube drummers, and drummers who are seen and heard in concert and on recordings with artists. I suggest that the major companies are more focused on real-world exposure, than videos viewed in less-than-stellar formats, often with poor audio.

Also, this topic has been discussed ad nauseum. A search will reveal many threads. I'm still amazed that it comes up anew every few months.

Bermuda


Troy Wright is endorsed by Sabian and Luke Holland by Meinl. They're the only drummers on youtube I know with "big 4" companies.
 
Thanks for the mention, and when I first compiled my FAQ, there was no YouTube, and there weren't a zillion boutique cymbal and drum 'companies'. My FAQ applied to established companies with a firm foothold in the market, and it all still applies today.

What has changed is the exposure that YouTube delivers, and the plethora of small, hungry companies offering discounted product as endorsements. Is doing a drum cover on YouTube valid exposure for endorsement purposes? Well, if drummers are seeing the videos and influenced to check out the product, then yes, it's valid.

But, how many of the majors are signing the YT crowd? Soultone, TRX and similar brands are going after them, but you see almost no YT-only drummers with Zildjian, Sabian or Paiste deals. Same with the major drum companies. This division may occur partly because the smaller companies are more visionary (true for some, not true for most.) But it's more likely due to the difference in perception between YouTube drummers, and drummers who are seen and heard in concert and on recordings with artists. I suggest that the major companies are more focused on real-world exposure, than videos viewed in less-than-stellar formats, often with poor audio.

Also, this topic has been discussed ad nauseum. A search will reveal many threads. I'm still amazed that it comes up anew every few months.

Bermuda


+10000000.

This has been discussed here as Bermuda says,ad nausium.

Please use the search function to see how many times,we have said to use the search function alone concerning this topic..

Lastly,It's NOT,repeat,NOT the company that endorces you,It's the artist that endorces the company .The Company gets advertisement from a drummer who uses their products,NOT the other way around.

Sponsership is a completely different animal.Take a look at NASCAR race drivers,that's what sponsorship looks like.

Youtube vids and endorceing artists?Steve Smith,Steve Gadd...Zildjian.John JR Robinson,Vinny Coliuta ....Paiste.It dosn't get any bigger than that.

Steve B
 
Troy Wright is endorsed by Sabian and Luke Holland by Meinl. They're the only drummers on youtube I know with "big 4" companies.

Even Troy has, IIRC, commented in the past about the lack of attention he gets from Sabian, which sort of makes sense from their business perspective- he's not a flashy guy, though he does promote their image a lot (oh yeah, I forgot he is a session drummer/teacher as well). Meinl must be absolutely lavishing their attention to Holland because he is a perfect marketing tool (and IMO a pretty good player). Those are the only two I know of with a big cymbal company as well (though I know there's some 'cooper drummer' guy who endorses Pearl, somehow).
 
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business ! business! business ! What else ! Drummers are just a tool to business .
So if your are some value to the brands [good drummer ,you tube, CD, gigs,tv, what ever],they will endorse you.
 
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