For those of us who are unsigned and still local/regional, I think it's a lotta luck, and perhaps having the right people dig your band.
When my band first got started, we were able to secure some great connections for artist pricing just through our show booking. Our first show ever was with Lamb of God's headlining tour a couple years back for Ashes of the Wake. On a whim, I contacted the booking agency for the package tour, and they replied back within a couple hours that we were booked as an opener. From there, being our first show, we were freaking out and looking to get equipment squared away as fast as possible. A few emails to some companies we dig explaining our situation and a link to our music and we had a couple sweet artist pricing deals through a distributor here in the US for some very nice European made basses and amps...Our bass player ended up getting a couple basses through them, but the artist pricing for the amps I was interested in was still a little steep and I already had a rig, so I passed...It also helped that the bands we were playing with for the show were already endorsed by these companies. The Guy we spoke with just said "we'd love to have more of our products on that stage, and having a package tour that would use a lot of our gear is great advertisement". At the time, LoG, Unearth and ATR were all using at least 1 company's product from this distributor, so just adding to that would be a great advert for them...So, we built that relationship.
Since that initial debut show with nationals, we've secured quite a few supporting slots on a regional level. And by aligning ourselves with the bands that are of greater visibility, we've managed to accent that visibility by using the same products on the same stages as the bands we are playing with. And, we've made a few friends along the way in these bands that can help us out.
And, we have a full endorsement deal with a small amp maker that has been a godsend. And, we got that the easiest out of all of them. I emailed the company when I was looking for some new cabs about their product line after seeing and hearing a touring band using their equipment. In the email I just included our Myspace link so they could hear tunes...I got a request for a press kit a couple weeks after that email, and then we got an offer for a full endorsement simply because they liked our music. And, we dig the gear and feel it really does sound good, so we try to let people know about the equipment, too (which is the whole point, no?)
Our drummer has a couple endorsement deals for drum stuff, too.
We have gotten a good amount of free gear from certain companies, but all of our deals for artist pricing have been right at the "dealer price" mark (what the companies call it), in our experience around 55-60% off MSRP.
Above all, I think it's really important to actually LIKE the gear. I know a bunch of dudes who just troll looking for a handout and will take whatever they can get. If they truly end up liking the gear, that's great, but I don't think it'd be worth it if you were continuously sick of your tone.
Now, all I need is a Peavey and ESP endorsement and I'd be happy as a clam, haha. I already own the gear, though, so I don't really know what I'd even get if I had a deal - I already own what I like. I guess the recognition by a company that "hey these dudes use our gear and get great results" would be enough for me...hehe.
When my band first got started, we were able to secure some great connections for artist pricing just through our show booking. Our first show ever was with Lamb of God's headlining tour a couple years back for Ashes of the Wake. On a whim, I contacted the booking agency for the package tour, and they replied back within a couple hours that we were booked as an opener. From there, being our first show, we were freaking out and looking to get equipment squared away as fast as possible. A few emails to some companies we dig explaining our situation and a link to our music and we had a couple sweet artist pricing deals through a distributor here in the US for some very nice European made basses and amps...Our bass player ended up getting a couple basses through them, but the artist pricing for the amps I was interested in was still a little steep and I already had a rig, so I passed...It also helped that the bands we were playing with for the show were already endorsed by these companies. The Guy we spoke with just said "we'd love to have more of our products on that stage, and having a package tour that would use a lot of our gear is great advertisement". At the time, LoG, Unearth and ATR were all using at least 1 company's product from this distributor, so just adding to that would be a great advert for them...So, we built that relationship.
Since that initial debut show with nationals, we've secured quite a few supporting slots on a regional level. And by aligning ourselves with the bands that are of greater visibility, we've managed to accent that visibility by using the same products on the same stages as the bands we are playing with. And, we've made a few friends along the way in these bands that can help us out.
And, we have a full endorsement deal with a small amp maker that has been a godsend. And, we got that the easiest out of all of them. I emailed the company when I was looking for some new cabs about their product line after seeing and hearing a touring band using their equipment. In the email I just included our Myspace link so they could hear tunes...I got a request for a press kit a couple weeks after that email, and then we got an offer for a full endorsement simply because they liked our music. And, we dig the gear and feel it really does sound good, so we try to let people know about the equipment, too (which is the whole point, no?)
Our drummer has a couple endorsement deals for drum stuff, too.
We have gotten a good amount of free gear from certain companies, but all of our deals for artist pricing have been right at the "dealer price" mark (what the companies call it), in our experience around 55-60% off MSRP.
Above all, I think it's really important to actually LIKE the gear. I know a bunch of dudes who just troll looking for a handout and will take whatever they can get. If they truly end up liking the gear, that's great, but I don't think it'd be worth it if you were continuously sick of your tone.
Now, all I need is a Peavey and ESP endorsement and I'd be happy as a clam, haha. I already own the gear, though, so I don't really know what I'd even get if I had a deal - I already own what I like. I guess the recognition by a company that "hey these dudes use our gear and get great results" would be enough for me...hehe.
