Live Music: Top 5 tips for making the most of a gig

In your early days as a band you may find you spend a lot of time fighting for the opportunity to perform for a crowd, but once you get that chance you need to make sure you make the most of it and come away with as many new fans as possible. Here are my top 5 tips:

1. Put on a good show: Remember most of the audience haven't heard your music before, so keep the show entertaining, not too long, and maybe throw in a cover if there's one that fits in well with your set.

2. Make sure everyone knows who you are: Say your band name very clearly and more than once in your set, and stick around afterwards so anyone who enjoyed the performance has chance to say hello. There might even be someone there who wants to offer you another cool opportunity such as a promoter or producer.

3. Provide ways for the audience to stay in touch: Tell them clearly how to find you online, and get a friend to go around with a mailing list sign-up sheet.

4. Sell your music in the moment: Sell CDs at your gigs if you have them (for £5 or less - no-one will spend more on a new band) or print out flyers with details of where your music can be downloaded online.

5. Post about the gig online afterwards: Make sure you post photos, video or just a status update thanking everyone who came to the gig, as this will engage new fans checking out your page and encourage them to comment.

And of course, don't forget to enjoy it!

Live Music: The Great Escape festival

My no.1 favourite festival has just opened for 2013 artist submissions! The Great Escape is held in Brighton for three days each May, and includes a music industry conference as well as gigs in all the venues around the seaside city. The festival is focussed on breaking new bands and therefore it's always full of A&Rs and important industry types, so it's a great platform for up-and-coming acts. Most of the performers are usually from the indie world but there are showcases for international acts and other genres such as rock, dance and rap.

Click here to find out more and apply to perform.

Live Music: The Station Sessions

The Stations Sessions is a series of events held at Kings Cross St Pancras, where up and coming artists get the chance to showcase their talents to passers by. The performances are promoted by a top marketing agency and video footage posted online afterwards. Previous participants have included Lawson, Bastille and Ed Sheeran, as well as many unsigned and independent acts.

This year's Station Sessions took place a few months ago, but as it was a great success the organisers will undoubtedly be looking for new talent for the next series, so get your applications in to this email and click here to find out more about the events.

Casting: Top 5 tips for audition applications

I've looked through thousands of audition applications in the past few years, and it's shocking how bad many of them are. Therefore I've put together a simple guide to making sure you give yourself the best chance of getting that big audition:

1. VERY IMPORTANT: Read the advert carefully and provide everything that is requested, especially contact details as you won't get a response otherwise.
2. If applying by email, make sure you give your message a subject which makes it obvious what you are applying for.
3. Be friendly and polite in your email. It's important to make a good first impression as you could be working with these people in the future.
4. If a photo or video has been requested, make sure it is flattering but clear. Avoid sending anything which has been edited with photoshop or autotune as it suggests you need those things to impress!
5. Don't send your application more than once for the same audition. If you send it repeatedly you'll be remembered, but for the wrong reason.

Good luck!

Casting: Female singers and rappers for Universal

I wrote before about Cooper Casting, the new A&R casting company I am working for, and now I'm able to announce details of our new project with Universal Music.

We are looking for female singers or rappers, or friends/sisters that perform together, aged 16 to 22. Auditions to be held in London. To be considered, please email a photo with a vocal sample/video and contact details to info@coopercasting.com.

Visit our Facebook or website for more info.

Live Music: Support Jack Savoretti at Bush Hall

I wrote recently about cover competitions and singer-songwriter Jack Savoretti is running one at the moment with a great prize. You could win the chance to support Jack at one of London's loveliest music venues, Bush Hall!

To enter the competition you have to film yourself covering Jack's latest single Take Me Home and post your video on his Facebook page. The closing date for entries is June 15th. Good luck!

Online: Cover contests

Whether you're a seasoned YouTuber or new to the video site, a great way to become part of the tight-knit and very supportive YouTube community is to take part in cover contests. These are competitions looking for the best cover of a particular song, and they can be set by anyone from a famous website like Perez Hilton to a brand like Coke or even artists themselves who are searching for new talent to support them on their next tour.

Entering cover contests has loads of benefits - great prizes, chances to be seen by influential judges, a platform to reach new fans, and if all else fails they at least give you inspiration for your next YouTube cover.

Here are a few contests you could enter:

• Perez Hilton - Can You Sing
• YG Family Global Cover Event - win a trip to Korea!
• Hypetrak cover contest (for rappers)
• Van Halen cover contest (for instrument players)

I'll let you know if I hear about any more!

Casting: Let It Be: The Beatles musical

Here's one for the boys: If you play an instrument and fancy yourself as a 60s-style rock star, you could be part of the Beatles musical Let It Be which will be coming to the West End this autumn.

Casting directors are looking for two sets of five musicians, including the four Beatles and a keyboard player. Auditions will be held at the Cavern Club in Liverpool on May 1st and on Shaftesbury Avenue in London on May 8th. Click here for more info.

Thanks to Screen Terrier for the tip-off on this one.

Recording: Session singers

Working as a session singer is a good way to get experience of singing in a recording studio. You'll also get to know music producers and if you do a good job, you may even end up featuring on a track that gets released. Many huge stars, including Whitney Houston, worked as session singers before becoming famous.

To get work as a session singer your best bet is either to offer your services to producers or songwriters you know (you may have to work for free at first to get some experience) or sign up to an agency. Here are a few that seem reputable:

• Hobsons
• Sense of Sound
• Pure Social
• AKlass

Casting: Cooper Casting

I've recently begun working with Cooper Casting, a company who are employed by major record labels to find talent for a variety of music projects. We're going to be holding general auditions in London in the next few weeks, and auditionees will be considered for all of our upcoming projects. The work the company does is very varied so any style of music, age or type of act (e.g. bands or solo performers) is welcome.

If you want to find out more about Cooper Casting and apply to audition visit our website and make sure to follow us on Facebook to keep up to date with all the latest opportunities.