Lounges that used to have live music have become late-night velvet rope clubs.

Radio and corporate sponsors are an endangered species. Venues are slashing their marketing budgets like never before, especially in entertainment.  Celebrity DJ’s are the new “bands” in Fabulous Las Vegas.

So … what’s a would-be working musician to do?

For starters, one would have to have a grasp on marketing trends.  Let’s cut right to the heart of the way entertainment is being booked and marketed across Las Vegas.  I am speaking particularly about supplemental, non-headliner entertainment.  You know … what properties would call the fluff, the afterthought, the garnish, the background music, the ambience quotient as it were.  That is where many of us make our bread and butter.  These days it would seem that there is only a bit of crust to sustain us.

Entertainment is the first thing to go when economic times are bad, and the first thing to come back when things perk up.  I have watched this cycle for years, and it is nowhere more commonplace than in Las Vegas — the Entertainment Capital of … the World?   Well, we used to be.  As entertainment goes, so goes the casino market in general.  Right now, pockets are tight and “four walling” is the name of the game.

Keeping a steady gig is increasingly difficult these days, even for heavyweight musicians who used to have to turn things down right and left.  (That is part of the reason I was able to pull such great players for my former monthly jazz gig.)

One of the reasons for the decline in steady shows is that properties are not working in tandem with entertainers to develop a following or pull in any repeat customers for their entertainers.  We have become our own marketers, managers, press agents, roadies, and in some cases even our own sound engineers.

I don’t mind that trend.  I rather like being responsible for my own marketing weight, and I love not being told what to do.  However … any marketing campaign, be it generated by the world’s largest gaming company or by Joe Piano Player, needs lead time and a follow up strategy if it is to succeed.  Without those elements, the best PR in the world will inevitably fall flat.

Unfortunately, those elements require foresight, patience, consistency, and quality control.  The foresight to plan ahead and promote an act with at the very least some inexpensive electronic marketing via the web is essential.  The patience to give the act time to actually succeed is very hard to come by in the current climate.  I am not talking years here; I am talking weeks –weeks using the SAME act so that people get used to the schedule and know where an artist is playing.  Consistency in marketing and in the delivered quality of the eventual entertainment experience itself is equally crucial.  That means good food service, a polite wait staff, and booking good entertainment in the first place.

So … when a venue decides from week to week who to put on stage, sends out nothing to its customers in the way of promotional material or electronic flyers, puts out very little signage at the venue itself, skimps out on good bar and food service, and does no follow up marketing … well, then even a musician who is a marketing guru is sunk after the first few weeks of a run go by and the buzz had died down.  The property is sunk, too.

This is a very panicky strategy, and when there is panic, everyone drowns.   This is happening all over the Valley.  When venues do not meet artists halfway, the road is tough tired and long.  As a friend of mine said to me today:  “You just have to shake off the dead leaves and move on.”

Dead leaves indeed!

So how do artists survive all of this? It is up to us to use the same strategies I mentioned earlier: foresight, patience, consistency, and quality control.

By understanding the temporal approach properties are taking towards entertainment we can plan ahead and pursue many leads, instead of leaving all of our eggs in the current “gig basket.”  That kind of foresight helps to buffer the pain of the gig roller coaster. By looking ahead and assuming that things can and will change, we stay flexible, prepared, and most importantly optimistic about our prospects. There is no time for a pity party when you are always developing new product and hunting down new leads. Remember, an object in motion stays in motion.

We need to be patient when trying to build a following, and we need to focus on branding ourselves so that people will be drawn to any gig we play, whether is is a steady engagement or a one nighter.

We need to be consistent about rehearsing, preparing, networking, and following up with those who come to see us and those hire us. If you don’t attempt to have an open line of communication with your fans, contractors or agents, you will be even more baffled when work suddenly disappears.  Stay on top of why things go away and why they show up. Draw your own conclusions based on the facts you do have.  Above all, stop complaining and become proactive and willing to reinvent yourself continuously.  Don’t be bitter. Move on.

Lastly, insist on quality control on your end. Are you learning new material? Are you keeping abreast of new music, new production techniques, and new internet marketing capabilities?  Are you embracing technology?  (If not, find someone who will help you do so – Twitter, Facebook, Blogging, just like cell phones, they are here to stay at least for a while!  Don’t become a dinosaur – we all know what happened to them!)  Is your band tight?  Does everyone show up on time, looking AND playing their best regardless of any “gig drama” that may exist?  Do you have a good reputation?  Do people  know who you are?   Have you done all of that and still found yourself perpetually “suddenly gigless” after a short run somewhere? It’s just a sign of the times. Things are tough all over right now. It is your job to court venues to the best of your ability by being ready to play and willing to do much of the heavy lifting by yourself. That is the current reality.

There is a bright spot in all of this. Some venues have gone back to their “old Vegas” roots and forgone the expectation of high sales with bad service in lieu of delivering consistent, branded entertainment that is tied in to the identity of the property.  Some great examples of this are Red Rock’ Station’s promotion of Zowie Bowie’s hip-hop night, or the Lon Bronson Band’s current headliner laced, packed house shows at Green Valley Ranch, or the Santa Fe Band’s phenomenal ongoing run at the Palms, or the Steven Lee Group‘s new smooth jazz series at Red Rock’s Rocks Lounge.  By working WITH these artists and embracing all of the built in marketing that the artists have already developed, these properties are having to spend very little cash and are being rewarded with increased foot traffic … another thing that used to matter.

So the lesson here?  When things are bad, don’t panic.  Don’t switch from one strategy to the next.  There is no latest greatest thing that will catapult a business or a freelance artist out of the recession.  There is only brand building, identity building, and quality preservation.  Booking and promoting quality entertainment used to be a critical tool in fostering those business strategies.  Hopefully the trend will return.  Until that happens, it is up to entertainers to market themselves, forge ahead, and, well … shake off the dead leaves.