getting sponsored

[Martinisenberg]

Hi Todd,

This is Marty. I'm 25 and live in Brooklyn. I'm a young professional musician working around the New York City area (jazz,rock, classical,musical theater and RnB) At this point in my life I've had enough professional experience performing with big names I'd really like to research finding a sponsor. I have a beautiful Czech upright but I'm still using an new American P bass (it's a great instrument but I want something nicer..). And I suppose being sponsored is a status thing I could use to my advantage.

Do young bass players who aren't superstars even get sponsored these days? If so how should I start looking?

Gratefule for your feedback,
Marty

[Rockmusician]

Sponsorship is very difficult to obtain. Companies want to deal with musicians who doing a lot of gigs and have a huge following so as many people as possible will see their gear.

The best thing to do is contact the manufacturers that you want to deal with. They will either say that they are not sponsoring anybody or will ask you for a press kit, cds and a tour schedule. If they are interested, they will probably offer you a "cost deal". This will allow you to buy from them direct at cost. I have had these types of deals with several amp and string companies. However, in this economy, fewer companies are offering sponsorships to unkowon musicians.

[Todd Johnson]

Originally Posted by Martinisenberg

Hi Todd,

This is Marty. I'm 25 and live in Brooklyn. I'm a young professional musician working around the New York City area (jazz,rock, classical,musical theater and RnB) At this point in my life I've had enough professional experience performing with big names I'd really like to research finding a sponsor. I have a beautiful Czech upright but I'm still using an new American P bass (it's a great instrument but I want something nicer..). And I suppose being sponsored is a status thing I could use to my advantage.

Do young bass players who aren't superstars even get sponsored these days? If so how should I start looking?

Gratefule for your feedback,
Marty

Hi Marty,

Well, it looks like "ROCK MUSICIAN" has summed it up. Well said "ROCK MUSICIAN"...thanks.

One thing to remember: "Status and $4 still gets you coffee at Starbucks".....Ha! Having an endorsement would rarely get anyone hired.

It is nice to get gear at a discount....that's always good.

FWIW, I'm truly grateful for my ZON endorsement. It's been a true Win/Win situation for us both. That's what you're truly looking for.....a solid relationship in a product you truly believe in and a Win/Win situation.
Make sense???

I hope this helps.

[Martinisenberg]

Thanks for the responses!

[JimmyM]

my take? i would never ever put together a $1000 promo kit for myself just to be able to try to get a discount on gear that most likely won't happen for you unless you have a pretty major track record. but if you've got that track record, i would think companies would be asking you to endorse them, not the other way around. honestly, i feel like it's being a bit of a schnorrer, especially when you have no track record to speak of. you get a good honest relationship with a maker like it happened for todd, that's a different story.

and no, endorsements don't get you gigs. nobody really cares about anything except "can you do the job i hired you to do?" using endorsements to get gigs is putting the cart before the horse. get the gigs, THEN try for endorsement deals.

[JimmyM]

oh, and don't sell that precision of yours short. it's a world class bass that has been a favorite for 60 years now. not everyone's cuppa joe, but it'll certainly get the job done and be well-received by most potential employers.