Anybody a Bass Endorsing Company or have any suggestions

foghorn7eghorn · #1 06-18-2009, 06:53 PM

Do you have a Bass company that has a Endorsement Scheme and are intrested in endorsing a premier signed Ska/Punk band
and do you have any suggestions of endorsees that I may want to have a look at?

bongomania · #2 06-18-2009, 07:33 PM

It's not clear what you are even talking about. If you "emailed everyone" in the same way as this post, it's no wonder they didn't get back to you.

My guess is you want free or discounted gear, and you think an endorsement will get you that gear. My other guess is that you are not touring or recording professionally/successfully, because if you were then you wouldn't have any trouble meeting industry contacts. Bass companies love to associate themselves with successful and popular performers, and they will be happy to talk to those performers. If someone is an unknown or a pain in the neck, it doesn't benefit the bass company to even talk about endorsement.

JTE · #3 06-18-2009, 07:37 PM

"Endorse" means to recommend something. So if you want to endorse Sadowsky, Schecter, First Act, whomever, you gotta be in a position where your endorsement will mean something to THEM. If people know who you are, know you're a great or at least respected player, and the company thinks having your endorsement is going to help them sell stuff, then you've got a shot.

If you're Joe Nobody who's really just trying to scam free gear, then you'll have to get in line with the other 5 billion niave and/or egotistical clueless clods.

jte

FreaqyFrequency · #4 06-18-2009, 07:42 PM

I may have been in your shoes about two years ago. I was all fired up to endorse AccuGroove or whoever I was salivating over at the time, telling them that I was playing with this band that was doing shows locally and was about to hit the road.

I wasn't lying, because the group I was with was making plans like that at the time, but it was very much a false hope for both myself and the companies to be sending out emails like that and expecting a positive response.

The truth is, the best way to be considered to be an endorser is to stay in contact with the companies in question, asking them about products, complimenting them on engineering or design ingenuity, and then buying it (yes, paying for it) and becoming successful with it. Be patient, be coherent, be polite, and do everything you can to get your name out there and to play in as many places as you can.

foghorn7eghorn · #5 06-18-2009, 07:51 PM

Thank you bongomania. ****************, but I see your point and I asure you I'm allot better worded to the companys in e-mail than I am on this forum.
I did not mean that i have not been gettings responses, I simply meant that I may have forgotten a company to try and I was looking for some suggestions. Who doesn't want free or discounted gear?

Thank you jte and Freak Frequency you both got a point and you were polite about it!

MOD EDIT: PLEASE REREAD THE USAGE AGREEMENT

Happynoj · #6 06-18-2009, 07:58 PM

Keep on topic.

foghorn7eghorn · #7 06-18-2009, 08:05 PM

settle down.

xgator4u · #8 06-18-2009, 08:12 PM

heading for cover.

foghorn7eghorn · #9 06-18-2009, 08:15 PM

I like your style

JTE · #10 06-18-2009, 08:15 PM

Another point, which FreaqyFrequncy brings out, is that a lot of endorsements stemmed from people who paid for stuff first. Lane Baldwin at Eden had a LOT of Eden gear before he became an endorser. Otiel Burbridge got a D'Addario endorsement because a friend of his told D'Addario that Burbridge was buying D'Addario's at stores even though other companies were giving him free strings.

And a lot of endorsements don't involve free gear as much as they do support. When I managed a guitar store I found out the details of Ovation's endorsements. Each endorsing artist could buy guitars at dealer cost. But the real deal was that if they had trouble with an Ovation on the road, they only had to call Ovation. Then Ovation would contact dealers close to where the artist was, and if they had a suitable substitute in stock, would get the guitar to the artist, and the store would take the problem guitar and ship it to Ovation. Only Glen Campbell ever got a free guitar from Charlie Kaman, and that was years and years after Campbell's use had put them on the road to success.

Many artists' get back line support for touring, but not free gear. And it's really pretty counter-productive to BUY an endorsement with cash. Some folks are easier to please than others. McCartney once said "I"m anybody's for a free guitar. I won't play a piece of trash, but if it's a good instrument and I like it, I'll play it." That was in response to an interview question where he had been asked about his use of a Yamaha bass.

Anyway, if you want to endorse something then you gotta be useful to them, and you gotta KNOW something about the gear too.

And, as a point of reference, I'd make sure ALL my public presentations are such that a company would be interested in your endorsement. Illiterate, poorly written text even on an I'net forum cold be a turn off. Imagine Dan Lakin wondering if he should set up a deal with you, but then he thinks "But he can't write a sentence, and he comes off as a snot-nosed kid on TB... Nah, I think I'll pass on this guy."

jte

foghorn7eghorn · #11 06-18-2009, 08:20 PM

Thanks again jte. I'll keep all of that in mind.

Spector_Ray · #12 06-18-2009, 09:13 PM

Wow, you're looking to get banned aren't you?

**jmattbassplaya** · #13 06-18-2009, 09:31 PM

^^ +1

Happynoj · #14 06-19-2009, 05:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spector_Ray

Wow, you're looking to get banned aren't you?

Actually, I think he's looking for free stuff.

**Josh Ryan** · #15 06-19-2009, 06:12 AM

Ok, no more shenanigans please. Thanks!

jojobean39 · #16 06-19-2009, 07:38 AM

I'm not endorsed by a bass company, but I am endorsed by a sporting goods company, Prince/Ektelon. I suspect the qualifications for sponsorship are similar. I was using this companies products well before I was sponsored. I have something to offer them. I am a good player. I have a lot of contact with people. I play at several racquetball clubs in my city. I am knowledgable on their products. All of these things make it beneficial for them to sponsor me. I bring something to the table.

foghorn7eghorn · #17 06-19-2009, 07:53 AM

thank you jojobean! very helpful!

stflbn · #18 06-19-2009, 07:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by foghorn7eghorn

Thank you bongomania. ****************, but I see your point and I asure you I'm allot better worded to the companys in e-mail than I am on this forum.
I did not mean that i have not been gettings responses, I simply meant that I may have forgotten a company to try and I was looking for some suggestions. Who doesn't want free or discounted gear?

Thank you jte and Freak Frequency you both got a point and you were polite about it!

MOD EDIT: PLEASE REREAD THE USAGE AGREEMENT

As bongo mentioned, it appears to me that you're just bouncing around sending emails to everyone and anyone looking for free to reduced gear rather than finding what you like, buying it because of that preference, YOU endorsing IT and making it look good, then eventually that manufacturer wanting to endorse YOU because you raise the visibility of their product.

And, regardless of what you may think... how you write or present yourself in one place creeps into the other places that you present yourself. I think there's several levels of problems with what your saying and what you "think" your chasing in an endorsement.

In a nutshell, if you're playing a lot in front of a lot of people, or you're a fantastic player that has people's attention and people are talking about you... you're going to have a chance to endorse products.

.

foghorn7eghorn · #19 06-19-2009, 08:31 AM

I've sent my apologies to bongomania! I do not need to keep hearing about it.

I'm playing over a 100+ shows a year with Big bands and Little bands and at Festivals.
And I can assure you that I am not just bouncing around with no clue in the world!
I'm looking for suggestions and not put downs.

For the record... I don't want any free stuff, becauseI am satisfied with my equipment. Sponsorships entail allot more than just free gear and are useful in many areas.

I've just recently signed up to the TB forum so I am learning as I go ya know!

pointbass · #20 06-19-2009, 08:31 AM

The endorsement question pops up quite often, and I can understand the initial appeal folks might see in it ..... seemingly free stuff for you to use, who wouldn't love that? But there is so much more that's involved, and the agreements are so wide ranging that it's nearly impossible to say exactly what a typical "endorsement deal" really is.

As stated, in actuality you are endorsing the manufacturer/builder. In turn for your unwaivering support of their product(s) you may receive some sort of benefit. Maybe discounted rates, maybe free stuff, maybe some advertising for you in trade mags, maybe road support, whatever. But those benefits also need to bear fruit for the manufacturer, in that your very use of them increases their exposure and obviously their sales volume.

I endorse two small luthiers, and for my endorsement I may receive some considerations that others do not. The details of such considerations are between me and the builders, and will remain that way. But for any consideration I might receive there is a price I have to pay, and I don't mean a monetary cost.

I receive numerous contacts each week from bassists inquiring about the gear, and those contacts require a response. I regularly have bassists stopping by gigs to check out the basses, which requires face time and a bit of "salesmanship" on my part. Being a somewhat active forum user on a few different boards, my use of these basses gives the builders exposure that they might normally not receive, or possibly have to pay for. The posts I make create more contacts for me to address, and bring in more bassists wanting to try the gear.

Both builders can make a direct correlation between my use of their gear and an increase in activity/interest in their work. I, in turn, get to play basses that I absolutely love (and no, they are not "free"). My endorsements are a win-win, but as I said there is a price to pay on both sides ....