Musicians Referral Services

[seanlava]

Do any of you working pros out there have personal experience with fee based musician referral services such as http://musicianreferral.com/ ?

The free classifieds don't really cut it when it comes to finding paying gigs, so I want to know if sites such as this are worth the money.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

[jgbass]

Hi Sean,

I have been a member on and off of Musicians Contact Service which is more LA and Southern California based. Most of the opportunities are in LA, but have been a few in San Diego, and elsewhere. I just renewed my membership again because I am finding some good musicians in local ads, but also people who say they have time for music but, the reality is that they cannot make music a big priority. I have found through MCS that there are pro quality gigs, i.e. already working bands that need someone now, and I think there is more of a chance of finding a pro gig there than the local freebies. I have been involved in a few situations through being with this service, and many who advertise seem to have gigs. I would try to make sure that the service has opportunities in your area.

[LiquidMidnight]

I know a bass player who has gotten some good road work from Dick McVey's referral service. It seems as though that it's mostly pro-level players who read them, so you if you're looking for a serious gig, you'd probaly cut out a lot of the ametuers from your search.