How to Get Band Endorsement Deals: The Full Guide to Getting Sponsorships

Let’s start by talking about the purpose of sponsors. Sponsors are looking for people to represent their brand, to increase awareness, and help them sell more products. A sponsorship usually means paid promotion, like having their advertising banners at your concerts.

An endorsement requires more active promotion from the band and may involve you becoming the face of an advertising campaign. Sponsors are looking for bands that have values that align with their brand. For example, The Wiggles attract toy companies while Beyoncé attracts perfume companies.

To decide which sponsors your band should be targeting, look at the image you project to the world. Consider your songs and stage personas. Look at your audience and identify which demographics like your music.

If you are struggling to think of a good endorsement company, try writing down a list of words that you feel define your band. Let these words guide you to potential sponsors.

Now that you have an idea of what companies could be a good match for your band, how do you get them to team up with you?

First, it’s important to know if they endorse musicians. If so, who have they paired up with in the past? Are they similar to your band? If not, do you think you could make a strong enough case to get a deal with them?

Next, reach out to them. Send them a written message explaining why you think that you might be a good fit for their brand. Sometimes it make take several tries to get in contact with the right person or to even just get a response. For better chances, write to multiple companies.

If your band is still small, try contacting local businesses. They might be happy to be associated with an up and coming local band. To help build local fame, play concerts as often as you can. The more people who recognize your band, the more likely a business will want to be associated with you.

Because you will probably be working with a small business, ask if they would be willing to sponsor you. Sponsors are usually easier to obtain than endorsements for bands that are just starting out.

If you’re a more established band, you are probably wondering how to get an endorsement deal. One way is by asking any long time sponsors if they would like to “upgrade” your relationship to an endorsement deal. If you have severals sponsors, ask the one you feel your partnership has been the most beneficial to both parties.

Also, it helps to present an idea for the endorsement campaign. An example might be offering their customers an exclusive single or presenting a YouTube series for the company.

You also should not feel too bad if one company rejects you, there are plenty more opportunities out there.

Lastly, if an endorsement seems likely, you might want to consider getting a business manager to handle these types of deals for you.

Sponsorships and endorsement deals for brands can produce a large portion of their revenue. This article has sketched out the basic path to getting a sponsorship or endorsement deal. Though on paper it looks easy, they can be difficult to obtain and you will probably get lots of rejection letters. However, if you keep trying for long enough, eventually someone will say yes.