What do I
send
to venues?
Less is more. Here's exactly what to include, and what to cut.
When you reach out to a venue for the first time, what you send is your audition. A clunky email with a PDF attachment tells the booker as much about you as your music does. This guide covers exactly what to include, and what to cut.
What venue bookers are looking for in a pitch
Venue bookers are not evaluating your artistry in depth when they read a cold pitch. They're making a quick risk assessment: is this artist relevant to our programming, and are they professional enough to be easy to work with? These two questions filter out most pitches within the first thirty seconds.
Relevance comes first. A booker for a jazz club in the first sentence needs to understand you play jazz. A booker for a drum and bass night needs to see DnB in your bio immediately. If your genre isn't obvious within the first sentence of your pitch, you've lost them. This means research is non-negotiable, you need to understand their programming before you send anything.
Professionalism signals come through in how you write and what you attach. A short, well-structured email with no attachments and a clean EPK link reads as professional. A long rambling email with a 10MB PDF reads as amateur. The way you communicate your pitch is a preview of the way you'll communicate about logistics, load-in times, and technical requirements.
Evidence of past work matters more than you think. Mentioning one or two venues you've played, even small ones, removes the "unknown quantity" risk that makes bookers hesitate. If you've played nowhere, focus on your sound and make a low-stakes offer for a quieter night to establish the relationship.
It's also worth researching the venue beyond their Instagram. Look at event listings on Resident Advisor to understand what nights they run, which DJs they've booked before, and what kind of crowd they attract. A pitch that references a specific event or resident DJ at that venue signals genuine research, not a mass email campaign, and significantly improves your reply rate.
Common pitch mistakes that get you ignored
Long emails are the most common mistake. A 400-word email signals that you don't respect the booker's time and haven't thought clearly about what you actually need to communicate. If you can't explain who you are and why you're relevant in under 150 words, the email isn't ready to send.
PDF attachments are a close second. They don't load on mobile, they sit in email as unread attachments, and they can't embed audio. A booker who receives a pitch with a PDF attachment has to open a separate file to find out who you are. Most won't. A link to your EPK solves this entirely.
No specific ask is a subtle but fatal mistake. "I'd love to play your venue sometime" is not a pitch, it's a vague expression of interest that puts the work of figuring out next steps entirely on the booker. Ask for something specific: "Are you taking bookings for [month]?" or "I'd love to discuss a set on your [specific night]."
DMs instead of email is increasingly common and almost always wrong for a first approach. A DM is too casual for a first business contact and too easy to miss. Email is the expected professional channel for booking inquiries. Use it.
Sending multiple links is another common error. One link to your EPK is all you need, and your EPK should contain everything else they might want: music, photos, bio, and past events. Sending a separate SoundCloud link, a separate Instagram link, and a separate mix download alongside your EPK link tells a booker you haven't thought about their experience. See our guide on what to include in your EPK to make sure your single link is doing all the work it needs to do.
What to include in your venue pitch
A short, direct subject line
Example: "DJ Booking Inquiry – [Your Name] – [Month]." Clear and searchable beats clever every time. Bookers often search their inbox for past inquiries by artist name, a clear subject line makes this easy. Avoid subject lines like "Collaboration?" or "Quick question" that obscure your intent.
Three sentences about yourself
Who you are, what you play, and one or two relevant past gigs. That's it. Save the full bio for your EPK. The email is not the place for your story, it's the place for your hook. Give them just enough to want to look at your EPK, then let the EPK do the rest.
A single EPK link
"You can find my full EPK here: [link]." No attachments. No multiple links. No "here's my SoundCloud, here's my Instagram, here's a PDF." One link to everything they need. If your EPK isn't built yet, that's the starting point, not the pitch email.
A specific ask
"I'm available in [month] and would love to discuss a set at [venue name]." Specific beats vague. It shows you've done your research, it makes the reply easy ("yes, let's talk" or "we're fully booked that month"), and it signals that you're organised and professional.
One follow-up (and only one)
If you don't hear back in 10 days, send one brief follow-up. "Following up on my email from [date], still happy to chat if you're taking bookings." Then move on. Following up more than once signals desperation and burns the relationship for future pitches.
A simple pitch email template you can use today
Here's a template that covers all the bases without being too long:
Subject: DJ Booking Inquiry – [Your Name] – [Month]
Hi [Name],
I'm [Your Name], a [genre] DJ based in [city]. I've played [venue or event name] and think my sound would work well for [specific night or event at their venue].
You can check my full EPK here: [link]
Are you taking bookings for [month]?
Best, [Your Name]
That's under 100 words. It answers every question a booker has, makes a clear ask, and links to your full EPK for more. The most common reason this kind of email fails isn't the format, it's poor targeting. Sending the right message to the wrong venue is no different from sending no message at all. Industry resources like Hypebot consistently emphasise that targeted outreach to ten well-researched venues outperforms blasting a hundred with a generic email.
Once you have your pitch template ready, think about building a simple tracking system. A spreadsheet with the venue name, the booker's name if you found it, the date you sent the email, and the outcome is all you need. This prevents accidentally following up twice, helps you spot patterns in what's working, and gives you a record to revisit when you build your booking strategy over time.
For more detail on the full pitch strategy, see our guides on how to pitch yourself to venues and what to include in your EPK.
Frequently asked questions
Should I email or DM venues?
Email, always. A DM is too casual for a first business approach and too easy to miss in a notifications feed. Email is the expected professional channel for booking inquiries and creates a searchable record for both you and the booker.
How long should my pitch email be?
Under 150 words. If you can't explain who you are and why you're relevant in 150 words, the email isn't ready. Every additional sentence is another opportunity for the booker to lose interest. Short, specific, and professional is the formula.
When is the right time to follow up?
Once, 7–10 days after your initial email. Keep the follow-up brief, just a sentence referencing your original email. After that, move on. Most bookers who are interested will reply within two weeks. Silence after a follow-up means they're not interested right now.
Should I mention my social media following in my pitch?
Only if it's substantial and directly relevant to the venue's audience. A follower count signals social reach, but most independent venue bookers care more about genre fit and reliability than social numbers. If your following is modest, leave it out of the pitch email entirely and let your EPK and past gigs speak for themselves. A small, engaged local following is sometimes more relevant to a small venue than a large national one anyway.
The single link every pitch email needs, BookedKit builds it for you.
BookedKit gives you a clean, professional link to share in any pitch email. Bio, music, past events, and booking contact, all in one place.
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