[NeglectedField]

Have any of you tried (successfully or otherwise) to get endorsement deals with major brands before?

My band needs to upgrade in time for our tours starting January 2009 and I was thinking of contacting ESP (tried Ibanez already just now) to see if they could sort out an endorsement deal for me and my bassist.

How do I contact them? neither the US or UK sites are helpful. US seems to be strictly for US-based support...

 

[corey j grieve]

Only major label signed bands will usually get full brand endorsement deals,smaller label bands only usually get 'store endorsement' which basically means your local dealer may sell you guitars at cost or discounted and you then rep that brand/store.I have friends who have such deals and save good $$$$! I've been offered both Jackson and Ibanez + did Caparison for a year, but i just want to use what i want when i want,so i avoid endorsements. Hit up your local store,goodluck.

 

[LonePhantom]

PM rikkbeatty (think I spelt that correctly) or Petie on here. They are two people I know of on here who have managed to get endorsement deals.

 

[Petie]

I have a thing with Marshall where I get warehouse price on whatever gear I want (works out to be 40% of the retail price, ie if something's $1,000 retail, I get it for $400). I was in the market for a new amp and I fell in love with the DSL50, so the store I was teaching and teching for at the time called them up and told them who I was, how visible I was due to some magazines I write for, what bands I was in, a shredding contest I won, etc and it went from there.

 

[LonePhantom]

So Petie, can you get me a good price on a Vintage Modern combo?

 

[DEADTUNES666]

You'd be better off going right to the store and trying to work out a deal with them. Might be easier, as well as advantageous for both of you. I was a Dean Markley endorsee years ago, but it was more of a prestigious thing than a monetary one. Of course looking back it wasn't even that prestigious...:lol:

You'll want to have gig information ready. Companies base what kind of endorsement deal you get on what kind of volume they might be exposed to. So if you're booked less than 3 days a week, they may not be interested. Good luck!

 

[NeglectedField]

Well my band's got an 18-date European tour in October, recording another full-length in November, a 22-date European tour in January, a month-long US tour in March...Also in the past the band's played Wacken, Metal Camp, Rock Harz, Bloodstock, done a support tour with some other major bands.

 

[corey j grieve]

Well my band's got an 18-date European tour in October, recording another full-length in November, a 22-date European tour in January, a month-long US tour in March...Also in the past the band's played Wacken, Metal Camp, Rock Harz, Bloodstock, done a support tour with some other major bands.

Your a prime candidate then! You should easily get a store endorsement and stand a really good chance of something bigger.Put together a bio pack with cd,photos,video,tour schedule etc and truly sell yourself and the exposure you can bring the brand.To demonstrate the work ethic will get you noticed.I know Jona from Prom queen/Bleeding through did exactly that with Caparison and scored a full endorsement,and that was before BT.Sell it bro!

 

[jono]

Well my band's got an 18-date European tour in October, recording another full-length in November, a 22-date European tour in January, a month-long US tour in March...Also in the past the band's played Wacken, Metal Camp, Rock Harz, Bloodstock, done a support tour with some other major bands.

Part of the thing with endorsements is that the company you work with gets exposure from your band.

So you need to tell us who your band actually is, then we can phone up your company and make a fuss over what guitar do you play etc etc!!!

 

[buddroyce]

Like everyone has mentioned, there are two types of endorsements(actually three). Ones directly with the manufacturer such as Ibanez, ESP, Jackson and Caparison and there are the ones that are with your local Distributor and dealer (technically they're different but quite similar in what you get).

In the highly likely event that you don't get a manufacturer endorsement, the next best would be with the distributor of that brand where you have a much better chance *and* also opens the doors to OTHER brands that might endorse you since the distributor might do. They usually give you better exposure than local dealer endorsements because distributors are the ones that arrange the workshops, seminars, shows and clinics. That and since it's at the distributor level you usually get stuff at a price similar to a dealer, which is pretty sweet.

The ones with your local dealer is where you have the HIGHEST opportunity to get endorsed. Usually with these deals you promote/endorse the store and NOT the brands. The good things about this type of endorsement is that you don't have to get stuck with one particular brand of thing (ie. guitars, strings, etc..) since the endorsement is generally not brand specific unless the shop has it's one line of stuff. These types of deals generally get you better discounts on gear in general but in pretty much every single case the deals are not as good as if you were endorsed by the distributor. Band/Artist exposure is very minimal as all you might get is maybe your bands flyer on thier wall, but it's definitely a great way to start.

Personally, I have a lot of experience doing stuff at the dealer/distributor level NOT as an artist looking for an endorsement but as the guy who's doing the endorsing (I run a shop and I'm also the Canadian distributor for Caparison guitars). My suggestion is to try for everything but *make sure you have an artist/band promo package*. If you got any questions about what dealers and distributors look for in an endorsement, feel free to ask.

Note: believe it or not companies don't care too much how well you play. What you need to sell them on is how much more exposure or sales they'd get from endorsing you.