I firmly believe that if you believe in yourself and what you are doing, you can achieve greatness. I understand these hardships and do recognize many positive elements of being a traveling musician, as well. Update My sincerest apologies if this post comes off a bit cynical and snarky. Some larger groups can tour for upwards of a year or more , only taking short breaks in between legs. For musicians looking to get into playing live and touring, becoming a hired gun can be quite the lucrative gig.
Check my guide on how musicians can make additional money while touring. Many bands playing small clubs and bars will not take a salary, as paying for gas, hotels, and maintenance is expensive, and newer bands do not always break even on tour. Touring is very expensive, especially for bands with little to no following.
I managed to dig out an old tour budget from our run with Dashboard Confessional. Despite being on such a massive national tour, we still projected to be in the red at the end. The reason we aimed to lose so much on tour was because of one fact: we were first of three.
Touring with a larger group also grounds you and gives you real-world experience for when you are doing your headline tours. Finally, the last point is endurance. Bus routing is challenging to keep up with, as the headliner travels overnight city to city in a bus with a dri ver.
You have not. We were extremely grateful for the opportunity and experience, but the bus routing was ridiculous. We had to do the drive in 48 hours, and the total drive time is 34 hours with no stops. Sometimes, yes. In a lot of situations for bands working with bigger labels, the company will provide what is known as tour support. Tour support is financial support for a touring band. This help covers things like per diems, travel, hotels, equipment, vehicle rental, and other expenses.
When we toured, we did receive tour support for the majority of our tours until we no longer needed it. You may have seen fifteen-passenger vans at the airport or when taking a hotel shuttle. These vans are super popular with touring bands and usually are either a Ford E or a Mercedes Benz Sprinter. Be sure to consider size, weight limit, number of axles, height, availability of a side door, and the shape.
Check your local area used car lots for 15 passenger vans. For example, the driver will have to sleep in the daytime in order to drive the bus at night. Therefore, the musicians may not be able to make full use of the on-board facilities during the day out of respect for other crew members. Tour busses will almost-always have a dedicated driver.
The driver may be employed by an agency or by the musicians themselves. Do musicians usually rent or buy a tour bus? If the tour features large-scale stage production, a separate truck will be hired for the equipment. If the production is more modest, the equipment will go in a trailer that the tour bus tows.
Pros Efficient: Musicians can fly virtually anywhere within a matter of hours. This enables them to complete various tour legs back-to-back and make the most of their time in each country. This can seriously affect their ability to perform and eventually result in exhaustion. Expensive: Whilst single airline tickets may be inexpensive, they add up over time.
Airplane FAQ What class do musicians fly? Whilst it might surprise you, the vast majority of professional musicians yes, even the well-known ones!
Additional equipment amplifiers, PA system etc. Cruise Ship Cruise ships are becoming an increasingly-popular option for small-time musicians travelling overseas due to the fact that they can work as on-board performers. Pros Potential to earn: Musicians can apply for a short-term contract as a cover band. This extra income can help small-time musicians fund an overseas tour.
A cruse ship may also stop at several other countries en-route, allowing the musicians to experience various different cultures. Time off: The average cruise gig for a guest musician will last between one and two weeks. Luxury: Guest musicians are often able to make full use of the luxury passenger facilities instead of the crew facilities. Cons Inefficient: Cruise ship gigs can be few and far between, meaning a musician may have to plan an entire tour around the cruise ship gig itself unlike air travel, where there are several opportunities to fly each day.
Additionally, it takes at least several days to travel from place to place, which can be inefficient for musicians with a particularly busy touring schedule. Extra work required: In order to perform on a cruise ship, musicians will have to devise a 2 hour cover song set. Make your requests regarding the schedule, but in the words of Mick Jagger, "You can't always get what you want. With schedule set and contract in hand, you're ready to get on the road again. Well, not quite. You'll need a production manager and tour crew to take care of the logistics and set-up the equipment on the road.
Keep reading to find out more. CD sales are sliding, down 25 percent in from That has record labels, pop stars and lesser known bands looking to concert tours to augment income. But higher gas prices and tighter money may get in the way for both bands and fans. Start-up bands forced to fill up low-mileage vans towing equipment need to make enough at a gig to recoup gas costs.
Even though a concert tour contract probably provides for some local crew at every stop on the tour, you'll want to have your own crew that travels with the band from venue to venue. This tour crew is invaluable because, unlike the local crew, they know the band, its show and its equipment, and they're there every step of the way to make sure the concerts go smoothly. And a final word of advice: Be sure to explore all the potential revenue streams such as band merchandise, fan clubs, licensing for TV shows and video games, and more to add to tour income [source: The American ].
For lots more information about concert tours and related topics, check out the links on the next page. Sign up for our Newsletter! Mobile Newsletter banner close. Mobile Newsletter chat close. Mobile Newsletter chat dots. Mobile Newsletter chat avatar. Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe. Music Industry. How Concert Tours Work. Bands need to consider other options besides simply touring. Initial Planning of a Concert Tour " ". Do we have enough material ready to perform on a tour?
Can we handle the rigors of travel and the challenge of playing that material every night as if it's fresh and new? Do we have a reason to tour now -- like a new CD to promote? Do we have copies of CDs to sell if we are on tour? Are we getting enough club bookings and a strong enough response from fans to indicate that they will buy tickets to our concerts? Can we get along well enough with each other to survive a tour together? What do we want out of a tour -- greater exposure for the band, bigger paychecks for the band members or something else?
In which geographic area and at what specific cities and venues do you want to perform? What is your tentative itinerary? What specific performing needs do you have in terms of instruments and musical equipment? What specific stage, sound engineering and lighting needs do you have? How much equipment will the band bring along, and how much will you need to have ready at the venue? How many crew members will you need to have on site, and what skills or training do they need?
What's your tentative budget for the tour, including employee pay and equipment costs? What are your limits in tour length and number of shows? Top Grossing Concert Tours of Read More. Working with Concert Promoters " ". Stars with longevity like Madonna are signed to long-term touring contracts. Start with who you know. Word-of-mouth references may lead you to a promoter. Check industry publications like Billboard and Pollstar , the concert industry trade publication, for ads and articles.
Pollstar also sells industry directories listing information for booking agencies, concert venues and concert support services.
Check with venues where you'd like to play to see which promoters work with them. Promoter's expenses Ticket selling policies, including how complimentary tickets will be handled Headline billing rights for signs and publicity An equipment breakdown detailing what'll be rented by the promoter vs. Negotiating a Concert Tour Schedule Once you've worked out a price, split percentage and other concert details with the concert promoter, you still need to agree on a daily work schedule for your band's concert tour.
You'll want to make sure that: Advertisement. The tour venues follow a geographically logical way instead of resembling a criss-cross, connect-the-dot pattern of overlapping routes Enough travel time is built in, allowing for traffic and weather conditions, so that the band has time to set up and do any necessary rehearsing before a concert Days off are worked into the schedule to give the band and crew time to recuperate after a number of hard days of concerts and travel.
How Secure is the Tour Industry?
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