MUSICIANS: KEY POINTS FOR SUCCESSFULLY ORGANIZING YOUR TOUR

Touring is the holy grail of musicians: going on the road for one (or more) week(s), meeting your audience through concert after concert. It is also an essential step in your professional development, as it can bring you so much in terms of distribution .

While larger artists have entire teams dedicated to touring, as a developing band, you’ll likely have to manage on your own. However, it’s not impossible, provided you know how to do it right.In this article, I’ll give you 10 tips to help you organize your concert tour as best as possible .

A tour is something that needs to be planned for the long term . You don’t organize a tour like you organize a concert in the local bar! Many elements need to be taken into account: availability of each member of the group, financial balance, travel, etc.

In my opinion, you should start planning your tour about a year in advance . If you’re planning to play festivals, for example, that’s their booking deadline. For most summer festivals (July/August), the booking is wrapped up between September and October. If you start canvassing in January, it will be way too late!

Planning well in advance also gives you the opportunity to manage unforeseen events and have a safety margin. There will inevitably be times when you’re too busy to work on organizing your tour, and that will slow you down. It’s essential to have the necessary time to avoid being too penalized by these moments.

You’ll also realize that things aren’t going as planned. The vehicle you had planned is no longer available for rental, a date has been canceled in the middle of your tour, etc. These are all minor inconveniences that you need to know how to deal with, and therefore have the time you need!

Set a time period

If you want to be efficient in organizing your tour, it’s essential to set the dates well in advance. You’ll need to ensure the availability of all band members, and possibly any staff who might be accompanying you.

If this is your first tour with your band, don’t plan too long! Going away for two weeks is already a good goal, and it will require a lot of work. As you gain more experience, you can increase this duration and go on tour several times a year.

Setting a fixed timeframe also makes it easier for you to approach people. You make life easier for programmers when you offer them specific dates when you’re available. Your marketing email will be even more effective. You also know that there’s no point in approaching a festival 600 km away from home that takes place on July 12th if you’re traveling from August 1st to 15th.

Sell yourself at the right price

You have to pay the musicians, of course, but that’s not all. You also have to factor in all the associated logistical costs: accommodation, meals, gas, and tolls, etc. All these amounts add up and can easily leave you home without paying.

However, even if the primary goal of touring is to promote your project, you still need to aim for profitability. This is essential if you want to go on tour again and be able to develop your band with peace of mind.