Ready to hit the road and take your music across the region, across the state or beyond? To organize a tour you will need to save some money, evaluate the choice of means of transport, choose the itinerary and book the venues where the concerts will be held. When the tour is organized, don't forget to advertise it. Organizing a tour can take a bit of work, but when you sell out from city to city, you'll be glad you took the time to plan it properly.
Steps
Step 1. Make sure you have written at least one album
Not a couple of songs, a full album. You will need a lot of songs for your shows. Try to have enough material to play for at least 45-60 minutes, plus an encore or two (think positive - you'll want to do those encores!).
Step 2. Save some money for a few months
Each member must have enough money to pay for their meals during the tour, and the group must have a fund for the main expenses. You will need gasoline for the van, some money for oil, transmission, brake fluid, etc. Plus some bucks for sundries (say one of you catches a cold and needs a syrup or something). Better to be financially prepared.
Step 3. Get a van, or a car with a trolley
You will need the trolley to transport the equipment and tools. Better to have a 12-15 seater minibus, there is enough space to be comfortable and fuel consumption is excellent for the type of vehicle. Together with the minibus you must have good roadside assistance, such as ACI or Europ Assistance and you will have to do a good maintenance of the vehicle, especially for very long tours.
Step 4. Work out the itinerary or choose which cities the tour will pass through
Choose which cities the tour will take place and the days you will play. Try to work out a route with a minimum of sense, such as passing through neighboring cities, instead of playing in one place, traveling 150km to play in another, and then back again to play in the first city again! Instead, try to book two shows in location # 1, on two consecutive days, and then move to location # 2, 150km away. Make sure that all group members are available during the entire tour period.
Step 5. Search for contacts in each city where you plan to play
The best contacts are the local bands that play in the area and the owners of the venues where you can play. Send a message to groups / clubs / pm in each city asking them to take a look at your group and find out if they are interested in playing with them or having them play you, and for what day. You can't always play the day you prefer, and sometimes you need to change the route or find other venues to play.
- Make sure not to play when there is a more famous band in the same city on the same day (if you have an AC / DC tribute band, don't play on the same day that there will be an AC / DC concert in the same city or no one will come at the show).
- If you try to play in a city that has a similar show on the same night, try to be a part of it. Do not organize a show by yourself if you are just starting, because there is the probability that if you are outside and nobody knows you, not many people will come to see you play. If, on the other hand, you attend a show featuring the most famous bands locally, and you play before them, there will be more people coming to listen to their favorites, and consequently you too.
Step 6. Write a contract for the pm and the owners of the place
You don't have to hire a lawyer to write it, just use common sense. Prepare a template with spaces to be able to enter the name, address, telephone number, times for preparation and performance, and the pay. This way you will have a pre-printed sheet that you can use for each show, and you will have all the most important information at your fingertips.
- Send these contracts by mail or post to every promoter and venue with which you have scheduled a show. Have them fill it out and send it back. Keep all contracts to use as an itinerary and make sure things go the agreed way.
- There are chances that some stages will be canceled, promoters will "forget" to pay you and other things like that, which are practically unavoidable. It happens to almost everyone, so don't be discouraged (that's why you need to carry more money than you need). A contract, however, will help you stop some promoters from being sly.
Step 7. Have the CDs printed and the merchandising material prepared
Even if you only have a demo or a three-track EP, you can still get it printed and labeled for ridiculously low prices. You can also do it yourself. It doesn't matter much, as long as you have them available to sell / give them away during the tour. If someone listens to your band and gets hooked but can't buy a CD, they probably won't remember you. Make sure you enter the group name, a song list and website / MySpace so we can find you online. If you have enough cash, it might be a good idea to have two or three plain shirts made. Don't try to make them too expensive or extravagant at first, because people may not buy shirts from an unknown band, but having two or three simple designs available to sell to new fans can allow you to make some money, and when. they will wear them will give you free publicity!
Step 8. Create a flyer for each of the shows with the name of the place where you will play, the date of the show, the address and the genre of music you intend to play, along with the starting time
Send them to the promoters, clubs and bands you will play with. Sometimes promoters or other groups may choose to do it for you and then send you the flyer. In any case, make sure it is on your MySpace / website. If you plan to do a lot of shows, it is best to make a poster with all the dates and times, the locations and the album cover. Make sure your site is on the flyer so you don't have to write it in pen.
Step 9. Make sure that each member of the group has the equipment ready to travel
Having spare strings and picks is necessary for guitarists and bassists. Drummers must bring spare sticks, and the key to the drums! Organize the equipment in the cart so that the more fragile things are on top (drum pieces, etc.) and don't hit anywhere. It is always best to store all instruments in their own cases. Make sure your equipment is ready to travel safely, that there are no broken pipes in your Triple Rectifier, no punctured pieces of the battery and the like. Don't leave home without having a tuner and cables for working instruments, there is no worse way to appear inexperienced than having to borrow a tuner every night. Bring extra cables and check them every day to make sure they are in good condition for the next show.
Step 10. Make an inventory of every single item in the bus, and make copies of them
You will load and unload cargo from the van several times. And the chances of missing or forgetting something are very high when you consider the end-of-night fatigue after a concert, the darkness of the night and the clubs and mother nature. And also the beer before the show. Make things easier, make a list. Make copies of the inventory, and check that everything is there before leaving town.
Step 11. Everyone should bring the bare minimum
The members of a group are notoriously dirty people, it is an established fact. Carry a maximum of two bags! A backpack with items for sundries, such as computers, iPods, books, and toiletries like a toothbrush, deodorant and other things that you will keep in the van with you, and a gym bag or small suitcase to put your clothes in, which will fit in the trolley or in the trunk of the minibus. Focus mostly on socks, underwear, and t-shirts. T-shirts and pants can be worn multiple times. If you go from one city to another every day, no one will know that you are wearing the same clothes as the day before. Just make sure they are clean, as you sweat a lot on stage due to the heat emanating from the lights. Don't wear a sweat-soaked shirt for two nights in a row. Take it to a laundromat and wash it. While you're at it, wash your used underwear and socks too.
Step 12. Take the vehicle you will be touring in for a check before you leave
Have the oil changed, tires tested, fluids checked, etc. it is important to keep the vehicle in good condition to avoid having to resort to roadside assistance!
Advice
- Give a person the task of staying in the van when all the equipment is there, always, if possible. You can take turns, but make sure someone is always close to the equipment or the tour may be very short.
- Buy a nice lock for the trolley and its hook. Look for a circular one, where none of the parts that could be cut are exposed. Very often the minibuses have quite fragile locks, and it happens that someone saw them and stole all the equipment or the trolley directly. Always lock the vehicle when no one is inside, since the trolleys and minibuses of musical groups are easy targets, especially in some areas.
- Start without exaggerating. Take a lot of small weekend tours around the neighboring countries to yours or the region. It's a great start to building a fan base and is more profitable due to the short journeys. As you start to take longer tours and go further and further, try to keep the routes short, that way you don't have to spend 8 hours a day driving, it's a waste of money and it's exhausting too.
- Make sure you bring a sleeping bag and pillow. You may not be able to afford a hotel, so get used to sleeping in the van or at the house of strangers who like your group. Regarding this point, it's always best not to be afraid to turn down an invitation if that makes you uncomfortable. Trust your instincts but always be polite. If they seem calm and nice to you, that's fine. Also avoid attending parties or going to other bizarre places. Sure it's always nice to party, but not when the cops come and you're hundreds of miles from home. Better to avoid.
- Bring some music of your own. There is a possibility that you do not like everything that the members of your group hear. It is also a way of not feeling the constant presence of the same people during a long journey, and it will help you.
- Bring plenty of snacks and foodstuffs that don't spoil and don't smell bad. It's a good way to fill up while driving and avoid wasting money on food. Peanuts are a great choice because they also contain proteins. Mixes of nuts and raisins or apples are great, and nutritious too.
- Make sure you have a website or / and a MySpace on your band with some songs. MySpace is an irreplaceable tool in the music landscape today, it serves to connect people, get fans and book shows. All groups should have one.
- If you don't have life insurance - be proactive! If you HAVE life insurance - be proactive! Drink lots of water every day, at least 8 glasses. Get a good multivitamin supplement, and take it regularly. The vitamins and minerals will help you compensate for the unhealthy diet you will be forced to follow during the tour. Remember that supplements are no substitute for a full meal.
- Get a notebook or something similar so you can get people to leave a contact, a mailing list. This way the next time you organize a tour you will have more people to contact, and therefore you can organize more shows. This system can prove effective in the long run.
- Program to earn 0 euros. Many starting bands are lucky enough to play a concert with someone famous enough, they rarely get paid. You should do it because you want to spread your music, and because you like to do it, not because you want to make a lot of money on it. If you want to make a lot of money, you can always go back to school, get a degree and get yourself a job. Playing is only profitable for a few people, most of the "music workers" break their backs without doing much.
- When shopping for food, try to save! Try a place where you can eat buffet for a few euros or inexpensive menus at MacDonald. You can also decide to make some stuffed sandwiches in a local delicatessen, sometimes they even make them in supermarkets.
Warnings
- If you put all your expenses in an excel table, you can try to analyze the worst and best scenarios, working on how to make the biggest profits and predicting the losses. You may find that the profit is low. Things can change suddenly during the tour. You may end up penniless, or have losses, but it's always best to make a prediction before setting out on a tour.
- Not everyone is inclined to be in a traveling group. If you are a cleaning freak, suffer from claustrophobia, or have other such ailments, you will have a lot of trouble coping with this experience. To be able to take a tour, you must be used to being in uncomfortable places, not showering, not having personal space or privacy, missing people at home and being poor. If done right, you can make money on a tour, even if it generally ends up breaking even. Just make sure you stay calm, relaxed, and have fun. Of course, something can go wrong, but it's always a wonderful adventure!
- Make sure that the members of your group get along well with each other, and that they all feel in the same boat as to the reasons that push them to take a tour. There is nothing more unpleasant and counterproductive than getting stuck with a member of the group whose lifestyle or tour goal is completely different from those of others. These differences could generate conflicts that are impossible to "manage" or "endure" in such an environment. Choose your group members carefully.
