How to make it as a touring musician

How to make it as a touring musician

Your band has been working hard…playing every weekend while juggling day jobs.  You’re now getting more and more regional gigs, and have built up a reliable local fan base, who support the band at shows and are active on your social media.  You’ve even gotten to open for some bigger touring bands when they come through your town.  But the dream is going go out on a real tour.  How do you take that next step…and more importantly…are you prepared for the realities of that dream? Doesn’t sound like you? Perhaps you need to work these things out first, and then continue reading…

 Create your own opportunities

Having an agent or manager isn’t the key to going on a tour.  Yes, they may have some relationships that can help you, but they can’t snap their fingers and make venues book you across the country…or get an audience to show up.  Ultimately, you need to make it happen yourself.  How? Become friends with the touring bands you are playing with.  Musicians like to take other musicians they can hang with on the road. Imagine touring for 2 months straight with someone you can’t stand, sharing backstage, dressing rooms, etc. Offer to share your backline at the gig, stay and watch their set (NOT while standing at the bar talking loudly with your friends!!!), and hang out with them afterwards.

Don’t just limit this activity to your own gigs.  Go out and see shows in your area and support other bands! Buy tickets to see them, instead of asking to be on their precious guest list that should be reserved for press, industry and girlfriends. This is business, so consider it part of paying your dues. You wouldn’t ask a corporation to cover your parking or transit to an interview….don’t expect a band to cover the ticket for you to “court” them.

You’ve been offered a tour! Now what?

Make sure you’re prepared to starve a little.

Understand going in that some tours will bleed you dry of money. Can you afford a loss this time to FOREVER have that tour under your belt and on your resume? That money-losing tour may lead you to a bigger tour, which may or may not also be a money-losing tour, but it put you in front of many more people. If you’re creative, thrifty, and a little lucky, you’ll make the finances work. Creativity abounds when the money isn’t there!

Start saving up.  If you are going on the road for weeks or more, you’ll have to give up that day job, which may not be there when you get back.  And unless you’re still living upstairs from Mom & Dad, you’ll have to pay rent while you’re away.

Touring is expensive.  Even if you own a van & backline, you need a plan to cover fuel, tolls, parking, hotels, meals, repairs, strings, drum sticks…the list goes on.

Opening bands are not paid well.  Even on big tours, it can amount to a couple hundred dollars a night.  More often than not, you’ll just get a small percentage of the ticket sales, which could be almost nothing on a bad night.  Some venues will give the opening band a free dinner, but usually, you are lucky to get a discount on an overpriced & terrible burger.

Take out a configuration you can afford. You may like being a 10 piece band, but it will seriously impact who you can open for, what your overhead looks like, and what venues you can play.

Hotels can kill your budget.  Be prepared to share one room with everyone in the band, or even crash on a local friend’s couch to make it work.

Go after every opportunity you can.  Sponsorships are available for small bands who are going on tour, and are social media savvy.  You aren’t going to get a large sum of cash, but they can help you cut costs.  Programs like Feed The Beat from Taco Bell can help with free meals on the road.  Manufacturers will sometimes offer discounts on guitar strings, drum sticks, etc.  They just want you to promote the brand on your social media, so make sure you follow through.  The savings will add up!

Help promote the shows.  It’s not just the headliner’s responsibility to bring in the audience.  Push the show on social media, call local radio stations, ask local fans to put up posters.  The more people that turn up, the more money you can earn (on ticket sales and merch), and the more new fans you can win over.

Sell, sell, sell merchandise!  Merchandise gets your music and name out there, and can make the difference between profit and loss on a tour.  Announce from stage that you have CDs and T-shirts for sale, and that the whole band will be hanging at the merch table after your set.  Move your gear off stage quickly, and go chat with your new fans right away.  Offer to autograph CDs and vinyl.  Even if they don’t buy something, get them to sign your mailing list, or give them a free sticker or postcard listing your website and social media links.

Want to do more tours?

Touring is a blast, but it’s also a job that requires professionalism, stamina and discipline.  Make sure your fellow band members share your commitment and work ethic.  And if they don’t, then understand this and be prepared to pull a bit of their weight or find a new band mate. Bottom line is the work needs to get done. Shows need to get advanced, social media posts need to be made, posters need to be sent to venues, driving needs to be shared, gear needs to be loaded, merch needs to get sold, etc. So divvy out the work or do it yourself, but don’t harbor resentment, and don’t wait for management or your agent to do it.  If this were easy, everyone would be successful at it!

Be flexible and easy to work with, especially if you want to be asked out again. Don’t take over the green room with all your friends, unless the headliner invites you to, and then still be considerate. And if you’re lucky enough to tour with a bigger act, stay out of their space entirely unless they explicitly invite you in, and then stay reserved out of respect. This is their tour, and you’re lucky to be there. This kind of respect goes a very long way, and news gets around and may affect future tours.

Opening bands are rarely treated “fairly”, so don’t expect it to be different for you.  You may get no money, no dressing room, no food, no beer, no soundcheck, and your set might be cut down if the show is behind schedule.

But never bitch about it at or around the headliner, or anyone else for that matter. Bands want openers they enjoy, not whiners that will complain about the conditions.  And the venue isn’t going to book you back if they think you have attitude.  Remember that you want to be there! You want to play to their audience so you can grow your own following!

Touring can be the most rewarding experience of any musician’s life but you need to have the right preparation, dedication and attitude!