Musicians: Touring Isn't Just About Ticket & Merch Sales

Although your enthusiasm is admirable, it is also not realistic. Touring is becoming obsolete for new recording artists; especially in popular genres (eg - rock, rap, metal, etc.). The simple fact is the world is saturated with bands trying to "make it" and fans are a little bit short sighted in terms of investigating new talent. The simple fact is most of the bands you see touring at midsized, and even smaller venues have some sort of backing. Technology has changed how people discover new music. The culture of portability in entertainment prevails. Watching people at shows is interesting these days. After living in Seattle, Denver, New Orleans, and visiting LA and San Francisco often and going to shows I have noticed audiences becoming more apathetic toward even GREAT bands sometimes, all because they don't know who they are and because bands are a dime a dozen. I think what you wrote may have applied in 1990. Today that is not the case. Economics also make it so venue owners are picky about who they choose. Venue owners do not often pick the best bands; they pick the bands that will draw. If you cannot prove to a bar owner 150 miles away that you can draw, you are going to find yourself frustrated booking shows and you'll be questioning the logic of this reading. You SHOULD shoot to break even in tour if you do it. Maybe not your first. The simple fact is if you are out there trying to sell CD's and get a name, you are in fact a business. Make good business decisions. If there a better way for you to use your money than touring? Because you will be spending money..., a lot of it. The logic of "you should be doing it for the music" can still work and not cost as much as trying to book some tour and playing to 30 people per night can work closer to home. If you can pack the house in your hometown and places closer home (a days drive), then try a tour. If you can't, then be realistic. Finally, Thorny Bleeder is partially correct in saying "the music industry is nothing more than a world of recommendations". It it also a world of promotion. Promotion takes money and the ability to reach people. Do it closer to home first or move your home to somewhere that gives you more opportunities. Furthermore, use new technologies to get the word out. If you do choose to tour be realistic about your personal finances. You need to make sure that you're not carrying a high debt load and that you have a savings because the odds are that you will lose more than you take in on your tour. If you have connections or have cracked indie radio, go for it! But, in general long tours for unsigned or unknown bands is dying. Tory World Mastering Engineer The Virgo Vertigo University of Wisconsin-Madison Comm Arts

I appreciate this article, this opens up the doors for more great artist like us to follow our passion for playing live venues and interacting with fans all across the world. Thank you.

It has always been who you know,who likes you,what connections you have or what breaks you get. Small to mid-size club owners are the biggest whores there are. You're right.They'll stick anything in get the the most bang for their buck.Variety scares the hell out of them ! The mid-level 200-300 seat clubs that used to be the springboard for up and coming original acts are disappearing.They used to be the best platform to launch your band. Everything is driven by the dollar.Cd sales may very well be finished except for sales at live gigs.You can get someone to create a mind-blowing website,write the best bio and create a media buzz or even get a video to go viral,but the market for every type of music known is glutted and it's not going to get better.Not only are people going NOT going to buy CD's, they will continue to steal all the music they want off the internet.The "industry" has been destroyed and i don't know if you can ever get it back.

Another great artical and thought-provoking rebuttal. Thank you gentlemen for well reasoned statements. Allows me to better see what to expect, and plan for, for tour expections and results. Dan

We've been touring for 5 or so years now 100% on our own with no backing. We can continue to do this because of previous tours. Making contacts, friends, and fans in other cities is what makes it all possible. Of course you are going to lose money on your first couple tours that is just the way it generally works. Half of the bands I know that are still grinding it out have some lingering debt from the first tour, that is just something that seems to come with pursuing the life of a touring musician. So to say that if you can't pack every show within a days drive of your hometown is bullshit. We are bigger in Portland Maine for crying out loud than we are in our hometown. However, things might be about to change for us. We've been talking with a local label who has been offering tour support among other things. They are already lining up some potentially rad stuff for us and we haven't even signed. We have a meeting with them tonight, and I am forward to hearing what else they have to say. I just want to get back on the road, with or without someone elses money filling our gas tank, so we can party with our friends across the country. In my eyes being content with sitting at home and playing local shows is admitting defeat, and we aren't quite done yet.

[quote="TheHandMeDowns"]So to say that if you can't pack every show within a days drive of your hometown is bullshit. We are bigger in Portland Maine for crying out loud than we are in our hometown. However, things might be about to change for us. We've been talking with a local label who has been offering tour support among other things. They are already lining up some potentially rad stuff for us and we haven't even signed. We have a meeting with them tonight, and I am forward to hearing what else they have to say. I just want to get back on the road, with or without someone elses money filling our gas tank, so we can party with our friends across the country. In my eyes being content with sitting at home and playing local shows is admitting defeat, and we aren't quite done yet.[/quote] You are the exception. My point is that music is a numbers game. Your band is probably on the same page in a lot of ways which is good and collectively you can handle the ups and downs. Punk is a genre that sort of has a built in and recycled market in a lot of towns. Most cities across the country have at least one good dingy raw punk room. The closest thing we have is the Frequency here in Madison and that is a cool place. There is nothing that remotely resembles defeat when you choose to market in other ways or choose to target market. Your self-example is a cool exception. But, it is not the norm and I bet most musicians could not make the sacrifices your band has. But, that does not make any band more or less worthy of attention than your band. The simple fact is that venues want bands that draw. Different genres require different marketing. I would like to hear an example like yours from something other than a punk/hardcore band.

I think there are a couple missing ingredients from the conversation... touring is absolutely essential. As long as you don't screw yourself in the ground doing it. Even just touring "regionally" has interesting and definite effects on your local following. A couple years ago I took my old band to Chicago. The gig suck, we were treated like shit by the people at the venue, and in spite of the event being billed as a city wide music event, attendance was piss poor. You would have never known when we gigged back home the following week! Our local fans were so excited about our foray into the "Big" city, you would never guess that it was only a 2 hour drive. Going out on the road energizes your local fans - and limits their access to you - which makes it even more special when you do come back. As for the rest of it - don't be a dumbass. Some of my biggest fans in my last band were in California, Germany, and South Africa. None were in the mid-west. If it costs you 4x as much to get to the gig as you can possibly make at that gig, don't do it. Most places where there is any kind of music scene, there are lots of places to play within 2 hours of home. Figure out how to get your band away from trying to recreate "The Wall", make the drummer play a 2 piece, the guitar player play a ZT lunchbox, and the bass player use one of those TC electronics bass rigs. I'm being extreme, but think of how much more you can do if your band's gas expenses are 50-70% lower because you can fit in a Pontiac Vibe instead of that 15 passenger Dodge that smells like a gym locker.