This is the second-part of a two-part blog – the first part is available here.
Budgeting
Being a small and emerging artist often necessitates doing things – touring included – ‘on a budget’, so make sure you have at least a rough plan on how you will allocate your money. But when doing so, it’s important to make realistic assessments; there’s nothing worse than running out of money and having to busk your way out of the poverty line.
Setting a budget for touring can be invariably difficult, with many unanticipated expenses cropping up along the way – anything from parking tickets to paying for something to keep you occupied during the day. You may plan on living from Tesco meal deals for a month, but can you realistically sustain it? What about the few beers you have after a show that later escalate to an unrestrained and frivolous parting of cash?
A certain degree of prudence is therefore required for all cash-strapped musicians, though what may at face-value appear to be an economical solution may neither be so nor the most practical. You may be able to book a room in a Travelodge just outside of the city for £15, but when split three-ways the extra cost for the city centre hotel with parking included may be more viable, and ultimately save you vital funds you can later redeem in petrol, food and beer – also saving you a potential logistic nightmare and an expensive taxi fare should you wish to explore what Grimsby’s nightlife has to offer after your show.
Arranging accommodation is always a crucial consideration in the organisation of any tour. Slumming it in a van with a couple of mattresses may sound appealing to some. But with budget hotel chains such as Travelodge, Ibis and Accor available across the UK, cheap hotel rooms – particularly when split between your travelling party – can provide a little inexpensive comfort which goes a long way to improving your overall tour experience.
Though if frugality must prevail, hospitable friends living locally to the show may be able to put you up for the night – allowing you to get some all-important recuperation time without tightening the purse strings. Prolonged touring can be an exhausting experience so it is crucial to get sufficient rest so you’re fresh for your show the following day.
Support acts
If your tour extends to areas where you have little or no following, it’s always a good idea to tour with groups that do. Perhaps you’re doing a co-headline tour with a similarly small act, why not recruit a local artist to each venue that’s able to who would be able to guarantee a crowd? This will allow you to maximise your audience and, so long as you get a comparatively similar sounding group on board, expand your fanbase and musical networks. Just make sure you reciprocate by offering them an opportunity to play in your hometown (or wherever you are able to attract decent support).
Protect your equipment
Get yourself some hardcases to protect your cherished instruments, before stenciling and labelling them with your group’s name and contact details. This will help make them easily identifiable, and to avoid any mixups with other cases. Likewise, ensure that you make a note of serial numbers in the event of loss or theft.
While hardcases may represent a considerable investment, they are certainly worthwhile purchases given that they can safeguard your equipment from potential costly repair, which can present problems should they be damaged during your tour.
Take the time to produce a comprehensive list of all of your equipment to check-off when unloading and loading. It may sound laborious, but you want to look to avoid losing anything then it’s worth doing – hunting around for a replacement capo that you need for your hit song an hour before your set is a stress you want to avoid at ALL costs.
DON’T take any chances with safety: never leave equipment unattended in a car park overnight – take the time to unload each night so you can rest assured that your gear is out of sight and has been bound to the safety of your hotel room.
Promotion
It pays – in both monetary terms and as an investment of your time – to sufficiently promote your tour and group before embarking. Exhaust all possible channels – with plenty of local coverage for each show. For small acts at least, a half-hearted effort is unlikely to yield the same potential gains than a well-coordinated and thoroughly marketed tour.
Get promotional materials and merchandise produced to hand out or sell at the show. The most obvious examples would include:
- T-Shirts
- CDs
- Leaflets
- Posters
- Badges
- Stickers
- Bottle openers
In recent years, bands have gotten a little more creative with their choice of merchandise with bands now decided to get their own signature coffee or beer.
Incidentally, we’ve compiled our favourite examples of weird and wonderful band merchandise, which is available to read here.
It might be worth getting a backdrop too, and to bring along enough supplies to ensure you are able to hang it up (cable ties are always a good shout but for that you’ll need the backdrop to have eyelets). When ordering a backdrop, make sure it’s been designed professionally and will look good and not pixelated. While it may seem obvious, order a size that’s appropriate for the venues you’ll be playing at – there’s no point in getting something made that you might be able to find on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury Festival when you’re playing a circuit of small pub gigs.
It’s very easy to forget the name of an act after a great show – it’s also very easy (and inexpensive) to get leaflets printed with your website and social media sites to hand out at shows to ensure that any new fans you make on the night, stay fans beyond the night.
Resolve differences between band members
What’s clear about touring is that you will spend A LOT of time with the other members in your group. Resolve tensions and grudges between members before tour, so you can diffuse a possible meltdown later.
It’s understandable that after some time, a member may want some me-time, or to perhaps pass on a night out to avoid burnout. Give and take can be an important lesson to learn, and it’s vital to learn to respect each other’s differences.
Stay healthy
In light of the close proximity you will share with your other band members – illnesses can spread easily, which will do little for morale and can be difficult to shift once on the road.
It may presupposed that relentlessly living a life of Sex, Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll is an integral part of the touring experience. Though while we cannot all live a life of the late Lemmy, try instead to strike a good balance between healthy food and fast food, water and alcohol. Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, ensure you have a regular intake of vitamin C… and get some sleep!
If you’ve got any other tips you’d like to share, please feel free to post them in the comments.