Crunkbox Articles - Articles - Touring Strategies

Booking Festivals, Fairs and Events

no@spam.com (Andy J) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 07:12:57 CDT

March is get down to business month. With the summer festival season on the horizon, this is a great time to contact and line up your summer events calendar. Many of the major festivals already have their talent lined up and contracted. There are still some filler slots open at most of the major festivals. But why rely on the major festivals to fill up your calendar? There are so many town, city, county and state-wide events that will take place throughout the spring, summer and fall that book local and regional talent along with some of the big name acts. Now is the time for a bit of research on your city’s website, your county government website, your state’s tourist department website and the US Chamber of Commerce website.

How to Get Tour Support from Your Record Label

no@spam.com (Andy J) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 07:11:31 CDT

In my article, How To Get Tour Support for Your Musical Act, I discussed alternative methods of funding touring expenses if you are an independent artist. This article focuses on how to work with your record label and what expenses might be likely for the label to fund. Most of you who have been signed to a label are probably working with a smaller independent label unlikely to have the financial resources at their disposal that most of the major labels have. All is not lost. This is a process of working with the label, whether an Indie or a major label. Creativity is one of the greatest resources we have and it will be greatly appreciated here.

How to Approach Booking Agents

no@spam.com (Andy J) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 07:10:15 CDT

You have reached that point in your career development when adding an agent to your team would be a logical next step. Before you pick up the phone and start calling around, I suggest you do the following three steps.

Hot Tips for Holiday Bookings

no@spam.com (Andy J) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 07:08:53 CDT

Folks are gearing up for the big holiday hoopla as this Fourth of July begins to get noisy. Thinking about this holiday reminded me of the challenges of booking tours around holidays. I thought I would offer some tips about holiday bookings, which ones to go after and which ones to avoid. Some holidays can be a gold mine, others a big bust. Some days aren't even holidays, but should be treated as such when it comes to booking gigs. Holiday awareness can net you additional gigs and also help you plan ahead for travel challenges like traffic and airport delays.

How You Can "Give Back" by Giving Your Music

no@spam.com (Andy J) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 07:07:07 CDT

July 16th is the anniversary of the death of Harry Chapin, one of the world's great humanitarians and one of music's finest story-song writers. I remember the exact moment I heard the news on the radio that Harry Chapin had been killed in a car accident on the Long Island Expressway. He was heading to New York City to meet with his manager to discuss cutting back on his performance dates. His detailed songs, filled with life's reality touched me, like many during Chapin's heyday. He wrote about subjects most other writers dared not touch. His legacy is his profound devotion to the performing arts and helping to solve one of the world's most unnecessary problems, hunger. The organization, World Hunger Year, is a testament to Chapin's charitable efforts during his lifetime and it remains one of the leading organizations fighting hunger today.

What to Do When Your Live Act Outgrows A Venue

no@spam.com (Andy J) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 07:05:48 CDT

As emerging artists, it's often hard to find promoters or venues that will take a chance on an untested artist. When a promoter finally catches on to your act and gives you a chance, it is important that you recognize that promoter's efforts. If success finds you, make sure you return the favor to those who have invested their time, belief and money on you back when first started.

Benefiting from Playing Benefits

no@spam.com (Andy J) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 07:03:03 CDT

So many performers shy away from doing benefits, most often because they think "benefit" means they don't get paid. I would like to offer a different perspective on performing benefits. In fact, I suggest that you strategically incorporate benefits into your tour plans every year.

How to Get Tour Support for Your Musical Act

no@spam.com (Andy J) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 07:01:35 CDT

Touring is expensive, especially when you tour with more than two people. There are so many costs associated with launching a tour and many of those costs are incurred before playing the first date. As an independent artist managing your own career and possibly running your own record label, you are responsible for fronting all the money for marketing, recording and eventually touring. There are ways, however, to get some financial support for some of the touring costs. It takes a little work, some research and some creative thinking and can result in having someone else pay for some of the touring expenses.

Are You Filling the Calendar or Building a Career?

no@spam.com (Andy J) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 06:59:45 CDT

Have you ever felt frantic about getting more dates on the calendar? So often, I find that many artists are fixated with filling up their calendars with any gig that comes their way. Depending on your goals, that may be exactly the thing to do. For those of you attempting to create a long lasting career, that has some momentum and progresses from one level up to the next, I would like to help you examine the types of gigs you are booking.

Advancing the Date

no@spam.com (Andy J) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 06:57:07 CDT

There is nothing more satisfying for a touring musician, than to arrive at the venue and everything is in order. All of the requested equipment is set up and ready for sound check, the publicity has been done, posters are hanging in the window and there is someone to meet you as you load in. Was it an accident that this occurred? Not likely, probably all can be attributed to good planning and someone spending some time advancing the date. The term means to call ahead to the venue and all other associated contacts prior to the play date and confirm all the necessary arrangements with the appropriate personnel.

Day-Of-Show -- Staying in Control

no@spam.com (Andy J) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 06:54:22 CDT

Whether you are on a tour or simply doing a single date, the day of the show is filled with last minute details begging for attention. Dealing with the final logistics of each performance date has the potential of creating a day fraught with frustrations or one which runs like clockwork leaving you calm and in control. I opt for the second. In order for you to experience that sense of control, here is a template of suggestions to help you plan your day-of-show and keep on top of the details.

How to Use a Tour Off-Day Creatively

no@spam.com (Andy J) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 06:52:05 CDT

You've done everything possible to fill each day with bookings, and yet you still end up with one day, between gigs. You don't have to drive and you don't have to play. Depending on how long you've been on the road, you might want to simply sleep or catch up on emails or write a new song. If however you have done a brilliant job of planning and this day off is no accident, a great deal of business can be accomplished. Here are some ideas to help you pass your next off-day more productively.

Touring Strategies: Renting Tour Vehicles

no@spam.com (Andy J) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 06:48:40 CDT

When you are in the start-up phases of establishing a new group, you may not want to make an investment in a touring vehicle. Instead, more pressing items require investment dollars such as promotional packages, photos and recordings. Rather than increasing the wear and tear on one of the group's own vehicles, renting a touring vehicle may be the best method of getting around.

How Your Band Can Break Into the (Lucrative) College Market

no@spam.com (Andy J) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 06:47:02 CDT

School's in session! I thought I would lend some insights into playing the college market as you begin the fall touring season. For some artists the college market is a gold mine and for others it simply offers frustration. Many acts successfully use the colleges as a point from which to launch their careers while others have found it leading to a dead end. There are a number of drawbacks to playing this arena as well as benefits. As we explore both ends of the spectrum, keep an open mind about how this market might fit into your booking plans.

Developing A Home Base of Support to Build National Success: Part 2

no@spam.com (Andy J) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 06:44:56 CDT

In Part 1 of "Developing A Home Base," we examined the benefits of building a solid home base foundation before venturing out to tour beyond your local area. Now, I'd like to help you determine just how much of a home base you have already developed and what you might do to build upon some of your successes.

Developing A Home Base of Support to Build National Success: Part 1

no@spam.com (Andy J) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 06:43:10 CDT

There is great advantage to concentrating the majority of your development in your hometown as you plan for future tours to new territories. I have always been a believer in starting your career in a central place, like your hometown or a town nearby that would be conducive to your career development. Then, expand outward systematically from that central point. I picture a stone dropped into a pool of water—ripples cascade outward from the center where the stone landed. This approach helps you build your fan base and business skills in a step-by-step strategic manner.

Dynamics for Success

no@spam.com (Andy J) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 06:41:11 CDT

We can discuss booking strategies and marketing plans forever, but until your group has established a working group dynamic, success may be illusive. One of my first concerns when I worked with any group, is to see how the group worked together and interacted with each other away from the music. I've seen situations when a band can make incredible music together and as soon as the rehearsal or the gig is over, everyone disappears into their own world just so they don't have to interact with one another. There is so much more to creating a successful band than just playing the music. I want to know that the group will do more than simply tolerate each other when it's absolutely necessary.

How To Find the Right Venue for Your Live Show

no@spam.com (Andy J) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 05:52:49 CDT

Yes, it is so important to play as often as possible. It is also just as important to make sure you play rooms that help move your career forward. Once again this topic requires you to review your long-term goals and keep them in mind as you tackle every new aspect of your career. In this case, selecting appropriate venues can be challenging but rewarding. The challenge lies in that there are a finite number of venues where one may play and an infinite number of other acts competing for those venues. The reward is realized when you begin to qualify the venues you choose to play, in order to fulfill your commitment to reach your career goals. This is a different way of approaching booking.

Tour Marketing Template-Part Two, A Promotional Time-Line

no@spam.com (Andy J) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 05:49:45 CDT

As the saying goes,"timing is everything." That is so true in the promotion business. Miss a deadline, and you may forfeit an entire month's itinerary information getting to the booking personnel across the country. This could hamper the ease of future bookings. Or, if you miss the calendar-listing deadline, your photo and upcoming gig information may not appear in the local daily paper, reducing your chances for a good audience turnout. So let's get a handle on the timing and work with a time-line that will keep you on track

Tour Marketing Template, Part One

no@spam.com (Andy J) — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 05:45:57 CDT

So you are working hard to book your tour and the dates are falling into place smoothly. Now the biggest challenge ahead of you is to create some audience excitement and media interest. I believe that any project, tour or product you create needs to have the marketing plan in place while you are planning the project, tour or product. You see this working all the time with national products, movies, major label record releases. The concept produces successful results when applied to independent label releases and individual artist tours.