Touring the country is a rite of passage for any aspiring musician. You get to travel to new places, meet your fans, and share your music with a new audience every night. However, before you can launch the tour of your dreams, you have to get everything in order.
Here’s how to book a tour.
1. Decide on a date range and a route.
The first step in planning a tour is determining what dates you’ll be on the road. You’ll need to pick a range of dates that works with your school or job schedule. Plan your dates several months in advance so that you have plenty of time to contact venues and market in new areas.
After you have your date range determined, decide where you want to go on tour. You can tour your local market by visiting major cities in the surrounding states or provinces, or you can head east or west on a cross-country tour. If you have the funds, you can even plan an international tour.
This video will teach you the basics of planning a tour.
2. Assemble your band, crew, and equipment.
Now that you know when and where you’re touring, it’s time to assemble a crew. If you don’t already have a backing band, then you should either contact musicians you’ve worked with before or hold auditions to find a good team.
You may also want to hire a few crew members to help load and set-up equipment. The size of your crew depends on the caliber of your tour. Larger tours require more hands on deck to keep everything running smoothly.
You also can’t forget your equipment. This video will teach you how to pack for tour.
3. Contact venues.
Make a list of possible venues in every city that you want to hit on tour. Find each venue’s preferred contact form (the company website, e-mail, or phone) and get in contact with the owner or booking manager.
Be sure to cater each message you send to the specific venue. Mention any local fan clubs or street teams you may have in their area or any other indicator that you can bring in a substantial audience. Have a video of one of your live performances or recording of one of your best songs ready to send in.
Always follow up with the venues you reach out to. This video explains how to book shows without a booking agent.
4. Promote your tour on social media.
Now that you have everything set in motion, it’s time to get the attention of your audience. Start by contacting any fans or followers you have who live near the cities you’re traveling to. You can offer them free tickets or backstage passes to do local promotion work for your upcoming shows.
You can also promote your tour on social media by creating a poster that fans can share or set as their header images. Be sure to announce your tour dates well in advance so that your listeners can make travel plans.
Check out this video for more tour promotion tips.
Planning a tour is a lot of work, but it’s a worthy adventure. Be sure to work hard and get started well ahead of time so that you can plan the tour of your dreams.
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Kristen Harris enjoys listening to a wide range of music, from Taylor Swift to, on occasion, Celtic instrumental. She also spends her time writing, reading, and baking.
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