Expert: Terrance Copley - 10/20/2008

Question
Our band has 12 original songs. we are gaining a good following here locally. We want to book a one month tour in June, 2009. By then we'll have a quality full length CD and merchandise. Hopefully he response this will give us a clear picture on what direction the band should head.

1. How soon should I start contacting venues for the tour?

2. If you have any advise on getting booked, that would be great.

3. Any ideas on what we should do from a promotion and marketing standpoint to get the best response from the crowds, bands, and venues on the tour?


When should I start contacting

Answer
Start looking for gigs in February !

Booking your own tour is by no means an easy feat. It requires a lot of planning, preparation and hard work. It is not impossible, though. Ever day of the year, several bands are busy booking their own tours. There are a lot of benefits to booking your own tour; you have total control over how much money you make, it is a good learning experience, and best of all... it impresses record labels.

This first thing you will need to do, is figure out a budget. Spend some time thinking about a realistic amount of money your band could spend to go on tour. This is your first time touring as a band (obviously, or else you wouldn't be reading this), so don't expect to make any money. Consider you first tour to be an investment.

After you have created a budget, get out a map and choose the cities and/or states you want to play in. Then go to mapquest.com and do some math. Estimate how many miles to the gallon your vehicle gets, and then calculate how many miles you plan on traveling. Divide the total number of miles by your gas mileage, then multiply that number by the cost of gas (e.g., 1000 miles / 20 miles per gallon = 50 gallons. 50 gallons x $3 per gallon = $150). If the total cost of gas is more than your budget, you need to rethink things. Also, keep in mind you will need money for food and hotels.

Now that you know what cities you will be traveling to, you need to start booking dates. Since you don't have much money to work with, it is important to try and play one show every day of your tour. You don't want to spend several days driving around not playing any shows. It will just be a waste of money. Booking the shows may take several weeks or months, so be prepared to start far in advance. In order to find venues to play at, you should use MySpace to contact other bands in the cities you will be going to, and ask them for their help and advice. Most bands are fairly courteous and will respond to your messages with some decent advice.


So you’re a band. You’ve written, rehearsed and recorded some music. You’ve built a fan base in your hometown that extends beyond your friends and family. Perhaps you’ve even caught the attention of local media. Now it’s time to venture outside the homestead and see the world, or at least the region.

The first step, even before securing adequate funds and a functioning vehicle (one that preferably two of your band can drive), is research. Determining where,
when and with whom to play can be time-consuming, but it’s only a few websites, message boards, emails, referrals and phone calls away.
Sites like Montreal Shows and Punk Ottawa offer contact information for local promoters, venues and bands, as well as message boards for any further queries (and free publicity once the tour is booked). Research ensures that you’ll be playing the right venues (consider their size and location within the city), with the right bands (they need not be carbon copies of you, but some stylistic consistency is recommended), at the right time (attendance is always unpredictable, but choose your dates wisely — when in Rome, don’t play the day of the Pope’s funeral). Note that bookers need to hear your music, so don’t even approach them before you’ve burned some tunes onto CDs (which you’ll need to sell at shows anyway) and uploaded them to your website or sites such as New Music Canada and My Space.
Like vacationing, playing is always more successful when you’ve got a local connection.
Working with promoters and bands in each town, as opposed to dealing with venues directly, is always advisable, especially on your first couple of tours. Not only will you get a better draw, via their visibility and advance promotion, but they’ll sidestep any disreputable or inappropriate venues. Not that there aren’t shady promoters out there, but it should be easy to weed them out online, and a bad rep will likely do a promoter more damage than it will a venue.
Your payment will come in the form of a guarantee (a pre-determined amount of money), percentage of the door and/or percentage of bar sales, though the latter is somewhat rare. Professional promotors like Montreal-based Blue Skies Turn Black always work with contracts, whereas some promoters and venues make less formal arrangements. Remember that verbal contracts are binding, and as with tenants talking to bad landlords, it doesn’t hurt to record that conversation. Either way, expect the deal to stick, so if you offer to play for beer or love or karma, that’s what you’ll get (and karma is debatable).

“Sometimes a band will agree to play with someone they really want to associate themselves with, saying, ‘We don’t care about the money,’ and then they make all these demands the night of the show,” says Blue Skies Turn Black’s Meyer Billurcu. “Every dollar is accounted for in the contract. We can’t make changes at the last minute because the band is suddenly unhappy.”

An organised budget with adequate funds for gas, food and (if necessary) lodging is essential to surviving a tour. Emergency money is recommended in case of damaged gear or personnel, if you get stiffed or your cash gets stolen, or if you simply underestimate your expenses. If you end up broke and busking, you wouldn’t be the first band to do so, but you may be digging yourself deeper into the hole because busking licenses are required in most Canadian cities.

Don’t think that your work is over once your dates, stage-mates and venues are confirmed. Contacting press and radio in each town, as well as getting flyers passed out and posters put up, should be done at least two weeks prior to the gig, and this is particularly difficult if you don’t have promoters helping you out. Again, employ all means of communication to get the word out, because there’s no point in touring if your shows are no-shows.

You must also place some
limits on yourselves.
Decide how you want to tour by asking
the following questions:

1. How far are you willing to drive before a gig?
2. How far are you willing to drive on off days?
3. How long do you want to be on the road?
4. How long can you afford to be on the road?

Lose sight of your agenda and you may find youve booked your band in Minneapolis on the 3rd and Cincinnati on the 4th. Thats 770 miles, road warrior.

The answers to the questions will help you generate a route a template for the tour as youd like it to be. Write down your route and keep a copy on hand when dealing with venues. This may seem obvious, but you could forget your name in the flood of calls and e-mails. Lose sight of your agenda and you may find youve booked your band in Minneapolis on the 3rd and Cincinnati on the 4th. Thats 770 miles, road warrior. Was that in the plan?  

Route in hand, its time to find the right venue for your band. There are resources aplenty. The Musicians Guide to Touring and Promotion is available at many bookstores and newsstands. Pollstar publishes a bi-annual concert venue directory, available at pollstar.com. These publications list brief descriptions and contact information for thousands of venues across the US. CitySearch.com is a good resource for finding musical hotspots abroad. Save the postcards and e-mail you receive from touring bands. Log onto their websites and see the venues they have played on the road. Indie rock magazines like Magnet have tour schedules in their classified ads. Pollstar.com will list hundreds of tour itineraries.

Know where you want to play? Then its time to get the gig. Everybody, and I mean everybody, will want a promotional package from you. CD, band bio, band photo and press clipping are the classic ingredients. Clubs receive thousands of these packs, so it may behoove you to set yourself apart in some way. Ive seen silver space-age envelopes, even pizza box promo packs. Dont set yourself apart with your unique low-fi demo. Even if its only two songs, make a good recording of your music or you wont be taken seriously.

A bit of bad news you may have to mail your promo packs two or three times. Why? Because in the office of every booking agency there exists a mysterious vortex and only the most persistent bands escape its dark gravity. Repeat mailings will increase your costs, so be prepared. Keep a written record of your mailings when, what and to whom and use this information. If a package should be there, prompt the agent to take another look. Often the difference between Dude, I dont think we have your stuff and Yeah its totally here is you having your act together.

Give the package a week to arrive, then reach for the phone. These first calls are important. If people perceive you as responsible, they will treat you with respect. Consider this following example:

"Hello, my name is Bill Morgan and Im booking a tour for a band called Rainbow Drive. Well be coming through your area on the 14th and I'd love to get the band on a bill at Club Lucky."

By introducing himself as a representative of the band, Bills avoid the stigma of a struggling musician looking for a handout. He need not say hes in the band -- this is a business call. Rainbow Drive is interested in Club Lucky and plans to be in town that day. Implication? This is a band that will be touring, not a band hoping to book a tour. Make your band sound like a safe bet and clubs are more prone to gamble.

With a sensible route, a high-quality package and a professional demeanor, you can get your band in the door.

Booking tips :
Get your Promo Package Together - Have a standard package ready to introduce yourself to venues and promoters. Much like the package you use when you send a demo to a label , this promo package should be short and sweet. Include a short demo CD, a short bio or one sheet to introduce the band, and some press clippings, if you have any (especially ones that review live performances). If you're going to approach people by email instead, cut and paste the info into the body of an email and include a link to a site where your music can be heard. Don't send attachments - most people won't open them.

Approach the Venue - To get a gig directly with a venue, call and find out who is in charge of booking bands and send them your promo package. They may tell when to contact them again. If not, give them about a week, and follow up by phone or email. Keep trying until you get an answer. If you've haven't played live much, your best bet is try to get on an existing bill with a band that already has a bit of a following. Keep in mind that if you book with a venue, you may be in charge of promoting the show yourself and paying venue rental fees, unless you are invited on to an existing concert bill.

Approach the Promoter - If you'd rather not self promote and take on venue fees, you can approach a promoter to get a gig. Send your promo pack to the promoter and follow up in the same way you would with a venue. If a promoter agrees to get you a show, they will book the venue and promote the show for you, but you may need to send them posters you have made yourself to do so.

If the promoter doesn't want to put you on by yourself yet, ask them if they have any shows you could play as an opening act. If they say no, check in from time to time to remind them you are always available as a support act.

Understand the Deal - This is the trickiest part for most bands. First, understand that when you are just getting started, you often will not make money on your shows. In fact, you may even end up out of pocket. That doesn't mean it was all for nothing - building up your fan base will mean you do make money on future gigs.

If you do make money, you will either have a deal where you get paid a pre-agreed amount no matter how many people turn up, or you will have a door split deal . Either deal is fine and fair. Focus on building your audience and not the money right now.

Play the Gig - Sounds obvious, I know, but the way you handle the gig can have a lasting impact on your ability to get future shows. Show up on time for the soundcheck and if there are other bands playing, remember everyone needs time for their soundcheck. Be professional - there is likely to be free drinks around, but remember everyone is there to hear your music, not to see if you can handle your beer. Don't sell yourself short by getting on stage in anything but your top shape, ready to play a great show. Play a good show, be courteous and professional, and you'll soon be getting more show offers!

Tips:
Don't Get Caught Up on the Deal - This is worth repeating. Your goal is build up your audience. Promoters and venues are taking a chance on you when you are just getting started - they will be more willing to give you a chance if you don't have a lot of financial demands.

But Don't Pay to Play - If you're putting on your own show, of course you may have to pay a venue hire fee and you may to pay some promotional costs. However, don't pay money simply to get on a bill, and don't trust anyone who asks you to.

Invite the Press - Keep the entertainment writers at your local papers informed about your activities and always invite them to the show. Also, keep your local radio stations up to date on what's happening with your band and when you're playing.

Respect the Guest List - Guests lists have a way of getting out of hand, fast. Don't push it with promoters with the guest list when you are trying to build up a name for yourself. If you're part of a larger bill, you may not even have any guest list spaces. If you do, use what you have and be done with it. Don't try to get 50 of your closest cheapskate friends into every show for free. You'll get a bad name for yourself.

Good luck and hope this helps.
Terry Copley
CEO
Local Scene Records and working musician
www.myspace.com/localscenerecords
www.localscenerecords.homestead.com/pg1.html