Touring with a Plan and Strategy - Where to Play, When to Play, and How to Sell Tickets
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This episode is all about Touring Strategy! How often to play, which cities or markets to play, what types of venues to play, what are promoters, talent buyers, and venue owners looking for, and how do you get a booking agent. This is my first solo, lecture style episode. One of my student's favorite classes is when I cover tour strategy, and it’s a lecture they always ask me to record. Now it’s available not just for my students in the class, but all of the Making It students and listeners around the world. In this episode, you’ll learn some simple easy to use strategies, that will help you simplify the topic of touring, and answer a lot of the common questions I receive.
I’ve seen a lot of artists make many mistakes when it comes to touring. Yes, it’s fun and exciting to hit the road, but it can also be very costly and expensive. Touring up and down the coast or around the country over and over again to play in empty rooms, is just not a good way to do business. Now if you’re just looking for adventure, have at it. I’d love to just circle the country over and over again. However, when it comes to building a career and longevity, it’s better to do things with a strategy. Look at it as a roadmap. You don’t want your driver on the road blind without a game plan or a map to follow. You’ll never get to where you want to go that way, or at least it’ll take much longer. This episode is here to lay out a strategy for you when it comes to touring. It’s not the only way to do things, but it’s something to think about and something anyone could build off of and make it their own.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this solo/lecture style episode. The holidays are a great time to experiment with new formats for the podcast to learn what gives our listeners the most value going, so we can deliver the best content for you in 2018.
Additional Resources to Book Your Next Show/Tour:
1. Booking More Shows by Writing Better Emails to Talent Buyers, Promoters, and Venue Owners
- Use this article to help you book more shows, and write better emails as you’re mapping out your tours, or selecting which markets you’re going to play.
2. 40 Strategies to Promote Your Next Show
- Use this article to help you promote the shows you book, and make sure to grab the free marketing plan below.
3. How to Open for National Acts
- Use this article to help you get opening slots for national acts.
Make sure to read all these articles to really benefit from the strategies mentioned here.
Highlights from this episode:
[5:31] Playing with Purpose
[6:25] Determining your Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s)
[10:12] Who Books the Shows
[13:50] What are Promoters Looking For?
[30:13] The types of Venues to Play
[35:34] How Often to Play
[39:40] Which Cities/Markets to Play
[42:52] How Many Cities to Develop at a Time
Links to people, places, and things mentioned
Delta Rae
Foo Fighters
House of Blues New Orleans
Live Nation
Earthday Birthday
WJRR 101.1
Dickerman from WJRR
SunFest - West Palm Beach
AEG Present
Jason Hunnicutt of 1904 Music Hall
Ari Herstand
Creative Artist Agency (CAA)
William Morris Endeavor (WME)
Paradigm
Kessler Theater in Dallas, TX
Ari Nisman (College Booking Agent with Degy Entertainment)
Andy Grammer
Steve Aoki
Shannon Curtis
Dawn Beyer
Kyle Lemaire
Vulfpeck
Chris Stapleton on Joe Rogan Podcast
Hydrogen Child
Joe Pulizzi
[BOOKS]
How to Make It in the New Music Business by Ari Herstand
Booking Agent Interviews
Kevin Stone - Florida Theater - Jacksonville, FL
Wayne Lee - New Orleans, LA
Dan Larson - Okeechobee Music Fest / Venue 578 - Orlando, FL
Allen Anders - AEG Presents - Dallas, TX
Michael Yerke - Live Nation - Los Angeles, CA
Talent Buyer Interviews
Alec Vidmar - United Talent Agency (UTA)
Ari Nisman - Degy Entertainment
Jeff Howard - Agency for the Performing Arts (APA)
Pete Anderson - Agency for the Performing Arts (APA)
Jeremy Holgersen - United Talent Agency (UTA)
Joshua Knight - Paradigm Agency
Meg White - ICM Partners
