The True Cost of Touring
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- čas přidán 2. 06. 2024
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00:00 - This Could Bankrupt Me
01:51 - The Realities of Touring
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04:39 - Marketing in 2024
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07:22 - Why Am I Doing This? - Hudba
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@MarySpender Greetings again from Marine City Michigan USA I feel extremely exactly what you are talking about. "D"
How does a Musician end up with $1M after touring? Start with $2M.
Facebook groups and posters. Plus the City website.
You're a younger artist with an older audience. You're going to have to promote your shows locally for each venue. It's tricky, but if possible do some Guerrilla Marketing by showing up at these venues for other artists in the next couple of months. About 2 hours before each show announce on Instagram, FB, YT short, etc. "i'm going to see this artist here tonight...see you there..." This will generate excitement around you and the venue and the local artists who will, in turn, promote you. Use free social media to cross-promote this new network of artists and venues. Additionally, local news are always looking for segments to fill airtime...especially in the AM. You can promote your shows to each TV station and offer to do a song on air. This will definitely hit your market demographic.
@@shiftintosunshineTotally agree.
Since I don’t live in the UK is this my support.
Thank you and have a great time touring Mary.
Thank you!
@@MarySpender Thats nice
What about a pay-per-veiw live stream of some shows. I live in the US and can't go in person.but would plunk down some money to see a show.
Good idea! Wouldn't need to do all of the shows but 1 or 2 would hopefully be cost effective, especially if the tech allowed the viewer to watch on a delay (if needed due to time zone issues/work conflict/etc.)
This is a great idea. Mary should heed your advice, i would pay to see her too.
This is a great idea, use a good quality camera (iPhone) pipe in the audio and sell it to the audience. Low upfront cost and possibly a great way to recover some costs. I agree it should be available for replay to allow for time zones. Could simply be a CZcams members only stream?? Keep it simple.
Yeah, I do this even when an event is in my city. Less crowds and hassle of getting to and from the venue.
@@itslikethesamebutdifferent8020 "heed," is a fine verb that is underused. Thank you.
My band played together for nearly 15 years. We played to packed bars, and we also played to the sound guy and bar staff, many times, at all points of our journey. While we loved making music, we never took the leap of trying to do it professionally. In that time we self produced 5 albums, all studio quality, and we are very proud of what we did on our own.
As I get older, I still love to see live music, even though I don't play live anymore. And to me, THAT is the key to success. Don't try to bring the fans to you. Go to where the fans are. Play clubs, regardless of size where people go to here music. Not YOUR music. Not a genre of music. Just music. Where people are open to the experience of sharing an evening with an artist.
Your fanbase will grown from that. Something in your voice, or a melody will stick with them, and they will remember, they will follow, and ultimately, they will want to see you and share that experience with you again.
I wish you all the best on this tour, and should you ever come to the US, please make a stop in Portland, Maine.
Cheers.
I remember telling the 8 people in the bar to grab their tables and stick them in front of the stage so they could have a “private” show. It was a hoot and we all had a great time. It was certainly better than playing to an empty dance floor.
Coming from Slovakia to the London show as a surprise to my wife. Just booked flights, hotel and concert tickets. We can't wait!!!!
Thank you!
@SeanAllocca you're awesome mate !!
Dont let your wife see this video then ;)
Small venue design is off the charts in Britain. Every one of them looked like a place I'd want to see live music in regularly.
seconded
I'm worthless to you as far as help or suggestions, especially living in the USA, but I'm rooting for you! I hope it works out well for you and turns out to be all you hope for.
Touring can be brutal. I remember reading about one of The Tragically Hip's early shows. Played in Seattle I believe. Something like 6 or 7 people showed up. Gord Downie invited them up to the front of the stage and it turned into a party. It's those interactions that made them legends. RIP Gord. Admire that you treat your staff and friends with class and dignity.
oh man, I miss Gord so much...
I run a small venue in the United States in the suburbs of Atlanta, and I sometimes work as an FOH engineer at other venues. I suggest reaching out and making customized videos and photographs for each venue. They don't have to be fancy, but they should include something specific for each town. For us, that means 10 to 20 extra tickets per concert. Also, send a CD to each venue, especially if they have non-music acts. We use upcoming performers as house music in the lobby before the plays and dance recitals we have. Toi! Toi! Toi!
Great ideas!
Yes, great, some kind of special “bootleg” live album or two including venue videos?
Good idea thank you!
I saw a UK band named Moke 20 years ago (maybe more). They opened for The Black Crowes at The State Theater in Detroit. Never heard of Moke but they were fantastic. I bought their cd, and a shirt. About a week later, Moke played at The Shelter, again, in Detroit. I brought 4 people with me and that made a crowd of 10. These guys were all the way from the UK, had excellent music and only 10 people at the gig. They still put on an amazing show. Music is a tough industry. I was in a band. Played local clubs for a pittance. Some packed, some empty. You have to love it. Break a leg.
That reminds me of when I went to see Hanne Kolstø play in Munich in 2015. Even for a relatively small venue, about two dozen people dotted about the room wasn't a lot and felt like a bit of a bummer. It appears she's been concentrating on her native Norway since.
I think I found the concert you were referring to, Black Crowes with Moke in State Theater on 02/19/1999 (there's even a setlist available). It appears Moke released a second album in 2001 and disbanded in 2002.
Coming from a punk background, the best (and most cost effective) way of promoting a show is to partner up with a popular local band to open for you. Then when they are touring, you can return the favor and open for them. It ends up being win-win because both bands get introduced to each other’s fans. It also usually works out well for finding places to stay. These days there is less “crashing on the floor” and more “my buddy has an AirBnB.”
I spent most of my 20s in a small Wyoming town where if a bar had a live band, even if you've never heard of them, they were standing room only! Small towns are also cheaper on food and hotel costs. I bet if you made a run of small towns in the Western U.S, you would have a great turn out.
Small towns are great for playing to a live audience
After the UK tour, an idea for the US tour: unplugged, cut the band (cost), mainly accoustic living room performances in the homes of online followers… Limited seats, highly exclusive, you need an invite, 3 weeks, 15 performances in different cities
I did this for another favorite local guitarist and vocalist. Hosted 15 near and dear friends for a potluck and living room concert. It was an amazing evening thouroughly enjoyed by all. Naturally, the artist was well compensated for her performance.
Mary, if you read this and are down, I'd love to host you in south Denver, Colorado someday enabling me to continue my living room concert series and supporting up and coming artists. Please reach out!
A folk musician I was talking to recently wasn't telling me that him and his musical partner had quite a strong advantage in this regard, in that when they went on tour it was just the two of them in a van. No need to hire anyone else, and would just stay in a Travelodge or similar each night - they'd get a reasonable crowd at each folk club they played at, and while they wouldn't make a huge profit from doing this there was also not much chance of making a loss.
Hey Mary, my name is Ralf Falk I`m a musician since I was getting 14. I´m from Germany and I am 72 years now. I just started my CZcams channel about 5 weeks ago. Having given you this informations, I now like to try giving some information you`d just reqested: 1- I never toured the way you intend to do, I allways fixed some gigs and traveled there without thinking too much about a route or the like. 2- most of the time I did solo gigs, so I was not responsible for others and that helped a lot. 3- I`m not "only" a musician but I make my own guitars, amps, pa and a lot of the other stuff needed by myself. 4- the genre I am in is the Blues.
I have had my share of other things like Jazz and Folk too. But it allways seems to be a small niche in the music game. I sometimes was a side man or sat in with bands . But, to be honest, the experiences I learned the most from besides my time of studying music in music schools, were the occasions where I could meet and play with quite a few of my music heroes. This was way back in the 1960ies. And in this time it was really easy to meet people especially musicians. Everything then was sort of more human: you just went to a concert, asking if you might be welcome to take part and you definitly would get an answer. That`s how I did it and mostly it went well. I talk about people here like "Big Joe Williams" and " Champion Jack Duree" to name just two wonderfull musicians. Just Blues guys!
I now learned that today one has to have millions of "klicks", just to know who to ask- sorry, but it seems to be a lot more complikated nowadays.Until the days determined by the pandemic, everything went good for me getting gigs and spending my other time by giving guitar lessons and making gear. I think the situation is quite similar to yours because beside your musical work you are doing that CZcams thing here too. Anyway, I have no real advice for you, but the things that I have just mentioned my be helpfull in one way or another and your videos here are definitly giving me some things to think of. Thank you for that.
Good luck on your tour and lotta fun to you...
How do you promote a show when your fanbase is so geographically dispersed? I guess that’s the problem with being a mostly online musician. That’s a tough call. As an arts council in rural Canada, we pay artists at your level around $3k to $5k to come to our town. We get that money back mostly from sponsorship. Ticket sales aren’t always guaranteed (as you know all too well). We should get a cut of merch sales, but try to waive that when we can. Mostly we lose a little money per event but hopefully make it back through a single gig with a bigger name that we can tempt for a lower price. It’s the best we can do to both bring music to town and support the musicians too.
Thank you for what you do in supporting artists and the arts!
Thanks!
Thank you! Much appreciated.
@@MarySpender Reach for your dreams! You'll get there!
Hi Mary, love your music and your channel. I guess... since you have a big audience from all over the world, a good idea would be to record one live show and sell the recording online (pay-per-view or something like that). Only people in the UK can come to see you live, but people from everywhere can buy the recording of one of your shows. Just my two cents.
Glad that you liked Why Am I Doing This? (A Film About Touring). I was wondering why people were watching it again! I'm happy to see that it has reached so many people literally around the world. When I put it up on youtube I thought "maybe 3000 views..." but I was totally wrong about that! My band, The Bismarck, did two tours in the UK - 2012 and 2014. I even met my wife in Glasgow on the 2012 outing. I hope your tour goes well!
It's wonderful! Really enjoyed it. Thank you Eric.
@@MarySpender And in case you were wondering - Yes, you pronounced my last name correctly.
Consider this small donation me being to one of your UK shows in spirit! I would love to see your live performance when you get back to Chicago! 💕
Thank you so much!
I have booked tickets for the Leeds gig. Looking forward to it .
Hi Mary! Greetings from Chicago. Someone posted below about doing a pay-per-view online show, and I like that idea! I also LOVE the passion in you as you pursue your dreams!! I will always watch you!
Firstly, I must apologise as I will not be able to see you on this tour. The nearest show to me is a 4hr drive and it's a Monday so it's not likely to happen.
But I want to ask about festival gigs. There are a lot of small-to-medium festivals across the summer in the UK that I would imagine would be a guaranteed audience - whether these are Weekend-in-a-Field or Series-of-Standalone-Concerts, you'd be an excellent candidate for these.
We live in the states. Our “tours” are generally playing shows from East to west across our region. We can play a few hours east of where we live and crash on sofas or camp (lots of camping) on a weekend, then play our home town and somewhere a few hours west of our home town (sleeping in our own beds). We’ll round it out be traveling to play west a few hours and crashing on a sofa or maybe the venue has a deal with a hotel. That’s about 5 dates in two weekends. Not a glamorous “tour” but we can cover a 5 hour radius without being at a loss.
I wish I lived in the UK, just so I could support you in person.
My wife and I will be visiting the UK for three weeks from Korea in September. I checked the dates and was happy to see you're in Bush Hall on the 27th. We'll be in a hotel that's within walking distance. Booked, of course.
I REALLY REALLY wish I could come to one of you shows Mary, but my reality is that I'm a sole full time carer for my wife, and it's just impossible to find the time, ANY time! I bought your albums, and downloads, every one of them, and I think you're a superb artist and roll model for independant artists. I hope your tour is a fabulous success and you don't loose too much money trying to put yourself out there and make all your fans happy, that would be a crying shame? You deserve all the success and happiness all your skill and artistry should bring, so please, enjoy this tour as much as you possibly can, make it a fierce celebration of your wonderful talent, music, and personality.
Take care Mary, lots of love and luck, Chris. 👍❤️
Best wishes for a great tour!
I don’t have anything particularly meaningful to say and I sadly live too far to catch a show but I really appreciate your honesty!
All the best with the tour
WIsh you all the best on your tour.
I wish all the best of success in your upcoming tour and I'll definitely be sharing your music. ❤❤
Already booked for the London venue, looking forward to it!
Like others, being in Oz, I can't attend... but your insights are so valuable. Good luck on the tour... & I can't wait to find out how it all went...❤
Thanks so much!
Good luck from Canada with tour this fall! I hope its monumental success!
I wish you all possible success, Mary.
Thank you once again for your excellent content and delivery Mary.
Hi Mary, for 10+ years I only attend shows of CZcams musicians and I always tell the story of Kina Grannis in Amsterdam. Successful tours come in two! First time Kina came to Amsterdam she played on the second podium of an already small venue maxing out at 150 people and it was only half full. After less then an hour we where thrown out because the next band had to set up stage.... Kina took plenty of time in the lobby to autograph her merch, give hugs and make pictures... I don't think selfies where already a thing back then. I felt heartbroken for such a great artist to go through such a humbling experience.
Less then a year later Kina Grannis came back to Amsterdam and I made sure I had tickets and brought a friend to the show... The venue was much bigger - Melkweg - but I thought... ah.... she will be in one of the backrooms again. But no... the was a big tourbus with her name on it in the street and a que of audience for her until the end of the street... the venue 1500+ was completely sold out.
Years later Reina del Sid (a friend of yours) did the same thing... touring by train through Europe selling out a 60 people living room stage... to come back less then a year later selling out Paradiso - Amsterdam.
What happend in between? I can't tell - ask Kina and Reina.... but it worked.
Your touring budget is really tight... I hope you will do fine and I think so.... very rarely I buy tickets way ahead of time. But I did this time.... see you in Liverpool at 24th of september... very very soon!
Thank You for sharing this. Touring of any kind (book tour, music tour, political tour) is really about building a physical (vs. virtual) fanbase. It is about building "know, like, trust" so that when you make an "offer" those folks who "know, like, and trust" you will be the ones who will be supporting you. Is the tour gig "the offer?", "the album?", "the course?". If CZcams is the big income generator, then is the purpose of the tour to drive CZcams Subscribers, or is the CZcams video paying you to Advertising your "offer" - like a private songwriting lesson with you before a show. Having small merch price points - CD, Vinyl, T-shirt, socks - is a nice way for people to support you without a big investment, but others might be willing to spend hundreds/thousands of pounds to take a lesson or have a living room concert for a group of friends. Best of luck.
Best of luck to you, Mary! May you be blessed with success to continue touring and make your way to us here in the USA!
I'll be seing you in London .... All the very best of luck with the tour!
Looking forward to seeing you in Cambridge! 👍
looking forward to seeing you in Leeds in the amazing Brudenell! c u there
Good luck with your tour.
Best wishes. I can’t really get to the UK from across the pond, but I want nothing but the best for your tour.
Hi Mary I'm a retired 76 year old musician who has been following you for years. Always played locally in Michigan. I've also followed two musicians from there early years, you may have heard of them , Samantha Fish and Lindsey Sterling. Different in style but may be able to help. Good luck John Robertson
Hi 👋 from Wisconsin 🍻 78 and we Packerlanders follow Mary too!
Maybe ask some of the hotels in your touring cities if they’d be willing to hand out a concert brochure at check-in. Or allow you to display your brochures in their lobby…. Many tourists are looking for local things to do/see.
Also reach out to Restaurants, bars, pubs to display your brochures.
Social media will be your best place to advertise though. Hashtag the heck out of it and post to Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, twitter, TikTok.
Looking forward to the show in Bristol.
A few things about music lovers:
1) they typically know other music lovers so they can spread the word, and
2) they have the power to request your songs on independent radio stations all across the United States...
which, in turn, introduces your songs to even more music lovers. The word of mouth is very powerful.
Show 'em what you got, Mary.
Greetings from Oslo; thanks for sharing, Mary! If you ever come to Norway, I´d love to see your show
Good luck with the tour. Would love to see you live!
Thank you so much!
Very Interesting Mary ! Good luck for your tour !!!
Very excited for you and this tour. Wish I could join you at one of these amazing venues. Totally get the stress over the costs. Your fans will reward you with ticket sales I’m sure of it.
So excited to see you in Glasgow! And get my hands on some merch.
I’ll do all I can word of mouth :)
Best of luck with preparations!
I wish I could come see you live. Being in Canada makes the logisitics a bit hard. I wish you the best, and I'm sure the tour will be amazing. Love you Mary!
Good luck and God speed to you on your ventures Mary. I've been watching you for years and have loved watching you grow.
I booked tickets to see you in Birmingham back in December. So looking forward to it.
Wish I could be there in the UK for your shows. You’ve talent, grit and determination. I’m sure you’ll make your tour a success,
Mary, you live in a great country for music. Ed Sheeran goes to schools in towns where he has a gig, to spread the word and promote music. Mark Knoffler has a foundation for kids with health issues. He released a song for them and his town's stadium plays it now at the beginning of each football game!
Go to wine (maybe not), beers, and spirits for sponsorships.
In your 4 months, go play your songs in public places with high traffic like malls, or big stores. Bars in the town you'll visit might welcome a few songs from you start the buzz. These guys talk to many people all day! And let the good do the rest. Good things happen to people who believe in what they do, like you do.
Stress is part of being an entrepreneur. Learn to live with it, and manage it. Not easy, but not impossible. You'll be fine.
Cheers from Chicago!
Good luck. I be following along on CZcams from the US😊
Just bought a ticket, see you in London!
Looking forward to seeing you in Glasgow, got my ticket when it was announced.
Since I can't be there, support from the US. I hope it goes well and most importantly that you enjoy it! BTW...LOVE the necklace.
Thank you so much!!
Good luck with the tour, Mary. Come to the Foxlowe venue in Leek next time.
And RIP Steve Albini, May 7, 2024 - His article, The Problem with Music, was a real eye-opener and very apt for this video you're posting even 30 years later.
Hi Mary. You are a good inspiration to alot of people and I am sure you will do well with your tour. The Glasgow fans will welcome you and look forward to your gig. Good luck and I hope we all get a chance to say hi.
Absolutely brilliant, love it 🎶🎵🎶🎵
I am just a fan from INDIA, following you & love to listen your songs particularly your voice along with nice guitar play, just praying may God grant you all the success & joy, BEST WISHES FOR THE TOUR.
Thank you for making this video Mary.
It's interesting you've pointed to this problem as I was starting to worry that I was one of the only touring musicians noticing this (or more likely talking about it).
I've toured a lot over the past 20 years (or used to till it all started to get too expensive). I mostly operate in the classical world and my diagnosis of some of the key issues underpinning the problems you've mentioned are as follows:
1) I think a big part of the issues is that since the lockdowns, most UK venues have exclusively started operating as "hire the hall" businesses, whereas in the past "ticket split" arrangements were also often available. Don't get me wrong , I've been a promoter and a venue owner in the past so I fully understand why venues like the low risks associated with "hire the hall" arrangements. However, I do think venues need to reflect on the damage this new "our way or the highway" mentality is having. Yes it will solve the short term issues many venues face relating to financial stability, but collectively the medium to long term consequence for smaller artists is that unless one is independently wealthy and in a position to put £20,000 -£30,000 on the table and roll the dice, touring just isn't an option any more in the same way it was just a few years ago. This doesn't boad well.
2) What audiences are willing to come out to see seems to have dramatically changed since the lockdowns. It's striking to me that over the past few years, even if one is offering real quality + you have a big mailing list / online following, this doesn't nessesry translate into ticket sales in the same way it once did. In short, unless you are touring with a project that is offering something truly exceptional as a live experience (which is very expensive to put together and thus can't be done as the norm) or you happen to have a legacy artist involved in some way, people just aren't willing to give up an evening. I suppose what I'm trying to highlight here is that just having a great album out or being a superb live performer just doesn't seem to cut it any more. Most people now seem to take it for granted that you have to offer them something that requires so much effort to produce and set up that any financial benefit you might gain from it is offset by the 8-12 months of 18 hour work days that you'd have to put in to make it happen. I'm not sure what the solution to this is other than acknowledging the following:
3) I suspect (based on many conversations with concert attendees) that part of the audience apathy mentioned in point 2 relates to many people simply not realising how the modern music industry works. In short, many I speak with think we are still in the 1990s and that most touring artists have some kind of huge company behind them paying the bills. In short, many simply don't seem to realise that if a show doesn't sell well, it's the artist that ends up picking up the bill (not the venue or a 3rd party company...). With this in mind, I think we have a responsibility as artists to have these conversations with the public to let people know how it actually works in the modern world. With this in mind, respect to you for doing this Mary!
4) I think a big part of the issues also relates to the wider economy. Most notably the stagnation of wages over the past 30 years in most Western countries. In terms of why this is relevant to touring: though the costs of touring has dramatically increased for artists since the early 2000s, the fact that most people's wages haven't changed that much since then means that the general perception of how much a concert ticket "should" cost (I'm specifically referring to smaller artists here not mega stars) hasn't changed that much since when I first started out the early 2000's. The result of this is that ticket prices have largely had to remain the same as they were 20 years ago but once you adjust for inflation and factor in the increased costs of putting a show on, this means that the artist is making significantly less than they were 20 years ago even if they sell out medium sized venues.
I could mention further points but those listed above I think are the most important
In short, I agree with many aspects of your diagnosis but at this stage I (like yourself Mary) can't see a clear solution to the multiple uses that are at the root of this.
Hoping that things are go well with the last few months of tour promotion and thank you again for a great video. Hoping to see you in Leeds by the way 👍
Will try to make it to the Cambridge one. I can cycle there from St. Ives alongside the Busway. Good luck with the tour.
I hope to see you on 3rd October!
Oh I like the sound of those song excerpts. I'll have to order a copy of that album.
Planning on going to the Glasgow show Mary. With at least 4 friends! Saw you on the first one!
I'm across the pond, but I get your message. Good Luck, Mary!
Thanks once again for your honesty and clarity, your sharing. I didn't go the professional musician route myself and it's way too late to change (not sure I would if I could), but I'm definitely interested in the "what if?" aspect. I'm in a different country, so won't get to one of these concerts, but I wish you all the best.
I think its also up to the venues to help promote their events -more money spent at the bar and so on. Also a few suggestions for venues - The Soundhouse, The Big Difference, The Musician, Leicester, Hare & Hounds, Birmingham, The Bodega and Rescue Rooms - Nottingham.
I played music for a living in the 70s 80s and 90s in a touring club and festival band. Back then most clubs hired bands for two weeks here in FL. I would run to meet club owners on my days off with demo tapes pictures and songlists of the band. I kept us working steadily and making a living playing music full-time (no job on the side). If I were doing it today I would put posts of the live band on Facebook, Instagram, and Tictok giving dates of upcoming shows. There are also jam nights in a lot of clubs in the USA so take the band and play a couple songs to a new crowd. Good Luck!
I love live music, am not a performer, but a fan. I've seen this old guy (like me), Peter Noone with Hermin's Hermits, many times. Great musician, but also quite a humorist. His shows include just a few good, clean, jokes and always one that is custom tailored to the audience, usually about a local problem that everyone can relate to. It makes him stand out (in my mind) as unique, memorable and distinct from other performers I've seen. He does his homework to figure out how to relate to each separate audience through a little more than music. I'm always ready to see him again. I hope to see you when you come to the states. Can I be a groupie?
Thank you for the video recommendation of "Why Am I Doing This?". One of the persons mentioned is Christina Bautista, who is an acquaintance of mine. Good luck on prepping for the tour. Besides the expense, even at a financial loss, touring and playing live is such an exhilarating experience.
I'm really looking forward to you going on tour in Germany. 😎🎸
Here in Canada, a lot of rising artists participate in Summer/Fall festivals. Mostly outside but a few inside. That helps greatly to be known by non-followers and can give a good feel for roadshows.
I love your work and inspiration to play. You can count on me whenever you will play in Canadian Maritimes ❤
I am in love the new album Mary. The sound is a celebration of life 😄
All the best. See you at St Luke's - the best venue and audience on the tour! #Glasgow 🏴
Wishing you luck Mary. 🙂👍
Good luck for your live music
Create flyers we can download and print or share online and out in local media! I would have loved to help with that if I had lived closer to any of the venues.
I'm glad you asked for our help. It shouldn't hurt your pride at all :)
I tried the solo thing - it did cost so much that I couldn't keep it up - I got a single playlisted on 40 radio stations (I think you'd like it actually) - spent 4,000 CAD on the recording and another 3,000 on promotion. Then the band - 50$ per rehearsal, 100$ per gig - just 3 other musicians but it adds up - one gig costs 500$ just to get the musicians ready - forget other promotional costs - and these were just local gigs - no per diem or anything and every one had their own transportation. Thank you for making this video :)
Can’t come see you (in the US) and honestly your music is not in my wheelhouse, but I like your channel, so here is my virtual ticket purchase. Music is best live, so thank you.
Thank you so much!
Touring Canada even in a fairly popular band is BRUTAL financially. So much space between larger cities. The 2-400 seat venues are just to cover gasoline. Fill every date you physically can with garage and living room shows. A profit is still possible. Buy a Coleman 2 burner propane camp stove and really use it; buy groceries to cook on that stove, make your coffee on it, and it becomes second nature while touring. Winter in Canada sucks for that though. It's easier when you are young.
Hi Mary just wanted to say Good luck with the up and coming tour, unfortunately can't come to any of the venues as much as I would love to see you live perhaps one day you do a gig in Nottingham...cheers Phil from Newark
Cracking set of venues, hope to see you in Leeds. :¬)
I am stateside and when I booked my upcoming Europe trip I checked to see if any of your performances lined up with my itenerary. Sadly, nothing worked out this time around. I do travel to see favorite artists and am looking forward to seeing you live in the UK one day!
@Mary Spender
We got to play on some smaller and bigger festivals and shows, back in the day .. and thus we've met other bands and got to talk to them. Most of them were newcomers, just like ourselves.
So, one day, we came up with an idea (which I'll share with you, now):
Each of those newcomer-bands were well-known in the region, they were from .. so, they could fill the local venues on their own. It was the same with us, back in the day .. we could organize a gig at a local venue and be 100% sure, it was gonna be packed.
So, we made deals with the other newcomers: We'll play opener for them in their local venue .. they play opener for us at our local venue.
That way, everybody wins:
Nobody's ever gonna play in front of an empty venue .. and everyone's audience/following increases, at the same time .. And, you can hand out flyers and put up posters, that advertise the show, for each other .. that's also a great way of getting people to come to a show.
Hope, this helps .. good luck :)
I wish you peace and prosperity.
Hi Mary! Love your channel! An old touring veteran here in the States... VERY old! Let's not say how old. I don't tour anymore but am still in music, trying to bust into the film score biz. I toured from early 80s to 2012 at many different levels with different bands. From riding in the guitar player's car to tour busses taking us from gig to gig, with a few occasional flights for lengthy trips. Not sure if I would be any help, but one thing I would say, and I'm sure you've already thought of this but, exploit your CZcams popularity, for a start. Take your videos (Take CZcams) on the road with you. Interweave it into your show.. somehow. When I lived in Atlanta and Birmingham (Alabama), we would do runs for Eastcoast Entertainment and Southeastern Attractions. We always took a good supply of merch with us and one of the bands carried a projector that would show music videos or interviews and other candid footage of us acting foolish etc, slide shows, abstract patterns, you name it, including the audience itself... The audience loved that kind of thing. However, those were primarily considered cover bands. We'd play about half and half. Got close to a record deal with a band called Split The Dark in 1986... that was educational. The biz was very different then. I'd happily try to answer any questions you may have.. feel free.
Everything here resonates; I run a small production company, and provide production for theatre, live music and corporate events. My costs have gone up significantly over the last few years, and sadly it's had to be reflected in my pricing; I could only absorb the costs for so long, else I'd have gone bankrupt.
I turn away more gigs than I book, because a lot of venues simply don't have the budget; by the time bands are paid, and production is paid for, putting on even a small show with (for example) three acts, can easily run into four figures...especially if it's going to be financially worthwhile for everyone doing the show. On the flip side; if the headliner has to fund it all, and then pay for the hire of a venue, that's a heck of a lot of risk for them to take on.
Looking at it all from a distance, I can see why things are the way they are; getting bums on seats in venues is hard, it's especially difficult for original artists and bands... At the moment, tribute and covers bands seem to be more in demand, which makes life harder for those with original material.
I really hope this tour works for you Mary; I'll try to come to Southampton to see and hear you perform. :)
You've got some good venues there, Mary. Loved playing the Brudenell. Great crowd, good staff. The Joiners is a great venue too.
⚓️ Thanks Mary 🇬🇧
There are different approaches to this, I did over 300 gigs with a band in the UK (averaging 2 gigs every weekend) - albeit clubs (100+ people) and caravan parks (500+ people). but the way for that is to get an agent (which will get you better money) and they will put you on the club circuit, after some time they will give you better gigs + they will swap you with other agents and this can lead to cruise ships etc which you won't be able to get to yourself as they have entertainment contracts with them. The way the band works is you get musicians that want to do it and you split the money equally after each gig and travel to each gig from your home to keep the costs down. if you then want to sell merch at each gig then it's up to you to do that. FYI: This is exactly what Gary Barlow used to do too at the beginning.
I went to university in England, but that was many years ago. I still have friends there, mostly in Manchester where I lived for a few years, and unfortunately you are not playing Manchester, but both Leeds and Liverpool are not too far. I have forwarded your tour schedule all everyone I know, so I hope they will all come see you. I look forward to your US tour myself 😃
Hi Mary,
I have played many gigs in New York City music venues, performing original bands for audiences mostly unfamiliar with our songs. Here are some suggestions from my own experience about organizing your set.
1) Plan the number of songs based on set duration, and try it in rehearsal including some time allotted for stage banter, back-stories, tuning, and audience reactions.
2) Have a few extra songs ready … in case the performance is going more quickly, and also a couple prepared as encore.
3) Know in advance which song(s) towards the end of the set to drop if you are running over time.
4) Consider and try out the flow of the songs … start with some excitement, and pace the set so you are building energy throughout the course of the set.
5) Slower songs around the middle of the set, and never put two slow songs back-to-back.
6) Seriously consider including a couple cover songs … play your own version of them, but keep them recognizable. It gives the audience a reference point. Usually put one about third song in the set, and the other very near the end of the set.
7) If there are any guitar swaps, or tuning changes … make sure they do not dampen the energy … keep the stage banter going so the audience stays engaged.
8) If something is not flowing after a couple gigs, change it for the next show.
9) Always carry backup cables, strings, picks, tuner, DI, and any pedal that is critical.
10) Enjoy performing because the vibe on stage will inspire the audience.
Best wishes on your tour and your music,
Philip Reeves
Guitarist/songwriter