October 26

Touring as An Indie

by CD Baby (click on link below)

CDBGuideToTouring

 

 

19 Replies to “October 26”

  1. This link is basically a step by step of how to tour and make the most out of it. From planning the tour to the actual show and promoting your stuff, this guide can help. What caught my eye was the idea to book gigs in small places so that you can say it was “sold out.” It shows other venues that you can bring people in, though it may be small. The link I provided shows a woman wanting to book an unknown band for a tour and discovering how hard it is. The person that answers her has a few suggestions that could help her out. https://www.villagevoice.com/2013/04/30/how-does-a-small-band-book-a-tour/

  3. This article is explaining how tours work. It gives you step by step on how to make the most of the tour from planning to the show. I also like that it gives you resources for more information on touring.

  4. I really enjoyed reading this article. It really highlights a lot of little things that performers might forget. For example, they explain how you need to record your live show to make sure there aren’t any awkward pauses between songs. I’ve been to shows where the bands don’t say anything between songs, and there is a kind of uneasy feeling of “what do I do?” They also talk about the five pointed star approach where you play at five smaller towns that surround your ultimate goal city. I never would have thought of that.

    One band I enjoy called Portugal. the Man is very good at making sure their set flows. They know they aren’t good at onstage banter and made a point to even have that on their projection screen. They have little sayings written throughout and also just go from song to song beautifully. Here is a link to their full Bonnaroo set:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASbbNqCqcaU

    1. @Amy I thought the five pointed star concept was really smart too. Gathering a small fan base before your “big” show is a great tactic to finding an audience and building up loyalty.

  6. Touring is serious business and it’s especially a challenge when you’re on your own, foraging a path as an indie group/artist. You have to make smart decisions and prepare for the worst because a lot of things can go wrong while on the road. Every band has a horror story to tell. This guide has lots of great tips to help make less mistakes on your tour and avoid problems. This subject reminded me of a book I really like called “Our Band Could Be Your Life,” by Michael Azerrad. It details a history of the American indie punk scene during the 1980s by studying the careers of thirteen bands. Each chapter features stories of the occasional ups and mostly downs of touring as an indie band back then because there was no precedent for them to follow. They would travel all over the U.S. playing small towns and small venues that major label bands wouldn’t touch. Bands like Black Flag, Mission of Burma, and Sonic Youth paved the way for an indie touring circuit that still exists today. Here’s the wiki for it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Band_Could_Be_Your_Life

  7. It definitely takes a great amount of preparation to go on tour as a musician. The first part of the touring process which includes trying to book gigs and selling yourself is tough. After the artist obtains a tour, their non-music life or tour bus life can be stressful since they are on the road. CD Baby talked about staying healthy and getting good sleep. The article I linked has additional tips for thriving on tour including good communication with bandmates and having time for peace and quiet which is beneficial to the band’s success and energy.

    http://blog.discmakers.com/2012/01/tips-for-surviving-and-thriving-on-tour/

  9. I really enjoyed reading this pdf. Personally, having friends that tour as an “indie” band, I can say that this article is pretty spot on. The part about strategy is very important. Said friend finished their album, lets say, in March and they did not release it until close to a year later. Reason being is when they released the album, they would announce a tour, and they did not release it sooner because it would interfere with other tours. resulting in higher ticket sales. Their label had a lot to do with it. blah blah blah. Strategy is important.

    If you’re interested in new music, you should check them out. They’re back on tour in November.

    http://joywavemusic.com/

    1. YO, thanks for the link Juliana, I haven’t listened to the band yet, but their website is dope! It’s very interactive and unique. I was like “What is this??? What am I supposed to do? *confused stare* Ohhhhhhhh….. This is fun” LOL. I don’t want to elaborate too much because I don’t want to spoil the fun for anyone else that hasn’t visited the page yet. But, again, thanks for the link.

  11. This touring guide is a simple but great resource for those who want to get started in touring. It specifies what questions you should ask yourself in order to succeed. I especially like how they list what you should consider so that your show is “road-worthy.” It’s so important to be aware of what you bring to the table, especially if you are going to be performing for more and more people.

    Here is an article about Indie Touring Strategy. It’s a good read!
    http://blog.discmakers.com/2011/04/indie-touring-strategy-getting-out-on-the-road/

  12. I really like how this article gives you everything you would need to be successful when hitting the road and trying to build a name for you or your band. It has so many helpful hints and touches on things that you wouldn’t even think about when planning to make a name for yourself. It helps to remember the small details and how to improve the overall performances and organization of being on your own. Here’s another article about how to keep organized for on the road:

    http://blog.sonicbids.com/how-to-book-a-diy-tour-like-a-pro

  13. Touring is something that requires resources, planning, equipment, and good time management skills. It is something that can be done, if you are with the right people. This article not only teaches you how to tour effectively, but also how to make sure you are using your time wisely. It is pretty much a starter guide to anyone who has a band and wants to start touring.

  14. This just talks about going on tour and how to set up for it! A step by step on the touring life in other words. This was helpful to me because I want to one day be a touring artist but I feel like it’s gonna take a lot of preparation and that’s ok because this just told me how to do this was very helpful.

  15. I think this part of the article is simple but genius: “Set up the merch table before you play, and make sure it’s attended to during and after your performance. After you play, have the band congregate at the merch table and tell the audience you’ll be there after the show.” This is a no-pressure strategy to get your audience to connect with you and also buy merch. I’ve seen this work time and time again. Heck, this works on me. I’ve been to comedy shows, where I thought the comedian was decent, but I ended buying their album because they were so personable AND their product was right in front of me.

  16. Artist who are on labels have shown the stress of touring. As an Independent artist it has to be 10x more difficult.
    The many realities of touring as an independent artist
    diymusician.cdbaby.com/musician-tips/many-realities-touring-independent-artist/

  17. This link to the article is just awesome in itself. I think anyone that is looking to start a band or in the process of going touring whether solo or in a group needs to see this. It talks about life on the road, the things that need to be taken care of, figuring out if you are even ready to tour, how to book a gig, and even what to do when you get there. There is plenty of information for artists to learn from that will not only give them advice on how to tour, but make the tour they may go on that much better.

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