Daily DIY: To Tour Or Not To Tour?
In our third of five excerpts from the new book Reality Check – A Common Sense Guide to Breaking into the Music Industry,
author Matthew Walt, a booking agent who has seen first hand why some
bands s
ucceed and others fail, looks at the pros and cons of touring to build a career.Artists are always quick to assume that touring early on is the only way to succeed, and there are several seemingly reasonable arguments in favor of this. It makes the band tighter the more they perform, gets their name out in markets where they otherwise wouldn’t be, puts them in front of an audience that otherwise wouldn’t see them play, and creates the impression that they are on the up-and-up. It’s also a source of pride and a feeling that they are “doing something,” as opposed to standing still.
But for every sound argument in favor of touring, there are equally sound counterpoints worth noting. For
instance, while touring can make a good band grow tighter, it can also expose avoidable flaws to an audience who may take a less-than-favorable first impression away from their experience. What’s worse, without a buzz in anticipation of a performance, the odds of a good crowd attending in the first place are significantly less than they would be if said artist decided to wait. Finally, performing to a small crowd night after night has a demoralizing effect on one’s psyche.
I believe it’s better to create the impression that a band is on the rise by focusing on the few performances they play, in the most well thought-out, targeted venues in the region where they reside. Furthermore, I suggest going all out promotionally each time a band performs, thereby increasing the chances that the audience will grow, which will prove the most compelling evidence that a band is “doing something” that anyone could possibly seek.
Start in your backyard, and build your base there. If you are from Chicago, then set your sights on your immediate surroundings, and don’t sweat your first New York City show. Create an event out of each performance, employing the best marketing initiative that zero dollars (or as close to it) can buy, pulling out all the stops that you have learned, and making sure your street team enacts the most effective viral brand marketing campaign you now know how to create. For those truly exceptional nights (such as CD-release parties), reach out to area press, telling them what makes this date special.
When you are finally ready to start building outward, consider adding one new market per trek, so you aren’t breaking too many new places at once. If you are lucky, and promote yourselves well, the buzz will start to precede your arrival. When that happens, you will know it’s time to start adding more new markets with every new run, and over time a long weekend will become two full weeks, then three, then six, and so forth.
Touring is an inevitability, to some degree, for most artists. After all, unless an artist has a string of commercial hit records, developing a touring base is the only way to sustain a lasting career. But it’s not something to rush into simply because it sounds like the thing to do. Want to try it, every so often, just to see what it’s all about? By all means, do. There is a lot to be learned on the road—some good, some bad, and some ugly. Not every band can handle it—no matter how advanced they are—so finding out sooner rather than later may be well advised. Nevertheless, I personally have learned to oppose touring for the sake of it.
I have been a part of several ill-conceived touring plans in my day, as have most industry professionals when they first cut their teeth. The tendency to get out there and do it while you are young is overwhelming at first. It’s a lesson most artists learn the hard way—which is why I fault no one for failure to heed my warning. But in time they learn the value of building their backyard so they may always have something to come home to after making their next foray into the unknown.
Matt Walt has got to be the biggest snake-oil salesman
on earth. Unlike his tome of bland ideas,the real world barks a different tune. Touring (as defined as going from town to town performimg and getting paid)is the only way to be seen, heard, and respected…er invested in and depended on.
Pray tell Matt… the “other Way”. Love to know your big secret to success other than doing it for real.
Pleae fill in the details so we can all be so enlightened. Or should we “wait” at home to be enlightened?
To the Junior Senator from the land of Anonymity –
I had intended to ignore your post since my article clearly went over your head, but after one associate emailed me suggesting I “put that moron in his place” and the Hypebot administrator pointed out that a rebuttal is the blogging way (something I am admittedly new to), I said what the heck. But let’s be clear: I had no intention of making you look stupid. You did a pretty good job of that all by yourself.
So here’s the thing: I LOVE your enthusiasm. It’s extremely validating for a young author to have someone respond to an article with such passion – even when they clearly miss the point. So for that, I thank you immensely.
As to your points, let me start by saying I have been touring bands for more than a decade. Some signed, some unsigned; some still together; some not; some who could hack it, and some not so much. I live in the real world, and have the privilege of considerable perspective, which has led me to the conclusions you so clearly didn’t understand.
I suspect you’ve never actually spoken to a major touring agent, or attended a Billboard Touring conference, or CIC. If you had, you would know the one consistent message we all agree upon is that the best way to build a fan base is to start in your backyard, and build out slowly and incrementally over time. That does not mean sitting at home and waiting for things to happen. It means rehearsing, marketing, and promoting yourself effectively such that every opportunity is maximized and every performance is an overwhelming success (all by relative standards).
Then in time, as your base grows, and you develop the stamina to spend more and more days on the road – because just as no physical trainer would suggest you bench press 250 on your very first day, no agent would suggest you do a full blown tour right away – you will then add more and more dates to each run, making sure you can manage the added work load all the while.
You see, you are right that most bands make their living on tour nowadays. But it’s just a hollow sentiment if you don’t know how they got there. My intention is to help artists understand and appreciate the most simplistic, efficient, practical means of going from obscurity to whatever heights they are capable of achieving. So sorry you consider that “bland,” but in the real world it’s not all sex, drugs and rock n roll. Those of us that are fortunate enough to make a living in this business learn that the work isn’t always exciting, but the fruits of our labor is well worth it.
I’d be happy to speak with you further and help you along if you care to reveal your identity. If not, I wish you the best of luck either way.
Matt Walt has shown himself to be the nicest guy in the world- responding to that guy’s email so respectfully is pretty impressive. I’m gonna have to check out this book!