While touring might look quite exciting to the novice musician, it can actually be tough for artists (to maintain sanity as well as to manage the finances).
Here are the top rules that artists must follow to survive and to succeed on their tours.
“A lot of people can’t stand touring, but to me it’s like breathing. I do it because I’m driven to do it.” – Bob Dylan
“Touring is like being in limbo. It’s like going from nowhere to nowhere.” – Bob Dylan
- Get the details & assume nothing
Most musicians do not have a manager to get into the details of transportation, place to go, accommodation and so on. So you need to find out all these details. Getting these wrong can cause a lot of stress, but its easily avoidable - Make sure your transportation is sorted out. You need to have a vehicle to your own self – makes it easy to shift equipment from one place to another, and more importantly, at the end of the show, when you’re dead tired, you don’t have to wait for anybody. Don’t have your own vehicle, make sure there’s taxi available to take you back.
- Collect all your receipts: You don’t want to pull your hair out later when filing your tax returns. So make sure you collect all the receipts while on tour.
If you’re going to perform abroad, the best way to get paid is in cash, or to have the organizers wire money directly to your American bank.
- Have your meals whenever the opportunity arises
Once you get at the venue there are so many tings that can keep you busy – equipment, electricity connections, and so on. So don’t assume that you all will be having meals together at some great place. Be it lunch or dinner, have your meal whenever you get a break, and at times you don’t even have to wait for your buddy to come along. Just eat when you get the time.Most Pro musicians suggest you stick to something like Pizza, which is easily available, is also safe on the stomach (to avoid gastro issues). If you have access to healthier food, by all means go for it.
- Sleep whenever you can. Because of the erratic schedule, sleep patterns could change or you might get very little sleep. So take that nap, even if its for 20 minutes; just lie down and rest. A nap is much better than coffee in case you want to be alert through out the day.
- If you’re on a long tour, make sure you get some fresh air outside. Go for a walk, use the gym at the hotel, or take the stairs up to your room. You don’t want to fall sick so get some exercises
- Travelling to a foreign country? Just make sure you’re not carrying anything that will be considered illegal across international borders (or even in some states).
- While performing at international events, make sure you have all the necessary documents and permissions. Always remember to take care of your equipment.
Now if you want to perform in another country, you can either lie to the visa authorities and tell them that you’re not going to work in the country or you do it legitimately. If you lie, and if they find out, you will most likely be refused entry to the country, you won’t get to perform your shows, you will lose fans, and of course you will not get your money.
Work permits are not difficult to obtain, although there’s some paper work initially. Pretty much all the requirements are listed on the internet nowadays by the various embassies. Some countries don’t require work permits (for US nationals), especially if you’re not going to live there for more than 6 months and so on. Its also possible that the immigration officers may ask you to pay tax on merchandise that you might be carrying in your suitcases (again, depends on the country).
- Local Equipment Supplier: Find out there’s some place locally from where you can hire speakers or cables, just in case, some of your equipment don’t work
Now if you’re travelling and you’re trying to travel on a budget, he most important thing you can do is try to find some good deals. You can find great deals on airplane tickets on various online travel sites (check them out, make comparisons). Lot of times when you’re travelling, flying during the well instead of on weekends will be cheaper than flying on weekends, so you should try to schedule your travel dates keeping that in mind. You should also join all the frequent flier mile clubs that you can, over time you will start getting some free tickets to places (while you will still get paid to fly places).
So do remember these things the next time you go on a tour to perform.
KeytarHQ editorial team includes musicians who write and review products for pianists, keyboardists, guitarists & other musicians. KeytarHQ is the best online resource for information on keyboards, pianos, synths, keytars, guitars and music gear for musicians of all abilities, ages and interests.
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