Planning a tour schedule involves many moving parts that can quickly get lost or undervalued in the process. With live music back in business and thriving, fans are chomping at the bit to see their favorite entertainers on stage. But how do you ensure you're properly prepared for the experience?
Organization. The better organized you are, the better your potential for success will be. In fact, research shows that organization can boost your likelihood of reporting success by 397%. In the simple but brilliant words of A. A. Milne, a prominent English author, "Organizing is what you do before you do something — so that when you do it — it is not all mixed up."
Here are some of the most important resources available to ensure your tour schedule is not 'all mixed up.'
Ongoing virus Resources
Although live music is officially back and better than ever, the aftermath of the pandemic is likely to linger for several more years. In particular, the rules and regulations surrounding virus vaccination status will likely be an ongoing concern in the near future.
According to SoundFly, there are at least three important virus Resources you'll need to consider while scheduling your tour:
- State-specific virus restrictions — you can stay up-to-date on local policies by tracking how states respond to the virus. The website MultiState can be very helpful.
- virus Contact Tracing Apps — if you're an iPhone user, tracing exposure to viruses can be as easy as turning on the Exposure Notification in your phone's settings. Otherwise, you may want to consider a handful of tracing apps relevant to the states you'll be in during the tour since there isn't one universal way to trace exposure.
- Proof of Vaccination — while this won't be necessary for every destination on your tour, proof of vaccination is still relevant in some states. It's also essential if you're planning on going across international borders. Nonetheless, prepare with an app or tool that stores that data for you so you can be prepared for whatever virus tries to throw at you. Some examples include the ArriveCAN app for Canada trips, the EU Digital Covid Certificate in Europe, as well as state-specific apps for the U.S. (i.e., Hawaii's Hawaii Safe Travels and California's Digital virus Vaccine Record).
The benefits of being prepared with any rules or regulations related to the location of your venue are undeniable: reduce or eliminate delays, cancelations, time-consuming research/data collection, miscommunication, and more.
Route Planning Tools
Route planning is a crucial component of a tour schedule. First and foremost, it's a great way to get a holistic view of your upcoming tour. Second, many performers look to route planning tools as a convenient way to organize their big shows and incorporate smaller events in between that line up with the route. Any deviation from the course could cost you time and money if it keeps you from making it to shows on time.
Promotional Tools
As you plan your tour schedule, it’s just as important that you promote, promote, promote. Performers spend a substantial amount of time creating music and performing, but what about getting the word out? Promoting your music and upcoming shows is critical to the success of your tour. After all, how can your biggest fans make time to show up if they don't hear about your tour — or if they hear about it too late?
A study by Music Industry How To evaluated what artists thought about marketing their music and found that most (87%) believed promotions are 'vitally important and need to be done.' Only 9% felt that 'if my music's good enough, people will notice me regardless.'
There's an arsenal of promotional tools to explore, with most artists leveraging 5, 10, or more to reach their audience. Resources like ProofHub or Trello can be beneficial because they help keep your marketing tasks in check and on point — setting your tour schedule up for success by ensuring that most, if not all, of your target audience hears about your upcoming shows.
Venue-Booking and Sales Tools
Starting with your biggest shows of the tour, get your venues booked and ready to go ahead of time. An excellent resource for booking venues is a Booking Management Platform. Although features will vary from platform to platform, many BMPs offer tools that allow you to identify target venues in a given location. Ideally, you'll want one that also provides key contact information and has capabilities to negotiate contracts, manage logistics, collect payments, and track ticket sales automatically.
The benefit here? More control over your tour schedule, more transparency on ticket sales, and more efficient venue management.
RELATED: How to Find the Best Artist Booking Platform for Live Music
What to Look for in a Booking Management Platform
Looking for the ultimate resource for tour planning? A live calendar system that helps keep everyone on track and updated will get your team organized – and as discussed earlier, organization is the top resource for a successful tour schedule.
Look for a platform that can be accessed from anywhere and allows some or all of the following activities:
- Generating offers quicker, from placing them on hold to settling them with a show on the go.
- Tracking expenses in real-time and receiving a holistic view of everything from ticket revenue to the show's costs.
- Have one integrated calendar for all your venues so you can stay on track with holds and upcoming events.
- Know where you stand with every show with a full report and health dashboard to inform your future decisions.
Want to learn more about the top resource for planning a tour? Reach out to Prism today and schedule your demo.
