If you are a professional musician contracted to play with a band on tour, then the business relationship is usually quite simple. You would receive a weekly fee while on tour (and often a retainer while you were not working so that you can be on call at any time). You would also receive ‘p.d’s’ (per diems) which are day to day living expenses.
Touring as a recording artist
In the case of a recording artist, the financial picture is not quite so straightforward.
Touring is often seen as an essential part of marketing a new artist and bringing them to the public’s attention.
Early on in an artist's career, touring will usually result in a loss rather than a profit. The record company may finance the tour as a promotional exercise. This ‘tour support’ will be a recoupable expense, recovered from artist royalties if they are successful.
Your record company may ‘buy you on’ to a tour
You will probably have gone to a concert by a big name artist and noticed that there are one or two supporting bands who open the show up. A little known fact is that these support bands often have to pay for the privilege of being there.
In order to promote the new artist, their record company makes a payment to an established act, to support them on a major set of dates. The term is often referred to as a ‘buy-on’ and helps the main act offset its heavy touring costs. This arrangement brings a relatively unknown act to the attention of thousands of potential new followers.
Once established, an artist will bear all of the usual costs associated with a tour. They range from personnel to equipment hire, travel and accommodation. It is the job of a tour manager to appoint the relevant crew and organise the smooth day to day running of the tour whilst accounting for profit and loss. Careful planning and consideration is given to maximising the promotion of a new album through a tour, so as to limit eating into sales profits.
When do I need an agent?
When you have a record deal in place with a projected promotional campaign (for example a record release), or a recognised following that has built up on your reputation, you need an agent.
An agent may also grant you occasional ‘warm-up’ dates, even support slots on a major tour.
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