DFEST presents Martin Atkins, author of "Tour: Smart" and some good advice about tour routing
Check out more of Martin at http://www.tstouring.com
TULSA, OKLA. - Martin Atkins, author of "Tour: Smart", shares an excerpt from Chapter 3 of his book on tour routing. Atkins will be the Friday Keynote speaker at Dfest Music Conference on July 25, 2008. Be sure to get your all-event badge so you can attend and listen to one the most engaging speakers in the music industry, who really has something to say, at Dfest 2008.
Chapter 3
Planning and Routing: Saved by Geography
"Do not go into battle unless you are certain of the outcome." - Sun Tzu
AMERICA IS BIG...
...really, really big. In a business where there are so many things that will derail you, it seems silly spending years mastering sampling , drumming, singing, or improvised guitar techniques, but not spending a little bit of time understanding elements that will affect your life on the road every day - Geography and Demographics. Look at a map. Keep looking at it. Think about how long it is going to take to drive from Minneapolis to Seattle. Imagine yourself playing the board game of "Touring USA!" What would your strategies be? Because, for some reason, when someone shows up in a van or buys a guitar, all common sense flies out the window! Before you do anything, assemble information that will help you communicate with an agent (if you have one) or directly with a venue. If you see a gap between two groups of places that you want to perform in, reach out to a local band to bridge that gap. Understand that any show will be poorly attended unless you use some of the strategies outlined in this book, or make up some of your own. Developing new markets is costly and time consuming, but you must allocate resources accordingly. Suggest a free show for these dates, get involved in an established evening, play every day, twice a day if you can, or better yet, get involved with an established evening with a cheap ticket and a popular local band.
"We have a difficult drive through a treacherous mountain pass, two rush hours, and an early load in...please put your panties back on."
FACTORS TO BE AWARE OF BEFORE YOU PLAN A TOUR
Size of city and proximity to other cities and secondary markets.
- Mileages.
- Best locations for your specific niche.
- Established events that can help you.
- Other tours within the same time period to use and avoid.
- Weather patterns.
- Your goals as a band.
- Your past history.
- Touring patterns.
TOOLS - DON'T BE ONE, USE ONE
THE RAND MCNALLY DIST-O-MAP
For fewer than ten dollars you can get a Rand McNally Dist-O-Map. It is not some new, gimmicky tech tool, its way cooler, very much like the cover of Led Zeppelin's Album III. It has the advantage over map-questing in that you can sit on the phone, run a budget, and dial up distances at the same time. It will also show you options that you might not have thought of previously. If you are lucky enough to be traveling by bus, you will be able to easily see which cities lie within the magical 450- mile overdrive mark. I cannot think of one single agent I have ever met who doesn't need this tool (or frighteningly, one that already has one when I meet them!) Think about that for a minute (especially after you realize that this costs $7.95). It has been the catalyst for the rerouting of several tours, which not only reduced the overall mileage, but put us in the right venues on the right nights. The other reason you need one is to dial up the total distance covered on a tour, divide that by the gas mileage of your chosen vehicle, multiply that by the average cost of gas, and begin a budget. Can't wait, can ya? Go to the chapter on Budgets to work through some examples.
Dial up the mileage and you will be able to see potential problems ahead of time. I can guarantee that your longest drive will be the night of the show with the latest curfew and the night before the all ages show with the earliest doors ever. That's just the way it is and always will be (See Murphy's Law).
Coming to Dfest and want to read more, purchase an All-Event Badge now to attend Dfest and buy the downloadable eBook for only $9.95. Go HERE to purchase all-event badges.
Festival Tickets are on sale now at www.okctickets.com and www.dfest.com. Advanced two-day festival wristbands good for both days cost $30 online, and standard (walk-up) two-day wristbands cost $40 at the gates. Conference Badges are valid for the conference as well as the festival. Advanced-Purchase Badges cost $100 online, and Standard-Walkup Badges cost $150 the day of the event. Standard service fees apply. For badge registrants who want extra value, a downloadable e-Book of Dfest's Keynote Speaker, Martin Atkins, titled "Tour: Smart" will be available for an additional $9.95 (a 29.95 value of the hardback version of the book)
