You have signed up with a reliable music distribution agency, have been selling songs online, and have gotten a supportive fan base. Want to go on tour? Perform live gigs in clubs, bars, and if possible, concert arenas? If it's a yes to all, start booking for your tour.
Here's how to book your tour (and in the end, do music promotion and sell songs):
1. Assign a tour manager.
With meticulous planning, you need yourself, someone else, or one of your band members to solely focus on managing tour dates. Someone qualified for this job must be systematic, organized, and with great interpersonal skills.
2. Decide on a date range.
You need to plan at least four-to-six months for a tour. Booking a tour requires months of contacting, follow-ups, and problem solving. Venues have different booking requirements, some just one month, others six months at a time. As you do oculars or checking out of venues, you have to continue to network with the local press, promote the concert, and continue to market an artist/band's music. Take advantage of this opportunity for music promotion.
3. Choose your tour route.
You have to look at a tour logistically. You can't book tour dates on venues that are too far apart from each other. Consider the hours of driving, the days-off you will take, and the payment scheme of venues. Big cities usually require a 'pay to play' option or they cannot pay you a pittance. Smaller towns are willing to offer the big bucks and are easier to land bookings.
4. Contact venues.
Now that you have checked out venues, know the contact persons, called music promoters, who you will have to talk to. Send an email, a private message to their Facebook or MySpace, call them on the phone, or fill out their standard contact form. Personalize your message and sell your stuff-buttom line is to undertake music promotion efforts that could lead to selling songs. Remember that on going on tour, you're doing your own music promotion, but promoters want the bottom line: profit. They don't care about good music or artists, they want to sell tickets. You can visit free, searchable database sites such as byofl.org or onlinegigs.com.
5. Follow up with venues.
Ask for confirmation from venues to make sure you have a place to play. Send them posters or details to showcase on their websites. Never forget to follow up before you go on tour.
6. Always have a backup plan.
If a venue doesn't push through, get creative. Contact locals, radio stations, churches, newspapers, or companies that may need an artist/band at any of their events - private party, in-store gigs, radio interview - anything will have to do.
For top-notch music distribution that could also help you get a headstart in music promotion, choose a digital music distribution partner that has a reach of over 750 retailers and mobile partners across 100 countries.
For more information about Music Promotion and Selling Songs, please visit: jmddistribution.com
