Tag: touring 101

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5 Ways To Bring Back Concerts And Touring [Video]

touring

The ‘New Normal’ is here to stay, so we’re giving you five creative ways to bring back touring as soon as humanly possible.

The spread of COVID-19 has changed the music business in ways we never imagined. Fans and artists alike want things to go back to the way they were before March 2020, but that is a fantasy. The past is dead, and no amount of begging or wishful thinking will resurrect it.

We live in a new reality where the old way of doing things no longer works. We can either complain or adapt, and we at Music Biz believe change is always a positive. Discovering new ways to do things challenges us to be more creative, more inclusive, and more understanding. All of that is something we as a species could use more of right now.

The biggest obstacle the music business faces right now is touring. The vast majority of artists make the bulk of their living by being on the road. There have been no tours for the last three months, and there is only a handful currently scheduled for the fall. Those that are daring to step out and perform again do so with the knowledge their dates may be canceled when the “second wave” of COVID-19 takes the US by storm this fall.

With all the questions and concerns surrounding touring, it’s easy to understand why so few feel comfortable announcing or discussing their plans at this time. Still, the conversations around live music are ongoing, and the fan demand for talent has rarely, if ever, been higher than it is right at this moment.

In this episode of Music Biz, host James Shotwell shares five ways touring can resume in the near future. No solution is perfect. At least one is inarguably terrible. But all these ideas need to be considered and at least attempted if we have any chance of discovering what works best for everyone.

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Five Tips For Successful Touring [VIDEO]

Touring is an increasingly important element to a successful music career, but getting on the road too early has inevitably lead many promising talents awry.

There are few things more exciting or fulfilling than being on tour. Not only are you afforded the opportunity to perform your music for people who want to hear it, but you can see the world as well. Being on the road allows musicians at every level to see how the rest of the human race lives, and through doing so, many find the inspiration to create their best work.

There is a catch, however, and it’s a big one. Artists who attempt to tour before they have the right elements of their career in place are destined for hardships and failure. You may be able to string together a tour, and you may be able to make a little money doing so, but unless you have plans in place you will, eventually, burn out before your dreams of success in the music business come to fruition. It has happened a million times already, and it will no doubt happen a million more in the future.

In this episode of Music Biz 101, host James Shotwell breaks down the five (5) things every artist and group needs to do before they consider getting on the road.

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Tours headlined by holograms are here, but what does that mean for the living?

Holograms of Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly are touring together this Fall. That’s right, holograms are now invading the competitive live music marketplace.

The music industry will always find new ways to make money. Anyone needing proof of this need only know that this Fall, for the first time ever, Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison will be touring together! The two deceased music icons have been resurrected through the power of holograms, and none of us are able to stop someone from trying to cash in on their image in the year 2019.

Today, March 26, news of the impending Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison tour made headlines worldwide. The Rock ‘N’ Roll Dream Tour, which will run through North American and Europe simultaneously (because the stars are not real), launches this Fall. It is the first-ever musical hologram tour, though it will feature a live band and backup vocalists.

Roy Orbison Jr. had this to say in a press statement about the connection between the two musicians:

My father’s music meant the world to not just us Orbison’s but to millions of fans worldwide. Being able to reopen his legendary songbook and again hear his voice bounce off great concert hall walls is both a transcendent and cathartic experience. Dad jammed with Buddy in Lubbock Texas and helped change music history by turning Buddy on to Norman Petty Studios; Buddy later returned the favor by recording two of Dad’s songs on his first Cricket’s album. How beyond cool and special that these two great friends, now get to tour the world together.

Buddy Holly’s widow Maria Elena said:

Buddy and Roy were Texans who shared a mutual respect and admiration for each other’s creative musical genius and brilliant songwriting abilities. I am proud to work with a company like BASE Hologram. Their long-time fans and a new generation of fans will now have the opportunity to see these great legends perform together in a unique setting, showcasing two of the finest, most influential, and beloved artists in music history.

Orbison’s hologram made its live debut last year on a tour, while Holly’s has been in the works for a while.

Threats of holograms going on tour have been circling the music business since a projection of Tupac made its ‘debut’ during Snoop Dogg’s set at Coachella 2012. It looked something like this:

Looks pretty good, right?

The response to the Rock ‘N’ Roll Dream tour could determine whether or not similar tours features other iconic musicians happen in the future. There have been mentions of ‘resurrecting’ everyone from Elvis to Prince, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, and even Michael Jackson (though Leaving Neverland may change the likelihood of that last one). Those names, as well as others, could easily sell tickets and generate additional revenue for the families or companies that own the artist’s music/likeness rights.

It’s not likely to be a concern anytime soon, but the rise of holograms could present new challenges to entertainers trying to make a living from live music. If holograms take off, there will be increased competition in the marketplace. Much like tribute acts, holograms offer consumers a chance to see big names for a fraction of the cost to see the actual performer.

On the other hand, the proliferation of holograms in the live music space could also create new jobs. All these performances will require musicians to fill out the sound, and one has to imagine there will be new careers for people able to run and troubleshoot the hologram technology.

Whatever the case, the future first imagined in science fiction works such as Blade Runner is finally here. We might not have flying cars, but we do have the chance to see legends long gone perform once more. Details on how you can see Buddy and Roy can be found on the tour’s official website.

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The Show Must Go On

Hello, everyone. Welcome to the first Advice column of the week. These posts usually involves lists or input from guest contributors, but today we are offering an editorial about lessons learned while watching on of the greatest living rock bands perform in West Michigan for the very last time. If you have any questions about the content in this article, or if you have an artist you would like to see featured on this blog, please contact james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.

I traveled halfway across the country a few weeks back to see a concert I could have very easily witnessed in my home city of Boston. It was the opening night of Motley Crue’s final tour, however, and I could not miss the opportunity to be present for the beginning of the end for one of America’s most iconic and outrageous bands. The show was incredible, spanning more than two hours and featuring songs from across their 33-year career, but it was not a night without fault. In fact, there were so many flaws that many people in the arena started to leave. I learned a lot though, including why so many people respect a band that has prided themselves on debauchery for over three decades.

The night started out with an hour-long set from Alice Cooper that flew by without fault or failure. Cooper stuck to the hits, which worked out just fine considering he has a few dozen to choose from. Fans cheered, chants occurred, but it was all an appetizer to wet attendees’ palettes for the main event. 

Shortly after nine at night the light in Grand Rapids’ Van Andel Arena dropped. A short musical interlude played in the dark and then, accompanied by a burst of light and sound, Motley Crue appeared on the stage. Their first three songs went off without a hitch, and during their runtime the group introduced go-go dancers, pyrotechnics, and a lighting rig meant to resemble a giant pentagram. It was everything you could hope for in a Motley Crue show for almost fifteen solid minutes, but things quickly began to fall apart from there.

Just before the fourth song of the evening began, drummer Tommy Lee commented to Vince Neil that he believed he may have broken his drum kit. Fans laughed at first, but a minute later the band was still waiting for Lee to figure out what was wrong with his kit. Nikki Sixx left the stage a few minutes later, followed by Vince Neil, and the people manning the boards decided to turn on a few of the arena lights. Mick Mars stuck around for a few minutes to entertain the crowd with a guitar solo, but as his efforts neared the five minute mark he too gave up and disappeared back stage. The show had come to a screeching halt less than twenty minutes after it had begun, and the crowd of thousands who had spent the previous two hours drinking themselves into a rock and roll fit were not happy about the delays.

An additional twenty minutes passed before the band was ready to perform again. When they hit the stage, however, things quickly fell back into place and began to go off without a hitch…For about two songs.

Within fifteen minutes of starting the show a second time, guitarist Mick Mars had difficulties with his gear that required immediate, show-stopping attention. The band apologized, claimed everyone was witnessing ‘typical first night problems,’ and spent another ten minutes backstage while a sold out arena sat in silence, waiting to see if the men behind “Girls, Girls, Girls” would ever make it through their set.

The third time the show resumed I could have sworn it was going to be the last time Vince Neil would be forced to apologize for bumbling the last chance the crowd in front of him would have to watch Motley Crue perform. One song into their performance, however, Lee’s kit had a second technical setback. It was not a complete show-stopper, but the news that there would be yet another short delay sent waves of groans and drunken complaints rippling throughout the crowd. After 33 years of rocking crowds to worldwide acclaim it seemed like the members Motley Crue had never even thought to run through their farewell tour stage production before hitting the stage. 

Things were so delayed by the time the show resumed a fourth time that the group was forced to shorten their set list to work with a performance curfew enforced by the host city. They did not mention this outright, of course, but instead would stop between each and every song for up to a minute of dead silence while they reset the stage (and themselves) for whatever classic track would follow next. There was no flow or consistency anywhere to be found. Eventually, after all the hits that could fit in a show with more than forty-five minutes of delays had been played, the show came to a close and people filed into the streets with a story to tell.

I’ll be the first to admit that I left Van Andel Arena after the opening night of Motley Crue’s tour ready to throw a fistful of dirt on the band’s grave. Having paid nearly $100 per ticket to witness what could best be described as half a performance I was ready to write off the “Dr. Feelgood” creators once and for all. As things tend to go, however, a few days later I began to see the events of that evening in a whole new light. Hell, I even began to respect Motley Crue for sticking it out the way they did in spite of everything that was going wrong around them, and you want to know why? It’s simple: They gave it their all.

Life is filled with unexpected events, and that goes double for anything you attempt to create and share with others on a large scale. You can practice and plan all you want, but there are some things that happen in this universe that cannot be prevented or otherwise stopped. They can, however, stop you if you are not prepared to take the blows life throws out of the blue.

Motley Crue may not have put on the best show of their lives that night in Grand Rapids, but they did pour everything they had into entertaining fans when the equipment they were working with would allow them do so. Vince Neil belted his lungs out, Tommy pounded the drums, Mick worked the guitar like it was an extension of himself, and Nikki attached a flamethrower to his bass so that he could shoot fireballs into the sky every time the crowded chanted during “Shout At The Devil.” If you could remove all the delays and downtime you would have witnessed a thrilling, albeit surprisingly short headline set from one of the greatest arena rock bands of all time. That may be harder for some to understand than others, but it’s the truth. Motley Crue gave their all and hopefully in time those who left the venue disappointed that night will realize that fact in the days and months to come.

Your band may not have the kind of elaborate stage production Motley Crue is currently taking with them on the road, but that does not mean your live show is without risk of random setbacks. It’s kind of amazing that more shows do not end in disaster. There are almost always people moving around, sweat dripping from ceiling fixtures, wires and equipment scattered across the ground, and a general ‘who gives a crap’ vibe in the air that theoretically could spell disaster at every turn. You can do your best to prepare for the worst, but the truth of the matter is that there will come many days and moments that catch you completely off guard. The best thing you can do is clench your teeth and fight through whatever troubles come your way. Play as well as you can, sing as loud as possible, and don’t walk off the stage until you have given your audience everything you have inside. The show may still be far from perfect, but they will respect your hustle. Sometimes, that means more.

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Haulix Advice: Setting Up Tour Press

Today’s Haulix Advice column is intended for artists with more than one tour under their belt. We understand those of you just getting started may be excited by notion of having press cover your first tour, but we highly recommend waiting until you’ve crossed stateliness a time or two before taking the following steps.

As you move forward in your pursuit of national acclaim, touring offers a number of unique promotional opportunities that will help drive awareness to your music and (hopefully) add a little boost to ticket sales. In oder for any of that to happen, however, you will need to put together a plan of attack far in advance of your first date, and that is what we’re going to discuss today.

It may seem a bit premature, but artists hoping to maximize the exposure they are able to pull out of a single tour would be wise to begin planning those effort almost as early as they begin booking said shows. As a band, you should work together to develop a list of everyone you want to invite to a show, all the content you hope to create during the run, sites that offer pre-tour promotional options (playlists, interviews), and a list of potential sites and publications who may be interested in hosting said content. Be specific. Know when you plan your tour to start, as well as the promotion, and use a calendar to plan when you would ideally like your content to run. Once you’re on the road, finding the time to plan is going to be near impossible, and you’ll likely have a number of other issues and needs to attend to as well. Having a plan helps to not only suppress the stress of last minute organizing, but also creates a blueprint to follow if/when things do go off the rails (and let face it: they probably will).

As soon as you confirm your dates, take time to research writers who may work in the vicinity of your shows and email them with details on your performance no later than one month prior to the tour. Invite them to come, but be careful to not beg. Writers want to believe they’re either going to see the next great band no one has heard, an underrated juggernaut deserving of more attention, or an established act whose live show is even better than their album, not a group of musicians trying too hard to be famous. Pick an angle that works for you and use it to entice the reader. Remember: This may be your first time interacting with this individual, so make sure your initial impression is a good one. Being friendly and concise goes a long way.

A month out from your first date also happens to be the ideal time to begin locking in your tour content exclusives. This could be any number of items, but the two most popular tend to be tour blogs and acoustic performance videos. Both are great tools for furthering awareness of your efforts, and neither is all that difficult to create. Once you know what your content will be, develop a list of sites you would like to partner with for the premieres and begin contacting them. Again, being specific is key. Make sure your message includes information about your efforts, the tour, and as specific details regarding the content you would like to share with their readers. If it’s a tour blog, tell them how often you were hoping to run it. If it’s a performance video, give them a target week for release. Being too specific may turn some away, so make sure you allow room for customization. The sites you want to work with have a lot of experience in this type of content, and more importantly they know what works best with their readers. Trust them.

When you’re a week out from the tour, send reminders to outlets you have not heard from and check in on everyone who said they may attend. Provide contact information, including a phone number, and request the writer do the same. Every venue is different, and you nerve know when your press plans may have to change on account of an outside force.

Check in with your contacts again the day of the show to confirm their travel plans, as well as yours. Coordinate a time that works with your schedule for the day and do whatever you can to be early. If you’re completing an interview with said writer, check in advance for type of interview (voice or video) and prepare accordingly. We’ll have more tips for video interviews in an upcoming edition of Haulix Advice.

As with every Haulix Advice column, we asked a number of industry professionals to offer additional insight on setting up tour press. You can read what they had to say below.

If you have any questions or comment, feel free to leave at the end of this post and we’ll do our best to reply soon.

“My best suggestion to any up and coming artist who is looking to do their own press would be to 1- know their music websites and 2-Contact as many journalist as possible. Start off with doing a google search to see who has covered artists like you, or other artists you have toured with. After making a list of what outlets covered those artists, as well as their contact information, reach out to each journalist individually. Tell them about your band, when your last release came out, send some examples of music as well as tour dates. Always include the best way to reach you! It’s a ton of work but absolutely is worth the effort. Also, whenever you send physical music to a journals ALWAYS include contact information and a bio. The worst thing you could do is waste your time sending a CD to a writer and then them having no clue how to contact you” – Jenna LoMonaco, Kobalt Music Group

“As a smaller band, especially without a publicist, getting press for your tour is a daunting task. Even if you’re only playing 10-15 cities, that’s 10-15 unique local markets that you have to sift through and try to find the best way to promote your show. The best thing for your band is going to be getting local newspaper and radio stations to run any sort of coverage *before* you play your show in the area, to try to encourage turnout. However, many writers will only want to cover your show post-event and many radio stations will ask for tickets to give away in exchange for coverage. This shouldn’t be a worry for you – you’ll want to commit press passes and free tickets at each show in exchange for promotion. In terms of national and online media, make sure you know where writers are located, especially the ones that like your band. If a website gives your EP a good review, make a note that the writer is located in X market so you can offer him a free ticket to review your show. Keep an organized list of contacts that help you out in each local market, too – this (hopefully) won’t be the last time you play in that area, so you’ll want to hit these people up again in the future.” – Thomas Nasiff, Fuse/Bad Timing Records/Paper+Plastick

“There are two sides of tour press: Before, and after. Before you go on tour, you should be setting up press with sites that do pre-tour features. PropertyOfZack does Playlists, a way for touring packages to let us know what they’ll be listening to on the road. We include the tour dates in there for extra press.

Then for after, you have Road Blogs, interviews, acoustic sessions, and more. Make sure people haven’t forgotten about the tour once it ends. Keep the content coming” – Zack Zarrillo, PropertyOfZack

“Always plan to start your tour press no later than a month out from the first date. The less time you give yourselves, the less chance of an effective press campaign. The less effective your campaign is, the less impact it will have in show attendance.” – Patrick Ryan Williford, Persistent Heart Media

“No outlet is too small – if you’ve got the time and a .blogspot-type writer has reached out, make the relationship and take the interview. Any press is good press, and you never know where a writer will end up – taking that interview when a site is small could benefit you tenfold down the line.” – Jack Appleby, Siren Records

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