Hitting the Road Again? 3 Tips to Remember for Your Tour

Image Source: Pexels

For the last two years, concerts and festivals have been at a halt thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, more artists and venues feel comfortable enough to get back to “normal” and start playing shows again. If you’re a musician, you’re probably breathing a sigh of relief, and you also probably have a lot of excitement rushing through your veins at the idea of hitting the road again!

However, after some time away from touring, it may be beneficial to recalibrate your checklists. It might be just like riding a bicycle, but it never hurts to make sure you and your band are as prepared as possible. 

The music will always come first, and you probably don’t have to worry about putting on a killer show. But, staying safe, healthy, and comfortable while on tour should be a top priority so you can continue to hit the road for years to come. 

With that, let’s cover a few tips you should keep in mind for your upcoming tour. The more you focus on the importance of behind-the-scenes issues, the better your shows and your tour experience will be. 

1. Keep Yourself Safe

As much as we’d all like to think we’re suddenly living in a COVID-free world, that isn’t the case. 

While we’re entering a post-pandemic society, the threat of the virus is still very real. If you or someone in your group is immuno-compromised, you might be at an even greater risk of catching COVID or another virus while on the road. So, instead of going on a traditional full-fledged tour, you might consider dipping your toe back into the lifestyle by only performing outdoor shows or keeping your performances limited to small venues. 

It’s also important to remember that COVID isn’t the only threat. When you’re on tour, it’s common to share a van or bus with several other people. You’re also interacting with fans every day, visiting local facilities, restaurants, and more. It’s easy to “catch” something, from a common cold to more serious viruses. 

And, as much as you don’t want to “jinx” anything, accidents can happen. Whether someone trips and falls over a cord or ends up with a broken toe from heavy equipment, the last things you want to worry about are illnesses and injuries. 

Keeping a first aid kit in your van or bus is a good start, but it’s also essential to make sure you know where local medical facilities are, or how to find them wherever you’re staying. 

2. Consider a Side Hustle

If you haven’t been touring in a while, you also may not have been making as much money as you used to. While touring isn’t necessarily a cash cow, it’s the lifeblood of many musicians’ careers. 

You might have taken on a part-time job or side hustle to make ends meet throughout the last couple of years. There’s no reason that has to stop when you hit the road. 

Remote work has become more popular than ever over the last few years, with over 4.7 million people working from home at least half the time. If you have a strong Wi-Fi connection and a few hours to kill each day, you can earn extra money while on tour, which can sustain you and your band and help you to stay on the road longer. Some of the best options for remote work for musicians include

• Graphic design

• Freelance writing

• English tutoring

• Coding

• Marketing

Remote work isn’t for everyone. Some jobs require you to be present during specific hours of the day, and that might not be feasible with your lifestyle. However, if you can find something with flexibility and something you enjoy, you can improve your financial well-being while on the road. 

3. Maintain Your Health

There’s a difference between having safety precautions in place and practicing preventative healthcare. 

Tours are notorious for long stretches of being sedentary, eating a lot of fast food, and not getting enough sleep. No matter how rock-and-roll it sounds, that’s not exactly the “healthy lifestyle” anyone should maintain for too long. 

Make sure you and your bandmates are prioritizing your physical and mental health while you’re on the road. That includes basic things like

• Exercising

• Eating healthy

• Getting enough sleep

• Avoiding alcohol

If anyone has any underlying conditions, such as GERD or other digestive issues, managing diet is extremely important. It’s worth it to pack your own healthy snacks, rather than relying on fast food and convenience stores that could trigger symptoms, and you should always have antacids or other medications on hand to help with symptoms. 

Managing your mental health is just as crucial. It’s not always easy to be away from home, no matter how much you love the lifestyle. To combat the feelings of stress and loneliness, consider things like mindfulness, meditation, or journaling. If you’re feeling anxious or depressed while on the road, don’t hesitate to reach out for help. Remote work has seen a rise in recent years, but so has teletherapy, allowing you to talk to a counselor or therapist anywhere in the country. 

By focusing on physical, mental, and financial well-being, you’ll be better prepared for your upcoming tour, and you can enjoy every moment on stage that much more. No matter how ready you are to hit the road, don’t forget about this important “checklist” for a better experience no matter where you are.

Hitting the Road Again? 3 Tips to Remember for Your Tour

Saving for Retirement as a Professional Musician

Image Source: Unsplash

Saving for Retirement as a Professional Musician

Being a professional musician can mean many different things. You could make your living selling records, touring, playing an instrument, or singing. You may not win a Grammy for your work or end up on the Billboard charts, but it doesn’t make you any less of a professional. 

No matter what level you’re on, being a professional musician can be a lot of fun. However, it also comes with several challenges and uphill battles you’ll have to face throughout your career. 

One of those challenges includes saving for retirement. You might be able to make a living playing music now, but saving for the future is another story. 

Whether music is your primary or only source of income, it’s not impossible to save for retirement. However, the sooner you get started, the better! Let’s take a look at how you can make the most of your income, manage your money, and build the capital you need to lead a comfortable retirement. 

Managing Your Money

If you have a consistent, day-to-day job as a musician, setting money aside is easy. You probably don’t have to worry about things like tax penalties or even calculating how much you can afford to save. 

However, not every professional musician has that luxury. When you’re concert-hopping or living gig-to-gig, it can be difficult to practice healthy money management. 

It’s easier than you might think to manage your money, but it can take some organizational skills. Start by creating a budget for yourself. Look at the income you’re bringing in each month and how you’re spending it. From there, you can come up with ways to “cut back” on your spending habits, both in your personal and professional lives. 

For example, as a traveling musician, you might spend a lot of money on gas to get from one gig to another. Think of ways you can save on gas, like preserving your car’s efficiency and optimizing your driving. Choose to bring your own food along rather than stopping at fast-food joints, and keep a separate “road budget” so you don’t end up buying things you don’t need. 

In your personal life, you can manage your money and decrease your spending by cutting back on things like subscription services and dining out. 

You should be budgeting to save, not just to pay your bills now. Whether you set aside a section of your budget as an emergency fund or specifically dedicate some of your monthly income to savings, it’s easier to manage your money when you have something tangible written down. 

Taking Care of Taxes

We touched on tax penalties above, but are you aware that some of your savings could actually be costing you money? Taxation penalties are destructive and can take away some of the hard-earned cash that you’re trying to store away for retirement. If you want to maintain and grow your savings accounts, it’s important to be aware of exemptions. Some of the most common tax-exempt savings accounts include:

• 401(k)s

• IRAs

• Roth accounts

• FSAs

• HSAs

You can still be taxed for things like early withdrawal and minimum distributions. However, if you work with an investor or accountant on setting up an account, they can guide you through the process and help you mitigate penalties. 

As a musician, you probably pay your taxes every year. Maybe you even pay quarterly taxes to avoid a large lump sum owed at the end of every fiscal year. The last thing you want is to deal with more taxation when you’re trying to get ahead. In fact, you should be looking into expenditures that you can write off and deduct! Invest your time and money into working with a tax professional that can help to ensure financial stability for your future. 

Have a Back-Up Option

Whether you’re gigging every night, you’re a “seasonal” musician, or you rely on record sales and royalties for income, it can be hard when things aren’t consistent. Even if you tend to do well throughout the year, you might find that most of your income is going directly to the here and now, just so you can get by. 

One of the best things you can do for yourself is to have a backup option when it comes to your finances. Thankfully, there are a few different ways to approach a backup plan. 

One is to invest your money. 

You don’t have to have a lot saved up to invest, and your return could be something that sets you up for a comfortable retirement. Some of the best high-yield investments include

• Value stock funds

• Short-term government bond funds

• High-yield savings accounts

• Rental housing

• Cryptocurrency

If you’re not willing to take a risk with your money through investing, consider using a “side hustle” or part-time job as your backup plan. It might not seem very rock ‘n’ roll to have a side gig doing something more consistent, but it will allow you to live more comfortably now while you live out your dreams, and give you the opportunity to have a nest egg in the future. 

Whether you penny-pinch to save your money, invest in the stock market, or find ways to avoid tax penalties, there are plenty of ways to save for retirement as a musician. While it’s okay to focus on the fun you’re having now, it’s crucial to recognize that one day you’ll want to sit back and relax. Consider some of these ideas when it comes to making sure you can do so with comfort and ease.

Saving for Retirement as a Professional Musician

Ludacris Finally Opens "Chicken N Beer" Restaurant In Atlanta Airport

Ludacris announced his plans to open a “Chicken N Beer” restaurant in Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport nearly five years ago. Today, November 17, the restaurant has finally opened on the airport’s Concourse D.

“It took me three years, but it’s finally coming into fruition,” he said on Instagram. “Anything that’s worth waiting for is worth having, and we are finally here. I’ve seen it come from my third album all the way to a restaurant… I’m talking about great food, great drinks, great energy, and my employees are the best employees in the world.”

Click to read more ...

The Benefits Of Having Good Networking Skills Can Lead To Lucrative Opportunities

Article By: Young Cory

Artists signed to major record labels and well seasoned independent record labels have the luxury of being surrounded by a team. This includes but not limited to, a Lawyer, A&R, Manager, Record Label Executive, etc. As a collective their job is to take care and handle the business affairs of any recording artist (songwriters/producers) under their tutelage, while also utilizing their unique connections and cachet. It’s much easier to execute and focus on creating music when you have an adept team whose tirelessly working for you. For newly independent artist (Labels) it’s not quite the same. In the beginning stages you’ll usually have to do all the hard work alone until you’re able to hire, or partner with individuals that will promote, develop, and help with the improvement of your career (brand). To reach new heights you must remain very passionate about your brand. No one should be more excited and willing to expand alongside make new connections than yourself.

Click to read more ...