Over the last few decades musicians have had to become more savvy regarding the business aspects of the creative endeavours that they’ve dedicated their lives to. Whether it’s due to the myriad examples of how unsuspecting creatives have been taken advantage of, or the industry shifts that have affected how revenue is made, musicians are taking the development of their business skills almost as seriously as their musical chops. While this adds a certain complexity to musician’s lives, this is also incredibly empowering.
However, it’s becoming increasingly clear to musicians that it isn’t always enough to keep track of the flow of money from different projects. For many, in order to ensure that their musical ambitions are sustainable, they must treat their career as if it were a small business. This can mean hiring staff, working with accountants, connecting with marketing experts. Often it is necessary to set up secondary revenue streams, such as merchandising and licensing.
One of the primary components of a musician’s successful business is touring, but how can you ensure that your business continues to function — and thrive — when you’re not always physically present to ensure everything gets done correctly? We are living in a time when many businesses operate with remote staff, and there is greater access to tools that make these practices possible. But how do they fit into the touring lifestyle?
As a touring musician, you’re generally not going to have access to luxuries such as a great deal of private space, so you’ll need to think creatively about your working environment. It isn’t always going to be enough for you to manage the flow of your tour finances from the banking app on your phone, while sitting in a noisy green room. It’s in your best interests to take into account the daily tasks of your business and plan ahead accordingly.
For the most part, hotel rooms and AirBnB accommodations in the contemporary marketplace will come with complimentary internet access — but as this is one of the basic requirements to run your business remotely, it may also be in your best interest to consider a comprehensive data plan, if only for emergencies. If the reality of your tour environment requires that you’re sharing accommodations with other musicians, or even that you’re roughing it in your transport, scope out quiet spaces such as local cafes and even remote co-working areas.
Time on the road can be chaotic, and without some forward thinking, you may find yourself trying to take advantage of small snatches of time. Running a successful business will often require you to analyze data to make smart entrepreneurial decisions, speak to members of staff back home, and problem solve — all of which will benefit from you finding a peaceful space in which to operate at your best.
Small businesses can succeed or fail based on the quality of the people that are on the team. As a touring musician, this won’t just extend to the people you happen to be on-stage with; as your business grows, it is vital to ensure that the people you entrust to operate your affairs in your absence are up to the task. From those handling web sales of your merchandise, to those arranging the logistical elements of your next project; you need partners who understand how to function while you’re not physically with them to call all the shots.
You probably know your goals and what’s important to you in your career, but it’s just as important for your employees to know these too. Even as early as the process of actually hiring your staff, make an effort to ensure that their values reflect your own. In everything they do on behalf of your business, they are a projection of you to the world — so don’t be shy about making it clear what your business ambitions are, and set clear boundaries.
There are also tools available that help to make working remotely more practical. Set up reliable cloud storage so that new documents can be shared and accessed by employees wherever they happen to be, and utilize project management apps such as Slack that have messaging functions to connect you to all of your employees, even if they don’t all operate from the same space. Where possible, have face-to-face contact via Skype in order to maintain a supportive visibility throughout your travels — your employees will appreciate it.
Social media marketing is an important aspect of any business. While we’re not all comfortable or particularly skilled in its use, the brand you are building really does need to be supported by some level of expertise. Particularly since musicians’ marketing is often directly targeted at their audiences, ensuring that your marketing and media is handled correctly while you’re travelling is vital.
You may prefer to handle your social media yourself while you are on tour, but you should always ensure a member of your team has access to the accounts in order to post and moderate when you’re not able to. Often, social media can act as a form of product support, with your audience posting to make complaints about aspects of the tour and ticketing, merchandise, etc., and you won’t always personally have access to this information or be able to reply at a time that is useful to your customer. Touring is a huge undertaking, and it’s important to remember that you have limits while away from the office; make sure your troops are rallied into positions that make them most useful to you.
Your time on tour is also an opportunity to help fund the next one — encourage your audiences to engage with your social media, and let them know about any crowdfunding campaigns that you have coming up. Connect with local media outlets, tag them in your social media, and set up meet-ups with audiences that create great promotion opportunities. This may seem like an additional squeeze on your available time, but planning ahead effectively and delegating tasks to your staff, will help to ease this.
Using a small business model to shape your career as a musician is not selling out. Rather, you are taking control of how your talent is used, allowing you to achieve your ambitions. Any good business benefits from thorough preparation, and when planning your time on the road, it is important to take into account how this will affect the day-to-day running of your business. Use your hard-earned creativity, along with some planning prowess, and you can make your endeavours a success wherever you happen to be in the world.