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SHR5E018P~001 Case Study TEMPLATE
Case Studies
Live music is a critical part of the music industry, specifically at beginner levels and grassroots levels, as this is where artists can hone their craft and refine their sound, as well as build an audience. Although these places are beneficial for musicians, they are only beneficial when they are run properly, with proper organisation, financial planning, and practice.
In recent years, the live music scene has become increasingly more professional at every type of event, even these small-scale grassroots events. There are now various things to consider at these types of events, such as legal compliance, budgeting, health and safety risks, and the welfare of the performers and anyone that might attend the event. The venue I have chosen is Royal Park Cellars in Leeds, as it has to operate within slim margins for error whilst supporting upcoming emerging artists and providing a good experience for anyone who wants to visit. The promoter and tour manager have two distinct separate roles, but both of their responsibilities ensure that the events are safe and professionally delivered.
In this essay, I will discuss two case studies, going into detail about the roles of the promoter and tour manager, and I will be using both primary and secondary research to support it. I will then apply this research to my hypothetical show at Royal Park Cellars where the band ‘The Mallards’ are headlining.
Case study – Promoter
Case Study 1 – The Role of the Promoter
The promoters for these types of events are crucial in maintaining grassroots music scenes and helping emerging artists. At a venue such as Royal Park Cellars, these promoters are significantly important as they act as the middleman between artists, venues, and audiences. They have a number of responsibilities, which include booking acts, promoting events, managing ticket sales, and the logistics and financial issues that run alongside playing at a venue.
Typically, at these low-budget grassroots events, the promoter is more hands-on than at a larger-scale venue, but with a smaller-scale venue they have more things to do than at a larger event. For example, they are responsible for agreeing performance terms, making sure the ticket price is of acceptable standards, and coordinating event logistics between the venue and the band. Audience demographics also play a significant part in the promoter’s duty, as they need to know what the venue is near and who could be the group of people that would attend this event. Royal Park Cellars is in Hyde Park and Headingley, so the promoters must prioritise affordability, as the majority of the ticket sales would be coming from students. They also need to consider other factors within this occasion, like the staff that would run the event and how much the artist should be making from the event.
The promoter’s most significant role would probably be to promote the event, as the money they make from the event determines how well of a job they do in promoting it. The promoter is focused on cost-effective promotional strategies, which are used with a limited budget, as most of these promoters have other jobs and therefore do not have a large budget to spend on marketing. Probably the most effective use of promotion would be social media, as it is cost-effective to post something on TikTok or Instagram, and in return it can reach people in the local area or people who would potentially come to the gig, such as university students. This is a smart use of marketing, as the promoter would understand that the age demographic of people coming to the gig is probably between the ages of 18–23 and would heavily use social media to promote it.
There are also other effective ways of promotion, such as physical posters and flyers that are placed around popular areas within the city and around university campuses, for example in a university cafeteria or library where there is a lot of foot traffic and more people are likely to see it. This could get people on campus talking about it and spread by word of mouth. These methods are what local grassroots promoters would use, as they are cost-effective and do not really have a large risk associated with them, as they are not losing too much money on flyers, posters, or social media advertisements if they decide to pay for ads.
The financial risk is probably one of the main risks associated with the role of a promoter at a venue like Royal Park Cellars. Promoters are generally required to cover upfront costs for the venue before any ticket sales are made, so this means that if there are poor ticket sales the promoter can lose money. This risk is also very evident at venues with a small capacity. This can be seen in the show budget table, where it demonstrates a realistic approach to managing the risk of playing at this type of venue, whilst still using a modest fee to pay the artist and keeping ticket prices reasonable so a clear break-even point is achieved. This highlights the promoter’s responsibility for financial planning and forecasting, which is a key operational skill within live music promotion.
Primary Research – Promoter
The main promoter for the venue of Royal Park Cellars for lower-level bands is Richard, and he described how it is to be a promoter in this email that he wrote to me:
“At this level, the promoter is doing most of the work. I book the bands, make the agreements, decide the ticket price and handle promotion. If the show doesn’t sell, it’s usually the promoter who takes the hit.”
(Richard, personal communication, 2025)
In this email, it states everything that he does in his job as the promoter and how he is the primary financial risk holder. Although artists and the venues are affected by unsuccessful shows, it is usually the promoter, or Richard in this instance, who is impacted the most. This also emphasises the idea that grassroots promotion is a process between the promoter and the artists, especially due to the rise of social media.
Secondary Research – Promoter
I used secondary research to reinforce the findings that I gathered from my research with Richard. I used reports from the Music Venue Trust, which described the rise of increasing financial pressure on up-and-coming grassroots venues and the promoters who work with them, as it is costing more to run these sorts of places and there has been an increase in closures. Frith (2019) described grassroots promoters as the main support within the local music ecosystem, as they support both local talent and the development of audience formation. Another finding from my secondary research comes from Behr et al. (2016), who state that promoters often have to work under conditions where there is financial insecurity, and they rely on their own knowledge and connections to remain in business. Another finding to support this claim is from Webster et al. (2020), which states how important it is to digitally promote gigs and venues, as it is low cost and has a high reach, so the promoter must be aware of social media and understand how to use it.
For a promoter, it is also crucial to have the legal awareness necessary for this role. They must understand rules such as venue licensing, curfews, and noise restrictions, as well as understanding PRS and PPL requirements through venue licensing and agreements. They also need to have appropriate insurance, such as public liability cover, which would protect the artist, staff, and audience.
Case Study – Tour Manager
Case Study 2 – The Role of the Tour Manager
At grassroots level, the tour manager is mainly focused on overseeing logistics, scheduling, and communication with promoters and venues, financial agreements, and artist wellbeing. Even at these small-scale events, the responsibility of the tour manager directly contributes to the professionalism and delivery of live performances.
At this level, the tour manager might not be an external person who is paid to strictly do this job and instead it is often taken on by a friend or family member of the band or artist, or a direct member of the band. Although this might be the case, the responsibilities of the role still remain substantial. The tour manager organises transport, loading times, soundchecks, and performance schedules. This allows artists to focus solely on performing rather than organisational concerns, although when it is a member of the band doing this work they must focus on both.
Primary Research – Tour Manager
The primary research that I gathered for this case study was conducted with a student who often acts as the tour manager for his own band and other local acts.
“On show days, I make sure everything runs smoothly. I organise transport, confirm load-in and soundcheck times, speak to the promoter and venue staff, and deal with the settlement at the end of the night.”
(Student tour manager, personal communication, 2025)
This response showed the organisational importance that the tour manager has even at grassroots level. The participant also highlighted the importance of artist welfare:
“It’s easy to overlook food, rest, and stress when you’re playing shows. Having someone focused on that side makes a big difference.”
This shows that it is also the tour manager’s duty to make sure the band or artist is taken care of.
Secondary Research – Tour Manager
The secondary research I gathered states that touring can place a physical and mental toll on artists who are performing, even on a small scale, and that a tour manager can help relieve this stress (Behr et al., 2016). Hull et al. (2020) described the role of the tour manager as the person who ensures accurate settlements and financial clarity, which would reduce the likelihood of disputes. Health and safety guidance also highlights safe travel arrangements, realistic scheduling, and working time considerations, which all fall under the responsibilities of a tour manager.
Hypothetical Event – The Mallards at Royal Park Cellars
In this section, I will apply both roles to my hypothetical headline show by ‘The Mallards’ at Royal Park Cellars in Leeds. This event is a grassroots-level live music gig which showcases a headline act and features two emerging local acts as support. This show is typically aimed at university students.
During this type of event, the role of the promoter is focused on planning the delivery of the event before it takes place. This responsibility involves booking the artists, agreeing on the terms and conditions of the performance, setting ticket prices, and managing promotion. These responsibilities are reflected in the show budget diagram I have created for this event, which outlines the income from ticket sales, venue hire, and artist fees. The budget displays a realistic approach to this type of event, creates a clear break-even point, and highlights the financial risk assumed by the promoter.
In contrast, the role of the tour manager in this situation becomes extremely prominent on the day of the event. For this event, a member of ‘The Mallards’ will act as the tour manager, which is a common practice for grassroots events. The tour manager coordinates band members, arranges soundcheck and arrival times, and clarifies what instruments and equipment are being brought to the event, as Royal Park Cellars has limited equipment available. Throughout the process, they are also responsible for checking the wellbeing of the band.
The financial differences between the two roles can be seen in the final settlement sheet that I created. The promoter assumes the financial risk prior to the event, while the tour manager is responsible for ensuring that ticket income is accurately reconciled against the agreed payments made to the artists. Effective communication between the promoter and tour manager is key to ensuring the operation runs smoothly. Poor communication could lead to missed soundchecks or incorrect payments being made.
Overall, this hypothetical event demonstrates that while the promoter and tour manager roles differ in focus, they are complementary. Both roles are essential to the delivery of professional and sustainable live music at grassroots level.
Conclusion
In this essay, I researched and discussed the roles of the promoter and tour manager using primary and secondary research and applied them to my hypothetical event. The promoter plays a central role in booking, marketing, budgeting, and managing financial risk, while the tour manager focuses on logistics, communication, artist welfare, and settlements.
In this hypothetical event, the case studies show that both roles are very important to delivering a successful live music event, even at grassroots level. Understanding how these roles operate can help emerging musicians navigate the live music industry and contribute to the long-term sustainability of local music scenes.
Show Budget
Use the file block to upload your Budget Costings Sheet.
Final Settlement Sheet
Use the file block to upload your Gig Settlement Template.
Bibliography
Behr, A., Brennan, M. and Cloonan, M. (2016) Cultural value and cultural policy: Some evidence from the world of live music. International Journal of Cultural Policy, 22(3), pp. 403–418.
Frith, S. (2019) Live music matters. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Hull, G., Hutchison, T. and Strasser, R. (2020) The music business and recording industry. 4th edn. New York: Routledge.
Music Venue Trust (2023) Annual report on the UK grassroots music venue sector. London: Music Venue Trust.
Webster, E., Brennan, M., Behr, A. and Cloonan, M. (2020) Promoting live music in the digital age. Popular Music and Society, 43(2), pp. 123–140.
