In this essay I will be discussing the importance of having both a promoter and a tour manager in modern live music. I have gathered together primary and secondary research in order to help come to my conclusion.
The primary research I did was on my friend Abigail Martin. She recently organised her first gig on the 4th December. I interviewed her on her process, how she was promoting the gig, how she reached out to artists, her communication between the bands/venue, and the struggles she faced.
Q. What inspired you to create this event?
A. “I wanted to do more work fundraising for Palestine, I did a Palestine fundraiser last year, and it was really successful. And it went really well, and we raised a lot of money.”
Q. What made you believe you could achieve this goal?
A. ”I’m friends with a lot of creatives, and the whole point of the gig was to be completely organised and curated by a team of women and queer people. Because it is a fundraiser, everyone’s a lot more willing, so it didn’t really seem that intimidating.”
Q. What would you say are the key elements of putting on an event?
A. “You can’t cater to people you are friends with, because you’re just going to bring a lot of the same group in. you need to branch out and get people that are going to bring different people, and bring something new to the table. It’s not all about your taste, it’s about what’s going to drive ticket sales, especially with a fundraiser, and what’s going to work together. Also, a well communicative team, so everyone involved communicates really well with me and vice versa.”
Q. How are you planning on promoting this event?
A. “We’re launching a ticket link, today or tomorrow! And then I have a really good designer friend who’s made some awesome posters (we worked on them together) and they’re going everywhere, getting reposted by the bands, its going on the venue website, word of mouth, on my business account.”
Q. What advice would you give to someone else organising an event?
A. “Probably to start sooner than I did. So, you can get a headliner and then work around that. I’ve given myself about a month and its working out okay now, because luckily I know a lot of people, and thankfully they can do the jobs that I need them to do. I’d probably say for next time to give myself closer to two months, and get a really solid headliner, and get the tickets out much quicker. Make sure it aligns with you and your morals, and that its something you want to do, and make sure no one’s getting cut short, including yourself. Building a good reputation and a strong network for yourself is also advice I’d give.”
Q. Have you come across any negative experiences whilst organising this event?
A. “Not negative, but difficult, yeah. You get people that cancel and don’t reply. Because there are so many variables, it’s important to not get stuck on one idea, and to be flexible with what could happen, flexible to an extent. Obviously, it’s difficult and stressful, but that’s what makes it all worth it in the end.”
The reason as to why I decided to interview Abi Martin for my primary research, was because she has had little to no experience with putting on and promoting a gig. And even so, it was a successful night in which she raised over £700. I believe she is in the very start of her career, and if she continues down this path it could be expected she could be very successful in this part of the live entertainment industry.
I then did some secondary research on a well-known promoter, on a man called Michael Rapino. He is known as the president and CEO of Live Nation. Rapino oversees a company that vastly and widely dominates the live music market. The company is also the parent of Ticketmaster and operates thousands of venues worldwide. In the last 1990s, Rapino co-founded Core Entertainment, a concert promoting company. Rapino first landed a job as a beer rep for a company called Labatt Breweries and started promoting bands at local bars, arranging a weekly ad in The Argus called, “The Blue Zone”. It featured live events happening in Thunder Bay the following weekend. This was what first led him into the world of promoting live music, he loved the networking of it all, meeting new people and creating new possibilities for everyone he worked with. After graduating, he moved to Toronto but still stayed with the same company (Labatt) for another ten years. He danced around many different job roles, in marketing and entertainment, but this time as an official sales representative. As the CEO of Live Nation, Rapino initially focused of expanding the business outside of tour management, including artists’ recording and marketing. This is when he made deals with artists such as Madonna, U2, and Jay-Z. In 2010, Live Nation merged with Ticketmaster. Rapino led the company in acquiring several festivals and companies, including House of Blues Entertainment (2006), Bonnaroo Festival (2015), and Blue Note Entertainment (2017). He earned $70.6 million in 2017 and was reported to have one of the highest discrepancies in salary between a CEO and the employees, who on average, earned $24,000 per year. He was then listed as number one on the Billboard Power 100 of Influential People in the Music Industry. On a Bob Lefsetz podcast, Rapino gave his stance on ticket pricing, comparing it to a Gucci Bag, and that low to middle income people will make their way to that arena for that special night. The reason why I chose Michael Rapino for my secondary research, was because he started off his career in a very mundane way. His success was all thanks to himself, promoting bands in pubs, getting the know the industry from the very source, and it was the fact that he worked so closely with bands, it gave him the understanding of what it means to have a good relationship with the people you are working with, whether it be a band, or an assistant, or a venue. It could be said that Rapino is very successful at what he does. Being one of the highest grossing promoters in in the world is a testament to his success.
Now, the difference between Abi Martin and Michael Rapino is obvious. Experience. Abi has only just launched her brand, and Rapino has been in this industry for almost three decades. The reason why I chose them both and wanted to compare them both was because they both had a very similar starting point. Abi is surrounded by creatives all the time, and is able to pull an event like hers off because of the community that she is already in. A strong, solid network and respect from her peers made the event possible. She put in a lot of hard work and dedication, which is why it could be assumed that she could have a very similar career to Rapino. Another reason as to why I chose Abi and Rapino, was because they both understand the importance of making sure no one gets cut short. They are very aware of who they choose to work with, and they can both stand their ground when it comes to making decisions.
I am now going to be talking about the primary research I did on a tour manager. With my dad being in the music industry for over 40 years, I decided he was my best source to go to for primary research. I ended up getting in contact with a man called Pete Franthel, who was my dad’s tour manager in 1999. He organised three shows, the first in Manchester at a venue known as Band On The Wall. The second in Birmingham, at a venue then called XLs, but now known as Five Ways. And lastly, a show in Bristol, at a venue called The Louisiana. Pete Franthel’s career in tour managing was short-lived, with this mini tour and two others being his only experience in the field. I was able to email Pete and ask about his time as a tour manager.
Q. What is the most important quality of the relationship between an artist and tour manager?
P. “Communication and organisation. Back then you couldn’t give someone a quick text so it was really important that you had all the information you needed for the show to succeed and run smoothly.”
Q. How much were the expenses – including transportation, venue hire and accommodation?
P. “Well, part of the reason why we did these three cities was because we were able to put the band up in houses of people that we knew. Lots of university friends that Huw and I had were more than willing to put the band and myself up for a night or two. Venue hire costs typically were between £100 to £150, which was typically split between the band and me, so then we could divide up a cut each from the ticket sales. It probably wasn’t the most efficient way to decipher costs, but it worked for us. We had two cars so the only transportation we had to pay for was petrol. Luckily, we had no breaking down on the road, a thing which I still count myself lucky for.”
Q. How did you organise the tour?
P. “I made a lot of phone calls, sent over a couple faxes with the details. You just had to trust that people would stick to their word.”
The reason why I chose Pete Franthel for my primary research, was because of my personal connection with him through my dad. I also thought it would be really interesting to find out what it was like to organise a tour in the late 90s, without having the access to the internet like we do have today.
The secondary research I did for a tour manager was on Marty Hom. Well known as a tour manager and a tour director, he has recently worked with The Rolling Stones, Beyonce, Shakira, Lionel Richie, Olivia Rodrigo, and Fleetwood Mac. When working with Shakira, they made history with the highest grossing Latin female tour of all time (Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour 2025). He has received three Parnelli Tour Manager of the year awards, the first time in 2004, the second time in 3013, and for the third time in 2018. He also was awarded Road Warrior of the year in a Pollstar interview. Hom grew up in Sacramento where he managed small bands during his college days before moving to LA. In 1985 he became the tour manager and accountant for Bill Withers, and then in 1989 he started working with Paula Abdul when she was doing an MTV tour with Milli Vanilli. When Paula started doing world tours, she decided to take Hom with her, and thanks to her, he’s been busy ever since. It was then his effort off-road that earned him a lot of respect within the music industry. In 2019 he became the Talent Producer for Music Core’s Person of the Year, and most recently, he was named a member of their Board of Directors. Frequently seen participating in conferences and panels, and active in mentoring the next generation of live event professionals. Last year, in late May 2024, he did an interview with Tour Life, speaking about the Do’s and Don’ts of Tour Management. In this interview, he discusses the importance of taking a leap of faith in pursuing a career in the music industry, despite the uncertainties and the risk of taking a non-traditional path. He emphasises the necessity of building a trustworthy and reliable team, along with how having the right attitude and work ethic are crucial for success. He also highlights the need for healthcare for touring professionals and the importance of increasing the diversity within the industry. mainly, he encourages new tour managers to bring empathy and sensitivity forward to the table. He thinks it is super important to look after the men and women on the tour and is very aware of the fact that he is asking a lot of the people on his team. This means long periods of time away from home. Understanding and compassion is absolutely vital to have.
The reason why I chose Marty Hom for my secondary research, is because in my opinion he is one of the few tour managers who genuinely cares for the artists he goes on tour with. It would be safe to assume that the majority of tour managers within the industry are in it for selfish benefit, they don’t really care for the people they work with. From the research I have done on Marty Hom, and how highly he speaks of everyone around him, it could be said he is one of the most genuine tour managers in the live music industry today.
The reason why I chose to compare both of these tour managers was because they had different processes of organising the tours. It was interesting to compare how they communicated with their team and the amount of support they gave to their team. Obviously, Hom had a much bigger team of people to deal with and organise, and a higher budget to work with. With Pete, he did a lot more himself for the band, sometimes driving the band himself, when instead Hom would have tour buses in which he would have a bus driver to drive the whole crew. Despite this, I feel both tour managers put in similar effort to their job role, but in different ways. Pete was more ‘DIY’ and Hom is more organised.
I am now going to talk about a hypothetical event I would put on a Brudenell Social Club. I chose the band Boa to headline, with two support acts. I put the tickets up for £21.50, with an added 10% from the ticket website, bringing the online tickets up to a price of £23.65. The venue, Brudenell Social Club, has a capacity of 400 people, and with 304 tickets sold, I would break even. Paying the headline band, boa, a standing fee of three thousand pounds, and the support acts eight hundred pounds each. Spending £330 on advertisement, including national ads, local ads, leaflets, posters, and the artwork. Having a promoter will be very helpful in this scenario, as they can help spread the world to get more tickets sold for the gig. If necessary, they may also talk to the venue to help organise a date for which the gig will be put on. They can also help create buzz for the event, posting consistent content online for people to find and get information about the upcoming event. A tour manager will also be very helpful for a gig as they can help organise the band if they are coming from a different city, help book flights or trains, transport for the band. They will also book accommodation for the band if needs be, help with the transportation of getting the bands to the venue from their accommodation. They could also help oversee the budget of the event, making sure the event is breaking even with the amount if ticket sales, and merchandise.
To conclude, a promoter and a tour manager are absolutely essential to putting on an event. They will help the event run smoothly, curating a stress-free environment for the whole team involved.
