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SHR5E018P~002 01234567 Tour Plan & Commentary Template
Tour Schedule/Planner
Add your PDF in the block below. Please see the exemplar tour schedule/planner for reference.
Tour Schedule/Planner Commentary
In this tour plan and commentary, I will discuss a series of shows planned for rising indie rock band ‘Cab Driver’, as well as various different supports throughout the tour. The dates would accompany the release of the band’s first EP, with the first show a week after the EP’s release in late September. At this stage, the band has gathered a large following on social media, and has already amassed a dedicated live audience by playing support slots for bands in the indie scene; I used pre-existing tour plans of bands in the same genre playing their first headline shows to inform the venue choices and branding (for example The North, Westside Cowboy).
The venues range between 150-320 audience caps, with the largest being in London (calculated based off of location-based listener engagement on streaming services). The venues remain fairly consistent in size to allow for stage layout and gear setup to be easily replicated at each one (please see attached tech spec for stage layout).
I also struck a balance between covering a range of locations across the UK, and maintaining low travel costs. It was essential to play London and Manchester due to their famously active live music cultures – in a recent survey by ‘EatDrinkMeet’ newsletter, 29% of Manchester residents declared that “live music is the best way to listen to music”. It was also essential to play Leeds, as it is the band’s central hub; I therefore planned several of the other dates within commutable distance to avoid accommodation costs and unnecessary hassle (view tour route in Appendix A). I chose to remove my Bristol date from the tour, as the city lacks the strength of crowd numbers seen in the other locations, and would have drastically increased fuel costs, accommodation costs and journey time.
I chose to plan my tour in October as it maximises the audience availability and minimises travel and accommodation costs, due to it being outside of typical holiday periods. People are more likely to attend shows in Autumn than Summer as most major festivals are no longer active (LastMinuteMusic, 2026). I put the Jumbo Records who in the middle of the tour, so the band could take some time in the evening to post highlights on social media, building buzz for the upcoming shows. I also ensured that the gigs took place from Thursday to Saturday (with the Saturday show in one of the larger cap venues to maximise availability), and the Jumbo Records daytime show and signing on a Sunday. Sunday is ideal for this as most people are free in the daytime but cannot be out late at an evening show due to the restraints of jobs/education on Monday morning. It promotes an intimate, friendly atmosphere that helps build a community and strengthens connections with fans.
For the support acts, each one is a carefully chosen band/artist from the local area. This makes for a more reliable schedule as load in and soundcheck are less likely to be disturbed by factors such as traffic. More importantly, it supports the local community, and helps draw a wider crowd of people who may not have otherwise come (Boothby ,2019).
Promotion and Marketing
I planned out a marketing campaign, budgeting a combination of physical posters and social media pushes. I commissioned an artist for £50 to create artwork of the four band members in a vibrant and bold style, which I then used as poster designs with the band’s logo and tour dates (see an example of one of the posters in Appendix B). I budgeted £30 for printing and distribution of posters, and an additional £20 for boosting meta ads as I found they are more cost effective than Instagram ads which give a 30% cut of costs to Apple. (HDM Agency, 2026). I have created a poster for each city, which I will distribute a month prior to the tour to various record shops and music venues to drive engagement in the right audiences. They include QR codes so that tickets are immediately available to viewers. For the meta ads, I will create short clips of the choruses of songs from the EP, and boost their views to create recurring memorable and catchy hooks that may draw in more viewers. I will also maintain a stream of content featuring more relatable moments with the band, mixed in with the professional, polished content. This may include camcorder footage of the band’s activities around the shows, and photos of the audience from the stage, both of which build a connection with the fans and keep followers engaged between show promotion and professional stage photography. (ICMP, 2024). It is also essential to update apps such as Songkick and Bandsintown to alert followers of the band as the gigs are announced (the Creative Independent, 2024).
The Jumbo Records event will also act as a promotional hub, as the shop is a hotspot for dedicated music lovers who may not otherwise have discovered the band.
Cash Flow
Add your copy of the financial plans bank cash flow spreadsheet in the block below.
Financial Commentary
This tour was planned at a 40% ticket sales guarantee to breakeven, as it would be the band’s first headline tour, testing audience reception and requiring an easily recoupable budget. Ideally, sales would be more successful, therefore making enough money to invest larger amounts into the next one, however I chose to keep the margins as low as possible due to the unpredictability of new touring bands. Note that venue fees have been calculated with an additional 4.2% PRS cost included. (Musicians Union, 2021)
I plan to make a large portion of the tour profits from four types of merchandise: T-shirts, CD’s, lighters, and stickers. The T-shirts are bought in bulk from ‘TShapes.co.uk’, and printed on a range of sizes with a simple logo on the front – as pictured (appendix D). The cost of 100 units is £650, which when sold at £15 each creates a net income of £1500, and returns a total profit of £850 when sold out. I used the ROI (return on investment) formula (McQuarrie, 2021) to find this was 131% ROI.
The CD’s feature a tracklist of five unreleased demos of the band’s music, creating scarcity and value in their physical format before the tracks are finished and released commercially. This strategy helps to keep fans interested and anticipate new releases, while feeling they can purchase something personal and special. The CD’s are sold at £8 each, and are created by the band with the use of a CD burner (already in my possession). While the process is fairly time consuming, I calculated the combined cost of 50 blank discs and 50 blank sleeves would be £14 – purchased on amazon as depicted in appendix – and when sold out would generate £402 profit – a 2871% ROI.
I purchased 500 custom stickers of the band’s logo in bulk from ‘bizay.co.uk’ for £10.93, and used 100 of them to wrap around plain BIC lighters – selling the rest individually for 80p (appendix E). The lighters were also purchased in bulk for £20. In my tour plan, I accounted for there being stock remaining at the end of the tour, only selling out of T-shirts and CD’s.
Technical & Logistics
For the main band’s transport, I am renting a VW Transporter 6-seat mini splitter van from vans4bands.co.uk, for £75 per day (Appendix F). For the 7 day period this comes to £630 (including VAT). I calculated that the rough distance of a full 70ltr tank in this vehicle is 600 miles, which is well over the 425 miles of the tour, however it is likely many small trips will be taken to purchase food, go to and from accommodation and pick up any forgotten items. I therefore budgeted an additional £10 every other day of the tour to account for fuel top ups, and £130 so that the van is returned with a full tank as requested.
The tour plan accounts for the four band members (including myself who doubles as the tour manager). The band’s drummer acts as the driver, and the photographers, box office staff, security and sound engineers are individually sourced at each venue. The only venue where a sound engineer would not be required is at Jumbo records, as the show is an extremely intimate, acoustic performance with no amplification other than a small PA for the vocals. I chose not to pay for photography at every gig, instead focusing on the larger venues as the lighting is more elaborate, and the band will not require a whole set of gig photos from every show. I paid £15 at Fulford arms for a 4 camera video recording of the gig (which they advertise as a service) to use for short form content promotion and clips.
For the overseas location, I chose to take a ferry to Dublin, and therefore increased ticket costs from £10 to £15 to accommodate for the £263 cost of the journey (based on one large vehicle) (appendix G). This also required an ATA carnet (essentially an equipment customs passport), which I created a mockup of as I was unable to access the official blank document (appendix H). I included item specifics such as weight and value, and have attached a tech spec of all equipment, as well as a stage layout for the sound engineers throughout the tour.
Accommodation
I avoided the majority of accommodation costs and potential issues by planning the tour in commutable locations, so that the band may return to their houses after each show. In Manchester, to mitigate the longer commute, I arranged for places to sleep at a friend of the band’s house which allows all of the band to have a drink and relax soon after the show, essential to maintain morale and mental health during back to back dates. In Dublin, I checked the reviews of several locations thoroughly, and settled on one which struck a balance of budget rooms (below £100 for all members) and good reviews (above 7/10 on booking.com)(appendix I).
Stage Plot
Add your Stage plot in the block below. Please see the exemplar stage plot for reference.
Logistics
The band’s technical requirements are minimal due to the simplicity of the sound (there are no backing tracks or additional elements). All members own their own gear and in ear monitor units, meaning the stage set up is consistent and requires little planning ahead of time – other than the stage layout.
Projections
Contingency Planning
During the tour, it is highly likely that there will be unforeseen costs and hiccups in the plan, making it essential to factor in an additional sum of money pre-tour. I budgeted £200 – roughly 5% of my spending based on recommended calculations (EventFlow, 2026) to cover emergencies such as faulty equipment, travel delays, and additional supplies for the artists’ physical wellbeing.
I did not require any gear hire due to the simple band setup, which also ensures the sound is consistent with the recordings and minimises opportunity for malfunction due to the band’s knowledge of their gear. I chose to insure the band’s gear with ‘MusicGuard’, who provided me with a combined quote for equipment insurance and Public Liability Insurance (appendix C). This means the band is covered in the event of damage to their gear, or accidental damage or injury caused to other people and their gear.
Food and wellbeing
On a day to day basis, I have given the band per diems of £100 per day to cover meals, trips and drinks in the evening, alongside a food stock of £50 pre tour for snacks to keep in the van (Musicians Union, 2022). Throughout the days, a combined £70 is budgeted, which I would allocate to crates of bottled water, beers before the shows, and any other dietary requirements on or off the road. This eases the pressure of finding meals close to showtime, as the band can relax and refuel on the road or at their accommodation.
Bibliography
Unbranded. (2022). The best places in the UK for live music lovers, revealed. [online] Available at: https://www.eatdrinkmeet.co.uk/recommendations/the-best-places-in-the-uk-for-live-music-lovers.html#/.
Fellowes, J. (2020). Your year as a musician: Popular and quiet times for gigs. Last Minute Musicians Blog. [online] 1 Jan. Available at: https://www.lastminutemusicians.com/blog/year-musician-planning-ahead/.
Boothby, J. (2019). Why local venues are an essential part of musical culture. [online] Geouwehoer. Available at: https://medium.com/geouwehoer/why-local-venues-are-an-essential-part-of-musical-culture-213e6b94493d.
HDM Digital Marketing Agency. (2025). Why Meta Ads Are a Must for Businesses in 2025. [online] Available at: https://hdmarketing.ae/blog/meta-ads-are-a-must-for-businesses/.
ICMP (2024). The Importance of Social Media in Music Marketing. [online] ICMP. Available at: https://www.icmp.ac.uk/blog/importance-social-media-music-marketing.
thecreativeindependent.com. (n.d.). How to book a DIY tour. [online] Available at: https://thecreativeindependent.com/tips/how-to-book-a-diy-tour/.
on, G. (2021). Guidance on the PRS Online Event Licensing Tariff. [online] Musiciansunion.org.uk. Available at: https://musiciansunion.org.uk/news/guidance-on-the-prs-online-event-licensing-tariff.
EventFlow (2025). Event Budget Management: Complete Guide 2026. [online] EventFlow. Available at: https://www.event-flow.co.uk/articles/event-budget-management-guide?utm [Accessed 29 Apr. 2026].
Red Bull. (n.d.). The musicians’ guide to touring. [online] Available at: https://www.redbull.com/gb-en/how-to-plan-a-music-tour.
musiciansunion.org.uk. (2022). Performing and Touring with Featured Artists. [online] Available at: https://musiciansunion.org.uk/working-performing/gigs-and-live-performances/performing-and-touring-with-featured-artists.
Jan (2023). What’s the best time of year and best day to host an event? [online] Autumn Live. Available at: https://autumnlive.co.uk/whats-the-best-time-of-year-and-best-day-to-host-an-event/.
Appendix
appendix H
