SHR5E018P~001 24101039
Introduction
This case study will analyse the roles of a Promotor and a Tour Manager in the live music industry. To research these roles, I interviewed promoter Jake Scott from Far from Presents (Appendix A): a young London based art and music collective aiming to push the boundaries of what a music promoter can be. I also referred to a talk I attended by Lubi Jovanovic, a Mobo (music of black origin) gig promoter- in Leeds, that took place at Leeds Conservatoire on 26th November. I used secondary research on the role of a tour manager as it was harder to find one to interview. The secondary research was conducted online, including video and written interviews with tour managers such as Carl Casagrande, a freelance international tour manager, Nyla Davison and Callum Read.
Brennan and webster states that a promoter “wears many hats” (Brennan and Webster). It became apparent during research that the role of the promotor and the tour manager may converge and be taken on by one person. However, for the purposes of this case study, they are considered as distinct roles.
Role of the Promoter
Promoters play a key role in the live music industry, in basic terms promoters “organize and present live music events.” (Berklee). Presenting live music can happen in many different places and consist of multiple tasks. From small pubs to festivals, promoters are responsible for pairing an appropriate artist to a venue, whilst considering the demographics of the audience. As well as this, they are responsible for negotiating fees with artists, whether that be a flat fee (fixed amount regardless of ticket sales), or a percentage fee (a percentage of ticket sales). The running order of a gig is also a job of the promoter, deciding which artist goes first, how long each set lasts, and what time changeovers happen. Promotors are also responsible for reaching the audience via a marketing campaign with the aim of selling tickets. The budget must balance – the costs, including the venue fees, the fee negotiated with the artist, and all other costs including marketing, transport, equipment and food must be covered by the ticket sales. Ticket sales and managing tickets are also the promoter’s responsibility, via a suitable ticketing platform or in person at record shops – a choice influenced by fees and ease of use, or by the preference of the target audience. Specifically focusing on grassroots venues, promoters may also take on other roles, such as running the door or helping with merchandise. To gain more insight, I set four themes with one or multiple questions for each-
What factors do you consider when choosing a venue?
The suitability of the venue to the style of music or event was key, and this might involve a range of factors.
Lubi Jovanovic spoke about the importance of the venue PA system being suitable for the style of music, for example he mentioned the bass heavy sound system at Belgrave music hall being more suitable for bass heavy music whereas venues like the Brudenell social club suit music with brass and vocals as well as acoustic music. This means considering which space and sound system will serve each acts sound well is key. Jake Scott also notices the importance of matching the style of music to an appropriate venue, he states – “in April, we’re doing an all-nighter at club chic in. We chose it because they have a late license and a proper club sound system, which lets us transition from live bands into a full club night” he also considers the license here and so club nights need to be held at late license venues.
Starting out, a promoter might not begin filling out bigger venues and so starting in smaller spaces and building up an audience gig by gig will make stepping to a bigger space an easier process. Jake Scott said that – “Back then, we were just grateful for any place that would let us put on a night. But these days, the choice of venue is much more intentional.” Starting small and building up is a good way of approaching putting on events hence Jake stating, “Part of growing the night and working with bigger bands, which naturally means needing bigger spaces.”
Both Jake and Lubi highlighted the importance of only booking a “destination venue” (a venue with little amounts of footfall; or passing trade) if there was a guaranteed turnout or enough advance sale tickets. This issue can even lead to cancelled shows, on Lubi Jovanovics Instagram (@djlubijovanovic) he states “I’ve had to cancel my final tomorrows worriers RISE show case gig at The Attic” due to “people not buying enough advanced sale tickets” he also mentioned in the talk on the 28th that The Attic was a destination venue and so couldn’t rely on passing trade on the day.
What might you consider when booking a new band? How do you discover new bands?
I was interested in the role or influence of the promoter in ‘discovering’ bands and developing their careers. Jake said that they get to know of bands through their networks, a promoter is basically part of the scene. It seems this rapport with venues, bands, agents, photographers and other industry links are essential to the success of a promoter. Networking and good relationships are key. Jake said that firstly they programme bands they like. However the line-up is carefully considered, it’s important to the bands to be in a line-up that makes sense musically or with bands that are doing well. Also, a band’s following is important, Jake commented “We also think about the audiences’ different bands attract. If you put the right mix of artists together, you get a full room and an energy that benefits everyone—performers and audience.” So, in general, booking and discovering bands is largely about being in the know, attending band nights and events and being part of that scene to book bands and create the right line ups.
How do you market events? Do you collaborate with the venue on that?
I was interested in whether the promoter has a following or the venue has the audience or a combination, and how you can work together. Jake explained that the regular venues he works with do put out flyers on Instagram and weekly posts with what’s on and they might do collaborative posts, but you can’t rely on that. He said all the marketing and promotion from our perspective is like got to come from us. The marketing and promotion on social media may include ‘posting short bios of the bands, and for bigger events we’ll make reels or fun pieces of content to keep things interesting ‘From this I gathered that venues might put your night along a list of others on a “what’s on” page, more in depth promotional output will come from the promoter and possibly in collaboration with the band.
How do you minimise financial risk when putting on a night? Is there an industry standard for venue or band fees, and how do you negotiate those? And ultimately, how do you balance keeping everyone happy while also making sure you don’t lose money?
As mentioned above, Lubi Jovanovic stated that advance ticket sales are important to minimise financial risk. Jake said the London pubs charge £150, and ‘that just covers doorman, sound guy and the venue for the night. The rest of the ticket sales you keep as a promoter. And they obviously make a ton of money on the bar.’ Jake stated that the minimum bar spend can be high, for example £3000 at the Jago in Dalston. Jake also spoke about the standard fees for bands being low, typically ranging from £50, to £250 for a headliner. In terms of not losing money, Jake explained that if the event went well in other ways, you might take a calculated risk on a loss.
Role of the Tour Manager
Tour Managers make sure that the tour goes smoothly and look after operations including financial management, travel and accommodation, venue co-ordination including technical requirements and artist and crew support. Tour managers of smaller indie acts are different to tour managers of bigger commercial acts, for example, with smaller bands, the tour manager might be one person/friend who drives the band from venue to venue and does all operations themselves. A commercial tour manager might be the supervisor of a team that delegates operations especially when the venues and acts are bigger and less possible to be operated by one person. I have read through interviews with tour mangers and have identified key attributes you need to be successful in this role-
Organisational skills
Organisational skills are key to being a good tour manager. Being one step ahead of everyone to solve problems before others are aware there are any. In real life this includes waking up before everyone else to organise what’s needed that day. Independent tour manager Callum Read, when asked about the average day: “Before Tour – wake up, put coffee on and open google maps. Plan the journeys and build the travel schedule whilst arranging the production details with the promoters” (Read) Car Casagrande also highlights the importance of being organised ‘You need to be highly organised; you need to be able to deal with several things at once. I liken it to keeping different tabs open in your head. The key thing is not to forget anything and be able to adapt at very short notice.’ (ICMP staff writer)
Good communication skills
Nyla Davidson gives a good explanation of the people skills required in the role, how she communicates between the band, venue and crew. https://theroute.co/tour-manager And how she cares for the well-being of the band – ‘Post show I’ll make sure the band are okay and see how they felt about the show and have a bit of a debrief. It’s basically being the mum to everyone and being the point of contact between the band and all the staff at the venue. There’s so many different parts to it.’ (“Route”) I realisefrom this description that as well as great communication skills a tour manager also needs good emotional intelligence and a level head.
Hypothetical Concert Plan
To contextualise my understanding of these roles. I’ve planned a theoretical concert using a show budget (Appendix B) and settlement sheet (Appendix C)
My hypothetical concert will be an indie band night held in the basement of Hyde Park Book Club. I have chosen this venue based on its location being in a student area and its capacity of 150 which will be a realistic size to fill as a promoters first gig. Based on the nature of the event the role of a tour manager will not be needed and so I will be taking on the role of promoter.
There will be 15 holding tickets saved for A and R and guest list. Tickets will be priced at £13 on dice based on ticket price of previous shows the headliners have done. On the door tickets will be available at £15
I have chosen Leeds based band, The North to headline the event and will pay them a flat fee of £300
Up and coming Leeds based student band – Bobs in Florida are on theme with genre and venue so will support and will be paid a flat fee of £100
The hire fee is £140 plus VAT and PRS so I can realistically budget the hire at £180 with the added fees.
The venue hire covers sound engineer, and sound equipment; mics and mic stands. ((HYDE PARK BOOK CLUB Venue Pack))
I would have to pay for box office staff for a minimum of 3 hours (HYDE PARK BOOK CLUB Venue Pack) (£12 x 3 hours) £36
I have also decided to hire a roadie to help with setting up and closing for each band, as well as any issues on the night – £75
For advertising I will create artist bios and boosted Instagram posts promoting the event for 2 weeks at £5 a day – £70
Student graphic designer in Leeds will be commissioned to create a theme and poster for the night – £50
I will then print and distribute these posters – £50
The Headline band will receive take away food – £60
I have laid £50 aside for any other miscellaneous costs including drinks and taxis.
I have also hired security and photographer for the night at £100 each – £200
The total fixed costs to put on the event is £1171 to break even I will need to sell 91 advanced tickets.
Should 91 advanced tickets be sold and a further 10 on the door my total gross will be 1476 pounds. Deducting my total costs from gross the profit left for the promoter would make a profit of £305
Final pay outs:
Opener – £100
Headline – £300
Promoter – £305
2159 words
Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C
Refrences
Berklee. “Concert Promoter | Berklee College of Music.” Berklee.edu, 2019, www.berklee.edu/careers/roles/concert-promoter.
Brennan, Matt, and Emma Webster. Edinburgh Research Explorer Why Concert Promoters Matter. 2011.
HYDE PARK BOOK CLUB Venue Pack. 2024.
ICMP staff writer. “Interview: Carl Casagrande.” ICMP, 25 May 2022, www.icmp.ac.uk/blog/interview-carl-casagrande. Accessed 9 Dec. 2025.
Read, Callum. “The Life Of… a Tour Manager.” Leeds Conservatoire, 2024, www.leedsconservatoire.ac.uk/about-us/progression-portal/musicians-survival-guide-articles/the-life-of-a-tour-manager/.
“Route.” Theroute.co, 2024, theroute.co/tour-manager.
