Case Studies:
Case study – Promoter:
A music promoter has a huge role in getting artists’ music recognised by the public. They work very closely with musicians, catering their services to what each artist needs. A promoter may be promoting anything from an artist’s new release to an upcoming tour. Artists generally start off with doing their own promotion through the likes of social media, mailing lists, and posters; however, a promotions manager can open that up to bigger possibilities. I was fortunate enough to attend the Abbey Road Amplify, Manchester, in November 2025. Whilst I was there, I met Rebecca Boulton, who is the manager for New Order and Joy Division. She became their manager in 1999 alongside Andy Robinson, after the previous manager, Rob Gretton, sadly passed away. Rebecca and Andy run different parts of the band’s management. Andy runs most of the tour management, whilst Rebecca runs the promotion and artist management; this was decided by the band as both managers have more experience in their fields. One of the big ways that she said that New Order got promoted was through television adverts. Although they had many requests to use their music, not every request gets approved. Rebecca said that they still get requests from record companies, PR companies, and radio/TV promotion companies on a regular basis. When they get a request, she goes through them and determines whether they are worth the hassle or not for the band/band member. If a request seems worth it, she will then pass it on to the band (or a specific member if asked for) for them to make the final decision. Rebecca also talked about the fact that because New Order are already very well known, they have started to tail off their promotion in recent years as it has “gotten to the stage now where everyone knows everything about them [New Order] already – there isn’t much more they can add to what’s already out there”. I asked Rebecca what the best way to promote a band of their calibre would be. She said that in the case of New Order and Joy Division, they “work on the ‘less is more’ principle as the band prefers it that way. Due to the age of the band, social media is not their highest priority, but when they do use social media, they “try to work on creating good-quality, interesting social media content without bombarding fans with unnecessary content”. For New Order’s promotion, they mainly use music in films, TV, and advertisements.
Music promotion, and therefore the job of a music promoter, has changed massively over the last couple of decades. With the invention of social media, new ways of promoting music have been created that weren’t previously possible. Not all social media platforms will be relevant for a target audience; for example, most modern popular music has been promoted through TikTok with users creating different short-form videos to an artist’s music. Much like Spotify and other music streaming platforms, artists can upload their music commercially to the platform. However, unlike streaming platforms, artists get paid per video, rather than per view/stream, so the money an artist makes isn’t as much. Promoters generally use platforms like TikTok, and now Reels, to redirect users to stream an artist’s songs. According to MRC data, “67% of app users are more likely to seek out songs on streaming platforms after hearing them on TikTok”. Major music promoters who have a large budget may also pay influencers to promote an artist’s music on their pages to boost their client’s fanbase.
Before the social media age, promoters would use platforms such as radio, TV, and the press. Promoters would make press kits that they would then send around to newspapers, magazines, and music blogs to get featured. Promoters would often have connections with people in the media to help an artist, whereas most independent artists wouldn’t have as many connections. Radio was the biggest way to get an artist’s name into the industry. Promoters would pitch finished tracks to local radio DJs around the country, then if the music was played, it would potentially be passed around to other bigger, national radio stations. With the introduction of MTV in 1981, music promotion took another step forward with bigger bands producing music videos for their promoters to send to TV channels.
Case Study – Tour Manager:
Tour managers have a very important role in booking gigs and making sure a band’s needs are met whilst they are touring. Tour managers often tour with the band and make sure that everything runs smoothly, coordinating with venues, managing money, and organising things in local areas of a venue. A tour manager takes care of every aspect of an artist’s and crew member’s life whilst they are on the road. In order for a tour to be successful, each day will run with precision thanks to the organisation of the tour manager.
Prior to a tour, the tour manager will liaise with venues that are booked and will find out all the relevant information from them, including. This can be anything from seating capacity and stage dimensions to where the nearest medical facility is or how many dressing rooms are provided. All this information then gets passed on to all the relevant people. Next, the tour manager will find sound engineers, lighting engineers, and roadies to tour with the band. Prices for each of their services will generally be agreed before the tour happens. The tour manager will then book transport for all the artists and crew: this may be in different ways depending on the size of the tour. Accommodation is booked for certain times for different job roles, for example, a bus driver would need accommodation whilst the concert is happening so they can get the minimum hours of rest for them to drive overnight to the next location. The tour manager will next work out specific timings for each day, creating a strict schedule (a day sheet) for each member of the touring party, so they know when they need to be at the venue to load in, set up, and pack down anything needed. If on the tour media appearances are scheduled in, such as record shop appearances or smaller performances like Tiny Desk, the tour manager will be responsible for making sure everyone that needs to be at those appearances is there and makes sure that they don’t overrun. After a show, the tour manager will make sure that the artists are taken to their accommodation or sent to the next location and will oversee the final pack down, making sure that everyone is doing what they are supposed to be doing, then making sure everyone gets to the next location on the tour.
Perhaps the most important role of the tour manager is managing all the finances. They will agree on prices for things like accommodation and bus & driver hire before the tour, but will then agree on final splits and prices after each show to make sure everyone gets the correct amount. Whilst on the tour, there are many outgoings from the budget from venue hire to food costs, but there is also plenty of income during the tour as well from box office tickets at the venue, and merchandise sales. The tour manager, alongside a tour accountant (if the tour is big enough), will oversee each transaction to make sure everything is going to the correct place.
A tour manager will often work alongside promoters and other managers to create a tour. The promoter will create any material needed to promote the tour, that can be social media posts to posters on billboards in the cities a band may be playing in. Sometimes, a tour manager may book a stage manager to manage everything that is happening on stage before, during, and after a show. The stage manager would oversee the setups, sound checks, and pack downs required for every show, working with sound, lighting, and sometimes pyrotechnic engineers to make sure the show runs smoothly. This allows the tour manager to work closer with the artists, and make sure all their needs are met.
As with everything, problems may arise whilst a band is on tour. It is the responsibility of the tour manager to resolve these issues, and continue to make sure the show runs smoothly.
Role Comparison:
City In Stereo are an indie-soul band based in Leeds. Formed at Leeds Conservatoire, they have been working towards releasing their first EP, and are therefore starting to organise their own gigs. They have supported a few artists around Leeds over the last year, but this event at Hyde Park Book Club will be their first headline show, and the start of a small tour around the north of England. They have hired both a promotions manager and a tour manager to help organise and run their tour.
As we all know, good promotion is key in the modern music industry. Advances in social media have allowed an increasing number of grassroots artists to get their music out into the world and to give them a shot at becoming big in the industry. On this tour, the promotions manager will manage all the band’s social media accounts, promoting all the gigs in the venues the band will be visiting. In theory, the band could do this themselves, but they wanted a bigger outreach to the general public for their gigs to increase their fanbase. The tour manager will organise any extra bits for the tour, such as routes to get to the venues, organising all the load-in times, and overseeing all the soundchecks for each show. They will also oversee any merchandise sales that the band may have whilst on tour.
As City In Stereo are a rather small band, they don’t have a huge budget for any of their shows. For example, for their show at Hyde Park Book Club, the band can save more money than they would for other shows due to the fact that the whole band lives in Leeds and is only a short distance away from the venue. They also can save on promotion costs by printing out posters in the Leeds Conservatoire library and distributing them themselves. They have also given a small budget to the promotions manager to have graphics designed for the gig posters and printed tickets. All these figures can be found in my budget sheet.
Hyde Park Book Club offers a very reasonable venue hire cost of £140, which includes a sound engineer. For a box office, they charge £12 per hour, for a minimum of three hours, so £36 altogether, bringing the total cost of hiring the venue to £176. They plan to sell advance tickets at £7, with on-the-door tickets at £8. The tour manager would settle all these figures with the venue in advance and make the advance payment to secure the venue.
On tour, a promotions manager and a tour manager would work closely together to create a cohesive and well-organised event for their clients. The tour manager would handle the logistical challenges of the tour, whilst the promotions manager would handle the business and promotional side of the tour, getting the artists’ names heard. Both of these roles are necessary for larger tours, especially as there are more elements that need to be organised and thought out.
Show Budget
Final Settlement Sheet
Bibliography
What does a music promoter do? (2023) CareerExplorer. Available at: https://www.careerexplorer.com/careers/music-promoter/ (Accessed: 09 December 2025).
Effectively marketing and promoting music in the Digital age (2023) ICMP. Available at: https://www.icmp.ac.uk/blog/effectively-marketing-and-promoting-music-digital-age (Accessed: 09 December 2025).
Yates, H. How artists can make the most out of TikTok for their career, The Musicians’ Union. Available at: https://musiciansunion.org.uk/news/how-artists-can-make-the-most-out-of-tiktok-for-their-career (Accessed: 09 December 2025).
How did independent artists promote before social media vs. today? (2024) Pitch. Available at: https://pitch-us.com/blogs/marketing/how-did-independent-artists-promote-before-social-media?srsltid=AfmBOooHGQ9YMSnA-jEJFQiTHYQ9tGOoBZ_Cnto8CrN9myNox0IU9J7V (Accessed: 09 December 2025).
Tour manager Berklee. Available at: https://www.berklee.edu/careers/roles/tour-manager (Accessed: 10 December 2025).
Wendover Productions (2022) The Absurd Logistics of Concert Tours, YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MY8AB1wYOtg&t=428s (Accessed: 10 December 2025).
Read, C. (2020) The life of… A tour manager, Leeds Conservatoire. Available at: https://www.leedsconservatoire.ac.uk/about-us/progression-portal/musicians-survival-guide-articles/the-life-of-a-tour-manager/ (Accessed: 10 December 2025).
Concert Tour manager salary, Responsibilities & Definition (2024) Music Careers | Expert Advice – Careers In Music. Available at: https://www.careersinmusic.com/tour-manager/ (Accessed: 10 December 2025).
Hyde Park Book Club Venue Pack
Primary Research conducted by Arthur McDonald about Rebecca Boulton
