Concerts and Touring
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Tour Schedule/Planner Commentary
Concerts and touring
This tour is for a rock band called ‘Danger’, they are a 4 piece band with a range of their own original material as well as having a setlist of covers from across the decades. They will be travelling west from Leeds to Manchester and then Liverpool and eventually to Dublin Ireland. From this tour we aim to achieve exposure to more fans, gain footage for social media, make a profit and above all, gain experience on the road, working with different venues and learning from our work.
I chose the locations on our venue list for the purpose of being close to each show in each town that we visit. Starting in Leeds we will be going to one of the best venues which is The key club. Being based in leeds we will not need to worry about accommodation which is a huge help to our budget, we also will not need to consider transport to get into town or stress about parking as for those with cars there is plenty of parking around town and we won’t need a tour bus to carry equipment, we will be able to bring our own if needed although the venues have in house equipment.
Furthermore it will not take too long to travel to Manchester and Liverpool which means less time worrying about road delays and less money spent on fuel, of which we will be hiring a minivan / people carrier for everyone to be able to travel together.Dublin is the perfect choice for the chance to perform in a different territory as it is not far from the west coast in Liverpool and we can have easy access to it by ferry.
I have chosen the venues for this tour for several reasons. First of all, a selection of them not only have a deep connection with the local population (and in some cases are known for it around the country) but they also have history in their towns. The key club is one of the best places you can attend for a rock gig, in the heart of Leeds it attracts a huge rock crowd and has strong alternative recognition. Rebellion is a brilliant location for a rock gig as it’s very easily accessed, has a good capacity and is very similar to the key club however it’s more gig / band focused and is a little bigger.
Band on the wall is on the list as it is one of the most legendary venues in Manchester, it has existed in some form since the 19th century and in 2022 was refurbished and reopened and is more music focused than ever. In liverpool city center Heebie Jeebies includes a courtyard outdoors area as well as an upstairs room and a basement, the basement is of course the area we will be using as its the preferred spot for a rock show.Future yard is a venue in Liverpool that is known for supporting up and coming artists and is heavily involved in the local music scene. It has an amazing vibe for several genres of music including rock and indie, and opened in 2021 it has a capacity of 600.
The Workmans club is in Temple Bar on the river front of Dublin Ireland, with a suitable capacity of 300 it is known for newer as well as well known artists in smaller clubs. It has a prominent atmosphere of student / indie and alternative music and can have very busy and chaotic weekends.
Transport
For the Leeds based gigs we will not need travel plans as it is a Leeds based band and each member can arrive easily with their own equipment without worrying about cost or parking. For travelling to Manchester and Liverpool we will be hiring a van to take equipment and people to the venues, of which we will be parking at the venues and if not we will park at the hotel or in nearby car parks as some venues have only temporary parking. We will be using Europcars for the van in order to get us on our travels from Leeds to Ireland. A Carney will also be used for the ferry to ensure bookings for the van.
In conclusion we will have a risk assessment to ensure the health and safety of all our band members and equipment. For this we will use air tags to ensure we always know where our equipment is so lost (or stolen) items can be found. We will ensure everyone has access to mental health support, and we will also put the necessary amount of time and money into marketing to ensure we make a profit from ticket sales, if we lose profit on our shows we run the risk of losing money from the tour and not earning money.
Key club – Wednesday 3rd June
Rebellion – Thursday 4th June
Band on the wall – friday 5th June
Hebegeebies – Sunday 7th June
Future yard – Monday 8th June
Workmans club – wednesday 10th June
Cash Flow
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Marketing and promotional plan
To sell tickets we will not only announce the tour on social media separately as well as on our home page but will ask friends and family to share and post to ensure maximum outreach to fans and others who may become fans through enjoying our gigs.
To help build a fanbase we will continue posting videos on social media of us writing, preparing for performances, making music videos and above all, concert footage. Consistent footage of the gigs will show the audience that they will be getting an incredible show that is a good value for money and is a great night out. Furthermore, paid ads on youtube and other SM platforms showcasing our channel will help us significantly by getting our music out to a larger audience. This means more people can see and have access to the band and the more people following the better chances of a higher audience.
The target audience for the band is younger adults and or students in the rock / Indie scene, by performing for these people we will build and spread amongst our target audience and this age group is the one that spends the majority of their time on social media making outreach easier.The promotion for the tour will be announced six to eight weeks (early may) before the tour begins, this will ensure that viewers have the necessary time to prepare the dates in the calendar so that they can definitely be available to come to the shows. ”ensure you book shows eight weeks in advance” (Allen, 2013:2) For anyone signed up to the newsletter it will also be emailed to them before it is announced on social media.
A sponsorship engagement that would be great for the tour would be urban outfitters, this is because they are a hugely popular company amongst our audience demographic and people may find us through them.
Technical & Logistics
Stage Plot
Channel List
merchandising and licensing opportunities
Merchandise will play a key role in generating excess money on the side of ticket sales, added on to everything else it has the possibility to reinforce total revenue and give us a leg up for the tour which could prove to be extremely useful. When it comes to merchandise, we will be selling T – shirts and posters as these are generally the most popular keepsake items for people to buy at gigs. The reasons for this is we have to take into account how much it will cost to buy enough items for each show (based on capacity), how much it will cost to get them printed, and the realities of how many we are going to end up selling.
Because this is on the road we will be selling merchandise slightly more expensive than we would if we were to sell it on a website. This is because people are more inclined to buy it so they can say they bought it at the show and not just at the online store, meaning it will also help towards maximum profits. Posters will be sold for £5.00 each and shirts will be sold for £10.00. On top of this, we could create a deal with urban outfitters to buy clothing from them at a cheaper price so that we can sell for more profit and in return we can do lots of advertisements whilst on the road. Furthermore in the UK and Ireland it is a huge part of our culture to involve clothing when it comes to music as a part of our identity. By wearing clothes representative of the bands we like we are aligning ourselves with what they stand for, who they support in cultural and social circumstances, and showing that we love that style of music. For this reason it is a good idea to make at least some level of investment into clothing because it shows we are taking part in local culture which will help the growth of the band in the long run.
Licensing opportunities will give us the chance to expand our outreach commercially for the tour, if we collaborate with retail brands or fashion companies it could take us beyond live events and give us options for putting our music in advertisements that could make more people aware of our band. Finally, we need to take into account the import factors as well as logistic and legal duties to ensure we do not break the law when selling items in Ireland. We need to be aware of regulations for transporting goods and not just selling as both need to be done legally. For this we will need to declare that we are exporting and importing goods by giving a detailed packing list, we may also need to get a freight agent to help as it can be difficult doing it alone.
If the goods have been made in England we can qualify for zero tariffs under the trade agreement, we just need to prove they were made here and this can be done via receipts and tags. The items also have to meet EU standards for labelling, safety and CE marking.
Potential Problems
We will need an EORI to export from England across borders. Without one we can’t legally take equipment across the border. As mentioned previously a carnet will be needed for transportation, our best option is the ATA carnet as it acts as a “passport for goods” which means we can temporarily take equipment / luggage into a different territory,”without payment of duty or VAT” “this is recommended as the easiest and widely accepted method of navigating customs” (Smith, 2020a, 2020b, 2020c) If we don’t there is a legitimate chance we can be fined and stopped from performing at other venues and gigs in the future.
It would also be wise to have in transit insurance with a Channel list, that way we have proof of value and ownership in case of damages and loss protection.
Other than this there are many things that can potentially cause the tour to stop. As previously mentioned we will use air tags so we know where equipment and bags are at all times. technical failures can be nightmares and stop the shows, so incase the venues don’t have them, we will bring spare jack leads. If we don’t get the desired turnouts and we lose money, we will further promote the shows online and by telling people in person. If we run out of food stock then Per diems will be increased to ensure no one goes hungry, if people are starving it will affect their capability to work, health and stamina need serious consideration. Before setting off the tour manager will ensure all admin and documentation for everything is correct, if it isn’t we can be stopped from going abroad, or we might have to leave certain equipment behind (which isn’t acceptable).
If someone in the band is suffering from mental health problems, it is the duty of the tour manager and those around them to ensure that they are supported and understand that they are cared for by the team, if someone is not in the right state of mind it can affect how they perform and their ability to concentrate meaning we can be slowed down and not meet performance standards. To help with this everyone will be made aware of the website ‘Help Musicians’ who are “here to support everyone who works in music, whether you are onstage, behind the scenes, in an office or in the studio” (Joseph, 2026)
Bibliography
Allen, B. (2013) guide how to promote live music. culturehive
Joseph, W. (2026) music minds matter. Help Musicians
Smith, I. (2020) ukeartswork. UK E artsinfo
