Musicians rake tour money with… teaspoons?
We are used to reading reports on how much money U2, Maroon 5, or Taylor Swift made on their most recent world tour and gasp with a top-shelf worthy mix of excitement and envy, but do musicians really make that much touring? Let’s crunch some numbers.
Say, you are a mid-level band. You decide to go on tour. You pick your route, ask fans which cities/locations they’d like you to play first, rehearse the act, plan out your costumes and stage… and get down to calculate the boring budget.
Yes, it’s a buzz killer, but you have to really understand how much money you stand to earn, what your expenses are going to be, and if you’ll be able to cover your whole endeavor via ticket and merch sales.
Speaking of merch, truly research your fan base (just getting to know them and their interests, but also directly asking the question — what type of merch are you most interested in buying). It might seem that your most dedicated fans will sweep any sort of merch off your hands, but making sure it’s something they’ll truly enjoy and be able to use and fit into their lifestyles not only makes you a better person but a better business person as well;)
Back to the budget (you’ve noticed how we are trying to postpone the moment too? hehe).
Say, you can attract between 500 and 1,000 attendees to a single show. You set your guarantee (the fee you get from the show promoter for each show you play and they organize and promote for you) at $800.
Within a 5-week tour you can realistically play maybe 30 shows (some days have got to be days off or dedicated solely to travel).
30 x $800 = $24,000
Throw in the $1,000 you make on merch at each event:
30 x $1,000 = $30,000
And your total is:
$24,000 + $30,000 = $54,000
Not bad, right? Well, this is where the not-so-fun part begins. A tour actually entails quite a few expenses. Some of them are transport and accommodation, equipment rent and staffing your events, venue cuts, agent and manager fees, food, crew salaries, unforeseen expenses. All of this can amount to a chunky piece of your budget.
For our imaginary band in this example, we’ve rounded the number up to $34,150 (detailed calculations in our blog here).
$54,000 — $34,150 = $19,850
That’s your actual tour revenue for the 5 weeks of your blood and sweat (well, okay, hopefully, not blood). And if we have, say, 5 members in your band. Well, the number gets split in even further:
$19,850/4 = $3,970
Yes, touring is about connecting with fans, sharing your music, creating special memories in your life and the lives of your fans, but it’s also about making a living. And $3,970 is not a lot of money for 5 weeks of exhausting performing and traveling.
Is there are way to increase your profits from touring?
Well, actually, we know of at least 4.
One is about networking but not in the way that you think. Check out our suggestions here (they are all free!) and let us know if any of them work for you.
