Stay On Your Promoters
Once your presenters have been satisfactorily milked, give them and their promoter a call once a week for 4-6 weeks leading up to the tour to make sure that they're doing everything that they can to put asses in the seats. Let them know that you are watching them. These are one-off partnership deals, and you should make sure that your partners are holding up their side of the bargain to the best of their ability. A sold-out show reflects just as well on the promoter as it does the artist, and likewise the threat of an empty room terrifies them as much--if not more--than it does you.
Don't Sleep On Your Merch Table!
Most artists seriously underrate the importance of selling their merchandise at every possible opportunity. In a great many cases, the profits made at the merch table can make the difference between a tour that makes money and one that bleeds it. Do inventory every few days and stay in touch with your suppliers so that they can get new stock out to you with only a day or two's notice. Keep a stock of all t-shirt and hoodie sizes. Have someone--in most cases, your tour manager--dedicated to selling merch as soon as you get to the venue. Every time. Insist that the artists go to the merch table after every show and sign albums and tees--and make sure that they announce that from the stage towards the end of the show. Again, this can make or break your tour's profitability, so do not take it lightly.
Plug the Holes
No tour, particularly no foreign artist's tour, can afford too many idle days along the way. If you aren't making money, you are losing money. Of course, a lengthy tour will inevitably have a few holes in the schedule. In these cases, look for opportunities for your artist to perform privately. For wealthy fans, there may be no greater thrill than to have a favorite artist performing in their living room. And, if you can find such fans, chances are they'll pay better for a private show at their cocktail party, art auction or benefit gala than the club that brought you to town in the first place. This is where getting creative can really pay off, so keep an open eye and mind for unconventional performance opportunities.
Use a Travel Agent, But Pick Your Spots With 'Em
Yes, even in this day and age travel agents 1) exist and 2) might come in handy. If your tour involves multiple domestic flights, then it's likely that you're better off hiring a travel agent to book them. Doing a lot of flying in a short amount of time increases the odds that something will go wrong--and when it does, having the flights booked through a travel agent will be an enormous help. They can also be useful in booking hotels. However, do your homework and check their rates before they book for you. Sometimes kayak.com can come in hundreds of dollars cheaper than its human counterparts.
Catch Flies With Honey
Your artist's reputation within the touring industry matters to your bottom line. Promoters talk to each other, as do presenters booking agents, and even sound engineers. Although the people you encounter in your travels will probably ending up blurring together in your and your artist's minds, make very sure that they do not get that impression. Make a point of learning the sound engineer's name. And the presenter's. And the promoter's. And make sure your artist does the same and treats them all with gratitude and respect. Decisions on which act to book can often come down to a positive or negative reputation preceding the candidate.
Obnoxious Acronyms: SSNs and CWAs
Few people seem to know this, but foreign citizens who make money in the US not only can apply for social security numbers, but they are obliged to apply for SSNs and report their income to the IRS. If the artist (or her representatives) fail to report the income made in the US, then the IRS will eventually catch on--it may take a few years or a few weeks, but it will happen--and begin to withhold 30% of your fees until you have filed your tax returns in meticulous detail. We are now at the point that venues are pre-empting this process and insisting on the 30% withholding to keep their own asses out of the fire. That is, unless you have a CWA: a Central Withholding Agreement. You will need SSNs for all your foreign musicians in order to apply for the CWA. More info can be found here.
This process is a pain in the nuts. But it's necessary. If you think that you can handle a 30% blow to your touring margins--even if it's temporary--you should stay way the hell away from this business.
I was tempted to include an eleventh tip here, but it speaks more to a spiritual bottom line than a financial one: throughout your travels, don't forget to stop and smell the roses. Remember at every point of adversity that this is something you are doing because you have a passion and you have decided to help share it with the world. So enjoy it! Touring may indeed now be at the very core of your business, but it is first and foremost a labor of love.
Modiba, which prides itself on being a hub for the global community of progressive artists, is a record label and a production, management, publishing and consulting resource for international artists. Modiba Publishing is North America's only consolidated catalog of international music of all varieties and from all regions of the world. Click here to check out Eric's column in the Huffington Post.
