How To Become A Touring Musician: The Beginner’s Guide To Touring In The Music Industry

by Tom Hess

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Want to tour the world and become a touring musician?

It’s actually not as hard as you probably think.

Here is what it takes:

The first step is to understand what touring in the music industry is really like.

(As opposed to  what people who have never had a chance to get on a music tour imagine it’s like.)

(The best way to know this is from someone who has become a touring musician and can show you what it’s really like to go on a world tour.)

Then, once you understand the realities of touring in the music industry…

… you need to know the first steps to take to go on your first music tour (and eventually, possibly even tour the world).

This article shows you how to do both - drawing on my experience as a touring musician (as someone who had the chance to tour the world many times).

The first thing to know about becoming a touring musician is:

... touring in the music industry can be anything you want it to be.

Why do I tell you this?

Because you need to let go of any preconceived notions you may have of what being a touring musician is all about.

Touring in the music industry is like almost anything in life: you (for the most part) get to design your own reality.

And as such…

Here are 5 simple beginner-friendly tips for touring in the music industry:
 

Touring in the music industry (usually) does NOT start by going on a world tour.

Your journey as a touring musician can start with scheduling several gigs back to back  in different clubs close to your area.

i.e. close enough to have a realistic chance of drawing a crowd to each gig.

In fact, that is usually where most bands and musicians start (even if their long-term ambitions are about getting to tour the world). Since you’re likely to not have a big enough fan base to tour far outside your local area.

That said, doing this is a lot easier than you may suspect right now.

The main thing you need to do to get such gigs is to show the venue owner that you are going to draw a crowd to come see you play. (That is all venue owners really care about.)
 

Of course, before you think about going on a music tour (of any size), you need to be working hard at growing your musical fan base (locally), so you can deliver on your promise to venue owners.

This leads us to:
 

Here is the very best way I know of to approach your first music tour:

Realize that your first music tour is NOT supposed to make you famous or to make you money.

Your first music tour is only supposed to put tour dates on your resume. That’s it.

Why is that important?

Because music tour dates are a powerful music career credential. Possibly the single most powerful credential, at that.

And when you get this credential, your life as a touring musician becomes much easier.

For example:

When you reach out to record companies to talk about a record deal and record companies see that you’ve already gone on a music tour (even if a tiny one)…

… you go on their short list of musicians they consider offering a record deal to.
 

What does this mean for your 1^st music tour in a practical sense?

It means: be prepared to pay for all the expenses that go with it on your own. And expect to make little to no money on your first music tour.

In fact, paying for your first music tour is like paying to go on vacation.

When you go on vacation – you expect only to spend money, but not to earn any money, right?

You do it just for the experience.

Well, think of your first music tour the same way.

Pay for all the expenses of your first experience of touring in the music industry like you’d pay for a new instrument or recording gear.

Only instead of an instrument, going on (your first) music tour, buys you a (powerful) credential.

A credential you can then leverage to give yourself other, much bigger opportunities for touring in the music industry. (More on that below.)

If you want help with setting up your first music tour (and using that credential to create bigger opportunities for yourself), get music career mentoring.
 

Being a touring musician in any capacity (let alone going on a world tour) is not for everyone.

Here are just some of the most important things you need to have to stand a  chance of becoming a touring musician.
 

1. You Need A Strong Success-Focused Mindset

Your mindset determines every action and every choice you make in your music career (and in your life). This, of course, includes touring in the music industry and becoming a touring musician.
 

2. You Need The Right Musicians Around You

As you can see, there are quite a lot of things to know and do when it comes to going on a music tour. (Plus, many of these things – like the idea of investing into your first music tour just for the credential - are quite counterintuitive.) 

And when you play in a band – ALL musicians need to be on the same page with the steps that need to be done to make a music tour happen.

This can be especially tricky if you don't have the ‘right’ musicians in your band. 
 

3. You Need A Stable Financial Situation

Your first music tour will be a significant expense. Few musicians can stomach such an investment in their music career (which is why their careers often go nowhere and they never get to tour the world).

This is why you need for your finances to be stable enough to be able to afford such an undertaking.

This means:

- not having to rely on a day job (since most jobs don’t pay very much)

- having multiple streams of income (so you’re not too dependent on any one thing to earn money).

- having a way to earn money while you are touring in the music industry.
 

4. You Need A Fan Base.

When you are starting your career as a touring musician, your fan base may be small (which is one reason why to keep your first music tour close to your local area.)

That said,

The stronger the bond is between you and your fans, the more likely they will be to travel to your gigs (even if your band’s gigs happen a bit farther away than normal).

Note: you also had better know how to deliver a great show for your fans. And your live show needs to be worth watching.

That said, there IS one other way for you to break into touring in the music industry even if you don’t have a fan base to speak of.

And that is to simply follow the next tip:
 

This is where you simply find a bigger band that is about to go on a music tour (it could even be a world tour) and simply pay them money to take you with them.

Sounds fun, right? It is… but  there is a downside:

The bigger the band you want to go on tour with – the more this will cost.

That’s because you are paying for the privilege of playing in front of another band’s fans. This means those fans will potentially spend some of their money on your music and merchandise.

All the more reasons to make sure your finances are stable enough to afford this option.
 

Question: “Tom Hess, which strategy is better? Should I do my first music tour myself or pay another band for a tour buy-on?”

Answer: It all depends on you and your situation. (I can help you figure out the answer for you in the Music Careers Mentoring Program).

But ultimately, you can’t go wrong with either option. And either approach for your first music tour makes it easier for you to do the other.
 

When you finally do get to tour the world as a touring musician, any daily routine that you may be used to at home usually goes out the window.

Here is a rough (but generally accurate) outline of what happens on a typical day during a world tour (spelled out hour by hour):
 

Notice the window of time after each show of a music tour when some musicians sabotage the music career success they’ve built.

My advice is: don’t be one of those musicians. Be smart and you will have a much easier time growing your career as a touring musician.

Now that you know about the realities of touring in the music industry, the next step to becoming a touring musician is learning how to get more gigs in your area. The more known you are throughout your local area, the easier it becomes to attract the attention of record companies. I can help you with this in my free eGuide: How To Get More Gigs And Earn More Money Playing Live. Download it today and discover the music promotion secrets most musicians never know.

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About Tom Hess: Tom Hess is a guitar teacher, music career mentor and guitar teacher trainer. He trains musicians how to leave their day jobs and build successful fulltime careers in the music industry.

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