Touring is one of the most rewarding and challenging aspects of being an independent artist. It allows you to connect with your fans, showcase your music, and expand your reach. However, it also requires a lot of planning, preparation, and hard work. If you want to start your own tour as an independent artist, here are some steps you can follow:
1. Define your goals and budget. Before you book any shows, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve with your tour, and how much money you can afford to spend. Do you want to promote a new release, build a fanbase in a new market, or simply gain more experience? How many shows do you want to play, and where? How will you cover the costs of travel, accommodation, food, merch, and promotion? Having realistic and specific goals and budget will help you plan your tour more effectively.
2. Research potential venues and contacts. Once you have decided on the cities or towns you want to play in, you need to find suitable venues that match your genre, style, and audience size. You can use online platforms like [Indie on the Move](^1^) or [Sonicbids](^2^) to search for venues by location, capacity, genre, and booking policy. You can also look for local blogs, magazines, radio stations, and podcasts that cover your type of music, and reach out to them for exposure and support. Additionally, you can use social media to find other independent artists in your target areas, and ask them for recommendations or collaborations.
3. Pitch your live show. After you have compiled a list of potential venues and contacts, you need to pitch your live show to them in a professional and compelling way. You should have a well-branded press kit that includes your bio, photos, music links, videos, press quotes, and contact information. You should also have a personalized email that introduces yourself, explains why you want to play at their venue or event, and highlights your achievements and value proposition. You should follow up with them until you get a response, and be flexible and courteous in negotiating the terms of the booking.
4. Promote your tour. Once you have confirmed your shows, you need to promote your tour as much as possible. You should create an online event page for each show on platforms like [Facebook](^3^) or [Eventbrite](^4^), and invite your fans and friends to attend and share. You should also update your website, social media accounts, mailing list, and streaming profiles with your tour dates and links. Moreover, you should contact the local media outlets and influencers that you identified earlier, and send them your press kit and event details. You can also create flyers, posters, banners, and other physical materials to distribute in the areas where you will be playing.
5. Prepare your merch and equipment. Another important aspect of touring is having merch and equipment that are ready for the road. You should have enough merch items to sell at each show, such as CDs, vinyls, t-shirts, stickers, posters, etc. You should also have a reliable way to accept payments from your fans, such as cash or card readers. Furthermore, you should have all the equipment that you need for your live performance, such as instruments, amps, pedals, cables, microphones, stands, etc. You should also have backups or spare parts in case something breaks or malfunctions.
6. Enjoy the experience and learn from it. Finally, after all the planning and preparation are done, you should enjoy the experience of touring as an independent artist. You should play each show with passion and enthusiasm, engage with your fans and audience members before and after the show, network with other artists and industry professionals at the venue or event, collect feedback and testimonials from your fans and hosts, document your tour with photos and videos for social media content or future reference purposes⁵, etc. You should also learn from each show what works well and what can be improved for the next one.
Touring as an independent artist can be a rewarding and challenging experience that can help you grow as a musician and as a person. By following these steps above⁵, you can start your own tour as an independent artist successfully.
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