TOURING FEATURE: VOL.1

In this first instalment of TMN’s touring series, we chat to The Appointment Group (TAG), Live Music Office, Music Victoria, one half of The Sunny Cowgirls, Boy & Bear’s tour manager and University of Tasmania to find out how local artists can better tap into the services available to them.

In 2014, Australia’s live music sector contributed $15.7 billion to the local community; yet for 96% of artists, a career in music is actually costing them money.

According to a report by the Live Music Office (The Economic and Cultural Value of Live Music in Australia 2014), the civic benefits of live music’s contribution enabled nearly 65,000 full and part-time jobs, to the value of $2.2 billion.

More than ever, artists and their crews are travelling to all four corners of Australia, often under-resourced, to reach and grow their audiences. The logistics and costs involved in touring Australia are colossal when compared to overseas markets,due to the distance between cities.In the UK for example it’s possible to drive a matter of six hours to most major cities, whereas in Australia driving 12 hours between cities may not be feasible for back-to-back tour dates, and the need for air travel comes into play.

It has fast become apparent that with the millions of dollars spent in marketing,travel, transportation, and sometimes forgone profits for cancellations, it’s now obligatory for musicians to tap into the many products offered by service providers.

Dave Carter, Lecturer in Music Technology at University of Tasmania says despite the significant benefit flowing into the community from live music, many musicians struggle to earn a living wage from performing.

“This is a complicated issue, partly explained by our findings that the majority of consumer spending on live music doesn’t flow directly to performing musicians,” says Carter.“The nature of the live music industry also means that I’d expect income fromtouring to be concentrated among a relatively small number of higher-profile musicians.”

Shortly after the release of Live Music Office’s report, Live Performance Australia released its survey (Ticket Attendance and Revenue Survey 2014), which found concert-goers purchased 18.54 million tickets last year.

Australia has an excess of entertainment options, and its population takes no issue with spending an average of $91.57 on a concert ticket, however the associated costs have created limitations for independent performers.

Country music artist Celeste Clabburn, one half of The Sunny Cowgirls, says despite their devout fanbase and national tours – which have seen them perform 60+ dates on a single tour – she’s now stripped back the live show to an acoustic set in order to cut costs.

Sunny Cowgirls

“We would never strip everything back if we didn’t think it was going to be a good show, but we’ve definitely found a way to make it work,” says Clabburn. “Touring with so many people on the road these days just can’t happen without it being financially stressful.”

A survey conducted by the Australian Music Industry Network(AMIN) found touring to be a financial drain on its members. Those surveyed said they received either between $50-$500 a month, with 96% indicating their careers actually cost them money.

In 2011, AMIN’s Melbourne-based Chair Patrick Donovan, who is also CEO of Music Victoria, helped negotiate an agreement with Virgin Australia to benefit musicians.

‘’It’s a hard slog establishing a career on the road, driving long distances and dining on fast food,” says Donovan. “Most bands have to invest their own money initially. But it’s worth it to build your fanbase to set you up for years to come.

“AMIN identified these issues and subsequently focused on negotiating excess baggage and travel discounts for our members and streamlining the booking process to make touring easier and cheaper and to increase the chance of making a return.’’

It could be suggested that Austin-based honky-tonk artist Dale Watson contributed to the step forward for local artists. In 2011 Watson booked a flight from Sydney to Melbourne on Singapore-based budget carrier Tiger Airways. The airline charged him a $500 excess-baggage fee for a box of 120 CDs, and most unfortunately, lost the CDs. Watson’s story made international headlines and incited musicians from all corners of the globe to share their travel horror stories. Virgin Australia listened.

The breakthrough deal offers musicians an excess baggage allowance of 32kg. Currently, musicians are also offered savings of up to 20% on Virgin domestic fares, and discounted Virgin Australia lounge memberships.

One company that uses its global partnerships to benefit the local music industry is The Appointment Group (TAG). As the entertainment travel specialists TAG can offer many benefits for touring artists such as accessing the musicians’ baggage allowance and fare discounts on Virgin.

The team behind its Global Touring arm have been known as the industry experts in travel for over 25 years. Having managed touring travel for many of the biggest names in music through their offices in the USA, Europe, Australia and their most recent addition TAG Asia ( Singapore ). TAG are now working closely with local Australian musicians from emerging new talent right up to stadium acts to offer a higher level of service and cost savings than previously available in the market.

While the TAG Global Touring brand has only been in the Australian market for two years, from its local offices in Sydney and Melbourne it operates on a global level. It taps into bespoke software programs which are linked from country to country – TAG also operates out of London, Manchester, New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Singapore. It consolidates all travel requirements (hotels, cars, flights, freight logistics) and its app for tour managers is self-populating, featuring all of an artist’s travel itinerary and air travel information like seating preference, meal requests, frequent flier numbers, riders etc.and ancillary services.

Damian Cunningham Director of Audience and Sector Development at Live Music Office says it pays to take advantage of any possible benefits available to you.

“Initiatives like discounted fares through Virgin Australia and group weight check in, and The Appointment Group’s recent touring app are just a few that you should research,” he says. “Not only do these show support from aligned industries but help with logistics, save you time and help your touring budgets go further.

“There are also a broad range of digital based technologies that can help with touring like Master Tour, Sparkplug and Trip Case check these out as every little helps and can give you more time to think about the show,” Cunningham adds.

“TAG Global touring have been very fortunate to have been working across the music and entertainment industry over many years long before it became a popular market segment within the travel industry,” says Shane Barr, Managing Director at TAG Australia. “A dedicated entertainment travel agency specialist like TAG can leverage a band’s existing agency partnerships (across flights, hotels and transport) by securing preferred rates below publicly available rates and also favourable terms and conditions.”

Tour Manager Greg Weaver is the last man to bed on every Boy & Bear tour. The 25-year industry vet heads out on tour with Boy & Bear in October but last year saw him lead the multi-ARIA winning band across Australia three times and through Europe three times, encompassing almost 180 shows. Weaver says TAG’s system made the punishing tour schedule run seamlessly.

Boy & Bear

“Even though TAG is a global company, I like that I can still get personalservice,” he says. “As a band like Boy & Bear expands the number of markets in which it is successful in, it becomes more important that I can use one travel company and know that they have infrastructure in place in Europe and North America as well as Australia.”

TAG’s Shane Barr encourages touring musicians to ensure their entertainment industry travel agency has an updated Musical Equipment Manifest, with weight and dimensions.

“Your entertainment travel agency should proactively stay updated with any amendments or updates in the different airline excess baggage policies,” he says.

“This can save you a significant amount of money when booking your touring and travel domestically or abroad.”

Perhaps Barr’s most easily adopted piece of advice however is for bands under financial strain. “Learn from other established bands,” he says. “Learn who the key industry suppliers are that they can leverage to support their resourcing of their tours.

“All bands had a ‘first tour’ at some stage of their music journey,” he adds. “The more you can seek advice on those that went before you, what pitfalls to watch out for or what other services are available to drive your touring budget further will make it a less daunting experience.”

The Appointment Group (TAG) is an award-winning global, independent travel and event management companydedicated to clients around the clock from offices in London, Manchester, New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Sydney and Singapore.