Touring the UK & Europe: Tips from the top global touring bookers

Image: Roskilde in Denmark

This article is presented by The Appointment Group (TAG), an award-winning global, independenttravel and event management company.

“Music itself is going to become like running water or electricity […] You’d better be prepared for doing a lot of touring because that’s really the only unique situation that’s going to be left. It’s terribly exciting.”

– David Bowie

In 2002, Bowie was right to be concerned about authorship and copyright infringement, but while the market has adapted to thankfully prove him wrong, touring is still the most lucrative cash injection for artists.

In 2015, over 27.7 million music fans attended live shows in the UK, and around 41% of those attendees were tourists. They collectively spent £2.3 billion (A$3.9bn) on live music last year, maintaining the UK’s place as the world’s 3^rd largest music market, behind the US and Japan.

Similarly, Europe’s music markets largely grew in 2015. The continent generatesover one thirdof the world’s recorded music revenuesandover half the world’s music publishing revenues, with France, Germany and Italyall reporting strong market increases last year.

Because of this, local bands are heading over in droves to crack the two markets, raise their international profile and take advantage of its geographic and currency perks. Artists including RÜFÜS, William Singe, Gold Class, DMA’S and Flume are all touring through the two territories in the next few months, all with gifted teams of managers, promoters and bookers behind them.

Below are a few pointers from some of the biggest industry names in both territories. They include Justin Bieber and Green Day’s Norwegian booker Mark Vaughn (Atomic Soul), The Lumineers and Passenger’s booker Alex Bruford (ATC Live), Classixx and RÜFÜS’ UK booker Roman Trystram (Creative Arts Agency) and SOUNDS AUSTRALIA’s Esti Zilber.

Artists are in a strong position to secure touring deals

While both booking agents and promoters represent the interests of the artist in all territories globally, cost agreements vary from market to market. In the UK, booking agents often work on a commission basis and usually get around 10 – 15% commission of the artist’s fee. A standardised agreement in Europe will see booking agents charge the booking fee, hospitality and logistical costs, as well as the artist’s fee.

Interestingly though, mid to top-level artists – who have no qualms selling out an Enmore Theatre-sized venue or above – could have several booking agents in both markets locking in shows for them, and usually different promoters in each territory too.

Shane Barr, Managing Director of Asia Pacific at global travel management company TheAppointment Group, says the sheer size of the UK and Europe, and the competitive nature of the booking and promoter sectors, means artists are in an enviable position.

“More promoters and booking agents across these regions, ideally places the artists in a much stronger position to secure the best touring deals,” he says.

“Naturally, it could mean more work due to the geographical and logistical challenges, and more suppliers to negotiate with in the markets, which can only work in the artist’s favour when negotiating fees,” Barr adds. “Thus it’s very important to do the ground work first to maximise the earning potential when touring.”

Brexit means bad news for artists, but only depending on who you talk to

If the influx of fear mongering media reports following Brexit had you reconsidering a tour through the UK and Europe, you have nothing to worry about, apparently.

Despite claims Brexit would affect artists’ travel visas and booking fee takings, UK-based booking agent at Creative Artists Agency (CAA) Roman Trystram, says artists should “forget about it.”

“It’s not going to happen overnight,” he says. “The most recent thing the police have been doing is stopping UK plate-holders of cars and getting them to remove their EU sticker and put a GB sticker on.”

“There will be some little changes over time,” he adds, “but they’re even talking about parking it […] I would only say that you’ve got to stay in contact with your local government embassies; they’re the ones that have got to know more about that.”

Marco Walzel, who books Australia’s Parkway Drive in Europe through his co-owned Avocado Booking, disagrees. He said he noticed a 30-40% drop in ticket prices in the UK due to the plunging British Pound post-Brexit. The figure has lead him to question the worth of a full UK tour for his bands while usually high performance fees are also declining.

Parkway Drive, Munich, 2014
Source:Facebook

“You as a band will get to enter the UK. That’s not going to be a problem,” he says. “[…] The question is how important is the UK, as a market, going to be in the future?”

Walzel has a point; if Australian artists are in fact earning less on the dollar for each show, and months in the territory is needed to make an impact, then many artists on a budget may not see the value.

“Perception-wise the UK has always been an important market […] But I think if the economy goes further down, Brexit will have a role in the decisions made by bands in their future.”

Conquer the showcase and the market is yours

“For a new band looking to break the UK and Europe, look at showcasing your abilities first at [industry showcase events] like The Great Escape in Brighton,” says TAG’s Head of Touring (APAC) Dan Horton. “SOUNDS AUSTRALIA are heavily involved and host dedicated showcases that you can get involved in.

“If you stand out to promoters and fans alike, you will know if you can make a full tour work.”

Esti Zilber, from music export initiative SOUNDS AUSTRALIA, echoes Horton’s sentiment, however she warns artists who have set their sights on conference showcases at Reeperbahn, Primavera Pro and The Great Escape to do their homework.

“It’s saturated, you’ve got a lot of competition,” says Zilber. “ But having said that, there are a lot of bands that have got a vibrant live scene, where if you’re happy to jump on those smaller shows as support, the opportunities are there.

“Something like The Great Escape, where there’s the opportunity to be talked about by media, and then build on that, is there,” she adds. “The flip side of that is that you can get lost inside the noise if you don’t know what you’re there for and how you want to navigate it.”

The Great Escape in the UK
Photo Credit: Nikoline Skaarup

You need a campaign strategy and, ideally, a team to create it

As the booking agent for Byron Bay hardcore heavyweights Parkway Drive, it’s not unusual for Avocado Booking’s Marco Walzel to start discussions about a tour campaign two years in advance.

Walzel says if a record release is involved, he’ll enter talks with other agents and territory promoters throughout the UK and Europe a year out to cut the most appealing deal for the band. He reveals he sometimes cuts out the promoter entirely to give the band more revenue.

“In the UK we work with a lot of the national promoters,” he says. “[…] While on the mainland [of Europe] it’s probably smarter to work with [individual] promoters.”

Walzel is far from the anomaly; both promoters and agents are becoming more proactive and involved at the very start of an artist’s career. Some enter the picture long before radio airplay or a label signing.

Nikita Lavrinenko, founder and agent at Berlin-based Paper and Iron Booking Co., says agents in particular are on the look-out for unsigned buzz bands.

“People are looking for different things, like touring history, where the band is in terms of their career already,” he says. “[…] Even by having one Best Track on Pitchfork can be a signal for someone that there’s something going on.”

Alex Bruford is the managing director and founder of London-based booking agency ATC Live. With more than 220 artists on his roster, including Mac Demarco, Passenger, The Lumineers and Australia’s own Julia Jacklin, ATC Live books tours worldwide and is a major exhibitor of experimental marketing.

“I think it’s becoming a more of an all-encompassing role than it used to be. I think every member of the team has to do more now.

“There’s often less people on the team, there’s less money going around, the artists need every opportunity they can get, so doors need to be opened by whatever method those doors need to be opened.”

When Bruford toured US singer-songwriter Margaret Glaspy he locked in an appearance on Northern Ireland live music TV show Other Voices.

“That’s not my job and I don’t get paid for that,” says Bruford. “But it’s a fantastic opportunity to be able to help her career. Agents really are trying to do more and kind of get involved as much as they can to be a really integral part of the team.”

Pierce through the noise and get noticed with an inventive tour campaign

The live markets in both Europe and the UK are fiercely competitive. London alone hosts up to 100 live music shows on any given night. And due to its sheer vastness, Europe remains a transitional territory, where artists willing to radically invest their energy and funds are rewarded with credibility.

“You’ve really got to find a way to stand out,” says ATC Live’s Alex Bruford.

In January last year, Irish singer-songwriter Soak announced a series of skate park shows in the UK in partnership with music discovery tool The Line of Best Fit.

“I took [Soak] on when she was 16 and it took her a couple of years to get the music right,” says Bruford. “Eventually, when it did, we had to launch her in the UK in a way that was not just an Irish artist – who don’t always have the best reputation in the UK – but is an incredible act. We had to look at what she was about and who she is as a person.”

Soak at The House Skatepark in Sheffield

Bruford says the tour campaign had never been done before and because Soak was without a label deal at the time, it became an integral part of her story. Soak went on to score A-list rotation on BBC Radio 1, she signed to London-based Rough Trade Records and was nominated for the UK’s coveted annual Mercury Prize last year.

Travel smart

Once you’ve identified where your fans are, either using social and online analytics or record sales, you’ll need to determine the best and most cost efficient way to get around.

Flight costs are highly competitive in the UK and Europe, however, driving times are much shorter than in Australia, and you’ll be met with more transport options too. Dependent on the amount of gear you have and your routing, the two main options artists take to get around are splitter vans and nightliners.

Splitter vans self-drive, are fast, feature a large passenger compartment and full audio visual entertainment systems, and cost between £120 – £180 (A$176 – $264) a day, excluding fuel.

Nightliners, or sleeper buses as they’re commonly known, are recommended for crews of eight people or more. They include bunk and lounge areas, audio-visual systems and cost around £480 (A$706) a day. Artists will need to cover the costs of fuel, oil and a driver.

Driving regulations for sleeper buses are extremely strict in Europe. They affect driver working hours, driving times, rest periods, and ultimately, your touring schedule. More on the European Commission’s regulations and provisions can be found here.

SOUNDS AUSTRALIA’s Esti Zilber says the cost of touring can be incredibly prohibitive.

“Our dollar is not amazing at the moment and it’s harder to make it go further than it was when it was stronger,” she says. “You want to be budgeting and allocating funds really wisely to be able to get the most out of it.”

As the travel services company behind Flume’s current world tour, as well as some of the biggest tours worldwide, The Appointment Group (TAG) is consistently helping bands make their way across Europe and the UK.

TAG’s Head of Touring (APAC) Dan Horton says: “The beauty of touring in Europe is how close everywhere is and you can do so much by road. You can make substantial savings on airfares by bussing your tour – It’s also a great way to see the countries you are travelling through.”

Hotel stays are often a luxury for touring acts, but Horton says the sheer volume of tours TAG handles gives it leverage to negotiate travel deals for their clients.

“Much like the way we operate in Australia, we have agreements in place with hotel partners from smaller more budget focused chains, up to 5-star luxury,” he says.

It takes time to mark your territory

You’re not going to unseat the market and sell out Paris’ Le Trois venue after your first visit – or even your second for that matter. It fact, it’s worth mentioning here that the 15,000 capacity Le Trois costs €20,000 just to open the door. The venue, like many others throughout Europe, is privately owned and door fees and surcharges are determined at their discretion.

While artists should be aware of a drop in performance fees that they’ll earn in the two markets, there is a silver lining here. Luckily, ticket prices in Australia are comparatively much higher than in the UK and Europe. If an artist precedes an overseas jaunt with a string of local dates – and is relatively frugal with their expenses – they can enter the market with the upper hand.

According to Live Performance Australia’s most recent ticket survey report, the average ticket price across all music categories is $91.57. Meanwhile, according to a 2014 report by Statista, the average price to attend a rock or pop music concert in the UK is £24.36 (A$41.46).

Flume’s team in the UK are charging punters £28.60 (A$48.67) for a GA ticket to his show at London’s Alexandra Palace venue next month. Comparatively, his team is charging A$79 for a ticket to catch him at the slightly smaller sized Riverstage in Brisbane.

“You’re in a fortunate position here,” says CAA’s Roman Trystram. “If you can build yourself to that level, you can build yourself a war chest of income to help with touring outside of Australia.”

According to Trystram, you’ll need every dollar in that war chest too. He says on average, bands should allow themselves a three-to-five-year window to break in the UK and Europe, and that’s only if you have a strong network and promotional campaign.

“That’s a two album process,” he says. “It does take time. But with the support of what you’ve got going here [in Australia], that can help balance the books. So you’re in a really good position compared to other countries.”

Marco Walzel’s first experience working with Australian hardcore heroes Parkway Drive was in 2010; all five of them flew over for the first time ever and couch-surfed for three months.

“They were kind of like ‘Hey, we’re over here. Whatever show you can put us on we’ll play’,” remembers Walzel. “That’s how their career started. They did one support tour, they invested money, and from the second tour on you saw it, they were progressing.

“These days they’re headlining festivals with 20, 30,000 [capacity],” he adds. “They sold out Brixton Academy [in London] and played to 5,000 people, their biggest show in Europe was in Germany where they played to 6,000 people.”

This article is presented byThe Appointment Group (TAG). TAGis 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, Nashville, Melbourne, Sydney and Singapore.