The Smart Tour Starts at Home: Building a Local Music Scene and a Regional Touring Business That Actually Makes Money

Making a Scene Presents - The Smart Tour Starts at Home: Building a Local Music Scene and a Regional Touring Business That Actually Makes Money

Why independent artists should stop measuring success by miles traveled and start building a music economy in their own backyard.

The Great American Touring Myth

Somewhere along the way, the music industry convinced independent musicians that success was measured by how far they could drive a van before somebody needed a shower. The mythology is practically woven into the fabric of popular music. You record an album, scrape together enough money for a vehicle that may or may not survive another inspection, load it with instruments and musicians, and head out across America in search of fame, fortune, and a truck stop with reasonably clean bathrooms. If you are particularly ambitious, you might even print a tour poster displaying fifteen cities in eighteen days, giving everyone the impression that your career is exploding. Never mind that the drummer is sleeping on somebody's couch in Cleveland, the bass player has developed an intimate relationship with gas station burritos, and the band's entire profit from last night's show disappeared into the fuel tank somewhere outside Columbus.

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