Touring Concert Production: Vendor Management

touring concert production

Choosing the right production vendors to work with is critical for creating a successful concert production. From buses and trucks to audio and lighting, there are many different types of vendors to consider when building a tour. Before you start making any decisions, it’s important to carefully evaluate each vendor to ensure they are the right fit for your needs.

In this article, we’ll explore key considerations for choosing music industry production vendors, tips for getting quotes, and types of vendors to consider. We’ll also discuss why bringing in the right touring production manager is imperative to make your show shine.

Considerations for Choosing Music Industry Production Vendors

Price and Cost

While cost should not be the only factor, it is important to consider it when hiring production vendors. Ensure that their pricing aligns with your tour budget and that they are transparent about the costs and any additional fees that may be involved.

Communication and Responsiveness

Good communication is crucial when working with vendors. You need to hire a vendor who is responsive and can communicate clearly and effectively throughout the project. Look for vendors who have established communication channels and a project management process. Nothing is worse than forward progress being impeded by a nonresponsive vendor.

Reputation and References

It’s essential to research a vendor’s reputation and track record of delivering quality work. This is why it’s so important to build a quality network of touring peers who you can go to and ask for their input. You can also ask for references from their previous clients to get a better idea of their work quality and professionalism.

Expertise and Experience

It’s important to hire a vendor with the necessary expertise and experience to handle your tour. Look for vendors who have worked on similar tours or have relevant experience in the live events industry.

Availability and Timeline

It’s essential to ensure that the vendor you hire is available and can deliver what is needed within your timeline. Discuss the tour’s scope, timeline, and specific needs with the vendor to avoid any delays or misunderstandings.

Location

Look at the routing and decide where it makes sense to hire vendors from. If you have a west coast North American run, it doesn’t make sense to hire from east coast vendors or vice versa. A good booking agent understands this and can help to alleviate costs associated with deadhead and cartage.

Tips for Getting Quotes from Concert Production Vendors

Provide Clear Project Details

The more detailed and specific your requirements are, the easier it will be for vendors to provide accurate quotes. Provide detailed information about the tour’s scope, timeline, and any special requirements you may have.

Ask for Itemized Quotes

Ask vendors to provide itemized quotes that break down the costs of individual items or services. This will help you compare quotes more easily and make informed decisions.

Get Multiple Quotes

To ensure you’re getting a fair price, it’s a good idea to get quotes from multiple vendors. This will also help you compare services and offerings.

Clarify Payment Terms

Make sure you understand the vendor’s payment terms before signing any contracts or making any payments. Ask about payment schedules, deposits, and any other relevant payment details.

Negotiate

Once you’ve received multiple quotes, don’t be afraid to negotiate. Many vendors are willing to work with you to find a price and service package that meets your needs and budget. However, be sure to negotiate respectfully and professionally.

Types of Vendors to Consider When Building Your Tour

Selecting the right production vendors is an exercise in team building. It is a common refrain, but the saying is true: you are only as strong as your weakest link. If different departments don’t have the tools and resources to properly do their jobs, the entire tour suffers.

Additionally, it’s important to have creative meetings well in advance to give vendors enough time to bring a vision to life. A strong production manager understands this and can help to move the conversation along.

When deciding to work with a vendor that offers concert production services, think of it as the start of something that could lead to a long-term professional relationship. The following brief overview discusses some of the common concert production vendors you may encounter when building a tour.

Transportation: Buses and Trucks

The wheels on the bus go round and round until they don’t. Every piece of a show day is important, but transportation is one of those categories where it’s a good idea to invest a bit more time and energy crossing your t’s and dotting your i’s. It’s hard to properly produce a routed tour if you can’t move people and gear from A to B.

Securing trucks and buses has become quite challenging in the past few years due to a lack of vehicle inventory, along with lack of drivers with entertainer coach experience. Starting early and securing transportation with trusted vendors is paramount to the health, safety, and comfort of the band and crew. Not all bus companies and drivers are created equally. You want to work with a team that has an exceptional driving record.

You could work with a budget bus company, but when mechanical issues arise (and they will), is that vendor going to be there to answer your call? Are they going to be able to keep the tour in motion? Sometimes it’s worth paying more for the security of a fleet that can cover your tour should any breakdowns occur.

Entertainment Travel Agency

While not a vendor in the typical sense of the word, having a travel agent who understands entertainment touring is the secret ingredient for making a tour’s movements and lodging feel effortless.

They have the knowledge and expertise, along with relationships that can lead to cost and time savings. Good travel agents understand personalized service and the need for flexibility. In the touring industry, it’s not an if, but a when travel plans will go awry.

Backline Vendor

If the band doesn’t own its own backline, or you’re starting a tour somewhere where it becomes logistically difficult to bring in your own gear, then it likely makes sense to hire backline equipment.

This could involve a variety of scenarios: a routed tour, a one-off, or a press event. Depending on what’s going on, provide the vendor with your backline rider and coordinate any necessary gear along with technicians.

It’s a good idea to do a cost analysis to find out if purchasing gear could actually save you money, especially if you’re considering returning to certain territories over and over. There is more legwork involved in this solution, but in the long run, it could be worth it.

Audio Vendor

Audio is often one of the first production elements a developing artist will decide to bring out. It provides consistency for the band, audio engineers, and audience on a day-to-day basis that can’t be achieved by using house equipment. Being self-contained helps to streamline so much on a club tour or in a festival environment. Consoles, cabling, recording equipment, stands, mics, etc. It all makes a world of difference.

From time to time, an audio gremlin will rear its ugly head at the most inopportune time. Having the ability to call your audio vendor and talk to an actual human who can assist in troubleshooting is an absolute gift. It’s an added bonus if they are able to make house calls.

If you’re interested in learning more about audio or production in general, check out some courses by The Production Academy.

Lighting Vendor

The role of lighting and lighting design in a concert setting can add considerable production value to an artist’s live performance. The types of lighting fixtures, colors, intensity, and focus can create and enhance the mood and flow of a set.

For a one-bus and trailer tour, it’s important to select fixtures that are going to be compact enough to ride in the trailer and are easy to set up. Oftentimes, excess weight in a bus trailer becomes a consideration before anything else.

As with any vendor, it’s great to have someone who has regional offices or can contact sublease gear on the fly should you show up to your next gig and a fixture is no longer working properly.

Video Vendor

Video technology has evolved considerably in recent years making it a viable alternative for artists who are looking to up their live production. Even on smaller tours, LED video walls are being incorporated into lighting design.

For a festival performance, having a dynamic logo upstage can go a long way in branding and helping to identify an artist. Going a step further, a more robust video package can allow for live video and visual effects that lighting fixtures alone cannot create.

Staging & Scenic

Do you have any risers, stairs, props, backdrops, or scrims that need to be fabricated? Scenic and stage design can create a cohesive and engaging visual experience for the audience. Keep in mind, increasing stage production starts to introduce more transportation needs for moving gear around.

Production Rigging

If your show or festival involves rigging, the importance of hiring a rigging specialist in a live concert setting cannot be overstated. Proper rigging techniques and equipment ensure that the concert runs safely and smoothly, engages the audience, and creates a memorable experience for everyone involved. This is not somewhere you want to cut corners.

SFX [Special Effects]

Adding special effects on top of lighting and video can really take a production to the next level. Some examples include lasers, projection mapping, pyrotechnics, cryo, confetti, or fog. Working with vendors who have a specialization in special effects is important because certain elements require additional planning, permitting, and advancing considerations.

Tour Security

Tours and events of any size can benefit from implementing a touring security plan. Providing the performers on stage, the crew working behind the scenes, and audience members in the venue a safe place to work and enjoy a show is a non-negotiable requirement.

When an artist reaches a certain level, it is imperative to involve a touring security team for the safety of everyone. They are able to implement detailed security plans and collaborate with local security teams that put an emphasis on risk mitigation and proactive solutions.

Credentials

An essential part of any tour or festival environment is credentials. These are generally either laminates, satins, or wristbands. They provide a basic level of security in identifying who is part of the tour. Working with a credential vendor who offers a quick turnaround and customizable creative solutions is a great way to go.

Radios & Wi-Fi

Being able to quickly and efficiently communicate with your team while on tour is mission-critical. A tour that cannot communicate isn’t going to be able to get much done. Having the internet go down not only affects the show you are currently on, but it creates a ripple effect for all of the upcoming shows.

Carnet & Cartage

Having a solid logistics person in your corner makes a world of difference when trying to move gear cross-country or across international borders. It saves time, money, and very painful logistical headaches. They can often propose solutions that may not have originally been on your radar.

Road Cases

It’s hard to do a gig if your gear and equipment show up broken and smashed. Maybe you have a custom set piece you are trying to figure out how to move around the world. Or perhaps you need somewhere to store your artist’s wardrobe. Road cases come in all shapes and sizes. There are a number of vendors who offer fabrication services along with rentals.

Production Supplies

Without a doubt, Tour Supply is the premiere go-to solution for any and everything under the touring production supply sun. If it’s something you would find in a touring workbox, they most likely have it. If they don’t, they know where to get it.

Tour Catering

If you’ve spent any amount of time navigating different levels of concert touring, you understand what a game-changer having a dedicated full-service caterer is. Feeding people delicious, high-quality, nutritious meals is money well spent. Ultimately, it translates into better performances.

Production Management

Long before a tour ever begins rehearsals, a production manager is working away behind the scenes to build a touring team and hire the right vendors who can help produce the best show possible.

Hiring a production manager who understands the nuance of how all of these pieces fit together, and can efficiently move the tour around the world is indispensable. All of these odds and ends of concert production don’t magically come together on their own.

On a smaller tour, the production manager hat is often worn by the tour manager or another member of the touring crew. A good production manager has a solid working knowledge of concert production jobs and companies.

Streamlining Production Logistics

There are a ton of moving parts when putting together a concert tour. Coordinating equipment, staff, and travel for touring parties requires an immense amount of time and attention to detail.

Creating a Production Schedule and Communication Plan

Once advances start to come back in, the tour or production manager will share scheduling with the band and crew via an online calendar. This could be MasterTour, Google Calendar, or something else entirely.

If there is something non-standard on the horizon, it’s important to highlight that and make sure people are aware. It doesn’t necessarily matter what platform you use to deliver the message, as long as people remain in the loop and know where to get the most up-to-date info.

Mitigating Risk and Contingency Planning

Sometimes things don’t go as planned. In the concert touring industry, it’s almost a given. It’s not if, but when things will go wrong. Being proactive instead of reactive goes a long way in tour and production management.

Having a production manager on your team who is able to handle stress well and remain calm is incredibly valuable. When something falls through, it’s important for someone in this position to be able to think on their feet.

Conclusion

There are a number of considerations that go into the who, what, where, when, and why of working with concert production companies. Hiring a qualified production manager to lead the charge will go a long way in helping to assemble the pieces of the production puzzle.

Selecting the right vendors to work with on your tour makes all the difference in the world once you’re out on the road. Building a tour is a logistically complicated process; however, if done right, it can lead to a memorable experience for both artist and audience alike.