Tour Manager Job Description: What Does a Tour Manager Do?

What Does a Tour Manager Do?

What Does a Tour Manager Do?

A tour manager in the music industry is responsible for the successful planning, preparation, and day-to-day operation of an entertainment concert tour.

They are tasked with the general well-being of the artist, band, and crew while on the road.

A great tour manager needs to be detail-oriented, have impeccable organizational skills, and be an effective communicator.

Working as a music tour manager involves long hours, frequent travel, and the ability to foresee logistical pitfalls.

A tour manager’s job begins long before the tour ever sets foot out the door.

They coordinate with the artist’s team to develop budgets and build the tour from the ground up.

Once the core components and crew are assembled, they will advance the specific requirements of the tour with local promoter representatives.

On a show day, they are running logistics from load in until load out to ensure everything goes according to plan.

Tour Manager Job Description

Ask ten different tour managers what their job description is and you’ll get ten different answers.

Aspiring tour managers can learn a lot from talking and listening to more experienced tour managers.

On smaller tours, a tour manager will often be wearing multiple hats.

On a larger arena tour, the tour manager’s role will be more specialized and responsibilities will be delegated to other crew on the tour.

Below are some examples of tour manager responsibilities.

Tour Budgets & Tour Accounting

Creating a tour budget with artist management and business management is going to be the road map for the rest of a tour’s activities.

It’s the financial blueprint that will help guide the decision-making process from what hotels you stay in, to what vendors you work with, to the crew you’re able to hire.

Once a tour begins, it is a never-ending avalanche of incoming and outgoing financial transactions.

It’s important to stay on top of daily bookkeeping, documenting as you go along.

You do not need a bachelor’s degree in accounting to be a successful tour accountant.

A strong grasp of bookkeeping and spreadsheets will go a long way in this category.

Other tour accounting responsibilities include connecting vendors with business management, submitting payroll, advancing cash money needs, paying out per diems, handling reimbursements, settling shows, sending out nightly reports, finalizing hotel folios, verifying credit card charges, depositing cash and checks, documenting withholding, taxes, foreign currency, production reimbursements, etc.

Hiring Touring Crew

A tour manager will lean on prior touring relationships and word-of-mouth recommendations from their professional peers to staff a tour.

Tour managers and crew members want to work with folks who are road tested, which makes securing that first tour all the more difficult for those trying to break into the live events industry.

Sometimes people will use services such as Bobnet to advertise a position and hire touring crew members when they are unable to fill a role from their immediate professional circles.

A tour manager ends up being the human resources department while on the road.

It’s important that they be in tune with crew dynamics and keep a pulse on the overall health and vibe of a tour.

As issues arise, you will want to be there to make your team feel heard and seen.

When onboarding employees, make sure you have an efficient system in place to save on data entry later.

Google Forms is a great solution in regard to collecting the necessary information to put together a touring personnel file.

Hiring Production Vendors

A key responsibility of a tour or production manager is going to be hiring necessary vendors that will supply both production elements and personnel for a tour.

Most tour managers start this process months prior to ever entering rehearsals.

This allows time to source quotes from different vendors, negotiate, and get the best possible deal for an artist.

Great vendors understand building relationships with developing artists and maintaining relationships with established acts.

Depending on the size of the tour you’re on will determine the types of vendors you’ll be reaching out to.

These may come in the form of buses, trucking, backline, audio, lighting, video, scenic, special effects, catering, radios, internet, cartage, car service, rehearsal facilities, travel agents, transport, security, credentials, merchandise, tour supplies, visas, carnets, etc.

Booking Travel & Hotels

One of a tour manager’s main responsibilities is coordinating transportation and travel arrangements for everyone in the touring party.

This includes flights, ground transportation, hotels, accommodation, and more.

Working in tandem with a highly qualified travel agent is going to help streamline a lot of this process.

A travel agent is worth their weight in gold when travel plans don’t go as anticipated.

In the touring business, it is not if, but when travel plans will get junked.

A travel agent is someone you want to have in your corner.

Production Riders

After you’ve confirmed your crew members and hired your gear, now is the time to put together the technical riders that will accompany your advance.

Having these documents assembled prior to starting the advancing process will save you loads of time. Backline, audio, lighting, stage plots, input lists, lighting plots, etc.

If you’re on a routed bus tour, you’ll likely end up using the same documents over and over, but it’s good to prepare for one-offs, fly dates, acoustic sessions, etc. to have on hand.

These documents will help the local production team confirm that technical needs are met as you get into the advancing process.

Hospitality Riders

Another one of the key tenets of tour management is giving proper attention to the hospitality rider.

This is the document that outlines the dietary requirements of the traveling party.

As you onboard people, you’re going to want to ask about any allergies or dietary restrictions.

You’ll compile everyone’s needs into one document that you’ll use during the advancing process.

This will cover your plan for breakfast, lunch, dinner, aftershow, dressing rooms, and bus stock.

Tours of different sizes will handle hospitality differently.

If you’re on a smaller tour, you’re likely going to be given a buyout or you will order from a local restaurant.

A step up from that you start to see local catering.

A step up from that, you’re going to be traveling with a dedicated touring caterer.

A band and crew that are well-fed are going to be able to perform at a much higher level.

Touring is hard enough, remove the element of hangry from the equation.

Security & Backstage

Security is one of the most important parts of a show day.

The goal is to create an environment where both the band and crew, along with the audience, are safe.

Part of the advancing process will involve a section dedicated to security.

This will involve a pass sheet that details credentialing, the location of security deployment, and highlight show specific security concerns.

It is common practice to have a security meeting with the head of security, venue manager, and promoter rep prior to doors opening to make sure everyone is on the same page.

Tour Advancing

Advancing is the process of communicating the needs and requirements of a tour to the local production staff who are producing your event.

It’s a time for both the tour and the house to go through their respective advancing checklists.

Both parties are able to ask questions and ensure that everyone is on the same page.

Advancing covers any and everything that goes into a show day, and it’s one of the most important duties of a tour manager.

A good advance will set you up for a successful show day.

The size of the tour will determine when the advancing process begins.

On a mid-sized tour, the advancing process begins a few weeks prior to the show.

Scheduling & Communication

A habit to encourage is getting your touring party accustomed to checking whatever your preferred calendar system is.

As a tour manager, you are in charge of delivering information and timing to the band and crew.

This could include departure times, sound check timing, and making sure day sheets are up to date.

Finding ways to efficiently get these details to your touring party is going to make your life so much easier by reducing the number of small, seemingly innocuous inquiries.

Clear communication that allows people to plan their day well in advance is the name of the game. Have something non-standard looming on the horizon? Let your team know.

Ticketing & Guestlist

As a tour manager, you are responsible for managing all aspects of ticketing for the tour.

This includes creating and maintaining the guest list.

It is important to communicate clearly with the band and crew about comp tickets and establish clear guidelines for when and how requests for these tickets should be submitted.

Maintaining an organized and up-to-date guest list is essential for the smooth operation of the tour.

In addition to managing the guest list, a tour manager will also be in charge of issuing any necessary credentials to guests, such as media, family, and VIPs.

Proper credentialing is a crucial part of the ticketing process, as it ensures that everyone who needs access to certain areas of the venue is taken care of.

It’s important to remember that you are helping to curate an experience for someone.

Put yourself in their shoes to ensure that they are going to have a positive experience.

Ticketing is a complex and multifaceted process that involves many different elements.

As a tour manager, it is your responsibility to keep track of ticket counts, ticket pricing, seating maps, ticket holds, label buys in major markets, comp tickets, production kills, and many other factors that can impact the bottom line.

All of these elements are interconnected and need to be carefully managed to ensure the financial success of the tour.

Promo & Press

Coordinating the publicity schedule and media interactions of an artist is another one of the main responsibilities of a tour manager.

You are at the nexus of the scheduling cyclone and it’s up to you to use your judgment to create a press schedule that is going to complement the rest of the day.

You will be liaising with your production team, management, publicists, labels, radio teams, the press outlets themselves, etc.

It can be a delicate balancing act at times appeasing the needs of all parties involved.

Make sure to put the priorities of your artist first and reverse engineer a press schedule from there.

Merchandise & VIP

On smaller tours, the tour manager will be more involved with the day-to-day operation of merchandise and any VIP activations.

While they may not be the ones actively selling the merch behind the table, they will often be in charge of coordinating local sellers, counting products in and out, and settling merchandise at the end of the night.

It’s important to note that both merchandise and VIP are full-time roles in and of themselves, and should be taken off the tour manager’s plate once the organization is large enough.

These are primary sources of supplemental touring income and need to be given the attention that they deserve.

International Touring

Tour managers will quickly find themselves well-versed in passport and immigration issues if the artist they are with tours internationally.

From visas to carnets to second passports, there is a heavy amount of logistics and data entry involved when coordinating an international tour.

It’s extremely important to hire an experienced tour manager who is familiar with this process.

Being able to speak foreign languages is a highly desirable skill for a tour manager.

Intangibles

So much of tour management is intangible. It’s something you can’t really quantify or put into words.

There is a lot of nuance in the decision-making process that you won’t fully understand until you are in that specific situation.

Ultimately, it’s your responsibility to look out for the best interests of the artist and team you are working for.

You are their advocate and champion, along with a buffer for the never-ending deluge of requests from any and everyone.

Additionally, you are the eyes and ears on the ground for the rest of the organization who isn’t on the tour.

A large part of tour management is being in tune with the overall health, vibe, culture, and rhythm of the tour.

Tour managers are very much in a position where they help to set the tone of a tour.

How to Become a Tour Manager

Everyone has a different pathway to how they become a tour manager.

There are a number of successful tour managers who have started their careers in entry-level roles, gradually working their way up and learning the ropes on the job.

They acquire crucial skills such as problem-solving, communication, and logistics management, often starting with smaller bands or tours and progressively taking on larger responsibilities.

Networking is a key part of this journey, as relationships built in the industry can often lead to job opportunities.

A passion for live music and a willingness to travel extensively is 100% a prerequisite.

Conclusion

This is an incredibly brief overview of some of the responsibilities that a tour manager might have in the live music industry.

By no means is this an all-inclusive list as many tour managers would be quick to point out.

Some aspiring tour managers may start with a friend’s band or may be promoted from a related role on an existing tour.

You will develop your own style for tour managing and figure out what works and doesn’t work as you go along.

Tour manager jobs on a concert tour can lead to a very interesting career pathway working alongside some exceptional individuals.

Remember that the goal is to always stay one step ahead, have some fun while you’re doing it, and enjoy the ride.

We hope you enjoy Tour Manager Info!