How to Plan and Organise a Successful UK Jazz Tour - Lessons Learnt

Thought I'd share some of the lessons I learned from my recent UK tour.  Hopefully you'll get some tips from the things I did in the right way and avoid my mistakes!

CD Sales - Sales were definitely down compared to previous tours.  I did notice an increase in digital sales which was probably also due to the tour publicity but sadly with Spotify and Rhapsody sales which can sometimes amount to less that 1p per track this wasn't exactly a money spinner!  There was also the fact that the CD I was selling was my previous Licorice Kiss album - I did a couple of songs from this album on the tour but the majority was new material not yet recorded.  In hindsight, maybe it's better to tour with a relevant album because with the lack of music stores, sales of albums at gigs are an important revenue stream.

Radio - I was extremely pleased with the level of response I had from radio stations, especially BBC Local radio.  I did 5 interviews in total which is more than I've had from any of my previous tours.  Yay!  All of these I got by sending emails with my press release 3 months before my tour.  Probably also worth following up again just before the tour starts.

Press - Also got some great press which included Jazzwise, Jazz UK and some local newspapers too.  One of the interviews I did (Crawley Observer) wasn't printed which was a disappointment and interestingly that gig was the worst attended.  I wonder if there's a correlation..?  I was also disappointed that there were no reviews but it's so difficult to get journalists to come out to a gig if you're not one of the hot "flavour of the month" musicians/bands or a very established name.  I am neither! 

Finances - In retrospect I don't think I should have had so many door deals because this put a real pressure on my finances and caused me a lot of stress.  Added to this, even with sold out gigs, the door deals were so bad that despite maximum attendance, I still came away with less than £300 for the band.  In future, if there is a door deal, I will make sure that the percentages work out so that the potential revenue makes doing the gig worthwhile.   You need to take account of hidden costs too like money the venue charges for publicity, PRS and VAT!  I didn't make any money on the tour in the end but at least I didn't make a loss which I know many bandleaders have experienced recently as it is only fair to pay the band properly whether you make any money on the gig or not.  It has to be said though, if I hadn't had a bit of help from Jazz Services, I would definitely have made a loss.

Musicians - I'm very lucky to work with some excellent musicians.  It's important to be flexible though because sometimes musicians get offered lucrative tours and are unavailable or there may be unexpected events that means you need to find a dep with very short notice.  Both of these things happened to me but fortunately there were some great replacements and it all went very smoothly.  Definitely important to have a "B list" of musicians on each instrument so that you have someone (who knows your music) to call if your band member is unavailable.

Summary - On the whole, I was very pleased with the tour and extremely grateful for the financial support I received from Jazz Services.  Several sold out gigs and full houses and quite a bit of publicity which all helps with raising the profile.  Now I'm looking forward to taking some time out to write some new songs and also to work on some new projects.  Will keep you posted!

Please feel free to comment or ask questions below and I will help if I can.

Organising a UK Jazz Tour - Update

I've just realised that I've been a little lax lately with the blog posts.  So thought I'd update you and let you know how I've been doing with my "homework"...

• Contracts/email confirmations have been received and signed for all dates.
• Received 80% of the funding grant awarded by Jazz Services. (The final 20% to be sent on the completion of the tour and my return of assessment reports/forms for each gig.)
• Flyers and posters printed and sent out to all venues for February dates.  Publicity material for March dates to be sent out in the next couple of weeks.
• Press release emailed to radio stations.  So far 3 interviews have been booked - BBC Stoke, BBC Devon and Solar Radio.
• Press release sent to local newspapers.  Nice preview in Berwickshire newspaper and another feature planned.
• Tour details uploaded to sites like remotegoat and ReverbNation.  I'd definitely recommend remotegoat as it very helpfully syndicates automatically to local newspapers and other online sites like Ents24.
• Accommodation booked.
• Rehearsal with band organised. 

So almost time to concentrate solely on the music...  Aaah - my favourite part!  :-)

Live Music and the Recession

I've just read an interesting article on Yahoo News that reports that revenue has fallen for touring bands this year.  When I said "interesting", what I meant was depressing!  Just last year, live gigs and selling merchandise was being touted as the saviour of the music business.  Yes, album sales were down with the increase in downloads but if musicians and bands were any good then they could prove their worth and increase their income by touring.  And personally I've found that live gigs are the only way to sell albums now with record shops having all closed down...  So what now?  Answers on a postcard please.  Or in the comments section at the end of this post. :-)

In other news...  I've just ordered my flyers!  Found a really great site called alocalprinter.com that produces eco-friendly flyers cheaply and efficiently.  Hopefully they'll arrive sometime next week.  Just in time really because most of the venues need them 6-8 weeks in advance of the performance date.  I've 13 dates in total now.  I was let down by 3 venues but thankfully found 3 more to replace them.  Just as well that 13 is my lucky number!  I'm really hoping that things turn around by next year for the live music industry or that someone comes up with an ingenious solution that will save my tour in the comment section below...  Here's the final list:


Juliet Kelly presents... Inspired: Celebrating the Divas of Jazz
UK TOUR

Featuring George Moore - piano/arrangements, Oli Hayhurst/Dave Mannington - bass & Milo Fell - drums

06 Feb - Stratford Jazz, Stratford upon Avon 8pm

14 Feb - Royal Albert Hall (Elgar Room), London 8.30pm

17 Feb - Queen's Hall Arts Centre, Hexham 8pm

18 Feb - Voicebox, Derby 8pm

19 Feb - The Maltings, Berwick-upon-Tweed 7.30pm

24 Feb - The Hawth, Crawley 8.15pm

25 Feb - Camberwell Crypt, London 9.30pm

05 Mar - Jazz Cafe Posk, London 8.30pm

10 Mar - Joe's Bar & Grill, Oxford 8pm

17 Mar - Restormel Arts, St Austell 8pm

18 Mar - The Bebop Club, Bristol 9pm

19 Mar - Chapel Arts Centre, Bath 8pm

20 Mar - Ipswich Jazz Club, Ipswich 8pm



And December's Vocal Zone goes out tonight at 8pm on UK Jazz Radio.

Gig Checklist (or Procrastination is the Thief of Time)

Last week I pre-recorded my first show for UK Jazz Radio.  Should be hitting the airwaves soon - will keep you posted!

I haven't completed all the "homework" for this week though...  When you were at school/college studying, did you ever do that thing where you procrastinated by buying and arranging new files or arranging folders on your computer and changing your desktop or screensaver instead of doing any real work?  Makes you feel as if you're doing something to get organised but in reality not much gets done!  Well, I've had that sort of week...  So I thought I'd post my efforts in creating an excellent gig checklist so that you'll have no excuse when it comes to arranging YOUR gigs/tour! :-D  Feel free to copy and share.

Gig Checklist

Venue
Date
Address
Contact
Marketing contact
Technical contact/ Sound engineer
Capacity
Box office tel/ Ticket price
Fee/Guarantee/Door Split
Payment arrangements
Merchandise sales (commission?)
Photo & copy deadline/ requirements
Number of flyers/posters
Parking and loading
Local newspaper contacts
Local radio contacts
Soundcheck time/ Doors open
Set times
Piano
Food/Drinks
Accommodation
Travel directions

Getting the Word Out

I've had a good, although very busy, week.  First of all disaster struck on Wednesday when two of the gigs I'd had pencilled for the tour fell through so I had to frantically search around to replace them.  This was obviously made a lot more difficult as they had to be on the exact date of the lost gigs to fill the slots and also be geograhically feasible.  Anyway, the good news is that I managed to fill both gaps!  It will mean we'll be doing a lot of travelling but I think it will be worth it. 

I've edited my blurb for the tour down to a 100-word paragraph and chosen the photos but I still need to write my press release to send to local newspapers and radio stations.  I've started sending the brochure copy off to the arts centres as they print these so far in advance.

I've also started researching the local press but will be contacting the individual promoters to ask for their list of contacts as it's always good if you have an actual name rather than just the name of the publication or radio station.  Most local papers are weekly though so I won't need to send that info off until nearer the time but for the national periodicals like Jazz UK and Jazzwise, I'll be sending the press release (when I've written it!) off fairly soon as their deadlines are much earlier. 

I had a bit of a shock this week when one of the arts centres sent their publicity request through and they require 750 flyers and 50 posters!  The funny thing is that so often I've sent off reams of flyers and posters months before only to arrive at the venue for the gig and find that not even ONE poster has gone up!!!   But I've found an excellent company that does reasonably priced flyers and it's a lot more cost-effective to produce larger numbers so it probably won't impact on my slender budget as much as I'd thought.

Hotels were also on my list this week.  Saw an ad for mega cheap rooms in Travelodge or Premier Inn if you booked early enough.  But when I looked at the actual hotels in the areas I need they looked a bit grim so I spent hours trying to find cute, rustic B&B's near the venues.  I've found a gorgeous one in Berwick upon Tweed where we'll stay for our gig at The Maltings.  After travelling for hours and arriving at a picturesque location, I think it would be rather demoralising to end up staying at a Travelodge.  It may cost a little bit more but I think I've made the right decision... at least I hope so!

Also had some VERY exciting news this week connected with a new project.  But I'll leave that until another time. :-)