TOP 3 TIPS FOR
TOURING OUTSIDE OF THE MAIN CENTRES
BEN AVES Lost Tribe Aotearoa
Progressively build your fanbase in the smaller towns - This can be a hard grind , but if you are able to , tour through a smaller town twice a year ( Summer and Winter ). Over a couple of years , your fanbase will naturally grow through word of mouth and eventually people will start travelling from outside of these towns to come and see you . Local support acts - Have local acts open for you in towns outside of your own , this will naturally bring their own fans while attracting your own crowd also . If you are looking at support bands at similar levels to yourselves , be prepared for a split of the profits , but you need to weigh this up also ie if your band attracts 100 people and the other band attracts another 100 people a 50 / 50 split is justified . Work it out before the night . Social media promotion - Using social media boosts in order to attract your audience is a must ! Even $ 20 to boost an event can go far to drum up interest . If you are a relatively unknown band , punters are less likely to turn up if only 10 people ‘ interested ’ in the event . However if they see 100 people either ‘ interested ’ or ‘ going ’ people are more likely to show up . You can also change settings within the boosts to change audience types , and also distinguish whether you are looking for more online ticket sales or more interest in the event . Do not be discouraged by low online ticket sales , some towns are more likely to pay for door sales as opposed to buying tickets online .
Ben Aves is a member of Lost Tribe Aotearoa
CRAIG PEARCE
Music Manager
Research - Do you have a fan base there ? Check out Spotify / Apple for stats as to the general area for listenership . Are they current listeners or historic .
Engage - Once you decide to go there , engage with everybody ! Music stores / local radio / venues / FB Groups / Local Papers / Community Groups / Schools / Shopping Centres . No place is too small to let them know you are coming to perform . Lots of smaller communities rely on local shops and word of mouth to promote events .
Hype - Once you are there , go for a walk , meet people , get local music class along to your soundcheck . All this will make for a great show and the community will be pleading for you to return as soon as possible .
Craig Pearce manages The Black Seeds , The Phoenix Foundation , Moniker
EMILY LOOKER Aro Music
Be uniquely you - People love authenticity and watching artists embrace their own thing - their own sound , performance , personality . Practice hard out and then when it comes to being on stage , be yourself and smash it . Take a good stash of merch - If people like what you do , they want to support you as much as possible so take merch - something people can take away to remember that good night - or to share with the next person they think would dig what you do . Research - Find local artists you love - find out where they played and how they promoted it - learn from them . Don ’ t be afraid to ask around - ask your fans where they want you to play - ask other artists what venues they recommend , find the golden spots through talking and researching .
Emily and Charles Looker are Aro
Connect with local media - Most regional towns have a regional radio station ( s ) and newspaper . As part of your marketing mix , reach out six weeks ahead of the show and try to lock in an interview , an editorial or at the very least a gig listing . In your pitch it helps to show some understanding and connection to the region . Connect with local music - Share the love and ask a local act to open for you . This helps with audience development and marketing . Social media , venues and online music groups are a great way to search and find local musicians in the region . Connect with your audience - Use the data from the likes of FB , Spotify , IG etc to help you to connect to and market to the audience in that region . There is great value in developing a mailing list so capture emails by offering people to sign up to your mail list and give them something in return ie ; sign up today and go in the draw to win …… etc
Aston Rd manages Louis Baker
CUSHLA ASTON Aston Rd
For further information go to www . mmf . co . nz