TOURING/WORKING Rhyming live or 9-5? Punch the gas pedal or punch the clock?

Okay my last post I covered the topic of spending money to tour etc. etc. This post I'm going to get into details of ways to stay on the road, keep touring, without going totally broke.

CAN YOU KEEP A JOB?
-Double edged sword. Hard to tour when you work, hard to tour when you don't have funds.
-Day labor. This is a place where you can go in every morning and they will set you up with work that day. You can come and go as you please. Now the pay is low and work is tough. I just keep my head down and work hard while I picture playing a sold out show and a green room full of girls. They pay at the end of each day. You can work 6 days a week in prep for tour. Leave, come back and go right back to work with them.
-Serving tables. This Is a good option because the pay is really good and most restaurant are pretty cool about letting you work short period of time. so I'll Tell them that I only need six months of work because I'm going on a music door and usually they are pretty cool about it. sometimes They let you come back to work when you get back, if not there's always plenty of restaurants, good thing about it is you only work 4 to 5 hours a day so you have plenty of time to prep for tool
-Check Craigslist for temp work.
-Look into big event centers. They usually always need people and you can pick which events you want months in advance. Easily working around tour.

CROWDFUNDING:
Crowd funding is a slippery slope for me. whereas I do believe it can be done right I am not really supportive of people that use Kickstarter just to get money to tour. That said this blog is not for telling you what to do or not to do, Its to provide info for you, so as to maneuver more affective lay. It can work very well and people can make a lot of money doing now if you're going to do it please offer some sort of actual reward

KICKSTARTER.
The big dog. The champ, however keep in mind you must raise your entire goal or it collects no money from anyone.

GO FUND ME.
Easy to set up. Collect even if goal is not reached. Social networking integration.

INDIEGOGO http://www.indiegogo.com/
Similar to the others however its allows you to collect worldwide.

Here is a website with a list of 50 crowd funding sites. So go google around til you find a suitor.
http://marketingmoxie.biz/the-big-list-of-crowdfunding-sites/


IM GOING TO SAVE "how to make money on tour" for my next post as I've recently put a lot of time into studying the topic and creating new dough opportunities.

HAPPY TOURING.
FAN TO FAM

Location Los Angeles

A WHOLE NEW GAME PLAN

After years of touring the same city is same then use same types of shows and having pretty much the same outcome I have realized that is there must be other ways. 

I'm going to go over a few ways for you to reach fans without the typical use of playing the same washed up shows. 

FOCUS ON FANS OF A DIFFERENT GENRE: 

easy. book as many shows outside of your genre as possible. It does not matter what kind of music. If your a rapper, play rock shows, dubstep shows, jazz shows, raves, bluegrass festivals etc. you can usually find a way to connect with the fans such as freestyle while the band they came to see plays the beat live. 

MASSIVELY EXPAND YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE : 

We tend to narrow our target audience down and think that you will be wasting money or time by spending energy contacting people out of your comfort genre.  This is a very very big mistake, one that if changed can change your career. out of the people who have supported me as I tour, whether it be booking, supporting shows, giving me a place to sleep, buying merch, anything I would say 97 percent of them are not ''hip hop fans'' (my genre).  Support will be given for many reasons, so just treat everyone nicely, talk to everyone, and offer your art and heart to everyone. 

IF MUSIC DOESN'T DO IT FOR THEM, GIVE THEM SOMETHING MORE: 

Some of my biggest supporters not only are out of my genre, but don't even particularly have a music bug at all. They may just be supporting because they are excited to see someone pursue a dream. Lately I have been trying to come up with new ways to reach out to them besides the typical band merch that I load onto every one of my best supporters.  Be sure to take photos with them, it might mean more to them than a cd or shirt that they wont listen to or wear. The truth is a lot of them just want you to see them as a friend. So be sure to treat them that way, not like a fan. If you have the means pick up a tiny little item to give those most important supporters along the tour, even if its a 50 cent item. 

MARKET EVERYWHERE YOU GO. EVERY DAY.  TO EVERYONE YOU SEE: 

Pretty self explanitory, I have been on tour with a guy who literally promotes himself to every person that he comes within reach of every day, every situation. Eating breakfast at a diner, and he would go talk to every table. Maybe thats a little much for you, but just make sure you always have STICKERS, BUSINESS CARDS, and FLYERS, every day, everywhere you go. And DO NOT BE shy with it. Just talk to everyone you meet, tell them what you do, hand them a card, then immediately make it about them. Find something that you two have in common, DO NOT just talk about your music the whold conversation. 

CAN'T BRING LARGE CROWDS TO YOU?  GO TO THE LARGE CROWDS:

Lets be honest, most of you are not packing venues nationwide. INFACT most of you probably have a hard time getting people to come out to most shows on your tour.  So ask yourself this, Would performing in front of 15 people at YOUR OWN SHOW, THAT YOU ARE HEADLINING be more affective than showing up at an event that already promises 1000s of people, even if to only pass out flyers?  NO. Every day in every city some sort of event takes place that brings together huge crowds, so instead of playing the same washed up weekly's, open mics' and empty bars, go the the people. Really want to take it to the next level? Show up where there are public crowds and put on an impromptu live show. Whether it be acoustic guitar, or a small PA that you set up and rap with. 

REMEMBER DO NOT BE AGRESSIVE BE AVAILABLE!!!.

  Don't be like those guys selling cds on venice beach or vegas blvd. Forcing your music on people, Just be polite, hand them a flyer, tell them about the tour, make sure you repeat your name a few times for good measure, then switch it up and ask about them.  

THERE ARE 7 BILLION PEOPLE IN THE WORLD, AND IM SURE IF YOU PUT YOUR MIND TO IT YOU COULD FIND A WAY TO CONNECT WITH EVERY ONE.  MUSIC IS A SMALL PART OF WHAT YOUR TRYING TO PUSH AS A WHOLE.  CREATIVITY IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN POSSESS TO CAPTURE NEW CROWDS, BE CREATIVE, THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX, AND YES, WE BELIEVE THAT YOU CAN FIND SUCCESS IN THE MUSIC BUSINESS!!!!!

GET ASKED TO PLAY AGAIN

DONT OVER PLAY...

Try not to oversaturate the market. Do not play every show that is offered you, if there is no obvious reason to play. Eventually people quit paying attention if you play 15 small boring shows a week.

BOOK ONE OPENING ACT YOURSELF

Often the venue says they will book openers etc. however you never know what you are going to get. Do some research and find out who really draws in the market you are going to play. Ask everyone, and then invite a solid opener personally.

CREATE YOUR OWN BUZZZZZ!!!

This goes a long way. Before every show, make sure you send them a flyer, if they have not created an event page do so, and share it with the venues facebook page. Like the venues page. Post on their wall, Find everyone that is opening and playing with you, add them, and post the event on their wall.  Contact everyone that is playing, as well as fans in the area and ask them to push the event, then update it often. Post links to your sites on the event wall. ETC.. you would be surprised the buzz you can create...