Is touring still necessary?

[airamitsukifan]

I would love to do nation-wide tours with a band, but I wonder if touring is still necessary. The cost of having 5 people travelling the country will likely outweigh the sales, and it's probably not a good idea to quit your job, say, every two years to make a tour, specially in this finantial crisis. You better stick to your job.

But I'm not sure if we should completely abandon the idea of touring. Perhaps the best solution would be to focus more on internet promotion, but doing shows sporadically.

I wonder how artists that don't (or rarely) play live become famous, such as Darkthrone, Burzum, Enya, etc.

 

[scrapheaper]

I'd take a guess and say the industry works the other way around to the way it used to

Big rock bands used to do concerts and big tours to promote their album, and make most of the money on the record- because tickets were cheap and vinyl expensive.

Nowadays recording/distributing is really cheap and so concerts become the valuable item, so you become famous online then do a big tour and sell tickets for £100+ a head.

That said, concerts are a great way to promote yourself, so don't write them off entirely.

 

[rhythmgj]

Yes, I would say that touring is more essential now than it ever was (and it has been essential since the dawn of radio/the modern music business). Unfortunately, the costs and logistical concerns for up-and-coming and nitch-market artists that you mentioned are very real, becoming obstacles for all but those with lots of cash-flow and marketing muscle behind them.

Speaking from experience, I can say that having a "radio/Internet hit" is wonderful for the ego, but does very little for your bank account. But without major-label tour support $$, it becomes almost impossible to follow-up a record with a feasible live tour.

The solution would seem to be patience, and continuing to develop your connections; also, consider doing scaled-down events with backing tracks, and depending on your genre, personal style and skill level, maybe even consider smaller events like home concerts.

GJ