Music Creator Roadmap - Part 2 - The Touring Performer

Welcome to part 2 of the Music Creator Roadmap breakdown. If you have not read part 1, be sure to check it out here. 

In the next three newsletters we will gain a deeper understanding of the three paths that you can choose on the roadmap, and why you would choose one over the other.

Let’s dive into the first path on the roadmap - the ‘Touring Performer’. Here’s the visual of the flowchart again so that we can reference it as we go along:

We’re starting back at the top left of the diagram, where it says:

In part 1, we talked about the path leading straight down toward the bottom of the page. That path takes you through important mindset hacks that could help you shortcut the process of linking with the right gatekeepers.

But ultimately, in the long run, your fate is in your own hands. Gatekeepers can help, but they do not hold the key to your long term success.

So let’s look at what is really in your control. What can you do to increase your chances of success as a music creator?

The first step is to narrow your focus and find a path that suits your unique talents, interests, and strengths. The traditional way of thinking about music success is that it looks like being the next Ed Sheeran or Beyoncé.

This is binary thinking that tells us that you either have to be a mega-star or you are a failure. To learn more about binary thinking and why it is not a good mindset, be sure to check out ‘The Number One Reason Most Artists Fail’.

In the modern music industry, there are increasingly more and more ways to succeed as a creator. After personally working with hundreds of creators, I have analyzed what makes some successful, and why most never make much real progress.

The hard truth is that creators, like other entrepreneurs, spread themselves too thin.

They are expected to DIY everything, and without a clear long term strategy, they aren’t able to prioritize their most important tasks to achieve their goals. When you are trying to do everything all at once, it becomes overwhelming. When you have clear goals and a clear path, you can keep moving forward even in the face of major challenges.

The Music Creator Roadmap demonstrates the three most viable paths that I have identified, so that you can choose one that make the most sense for you. Again, the key here is to narrow your focus and develop a long-term strategy aligned with a clear business model. Each path is a business model.

So let’s follow the arrow to the right of the starting point on the diagram and learn more about the Touring Performer business model. The first thing you run into on the flowchart is a diamond that says:

In reality, you do NOT have to play live shows to find success as a music creator. Sure, having mega stardom and playing stadium tours is the classic model that we look up to, but things have changed. The industry has evolved to accommodate other viable business models.

So, be honest with yourself… what do you love MOST about making music?

And don’t answer this from a place of ego… of wanting to be some mega-star. Answer the question from the practical place of what you love about making music and what you are truly best suited for. Here are some valid reasons that playing live could be a MUST for you:

1. Making music doesn’t even sound fun if you can’t play it in front of a live audience.

2. When you do play in front of a live audience, you have a stage presence that commands the attention of the audience.

3. You see yourself more as an entertainer than an artist.

Those aren’t the only valid reasons, but those are some good ones. If playing live is a MUST for you, then you are on the path of the ‘Touring Performer’.

BE ADVISED: The Touring Performer is the most challenging path that you can choose. I often compare it to being a major-league athlete. No matter how bad you want it, you really have to be built for it. To complicate the path even more, it is the only one out of the three paths on the roadmap where you need the help of at least one gatekeeper to make it big…

The Booking Agent

You can find lots of examples of artists these days who have achieved major success without a label, and even a few without a manager. But I bet you can’t show me one artist who has headlined a major amphitheater, arena or stadium without having a booking agent.

Booking agents are the last gatekeeper.

As a side note, this is not a bad thing. The job of an agent is to make sure that you receive the most money possible for appearing somewhere in-person. As you grow in popularity and have more and more people pulling at you to play in different places, the booking agent becomes an indispensable and extremely valuable team member.

So, if you truly want to control your own destiny, you may want to proceed with caution on the path of the Touring Performer. Not only do you need the endurance and stamina of an athlete, your fate is ultimately not in your hands. You cannot reach your goal without the booking agent, which is why you see that an arrow comes off of the left side of the ‘Touring Performer’ path and runs straight into the ‘Agent’.

There is no way around it.

It’s also important to remember that you have to be okay with constantly touring, playing hundreds of shows a year, living on a bus (or in a van to get started), and the toll that takes on your mental and physical health.

That being said, I recently went to an Ed Sheeran concert, and he said this from the stage:

If you feel that way, then the reward is worth the sacrifice.

The problem is that most creators idealize that lifestyle until they actually get a taste of it. And most of them burn out before they reach the big stages.

So let’s back up for a second… what if you don’t necessarily feel like you need to play the BIG Venues and Tours? That is why you see the diamond that asks you that question, and if the answer is no, then it points you to the ‘Creative Artist’ path. We’ll dive deeper into that path in the next newsletter, but for now just understand this…

You can start on one path, find success, and then decide that you want to explore another path. Many big artists started out as writers and producers. And some artists have grown their fanbase online to the point that they were able to start booking live shows to significant audiences.

Again, the point is to narrow the focus on which path is right for you right now.

If you are still on the Touring Performer path, you will see the next step is to take an assessment of all of the skills you have to learn and the resources that you will need to succeed on your chosen path. This list is the longest for the Touring Performer path:

You basically need all of the skills and resources of the other two paths combined.

Maybe you can go through this list and identify some things that you can do without, for now, but in the long run you will need to develop the vast majority of the skills and resources listed here to have long-term success as a touring performer.

The key words being ‘long-term’.

Let’s imagine that you have developed the skills, and you have the resources. You are a world-class performer. Now you need to get the agent to take it to the next level. Here are a few tips to get the agent on your team:

1. Stick to the ‘Rule of 3-5’… this is something I learned from the legendary booking agent, Jordan Burger. Jordan says that, if you can draw 300-500 people in 3-5 cities, then you will definitely be able to get a good agent. Again, narrow focus and don’t spread yourself too thin trying to conquer the whole continent without a proper team.

2. Get good at promoting your shows. Get people’s contact info and keep track of it in a spreadsheet along with their location. Promote directly to your superfans with personal communications and try to get their help in building a buzz in their area. Maybe they can help you get a feature in a local publication or on a local radio/news show. You need a street team to help you build your presence in each city.

3. Partner with popular local bands in the 3-5 cities that you are targeting. As often as possible, leverage audiences that have already been built around a similar style or sound. Or look for out-of-town bands that have a significant draw in that city and see if you can open for them. An easy way to do this is to identify the 300-500 capacity rooms in those cities and to look at their show calendars. Build relationships with the artists that are playing there already!

Now, let’s imagine that you have built up a live fanbase and landed an agent. Now the real work begins ;)

Getting a major team member does not mean that you get to work less, it means that you have to step your game up even more.

If your agent is a top performer, they will only want to work with top performers. There will be more pressure to grow, and more pressure to hit major milestones within a certain amount of time in order to keep the agent’s focus on you.

If you can work with your team to hit those milestones consistently, then you are well on your way to building a solid business as a Touring Performer. Historically, that is the highest earning business model you can have as a music creator.

If we take another look at the roadmap, you will see that, after you build the team, you run into a huge section devoted to marketing. In order to reach a huge audience, you have to have exceptional marketing. And we will dive deeper into that in a future newsletter.

For now, let’s look at the diamonds at the bottom of the page that show the revenue streams in the Touring Performer business model:

1. Sold Out Shows - Did you know that artists often earn bonuses if the shows sell out? Plus selling out always builds the hype in the industry!

2. Merch Sales - Some artists make an insane amount of money selling merch at their shows. Get creative and make stuff people want. PRO TIP: Make a merch item that is consumable, like a hot sauce or tea blend. Consumables will bring you repeat business!

3. Brand Partnerships - Partnerships can be a big revenue stream for performers who can draw a large audience. Brands love to be associated with live events where people are having a good time.

Of course you can generate money from streaming and other revenue streams listed, but you don’t have to. Some bands have developed a major touring fanbase playing cover songs and not even making records.

Congratulations, you have made it to the finish line. You now have a functional business and are making real money as a Touring Performer!

Tune in next week as we break down the path of the ‘Creative Artist’, and remember:

• The Touring Performer makes their living on the stage.

• The Creative Artist makes their living online.

• The Writer Producer makes their living in the studio.

Narrowing focus and prioritizing your path is the key to making real progress!