There are many people, especially high school and college students, who are interested in the music industry from the perspective of a musician or artist. However, there are many other avenues available to those interested in the music industry and the website www.tourdoggsecrets.com offers tips on how to become an artist tour manager. Professional tour manager Larry Stevenson lends his twenty years of touring experience in an eManual called “Tour Dogg Secrets,” available at the aforementioned website. However, the eManual is only part of the attraction of the site and those interested in a career in the music industry should certainly consult this site. There are many tidbits of information and instruction to draw in viewers to the inexpensive Tour Dogg Secrets guide to artist tour management.
It is important for someone in the music industry to first figure out why they are interested in becoming a tour manager or a musician. Larry Stevenson says that many people, including himself, have moments in their life where they realize that they want to help other people out while doing something they love. To Stevenson and others, this avenue is managing at the heart of the music industry, the tour and festival circuit. Music can influence millions of people, and Stevenson points out that the act of helping musicians get their music out in the most direct way to people, via concerts, is something to be proud of. Certainly, fame and fortune are some of the motivations for entering the music industry, but having that desire to help is key to all of the other benefits to a music industry career.
The website goes into detail as to the job duties of an artist tour manager. For musicians and other music personnel, the artist tour manager is a critical piece of a successful tour. The manager deals with every single aspect of touring logistics, including the availability of ethnic and vegetarian restaurants, the exchange of money on international tours, and the transportation of tour gear from one site to another. While these tasks on their own may seem to be something that artists or other personnel can focus on, the tour manager allows a tour to have a centralized source of information that is expert in how to resolve logistics problems. In some places, it may be difficult to find a vegetarian or a kosher restaurant or it might be difficult to understand exchange rates in place overseas. With the skills learned in Tour Dogg Secrets, people from every background can learn to become experts in managing music tours.
In addition to planning tour logistics, an artist tour manager also ensures that the smallest of details on tour get executed to perfection. An artist tour manager is responsible for checking in artists and members of the music groups into hotels, airports, and music festivals. The manager can then be the one contact person that anyone from the hotel, airline, or festival management can go to if there is a question or issue that comes up. As well, the artist tour manager is responsible for distributing per diem funds to musicians and planning out sound check, including the arrangement of speakers and instruments according to stage plans. Finally, an artist tour manager is a key disseminator of information, including contractual obligations and the limitations of space according to stage plans. While all of these tasks may seem to be daunting to the newcomer, Larry Stevenson’s eManual and website offers all of the tools to success for anyone interested in breaking into the music industry. The eManual goes through the step by step processing of becoming an artist tour manager and having a successful career. The breadth of knowledge detailed in Stevenson’s eManual is enough that the material is not just for up-and-coming artist tour managers but for current managers and musicians. The Tour Dogg Secrets website includes a great deal of testimonials from people who have benefited from Larry Stevenson’s tutelage over the last twenty years. Artists like Fontella Bass and Oliver Lake not only attribute their rise in the music industry to the assistance of artist tour managers, but also have taken it upon themselves to learn how to do things like contract management and tour logistics so that festival and tour appearances go more smoothly. Musicians should understand all aspects of the business even if they delegate the actual execution of logistics to their artist tour managers. The artist’s understanding of basic travel logistics allows for easier troubleshooting skills on the road and an appreciation for the work of artist tour managers.