Tour:Smart by Martin Atkins
Posted by Justin Boland on Feb 03, 2008 | 10 comments
Six months ago, I bought the 6th edition of Donald Passman’s classic book Everything You Need to Know About the Music Business
I don’t want to demean Passman, since he definitely delivered on the title. His book contains a very detailed look at “the music business” which is a total failure built upon exploiting and ripping off musicians. It’s a lot like a textbook on dinosaur anatomy, really…or maybe a repair manual for the Titanic. Passman also offers valuable advice on how to reduce rectal tearing and treat the bleeding afterwards.
However, I don’t recommend working with the “music business.” I recommend taking total control over your own career, and I found a pretty damn valuable tool for exactly that.
Martin Atkins calls it “the first real book on touring.” I agree 100%. I’ve never seen a single book so full of immediately useful, honest and practical advice—all of it won through first-hand experience and battle scars. Best of all, Atkins draws upon dozens of his friends and co-conspirators, too. What you wind up getting is an absurdly complete guide to every single aspect of making money off live music.
The book is a massive object—oversized and 551 pages long. It’s also very readable—Atkins is not a fan of bullshit, and he’s got a very clear style.
Tour:Smart
Of course, it’s 2008 and there are new traps being built every day. We’re all going to earn a lot of bruises and scars, courtesy of mistakes that weren’t possible even 2 years ago…but that’s part of the fun, right?
Right?
Is It Perfect?
Honestly, it could have been about 100 pages shorter. There was a surprising amount of firsthand stories that were entertaining but not especially educational—especially since the relevant meat is quoted in other chapters. However, that’s my sole complaint—assuming “I got more than I paid for” qualifies as a complaint.
Seriously, that’s it. Buy this book
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10 Comments
1 Dragonfish Killswitch says...
I will be buying this book before I go on tour this summer.
I peeped it last time but couldnt find it at an actual bookstore
Waddup with the PDF tho?
Posted at 5:48 a.m. on February 3, 2008
2 Justin Boland says...
You couldn't pay me enough to scan and organize a full-size, 550 page book. Plus, as you might have heard, the BIPT Library is getting shut down, tomorrow.
Posted at 3:45 p.m. on February 3, 2008
3 jp says...
thanks Justin, I will take a look.
question: In his gigantic book, does Marty address the issues of the environmental aspect of touring? Does he address Peak Oil? Does he say anything about the carbon footprint of the transportation modes and facilities used for live appearances, ranging from flying to giving a talk at some college (when maybe a video feed would have sufficed) to the big ass multi truck/bus/air plane spectacle of waste that's the moderne' tour? Because Justin, the fact is that all show biddness will be severely affected by two things very shortly (actually they already are..)1) Global Warming 2) Peak Oil. Which are not mutually exclusive of course.
Any musician/hypothetic/author/lawyer/etc who weighs in with advice and counsel that does not include the impact of these two very real situations (and besides Thom Yorke, I haven't heard all that much..)is presenting a fairy tale situation which makes a Passman book look like some good practical advice (good review on that btw)
Keep up the good work here; I enjoy your site and appreciate your fight.
jp
Posted at 3:51 p.m. on February 3, 2008
4 Justin Boland says...
He does discuss fuel costs-making sure you've got a sense of what they are EVERYWHERE YOU TRAVEL. However, he's not discussing the fact that oil, food, and gold are all getting increasingly expensive while the US Dollar bears an increasing resemblance to dogshit.
I will be addressing that, in the next few days, because I'm working on an article about wether or not touring is really nescessary today. I'm hoping it's not. I'm currently in Las Vegas, 4 digits into debt, thanks to a poorly planned and executed tour. I'm still glad I did it-this has been a very valuable and enjoyable experience-but I'm keen on figuring out how to build a model for musicians to get successful without bleeding money all across the continent.
And I don't think Atkins not mentioning this is a fatal flaw-it's still a truly amazing book.
Posted at 7:37 p.m. on February 3, 2008
5 jp says...
If he doesn't discuss the environmental impact, as well as the ramifications of Peak Oil, specifically as to how it is and will be affecting musicians whose lives depend on getting from place to place..physically, not through the digital pipeline..then he is missing the boat..and those are two big flaws.
Good Luck in the City of the Dead (did you know LV is the American novelists' metaphor for Death? I bet you do now..)..get back safely.
Posted at 9:07 p.m. on February 3, 2008
6 Charles Choiniere says...
Just in case you didn't know, the internet also leaves a huge carbon footprint on the environment. So what happens when all these bands stop touring and suddenly start beaming concerts all over the planet? And not to mention all the digital music that's already being downloaded. Don't get me wrong, there are a few green hosting solutions available (carbon credits don't count), but certainly not enough.
I'm not saying that both peak oil and the environmental impact of commuting aren't both valid concerns, but you could easily devote a whole book to the environment and still not give it the attention that it really deserves.
Posted at 11:46 p.m. on February 3, 2008
7 Dragonfish Killswitch says...
Very sad about the bipt library bro!!
Is that a legal issue or a time/energy issue?
"peak oil!!", "blah blah blah!!"
If these guys know so much about it, why dont they go write a book about it?
My plan is to consruct an amphibious horse drawn cart and attach the neccesary hardware to the axle to give me enough power to run my turntables.
Talk about a fuckin road show eh?
Posted at 6:06 p.m. on February 4, 2008
8 Big Elk says...
Peak Oil has nothing to do with anything!
Posted at 4:48 p.m. on February 7, 2008
9 Fnordian says...
Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.
-Pablo Picasso
So many music business books are useless! I bet the Audible Hype reading list would be pretty short, huh? There's so many Indie Artist Guides or DIY Music Business books coming out now, too. The endless turnover of new sites like thesixtyone.com or the Twitter phenom means they can keep making new books every six months.
The Berklee series has been a notable exception, though..."This Business of _" is the title. Not all of them, obviously, but it's at least a higher standard of writing and detail than most of what's getting published. The "Urban Music" one was particularly fluffy, but the concert promotion book was outstanding.
Will you be doing more book reviews in the future? You should. Everything you've read, review. It's good blogging and good for the community in general.
Posted at 12:54 p.m. on April 17, 2008
10 Infinitez says...
I agree. I'm a total hip hop head and Atkins is a metalhead, but his advice is coming from SO MUCH experience...he's a great teacher! I'm looking forward to getting started on tour management, I feel it is my calling in life. This is a book I still refer to constantly and I've owned it for over 2 years now. Definitely the best "one book" you can get.
Posted at 4:05 p.m. on April 17, 2008