tour production companies

MEETINGS & EVENTS

Event, concert production, and entertainment services, production prowess for complex events..

As a hybridized live events production company, we’ve delivered across numerous special event types nationwide; customer experience tours, large-scale corporate events, mixed concert/ live music engagement experiences, and 20 years of North American Auto Show tours & events. We apply the same technology-forward design principles and years of proven production services to ensure even the most complex tours and demanding entertainment events run like clockwork. 

We bring full account, production, logistics, design & fabrication teams to the table to provide full-service support for tours and entertainment events.  Our easy and open communication channels​​ help keep events moving smoothly from pre-production through to the last event. 

Additionally, access to the Bluewater creative, software, and experience design teams bring additional benefit and streamlined production for touring and entertainment programs, bringing the overall complexity for organizers down  and meeting your specific needs. We know how live event productions work in order to facilitate an incredible experience for all involved.

At a glance

Event production management to support touring and entertainment. 

• Environment Design 

Stage Design

• Equipment Rental 
• Tour Logistics 
• Technical Labor 

How it's used

Environment design.

From the main stage to the concourse, we make it easy to visualize what your event will look like. What technology, what physical properties, and how it all lays out in each space. 

• Stage Lighting & Design
• Printed Graphics
• Show Services
• Stage & Set Design

From simple well lit static backdrops, to immersive digital canvases we provide our partners with options for stage design to ensure their messaging is seen all. 

• Set & Scenic
• Engineering
• Presentation Content
• Special Effects
• Equipment Rental

Access to clean, high-quality audiovisual equipment and all of the supporting peripherals that are required to support a tour. Whether renting, purchasing, or leasing equipment we assist our clients with the best financial choice. 

• Projection 
• Video Walls
• Switching & Routing
• Media Servers
• Rigging & Staging

Tour Logistics

Both tours and entertainment events share one thing in common; there is a lot of planning involved. We provide full coordination and project management for show labor, travel, and other vendor management through our show services group.

• Travel Coordination
• Labor Coordination
• Vendor Management
• CAD & Engineering

Technical Labor

Touring & entertainment events can be demanding; the complexity of the technology is often amplified with a compressed timeline for setup and teardown. We build a technical support team to assist these types of events from pre-production through every stop they make.  

• Rigging & Setup
• Load in / Load out
• Run of Show
• Technical Direction
• Temporary Networks

Our approach

Tours can be a challenge to navigate. There are often multiple deliverables at play at any given point in the planning process; developing the show schedule, planning for pre and post show communication, staff travel coordination, arranging show services, ensuring proper training, coordinating on-site technical support, and of course all of the required design, build, and setup of the show itself. 

You don’t need to let planning or technical coordination distract you from what really matters though. Bluewater is a full service production company and our team successfully supports some of the largest events in the world, both live and virtual events, and even hybrid. We make the show process easier by taking on whatever portion of the lift that’s required. Whether that’s just providing access to modern AV equipment to support your message, or creating custom brand activations to draw in and retain a crowd so you can focus on what really matters – the client interactions and telling your story.

Contact Bluewater today to discuss your event. 

01. Opportunity Alignment What’s the desired outcome? Where are the guardrails?

02. Design Collaborative process to create directional agreement & scope of work.

03. Execute Dot the i’s and cross the t’s. Deliver on our joint statement of work.

04. Support & Measure Bring it full circle to generate maximum impact.

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Bluewater is the only woman-owned business of its kind, operating four industry-leading business units that support sensory storytelling through digital & physical canvases.

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Festivals & Touring

Clearwing productions is a full-service production company with the expertise to support any size concert or festival, multi-stage or multi-city..

Clearwing's technical directors ensure all aspects of the show loading in, the show itself, and loading out go smoothly while also overlooking safety. 

Our world-class production crew implements all audio, video, lighting, staging, scenic, rigging, and backline .

Recent Projects

“I have used Clearwing Productions on many large scale events over the years, including Summerfest and the Harley Davidson Anniversaries. I don’t really even look at them as a contractor, but a partner in producing my events. I can talk to the staff, bounce ideas off them, and get great feedback. I can and have used some of the largest production companies in the world; however, I have never been as satisfied with anyone as much I have with Clearwing Productions.”

Let's create an amazing show, together.

Touring & Entertainment

This is lmg.

LMG Touring & Entertainment is behind the scenes providing the technology, crew, and support for virtual and live productions.

TOURS | FESTIVALS | CONCERTS | LIVESTREAMS | COMMERCIALS | CINEMA-STYLE SHOOTS |  EXPERIENTIAL | VIRTUAL

Video and graphics are the core of any live event’s messaging and provide the focal point that brings everyone together. Displayed on widescreens, LED or monitors, our systems are built and designed to deliver the finest visual experience possible.

Audio reinforcement is critical for sound clarity and cleanliness during your event. From traditional speakers to massive line array systems, getting the sound right isn't just important, it's crucial.

Lighting fixtures of all shapes, sizes and capabilities come together to provide the right look, feel and function for any type of event. Lighting not only provides proper stage illumination, it is an artistic endeavor that delivers impact, emotion, intensity, form and color.

LED allows for a versatile, lightweight and cost-effective solution to dynamically display your content in a striking digital format. These life-size building blocks enable you to choose everything from pixel pitch and shape to size and configuration for a truly customized solution!

YOU HAVE CREATIVE CONCEPTS. We’ve got technical solutions.

As a full-service provider of video, audio, lighting, and LED, LMG Touring & Entertainment covers all technical aspects of the show.

From pre-vis to packaging, load-in to load-out, we’re here to support you and do whatever it takes to get the job done right. Because we believe that unforgettable shows are the product of strong relationships.

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Out on The Road

We serve as the single point of contact for all things technical, providing high-end technology, efficient packaging, 24/7 equipment and labor support, and responsive, flexible, and competent crew.

Rehearse in comfort in one of our state-of-the-art rehearsal studios, located in Las Vegas and Orlando. Our studios feature production offices, a crew lounge, private showers, 24-hour access, and a convenient 15-minute drive to the airport.

COVID-SAFE APPROACH

The safety of our crew, clients, and vendors is our highest priority. We closely monitor and follow the CDC recommended COVID protocols.

2023 Avenged Sevenfold: Avenged Sevenfold’s “Life is But a Dream Tour” Comes to Life with LMG Touring

by LMG Touring & Entertainment | January 29, 2024 | Uncategorized | 0 Comments

LMG Touring Enables Visual Experience for Avenged Sevenfold’s “Life is But a Dream Tour”

LMG Touring Expands Global Strategy with New London Location

by LMG Touring & Entertainment | November 2, 2023 | Uncategorized | 0 Comments

LMG Touring is thrilled to announce its expansion into London, bringing exceptional touring and entertainment solutions to clients in the UK and Europe.

LMG Supports U2’s Vegas Pop-Up Show Featuring New Single, “Atomic City”

by LMG Touring & Entertainment | October 4, 2023 | Uncategorized | 0 Comments

U2’s performance of “Atomic City” was a preview of what promises to be an unforgettable residency, “U2: UV Achtung Baby Live At The Sphere” and is set to kick off on September 29.

972.686.4488 Contact Us

Onstage Systems

Concert Production

Concert and Tour Production

Live concert production leaves little room for mistakes. From lighting and audio to stage design and logistics, successful concert production means getting everything right the first time and creating a one-of-a-kind experience that hits the sweet spot for audiences and performers.

For 40 years, Onstage Systems has been using their knowledge, experience, and passion to make artists shine. As one of the leading concert production and tour production companies in North Texas, they have proven themselves, again and again, providing performers and fans with concert experiences that are simply the best.

Everything you need, from management to design to equipment to tech

Special attention to performers’ specific needs, an unparalleled track record in concert production and tour production, concert and tour production services.

With a full range of state-of-the-art audio gear and a team of first-rate technicians, Onstage will ensure that you sound as good as you really are. We can create custom audio systems for any size band and any group of instruments, so that everyone in the audience enjoys full, crystal-clear sound.

Onstage Systems offers lighting solutions to enhance any act and provide audiences with a more immersive experience. Our advanced equipment is extremely versatile, and we know how to put together a system that hits the mark every time. From dramatic illumination to dazzling special effects, Onstage Systems' high-end, energy-efficient lighting ensures that you’re shown off to best advantage.

Stage Design

With decades of experience, Onstage knows how to design performance venues that are functional, beautiful, and occasionally mind-blowing. From general conception to the smallest details, our team has the passion and the know-how to realize any type of design, from smaller stages to spectacular large-scale creations.

Music may be the main attraction, but video adds the extra dimension that engages audiences and brings them closer to the action. With the latest in recording, processing and projection technology, Onstage Systems can do it all—from live and recorded video switching, to super-large-screen projection, content creation, and more.

Scenic Elements

Onstage Systems has extensive experience working with designers and technicians, and we are dedicated to bringing creative visions to life. We will work with you to source or create whatever scenery, props or other elements you require, and ensure that they fit with other components and systems.

Concert and Tour Production Equipment Rentals

From audio, lighting and video, to backline, crowd control, and special effects, Onstage Systems maintains a complete inventory of equipment for concert and tour productions . Our 80,000-square-foot warehouse contains everything you need for your event. This means you’ll never have to source anything from a third party – which simplifies your planning and helps minimize your expenses.

LOGISTICS, ENGINEERING AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT FOR SUCCESSFUL CONCERTS AND TOURS

To help ensure that everything is in the right place at the right time and that everything works the way it’s supposed to, Onstage Systems offers a complete suite of concert and tour production support services, including project management, logistics, onsite technical support , and venue preparation.

With our decades of experience in all aspects of concert and tour production, we know how the parts work and how to bring them all together.

REQUEST A QUOTE FOR YOUR NEXT CONCERT OR TOUR

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8721 Forney Rd. Dallas, TX, 75227 Phone:  972.686.4488

CONCERT TOURING

Festival staging, special events, sports & activations, stage systems, staging & accessories, barricade systems, truss solutions, rental set pieces, automation & effects, stage lifts & stair effects, flown automation & drape effects, stage conveyors & mobilators, pushing the limits of possibility, precision fabrication for spectacular stages., your vision. our stage., custom and rental staging for iconic events all over the word., contact us to start collaborating today., elevating entertainment experiences, custom staging for concerts, tours, television, festivals, and more., prepare for innovation, if you have the vision for it, we can help bring it to life., all the world’s a stage.,  markets  //, capabilities, custom set fabrication., custom sets   // , world-class rental gear.,   equipment  //, all access. all the time., we are all access. let’s create together..

Since 1991 we have set the standard for durable, reliable, and efficient concert touring products and services. Since then, we have continued to refine our Versa Stage®️ product line and expand our expertise into cutting-edge staging automation for some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry worldwide.

We’re based in the greater Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, and London areas, but can travel the world with our product to take your event to the next level – whether it’s a drum riser for a one-off set, LED stage decks for a TV show, or a stage lift for an artist reveal.

At All Access, we bring your creative visions to life.

ABOUT US  //

Featured gigs.

WrestleMania XL

SUPER BOWL LVIII

AWS Re:Play

Jingle Ball 2023

Notch’s .party()

SUPER BOWL LVII

Dave Matthews Band

Bob Hughes Marks the End of 44-Year Career

by All Access | May 9, 2024 | BLOG

After 44 incredible years in showbiz, we bid farewell to a true legend: Bob Hughes. As he steps into the next chapter of his life, we celebrate the remarkable legacy he leaves behind — which not only shaped All Access but the entertainment industry as a whole.

Behind-the-Build: Super Bowl LVIII

by All Access | Feb 7, 2024 | BLOG

All Access provided the full scope of event staging for Super Bowl LVIII, handling everything from opening night through the post-game festivities – not to mention the always spectacular halftime show. With a nod to the glamor of Las Vegas, the entire production...

Behind-the-Build: Andretti Autosport

by All Access | Sep 20, 2023 | BLOG

All Access was proud to deliver a custom 40’x70’ hospitality suite for Andretti Autosport and National Tour Integrated Resources. The two-level 16-post self-climbing structure used 1,700 linear feet of truss and 175 decks and was transported in 7 semi-trucks. What's...

"For over 25 years my friends Erik and Clive and everyone at All Access have not only delivered exceptional high-end staging and custom fabrication for my projects but they also always make the process fun as hell."

Bruce Rodgers | Production Designer Super Bowl Halftime Show and more Tribe Inc. Production Design

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Concert Tour Management

Our touring services, how we can help, touring services.

Lambda Productions

Music and Tours

Lambda Productions is equally adept at executing a single performance or an entire tour .

Our years of experience working on both the touring and promoter side has helped us develop a well-rounded approach to music production and allowed us to develop relationships with leading artists, agents, venues and vendors around the world. We can staff a single position or provide an entire team. We offer consulting services to improve an existing event or get one off the ground. We have the resume to back our reputation as a top tier production management company!

PHISH JACK JOHNSON GENTLEMAN OF THE ROAD OYSTERHEAD ELVIS LIVES AL JARREAU IDINA MENZEL TREY ANASTASIO BAND RICK SPRINGFIELD VAN HALEN HALL & OATS REM VONDA SHEPARD MARCUS MILLER DAVID SANBORN JOE SAMPLE ANUNA, ORLA, ORCHESTRATED SERIES FOR ELEVATION THE W J CLINTON FOUNDATION’S “A DECADE OF DIFFERENCE” FOR CONTROL ROOM APPLE BASH, JET BLUE LIVE FROM T5, ADULT SWIM TOUR & COMIC CON FOR SUPERFLY IRL CONCERT SERIES FOR PIONEER ELECTRONICS THE EAGLES AT PUBLIC THEATER NYC FOR RRHOF MIKE GORDON @ BEN & JERRY’S SECRET SHOW SERIES BRYANT PARK ORCHESTRA CONCERTS

A Beautiful Noise

Beetlejuice

The Book of Mormon

Come From Away

Elf The Musical

Les Misérables

Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird

Click here for full schedule and tickets.

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Bringing the Broadway experience to stages everywhere.

Tour with the Elite

Live event production and planning.

When it comes to taking your show on the road, you need the best of the best. Elite is a live event production company with over 15 years of experience managing, equipping, and touring alongside some of the biggest names in music .     

With Elite, you gain a partner that’s as passionate about delivering an unforgettable fan experience as you are . For our team of creative and forward-thinking professionals, no vision is too big—or too out there . A s a full-service production company, we have you covered for every stop of the tour , from bespoke s tage pieces to an experienced team ready for anything —b ecause our vision is seeing yours come to life.    

We’ve Got you Covered

Our talented staff of designers, directors, and technicians have done it all! Their wealth of experience is your gain, as their technical skills allow them to create experiences that captivate & engage audiences.

Our LED Rental program is designed to bring your vision to life for any upcoming event. Having the proper expertise and knowledge to guide our clients through the process and pair the perfect solution for your needs is our goal.

With the use of cameras, capture your event for archival purposes, or for later online posting. Your events can be captured for years to come as your company and event grows.

Being creative is one key to a successful event production. Our team has a wide variety of scenic set pieces, set carts and staging to help provide you with custom options that fit your unique brand.

Our technical team works with your venues to gain proper load dispersion and rigging capabilities. We produce drawings for engineering approval so you can be sure all attendees are safe.

Make the back row or those at home feel like they’re in the front row. With the ability to offer live streaming and High-Definition camera technology, your event can be taken global.

Our vast inventory includes the most sought-after brands and products in the stage lighting industry. We are constantly monitoring the market to ensure that we deliver the highest quality products to you.

Our team has done it all: stadiums, arenas, concerts, live-events, TV and film. Our wide range of LED display products can create any screen configuration you are looking to build to elevate your event.

From arenas all the way up to NFL stadiums, our team works to safely load your production in and out. We have vast experience in all forms of rigging including automated trusses, standard ariel trusses, and ground supported production elements.

Video Make the back row or those at home feel like they’re in the front row. With the ability to offer live streaming and High-Definition camera technology, your event can be taken global.

We Know What it Takes

• Brainstorm Each and every tour is unique and deserves to be treated that way. We’ll work alongside your team to make sure your design and unique vision can be translated into realistic and executable options.
• Design We’ll get to work on your specific logistical design, from creating cable paths to engineering the best equipment solutions for your needs.
• Build Once approved, we’ll get started on a build that’s tailored to your needs – nothing is one-size-fits-all. That means custom fabrication, set carts, and building the rigging right here in our Nashville HQ so we can move everything in and out quickly!
• Execute Attention to detail, executable designs and a team of industry vets means you can have peace of mind knowing that when your build is out the door you’ve got a team on your side to see your production all the way through.

Get Inspired

Luke Bryan XL Stadium Sized Tour

Seether | Poison the Parish Tour

Some of Our Partners

LET'S CREATE SOMETHING UNFORGETTABLE

Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Elite is a one-stop shop for concert touring, live event production and production gear rental. Offering full-service AV production, video production, and live event lighting and LED, they provide the most comprehensive production support and services at the highest quality to clients across the world.

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© 2008-2022 Elite Productions, All Rights Reserved | In Partnership with GANI Consulting

Mechanics • 20 min read

The Mechanics of Touring: How the Live Music Industry Works

By Dmitry Pastukhov

Published April 28, 2019

The Live Music Industry: An Overview

Key players in the touring industry, artists and managers, booking agents, tour managers and technicians, festivals & venues, label & publisher, the touring cycle, 1. finding the talent, 2. building the tour strategy and producing the show, 3. booking the tour, 4. selling the tickets, 5. preparations, 6. the day x, 7. the show, tour simulation, tour gross revenue.

Touring makes up a huge portion of an artist’s life and the lion’s share of the industry’s revenues. At the same time, it is the only part of the music career that remains 99% “physical” in what is otherwise the digital-first industry. While some of the artists can easily reach millions of fans via streaming, putting together an international tour for the same crowd is an extremely complicated process.

Despite the rise of digital streaming platforms, make no mistake, live music is still the cash cow of the industry. Even though streaming revenue is expected to grow to $23 billion by 2022, by that same year the live music industry is projected to reach a whopping $31 billion in global value. Global live music revenue continues to increase (with the substantial portion of this growth attributed to the worldwide explosion of EDM festivals, which we've traced in our analyses of Chinese and Indian markets). At the same time, if we take a look at the well-established music economies, a recent Nielsen study found that 52% of Americans attend live shows at least once a year.

Nevertheless, the touring industry’s decentralized and network-based system remains a complex landscape to navigate: artists often work with dozens of local promoters, booking agents and venues in the course of a single tour. So, let’s start with the basics and identify all of the parties that are usually involved in a mid-sized tour:

Artists and their managers are the crucial elements of the live business. As we’ve laid out in our Mechanics of Management , manager’s role is to build and coordinate the artist’s team on all sides of the music industry, and that, of course, includes the concert business. The artist’s management usually takes part in the initial route planning, helps the artist pick the touring team, and serves as a bridge between the live entertainment and all other sides of the artist’s career.  

The job of the booking agent itself is very easy to define: the agent represents the artist across the live industry. Their goal is to book the tour and sell the shows to the local talent buyers, finding the venue and negotiating the price. The booking deal is usually pretty straightforward: “an artist A, represented by the agent B, commits to play an N-minute show in the venue C on the day X for a $Y. ” A good agent is the one who’s able to get all those As, Bs and Cs right — so that the venue is sold out, but there are no fans left without a ticket; the artist gets paid well, but the promoter doesn’t feel cheated, and so on. While the deal is relatively simple, it’s hard to nail all the details — especially given the fact that the show are usually booked from 8 to 24 months in advance, depending on the scope of the venue.

Promoters are the side of the live business that funds the tour and buys the shows. The landscape of concert promotion is complex, and promoters themselves come in various shapes and sizes. To make it a bit simpler, imagine that promoter is a middle-man, connecting the concert space and the artist to put together a show. You can start building that bridge from either side, however.

Tour promoters set out from the artist side, contracting musicians to perform a series of concerts, paying for rehearsals, audiovisual production, covering the travel expenses and so on. Once the show is ready, tour promoters, working closely with the artist’s booking agent, either rent venues themselves or subcontract (read: sell) the shows to the local promoters (or a mixture of both).

Local promoters, in their turn, embark from a concert space. Affiliated, or at least connected with local venues and performance spaces, they buy gigs from the agents and/or tour promoters to own the ticket sales. An art-director of a small club, a local group of party promoters, a team of the major US festival — all those event promoters of different scope would fall into that category.

In that context, the role of the agent becomes clear. If promoters are the middle-men on the side of an artist or a concert space, the agent is the middle-man between the middle-men, who builds up the network of promoters (on both fronts) and artists, serving as a liaison between all sides.

However, some of the biggest tours today can be put together without the agent’s involvement.  One of the main shifts in the live business is the consolidation of tour and local promoters under the umbrella of entertainment conglomerates, with the most notable examples of Live Nation and AEG .

Essentially, these companies have grown their operation to the point where they can build the bridge from both sides, internalizing all the processes. They both produce the concert tours and own (or, at least, establish partnerships with) a vast network of clubs and arenas, providing venues for the tour. Live Nation, AEG and alike can now create centralized international tours, offering artists 360° deals. However, touring under such exclusive promotion remains reserved for the artists of the top echelon — so most of the shows out there are still put together in collaboration between the tour promoters, booking agents and local partners.

Tour managers that stay on the road with the artist's crew are the oil that makes the wheels of the tour spin. Even a nationwide tour involves extremely complex logistics, and it becomes exponentially harder to manage the travel as the tour passes onto an international level. For the first-tier acts, staying on the road with the artist crew, technicians and 30 trucks worth of equipment can cost up to $750k per day . The goal of the tour manager is to make sure that the money doesn't go down the drain when the artist’s bus breaks down in Nowhere, Oklahoma . Getting the band from point A to point B seems to be a pretty straightforward job, but in fact, the routine of the tour manager is dealing with unexpected and solving a dozen of new problems each day — all while keeping the artists happy and ready to perform. To give you a taste of an international tour route, here's an approximate map of the Lizzo's tour in support of "Cuz I Love You" release, stretching over 64 locations and 74,575 km — and that is just the straight routs, not accounting for the actual roadways.

"Cuz I Love You" tour route, 30.04.2019 — 28.10.2019 (interactive version available here )

Tour managers also run the technician crew, and, while the technical support of the tour is often overlooked, the fact is that behind every show there’s a team that turns the performance into an audiovisual experience that the audience has paid to see. It takes hard work and expertise to assemble the stage, set up the lights and the sound system, etc. The live industry relies on the tech crew to make the show actually happen.

Festivals and venues are at the very core of the live business, providing the space and (usually) the base infrastructure for the show. As we've already mentioned, there’s often a great deal of vested interest between local promoters and performance spaces.  That means that there’s usually a local promoter “attached” to the venue, and same goes for music festivals.

Outdoor events are a distinct part of the live performance landscape. Operated by promotion groups, prominent festivals can introduce artists to new audiences, both in terms of fans and music industry executives — all while offering a fat pay-check. A major festival performance puts the artist on the map, and the promotional effect of the show itself has to be considered. It can become even more important than the immediate monetary gain — especially for independent, up-and-coming artists. That’s why the tour routing will often be structured around a couple of big music festivals — and then filled up with solo concerts along the way. A good example is Coachella: as the event takes place over two separate weekends, most of the Coachella artists also book “side-gigs” around the area during the in-between week.

Although recording and publishing industries are not directly engaged in the live business, we have to remember that the music industry is built on collaboration . By convention, most music tours follow the release of an album, and each artist has to report his set after the show to PROs so that the proper songwriters get paid. The music industry is made up of separate companies and people working on the different parts of the artist career — and, while not completely aligned, they are always interconnected.

The six key parties described above work together to bring the live show to the concert-goers. However, it’s important to mention that they won’t always be represented by separate entities. Often some of the roles will be internalized by the different sides of the touring chain: independent artists and their management might produce the tour themselves, internalizing the job of the tour promoter; conglomerate promoters, as we’ve mentioned, can now offer exclusive touring deals; and so on. That said, in the next section we will go through the tour cycle step by step to showcase how all these players interact to create the tour. As it usually is in the music industry, it all starts with the artist.

On the first step, agents and tour promoters find and sign the performer. This process is not much different from the scouting of recording or publishing A&Rs, although the criteria might differ. For some types of artists (like DJs, for example) touring can be relatively huge, while the recording revenues might stay almost non-existent. Agents and A&Rs look for different things in the artist, but the essence of scouting remains the same across the board — identify and sign the promising acts before anyone else does.

There’s another twist to talent hunting in the live industry that is probably worth mentioning. As an average show has to be booked 9-10 months in advance, tour deals are usually signed around a year prior to the actual performance. At the same time, the vast majority of concert tours follow the recording releases to build up the momentum and ride the promotion wave. That has one unavoidable implication: tour promoters and agents sign the artist to perform the material which is not written yet, which can be quite risky.

That is especially true when it comes to the debut artists, that might not even have a 40-minute set or any solid live performance skills when they get their first touring deal. There is a lot of gut feeling that goes into scouting on the live industry side — more than in the recording business at least, where licensing deals allowed labels to mediate the risks of the creative stage.

Once the artist is on board, it’s time to produce the show and define the tour strategy and routing. At this step, the tour promoter starts the preparations: building the light show and live visual materials, booking rehearsal sessions to perfect the live performance, and so on. Meanwhile, the artist, manager, agent and tour promoter work out a general timeframe and draft an approximate route of the future tour. The initial tour planning is usually done around priority shows, like major city performances or music festivals, while the rest of the route is defined in broad strokes. Unless we’re talking about the top-tier, established artists, the tour will always follow a recording release. Once the initial planning is over, the tour strategy will be defined in terms of “The artist will play a priority city/music festival in a specific area N weeks after the release”.

Ones the initial route is set out, the agent goes on to book the tour, pitching the show to local promoters and festivals. Starting with the priority shows and then filling in the details, the tour route gradually takes its final form. The agent negotiates with local promoters to pick out an optimal venue (in terms of volume, style, conditions, etc.) to host the show. As Tom Windish, a senior executive of Paradigm Talent Agency mentioned in our recent interview , picking the right venue is perhaps the hardest part of booking a tour: the material is not out yet, and there’s no way to predict the reception of the release that’s almost a year ahead. Go for a small but safe venue — and you risk losing potential ticket sales and disappointing the fans; go big, and you might end up in a half-empty room, losing on the investment and leaving every side of the deal disappointed. The agent has to make risky decisions in a situation of uncertainty, and given the venue landscape in some of the regions, sometimes that means choosing between a venue capacity of 500 and 2000 for what is reasonably a 1000-ticket show.

As for the conditions and splits of the booking contract, generally local promoters, tour promoters, and artists will split the net profits of the show. Artists might also get a flat fee to ensure they'll make some money even if all other parties do their job poorly. Usually, the more the flat fee, the less the artist’s share of the net profits (and vice versa). In that sense, the structure of the contract splits often reflects the artist's risk appetite: some artists self-produce the tour, sacrifice the flat fees and end up getting almost 100% of the net. Others might ask for a higher "safety" fee, lowering both the profits of the tour and their own stake in it.   Booking agents, in their turn, earn a flat percentage on the revenues ‘on top’ (though they might put their share back in the pot if the tour doesn’t turn out a profit). That might be a lot to take in, but don't worry, we will get back to the splits and give you a clear example with a tour simulation you can find below .

Once the tour is booked, it’s the time to promote it and sell the tickets. On paper, the ball is in the promoter’s court here, but in reality the marketing of the tour is carried out in close collaboration between all the sides — from managers and booking agents to the artists' record labels. Concert marketing is a topic worthy of a separate article, but if we were to simplify things, it could be separated into two main parts.

First is the overarching tour marketing, implemented by the tour promoter and synchronized with the record release. The tour marketing campaign utilizes wide communication channels to promote the tour in general rather than a particular show. Second is the regional marketing owned by the local promoters, which aims to boost the sales of a specific show, focusing on narrow communication channels, like radio, OOH and locally targeted digital advertising.

As far as the actual ticketing strategy is concerned, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, so most teams go through long and numerous meetings to define tit There's a lot of decisions to be made when settling the details of the ticketing strategy — especially as technology has put new tools into the hands of promoters — but generally accepted sales process follows an “announcement → pre-sale → general sale” pattern. First, the tour is announced through the label- or artist-owned channels. That announcement is both a chance to communicate the tour to the wide audience and build up the artist’s CRM-base by nudging fans to leave their contacts to get notified when tickets go on sale. On the live event market, the buying intent might not realize itself on the first day — so having direct contact with fans and growing the artist's CRM-base is a key tool in the hands of the industry.

Then, the pre-sale takes place: first, reaching out directly to fans in the CRM database — after all, artist-fan relationships are one of the most important assets of an artist, and a fan pre-sale ensures that engaged followers will be able to get tickets to the show. Pre-sale strategy might also involve sales through “preferred partners”, focusing on direct sales through systems like American Express PreSales in the U.S., or even Spotify, that allows to reach the artist’s fans and followers across the tour route based on their listening habits and geo-location. Finally, to complete the pre-sale, local promoters can also use the local communication channels, like CRM-base of the venue and local airplay.

All the pre-sale strategies have two primary objectives. Firstly, based on the pre-sale figures (and historical concert attendance data), the promoter can roughly tell how the show is going to sell in general — and adjust the marketing campaign accordingly. Secondly, pre-sale through reasonably closed off channels can help to mediate the problem of the secondary ticket market. In fact, most of the ticketing strategies aim to sell as many seats as possible before putting the show on the general sale. Ticketing platforms like Songkick, BandsinTown or Seated allow promoters to reach the widest audience but they also puts the show at risk of selling out to the scalper bots in a matter of hours. This is especially true for the biggest artists out there — the more the demand for the show, the more attention it's going to get from the scalpers.

At this point, the tickets are on sale and the date is coming up, but there are still a lot of details to cover to make the show actually happen. Carrying out a 100-show tour means getting the artist and his tour team to a hundred different locations across the globe — all while staying on a tight budget and an even tighter schedule. Then, you have to make sure that every step of the way the artist has the infrastructure to do the actual show. Big tours are extremely complicated logistics, that require a lot of planning (usually carried out by the tour manager, affiliated with the tour promoters). Plane tickets, car rental, backline equipment shipping — this is just a fraction of what needs to be taken care of before reaching the venue.

The venue is (hopefully) sold out, the material is well-rehearsed, the equipment is delivered to the club — but the show is still to be done. Someone has to set up the sound, check tickets at the door, take care of the security, prepare the guest list and set up the bar. This routine can seem insignificant at times, but in fact, a solid on-site setup is a must if you want the audience to enjoy the performance. Surely all of us can remember that one concert with that hour-long queue, delayed performance and warm beer at the bar — a poor concert organization can ruin even the best of shows. Making sure that the concert goes smoothly is a group effort of the tour crew and the local promoter's team, from tour managers and technicians to local sound engineers and the venue stuff.

Finally, one year, tens of thousands of kilometers and thousands of man-hours later, the artist will go on stage. Then, the team will get back on the road to repeat steps 5 through 7 over and over again, until the final row of the tour announcement is crossed out. The artist will eventually get back in the studio and start working on the new material, while tour promoters and agents will begin planning the next tour. That’s the tour life .

To conclude the Mechanics of Touring, we want to share with you an example of how the tour budget and profits are structured. Below, you will find a somewhat simplified (yet accurate at its core) budget simulation of an averaged tour. While the actual “business plan” will be much more detailed, the data below should give you a good idea of who pays for the tour and who ends up making money on it.

Total Fixed and Variable Costs

So, the tour has fixed costs of 70,000€, which have to be covered regardless of the tour length, and variable costs of 7,000€, per show. Such costs structure means that (and this is true for practically every tour) we will enjoy the scale effect , as total costs per show (calculated as (FC+ VC*N)/N, where FC is Fixed Costs, VC — Variable Costs and N is the Number of shows in the tour) will go down as the tour grows, due to the depreciation of the fixed costs.

Total costs per show, for 10-150 concerts in a tour.

To go forward with the simulation, we will assume that the shows of the tour are all booked at the same price (which is never the case due to the difference in the local ticket prices, venue and market capacity, and other specifics). However, to simplify things, we will use the following revenue structure:        

Guarantee per show = 8,000€

Bonus if sold out = 2,000€

If we plotted the tour’s total profits as a function of the number of shows, P/L = (Revenue per show * N) - (FC+VC*N), we would get the following:

Tour P&L (overall profit/loss before splits)

As the total costs per show go down against a constant revenue, the tour turns a profit, breaking even at the 24th and 70th show for “Sold Out” and “Not Sold Out” scenarios accordingly.

Then the time comes to divvy up the profits. First of all, the agent takes a share of all revenues “on top”. In this simulation, we will use a 15% split for the agent. So, if the tour is made up of 100 sold out shows, the agent would get (10,000*100)*15% = €150,000 in fees. However, it’s not customary in the music industry for one side of the deal to make money while the rest are losing. So, usually, the agent won’t take their share if the tour doesn’t turn a profit. But what if the tour makes a bit of money, but not enough to cover the agent’s 15% “on top”?

There are a couple of roads the agent might take in that case, cutting their share down to 5% or taking a percentage of the profits, rather than revenue, but for purposes of this simulation, we will assume that the agent will take their part of the share, but won’t put the promoter back in the red. So, if the tour has made €5K in NET profits by selling out 25 shows, the agent will take €5,000 instead of agreed upon (25*10,000)*15% = €37,500.

Tour promoter will take a share of the NET profits (Total Revenue — Agent’s Share — Costs). That would mean that, although the tour itself will break even on a 24th show in the Song Out scenario, the tour promoter will start making money only after the 47th show (once the agent is fully compensated). If we assume the tour promoter’s share at 20%, on a 100-show, sold out tour they will make ((10,000*100*0,85) - (70,000 + 7,000*100)) * 0,2 = €16,000 . It might seem that the promoters get the short end of the stick here, but in fact, they will often make quite a bit of money in the venue itself on things like bar and parking. This can be a substantial or even primary revenue stream for the promoter, but we’ll have to leave it out of the scope of the simulation for the sake of simplicity.

As for the artist , they will earn a flat fee (in this simulation €1,000 per show) as well as the remaining 80% of the tour’s NET. This sum will make up the artist gross, which in its turn will be divided between the artist and the management (an average manager’s share is around 15% ). So, for a 100-show tour the artist gross will be: (100*1,000) + ((10,000*100*0,85) - (70,000 + 7,000*100)) * 0,8 = €164,000 , which would then be split 85:15 between the artist ( €139,400 ) and the manager ( €24,600 ).

Tour profits distribution, by party

Of course, the actual tour will be much more complicated than in the simulation above. However, it should give you a good idea of how the tour is structured and budgeted. That’s it for this episode of Mechanics, but don’t worry — we’ll keep working to bring you insights on other parts of the music industry. If you liked this article, take a look at our Mechanics of the Music Industry to get the overview of the topics we covered so far — and the ones we plan to cover in the future.

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Dmitry Pastukhov

Content creator for Soundcharts. Deciphering the music business so you don't have to.

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Justin Timberlake Made His ‘Forget Tomorrow’ Tour As Epic As It Deserved To Be Thanks To Silent House Group

It’s been said that monoculture is dead, but even as we are overwhelmed with microniches and hyperfocused marketing beamed directly into our faces by our ever-growing multitude of screens, there are still some people, some moments, that can bring us together as monoliths of pop culture.

No one defines the turn-of-the-millennium pop culture where monoliths still loomed large like Justin Timberlake, who is currently on the Forget Tomorrow world tour promoting his new album, Everything I Thought It Was . And when he needed a visual representation of his imposing legacy, he turned to Silent House Group , the production house that specializes in massive scale arena and festival concert production.

After previously detailing their work for Coachella headliners Tyler The Creator and Doja Cat, Uproxx interviewed Silent House CEO and Founder, Baz Halpin, about how the gigantic, yet stripped-down production for Timberlake’s tour came together. From cutting-edge tech out of a sci-fi film to happy accidents to the future of touring, the conversation was as expansive as Timberlake’s generation defining catalog.

Can you break down for me how you started the process and how close did the finished product come to the idea in progress?

Justin is incredibly knowledgeable as a director in his own right, I think, because of his work in film and theater and everything else. He’s way more hands-on and I wasn’t expecting that. So the first place he wanted to start was, before we get into the narrative and the why, he wanted to get up to speed with absolutely everything that you could do in 2024 with live production.

I was sitting in his living room saying, “Everything?” He goes, “I want you to go away and I want you to come back to me and show me everything that you can do in 2024. Show me what all the new tech is. Show me all the great ideas. Let’s push it. Let’s do something that’s never been done before.” So I went away and I put everything. I put 150 pages together in a document, videos, images, you name it. Everything from the lights that hadn’t even been manufactured yet, prototypes that we found some guy making in his garage, and video screens that you could put in a swimming pool or would roll out like a piece of rubber.

Oh, that’s cool.

And so we batted this around for a long time, and then we came up with this idea: Well, really, this wants to be a lot of things. This show wants to be a lot of things, but at the same time, it has to be a vehicle to showcase his unbelievable talent. There’s very few 360 entertainers like him that can sing, dance, play, entertain at that high level, and he’s the real deal.

So I wanted to be able to have this enormous stage with absolutely nothing on it. No equipment, no people, no nothing. You couldn’t see anything on it, and just have him in a spotlight, and for him to showcase that he was able to command this arena with 20,000 people in with absolutely nothing. To go from that to the most high-tech bells and whistles, the biggest thing you ever saw in your life. So we came up with this idea of the monolith and the monolith being a vehicle that would take us on this journey.

So we started from this tech place, engineering place. What’s possible moved into, how, visually, do we want to break down the show? Then, the third place was, well, we have this idea of a monolith could be a vehicle and could do all these things and could bring us from nothing to everything. We could give it a personality. We could give it its own theme that carried it through the show. So once we had that in our head as the direction we wanted to go, then we started to work on the set list. That’s when the narrative started to get put in.

Would it be giving away secrets if you told me what were some of the names that he name-checked, as far as inspirations for the show?

Obviously, [David] Fincher, who he talks a lot about… We reference the work of Denis Villeneuve, because stylistically, visually, that’s… These are very different, right? Very different visual approaches. I mean, he’s a cinephile for sure and a movie buff. When you can talk in the language, and you understand the tech, and you understand visual storytelling, then you can have really clear conversations.

So with him, because he is so hands-on, it made that process much, much clearer and like a director, when he makes a decision, he makes a decision from a place of information. He’s informed. So it took a lot of the scary sort of stress of, do we know what we’re getting ourselves in for ? The process, it was structured. It was foundational. It left all the time for you to be creative, but understanding the world that you were living in.

Obviously, when you’re on the cutting edge, things do not work the way they’re supposed to or the way that you thought that they might. Were any of those challenges something that you even incorporated? I know sometimes, let’s say, the light turns blue, and it’s supposed to turn green, but then you’re like, oh, that actually looks cooler.

The happy accident on this was when the monolith tips over, and he leans off the edge.

So I had put a winch and I don’t know what it was. I knew that I wanted to have a performer-flying winch, and I sort of had these ideas. Maybe I’d have a dancer on it, and the dancer would be dancing on the video screen vertically and interact with it or something like that. When we got into rehearsals, we hadn’t sort of finalized how the show would end. So finding that moment with Justin in the performer-flying winch when it tipped over, and we saw that for the first time, we went, “Holy sh*t.” That is it. We didn’t think about that until rehearsals.

With your expertise and having worked with some of the best, where do you see the live touring space, and especially the Silent House aspect of it, what you guys do, where do you see that going in the near future?

I mean, I think there will be new types of places for sure, but concerts are in an increasingly isolated world where we’re all buried in computers and phones and work from home and all that stuff. And we do not have the community as humans that we had 30 years ago. These concerts, festivals, shows, those are… It’s concerts, live events and sporting events. I don’t think there’s anything else that brings people together in a community the way those things do, right? For better or worse.

And I think that it’s a fundamental human need to experience things as a community. So I think that no matter what happens in the world, that live music will keep getting more and more and more important. I think that artists will continue to push all the boundaries that they can, both creatively and logistically. And people want to go see these shows. There’s a hunger. Even in 2008, 2009 when we had the recession, the concert industry went from strength to strength. It’s where people go. It’s where people go when they’re happiest. It’s where people go when they’re bummed out. And music especially hits us in a way that is fundamental, and it can transport us back in time, and it can take us to places and spark memories that we’ve forgotten, so I don’t think you can phase that out. I don’t think it goes away. And as long as that need is there and that demand is there from audiences, and they want to go see, and artists want to create, then Silent House will always be there to support them.

11 Guided Tour Companies That Offer Trips around the World

L ike cruising and theme park vacations , guided tours aren’t for everyone. But for people who especially enjoy meeting (and traveling with) like-minded people on vacation, guided group tours can be the perfect way to see a new destination—and make some new friends along the way. 

Some guided tours are geared toward groups of a dozen or fewer, while others can accommodate 50 or more travelers. Most guided tours include accommodations and some meals. In all cases, the tour companies who operate group tours take most of the complicated planning out of the equation , leaving you to focus on simply enjoying your vacation. 

The Best Guided Tour Operators

If you’re ready to give tour groups a try, consider one of these guided tour operators that rank among the very best in the world. 

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Guided tour operator Tauck has been a leader in high-end group tours since its founding in 1925. Operating land-based group tours on all seven continents (as well as river tours in Europe and small-ship tours around the world), Tauck caters to families, couples, and solo travelers.

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The average size of a guided tour group with Tauck is 35 to 44 guests, though the group size may vary depending on the season and the nature of the tour. Travelers enjoy Tauck for its attention to detail and ease of planning. Prices for tours vary by location, type of tour, and season, but the average Tauck tour starts at around $4,000 and goes up from there for one room with two guests. 

2. Trafalgar

Taking groups on guided tours to destinations around the world since 1947, Trafalgar runs trips to nearly every corner of the planet except Antarctica. The mostly land-based guided tours are offered year-round, including to popular destinations like New Zealand and Africa. The number of guests on tours vary based on the destination. Africa tours are the smallest with a maximum of 20 guests, while the United States and Canada tours are the biggest with up to 52 guests. 

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In addition to its standard tours, Trafalgar also offers women-only tours . Other travelers who may enjoy Trafalgar are adventure travelers and foodies. Trafalgar tours start at just under $2,000 for one guest.

3. Collette

No travel company brand has been doing group trips longer than Collette , which has been in business since 1918. The group touring agency goes to all seven continents and has 179 different tour options. Its top tour destinations are Ireland, Italy, and Iceland. 

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Collette’s small group exploration tours allow for 14 to 24 people per tour, while its classic group tours can be up to 44 people. Collette primarily serves an older audience of travelers over 55. Tours with Collette start at just under $1,500 per person. 

4. Grand Circle Travel

Another popular group tour option for travelers over 50 is Grand Circle Travel , which has been in operation since 1958. Grand Circle’s variety of land-based tours and river cruises range in size from 24 to 47. Trips with Grand Circle start around $2,400 but vary based on the destination and season. 

5. Adventures by Disney

The luxury travel arm of Disney, Adventures by Disney is known for its focus on guided family tours . Since its founding in 2005, the company has continued to add new touring options with land- and river cruise-based adventures to destinations worldwide. Tours with Adventures by Disney can have upwards of 40 people, including kids under 10 years old. The tour company does offer some adult-only adventures as well. 

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One reason why travelers choose Adventures by Disney for family vacations is that they likely already partake in other Disney vacations and know the level of service Disney can provide. Adventures start at just under $2,100 for one person for a short two-night escape. 

6. G Adventures

Best known for its cheaper group tours that span the globe from Croatia to Tanzania, G Adventures was founded in 1990 as a way to bridge the divide between solo adventure travel and more mainstream travel. G Adventures focuses on small group trips; the number of travelers per group is typically between 10 to 15 participants. 

7. Intrepid Travel

Eco-conscious travelers will want to consider a group travel vacation with Intrepid Travel , which is known for its active stance on climate action and sustainable travel. Intrepid offers tours for families as well as more strenuous walking tours and cycling tours. Since 1989, Intrepid has been taking small group tours of about 10 people around the world from Bali to Antarctica. 

8. Backroads

Travelers with a more active lifestyle who want to take a group tour will want to look into Backroads , where hiking and biking tours are the main attraction. Backroads has been traveling around the world from famous U.S. national parks to the glaciers of Antarctica since 1979. Backroads offers more than 200 different tours, most of which have an average of 16 participants. Prices start around $2,500 per person. 

9. Classic Journeys

Luxury group tour operator Classic Journeys (founded in 1995) offers tours to destinations around the world, and are especially well tailored to travelers interested in wildlife or local food and drink. These small group tours are typically no larger than 12 guests. Land-based trips start around $3,300. 

10. Thomson Family Adventures

With a focus on family travel, Thomson Family Adventures has been operating group tours to more than a dozen destinations since 1998. These bucket-list-worthy trips are limited to no more than 25 people. Tours start at $3,190 per adult and teen and $2,990 per child. 

11. Road Scholar

Since 1975, Road Scholar has provided educational tours around the world for small groups of 12 participants or less. The trips are ideal for those who want to do a deep dive into a destination’s culture or be immersed in nature. These budget-friendly trips start around $750 per person. 

More from FamilyVacationist:

• 12 Best Hotel Booking Sites for Cheap Prices
• 17 Best Flight Booking Sites for Cheap Airfare
• 10 Best Car Rental Booking Sites for Cheap Prices

The post 11 Guided Tour Companies That Offer Trips around the World appeared first on FamilyVacationist .

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Ford CEO doubles down on affordable EVs after BYD, China’s EV bet is paying off

Ford CEO Jim Farley wants the company to deliver affordable EVs like Henry Ford did with the Model T. However, the hard part is doing so profitably. After China’s bet on EVs “paid off” so far, Ford wants to compete with the best, including BYD.

Ford moves to affordable EVs

Farley believes its next-gen EVs will “not only be profitable, but also affordable for most Americans.”

According to Farley, Ford’s next wave of electric cars will be “competitive with the best in the business.” And right now, Ford believes those EVs are coming from China.

After China’s strategic “bet on EVs” has “paid off so far,” Farley said in an interview with Yahoo Finance , Ford looks to replicate some of the success on US soil.

Farley revealed Ford was “secretly” working on a smaller EV platform to underpin more affordable models earlier this year. Ford is also delaying its larger, electric three-row SUV as it shifts to smaller EV options.

Farley said Ford put together a small “skunk works team with some of the best EV engineers in the world” to develop the new platform.

The team is “filled with a lot of Tesla and Apple people” as the +120-year-old automaker shifts gears.

Farley said, “They are engineering a completely different approach, a different product at a different cost with a much smaller battery and different chemistry.”

Learn from the best to compete with the best

A big reason Ford is shifting plans is expenses. Farley mentioned that NCM batteries, with cobalt, lithium, and nickel, are very expensive and heavy. For example, the F-150 Lightning battery could cost “$30,000 to $40,000.”

Ford’s leader said the company is the first to invest in lower-cost batteries at its Marshall, Michigan plant. Farley claimed it would also be the first to bring it to US customers.

According to Farley, Ford is working with CATL, the global battery leader, to learn IPs and do it themselves. That’s what Ford is doing in Marshall.

Despite talk of Ford rejuvenizing the brand “like the ’80s and ’90s,” Ford plans to lean more into hybrids after slower-than-expected EV demand.

After Ford began using the Tesla Supercharger network earlier this year, Farley said the company has about 100,000 applications. Ford has shipped a couple of thousand NACS adaptors so far.

Farley said Ford “appreciates working with Tesla” and giving drivers access is a good move. Despite this, Ford needs to get out about 90,000 more adaptors. After Farley “texted Elon last night,” he said we would see what he said.

There’s a “mutual respect” between Ford and Tesla as the number one and number two EV makers in the US. According to Farley, it’s a “largely positive” relationship, but it’s still a competition. You can watch the full interview below.

Electrek’s Take

Farley made a good point when asked why China is so good with EVs because the government and competition were quick to back it.

He said China’s government was quick to get behind EV tech with massive tax advantages, free subsidies, and investments in battery makers like CATL. Electric cars in China are expected to account for upwards of 45% of total car sales this year, reaching roughly 10 million as the leading global EV market.

Top comment by super390

Farley knows better than most that Americans have been trained by his corporation and its partners in oligopoly to disdain cars anything like a Model T. If you're middle-class, you borrow too much and then buy huge, and if you're poor, you buy used huge. That's why basic transportation vanished from the American market.

So he can only be talking about overseas markets, where Ford has long been in retreat.

Meanwhile, BYD, China’s leading EV maker, posted its second-highest sales month ever as electric car sales continue trending higher.

BYD sold 146,395 EVs last month, up 22% YOY and 9% from April. BYD stopped making gas-powered cars in 2022 as it shifted its focus to electric.

As the leading producer of rechargeable batteries, BYD already has a significant cost advantage. After launching a series of lower-priced “Honor” edition models, BYD’s cheapest EV, the Seagull, starts at just $9,700 (69,800 yuan) in China. Farley previously called the BYD Seagull “pretty damn good,” warning rivals of BYD’s superior tech.

Can Ford keep up with BYD or other Chinese EV makers? What about Tesla in the US? Drop us a comment to let us know what you think.

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Peter Johnson is covering the auto industry’s step-by-step transformation to electric vehicles. He is an experienced investor, financial writer, and EV enthusiast. His enthusiasm for electric vehicles, primarily Tesla, is a significant reason he pursued a career in investments. If he isn’t telling you about his latest 10K findings, you can find him enjoying the outdoors or exercising

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