“I pay $6,000 a month now to my business manager and lawyer. Yeah, I hate the business side of the business.”
This was “Ryan” (name changed), a traveling musician at the recent Wildflower Festival in Richardson, Texas. His music experience is different than my own.
While volunteering at the Dallas Songwriters Association table, I sat with some of the artists and listened in as they compared notes about life on the road. One was from Boston, another from Wyoming, the other from Nashville. Here are some differences between their music lifestyle and that of my band, Merry and the Mood Swings:
Touring artist: Travels all over the country and the world, singing their own original songs.
Mood Swings: Travels all over the Dallas area, singing their own original songs
Touring artist: Has a band, but often can’t pay for them to travel, so must hire an unfamiliar band to back them up in whatever town they are in.
Mood Swings: Always plays with the same band members, with an occasional sit-in.
Touring artist: When they can’t hire a local band, sometimes they perform solo.
Mood Swings: Never does solo work, but on rare occasion sends two or three ‘Swings out to do an “acoustic” set.
Touring artist: Has booking agent working the phones, negotiating accommodations and fees, and promoting the artist. Agent keeps a percentage of whatever artist makes.
Mood Swings: Do all of the above on our own. We keep whatever we make.
Touring artist: Earns enough money to pay for entertainment lawyers and agents because the artist can’t do it by themselves.
Mood Swings: Wishes we earned enough money to pay for lawyers and agents so we didn’t have to do it by ourselves.
Touring artist: Has some difficulty writing new songs because of distractions such as traveling, meetings, recording sessions, and shows.
Mood Swings: Has some difficulty writing new songs because of distractions such as day jobs, family responsibilities, meetings, recording sessions, and shows.
The last difference is the one that weighs the most. It is what makes me grateful that I and my bandmates get to live a rich musical life, but without some of the toll that touring musicians pay:
Touring artist: Has 150 gigs in an average year, a second home in Nashville (or L.A.), and sees his family on occasion.
Mood Swings: Has about 24 gigs a year, one home in Dallas, and sees family every day.
