DIY Touring on a Budget: Booking Agents, Guarantees, and Rider Basics
By Written by Peter McVeigh
Nobody is going to hand you a tour. If you want to get out and play, here is the honest guide to booking it yourself, what to ask for, and how not to lose money doing it.
The first proper tour I was involved in, we booked it ourselves. Twelve dates, a van, a spreadsheet, and a lot of phone calls to venue bookers who had never heard of us.
It was exhausting. It was also one of the best things we ever did, because we learned more about the music business in those three weeks than in the years before and after put together. Touring teaches you things that no amount of industry advice can replicate.
But it also cost us more than it needed to, because we did not know what we were doing when it came to the money side. This article is everything I know now that I wish I had known then.
Do You Actually Need a Booking Agent Right Now
The honest answer for most independent artists is no, not yet.
Booking agents earn their money by taking a percentage of your live fee, usually somewhere between ten and fifteen percent, and they do that work effectively when you already have enough demand to justify their time. A good agent has relationships with promoters and venues, and they leverage those relationships to get you better shows and better deals than you could negotiate alone.
But an agent who takes you on before you have a proven live draw is going to do very little for you. They have too many clients with more traction to spend their time pitching an act nobody has heard of yet.
The time to pursue a booking agent is when you are selling out small venues consistently, when you are generating genuine interest online, or when you have a record coming out that creates a reason for promoters to take a risk on you. Until then, booking your own shows is not a consolation prize. It is the job.
How to Book Venues Without an Agent
The process is less mysterious than it sounds.
Start local. Build a relationship with the venues in your city and the cities closest to you. Go to shows there. Get to know the people who book them. The music industry runs on relationships, and that is even more true at the grassroots level than at the top.
When you approach a venue, be professional. Send a short email with your press kit, links to your best live video, an idea of what draw you think you can deliver in their room, and what you are looking for. Keep it concise. Venue bookers receive a large volume of requests and the ones that are clear, specific, and well-presented get taken seriously.
Be honest about where you are. If you are a developing act, say so. Offer to support an established act rather than headlining if that gets you in the room. Support slots are how you build an audience outside your home city.
Understanding the Guarantee
A guarantee is the minimum fee you are promised regardless of ticket sales. It is the most important financial term in any live deal.
Some venues offer a flat guarantee. You play, they pay the agreed amount, and that is the deal. Others offer a deal against the door, where you receive a percentage of ticket income rather than a flat fee.
A versus deal, written as something like a hundred pounds versus seventy percent of the door, means you receive whichever is greater: the guarantee or the percentage. This is a better structure for you than either a flat guarantee alone or a pure percentage, because it protects you if attendance is low while giving you upside if the show sells well.
When you are starting out, getting any guarantee at all is a win. But you should always ask what the deal is before you agree to play anywhere. Walking into a show with no agreed terms is how artists end up playing for nothing, or worse, for a vague promise that never materialises.
The Rider: What It Is and What to Ask For
A rider is a list of requirements attached to your contract, setting out what the venue or promoter is expected to provide.
At the level most independent artists are working at, a rider is not about demanding bottles of champagne and specific coloured Smarties. Those stories exist, and some of them are real, but they are not relevant to where most of us start. Your rider at an early stage should be practical and reasonable.
A basic rider might include: a sound check of a specified minimum length, a clearly outlined PA specification if you are providing sound, meals or a food buyout for the band and crew, a hospitality budget or a specific number of drinks, parking or travel reimbursement, and a defined number of guest list places.
Include a rider in every contract. Not because you expect to get everything on it, but because having it in writing sets expectations clearly and gives you a reference point if things go wrong on the day.
The Budget: What Gets You Into Trouble
Most artists who lose money on tour lose it for the same reasons.
Underestimating travel costs is the most common one. Petrol, van hire, and parking add up fast. Build your budget from the actual cost of getting from point A to point B and back, not a rough guess.
Accommodation is the other one. Sleeping on floors and staying with friends keeps costs down, but it is not always possible on every date of a run. Budget accommodation costs honestly, especially if you have multiple people in the party.
Meals and per diems are easy to overlook. Eating on the road is expensive. Budget a daily amount per person for food and stick to it.
Equipment carnage. Things break on the road. Strings, drum heads, leads, and occasionally more significant things. Keep a small fund for unexpected equipment costs.
The principle is simple: build your total costs first, then work out what you need to earn from shows to cover them. If the numbers do not work, either reduce costs, add dates, or wait until you can command fees that make the tour viable.
Making the Most of Every Date
A show is not just the show. It is the email list you build that night, the merchandise you sell, the people who follow you because they saw you play, and the conversations backstage that turn into the next opportunity.
Always collect email addresses. A mailing list built over years of touring is one of the most valuable things an artist can own. No algorithm controls it and no platform can take it away from you.
Sell merchandise at every show. Even a small selection of t-shirts and physical releases creates income that the door deal alone rarely provides.
Connect with the other acts on the bill. The music industry is smaller than it looks, and the support act you share a green room with tonight might be the headline act you support in two years.
Disclaimer
This article reflects personal experience and professional opinions. Venue deals, fees, and touring costs vary significantly by region, genre, and market. Always put financial agreements in writing and seek professional advice where appropriate.