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- Plan and manage tours for entertainers, musicians, and other artists
- Opportunities to travel and be part of an industry you have a passion for
- You'll need excellent planning and organising skills, negotiation skills, and calmness under pressure
As a tour manager in the entertainment industry you might work for a tour management company or you might work directly for an artist, theatre company, or agent.
DAY-TO-DAY DUTIES
- Plan and organise all aspects of a tour, whether in one country or around the world
- Plan the dates and routes
- Be responsible for booking venues and negotiating prices
- Organise travel and accommodation for the performers and crew
- Hire the crew and oversee them
- Manage budgets and costs
- Make sure everything runs smoothly during the tour
DAY-TO-DAY ENVIRONMENT
You might spend part of your time planning tours in an office and then you might join the performers on the road for part or all of the tour itself.
Your working hours can be long and highly varied depending on what kind of tour you are managing and whether you spend time out on tour, but you can expect to work evenings and weekends at busy times.
You'll need
There is no set route to become a tour manager, but you'll need a real understanding of and passion for the part of the industry you're working in, whether that's comedy, classical music, pop-music, or theatre.
Qualifications in events management and promotion may help you gain the skills and experience you need, and volunteering to work for amateur bands or theatre companies will also help you get started.
Being able to demonstrate fantastic organisation and negotiating skills will be crucial to gaining this kind of work, so experience of managing events of any kind, and business experience will help you on your way.
CAREER PROSPECTS
You'll start out with smaller artists and performers, and as you progress through the industry will plan tours of bigger and more famous artists.