Best Laid Plans: Reconciling Touring Ambition With Reality

SPEAKERS

Moderator
Misty Roberts | Tour Manager

Tina Farris | CEO & Owner / Tina Farris Tours
Randy Hutson | SVP of Music / PRG
Lenore Kinder | SVP, Music / Wasserman Music
Meesha Kosciolek | Dir. of Production / Messina Touring Group

When setting out on tour, most artists have big dreams of production with pyro, stage designs, big visuals and more. While production is an important factor of any live tour, it can result in high costs that often come out of an artist’s own budget.

At this year’s Production Live! conference, Misty Roberts (Tour Manager), Meesha Kosciolek (Director of Production, Messina Touring Group), Lenore Kinder (SVP, Music, Wasserman Music), Randy Hutson (SVP, PRG Music Group) and Tina Farris (CEO, Tina Farris Tours) want to set the record straight on how artists should temper their expectations.

They want to inform newer acts about just how pricey production can be, and how with tighter budgets a big show is not always realistic. After having to pay out for transportation, crew costs, lodging and more, it’s possible a big production can’t happen.

“Artists show up with Super Bowl dreams on mixtape money – talking pyro, 12 dancers and a flying entrance, like we’re on ‘The Voice.’ But this ain’t a soundstage with a movie budget,” Tina Farris tells Pollstar. “This is touring – where routing is real, guarantees are tight, and that LED wall costs more than your van. The fantasy’s cute, but the road don’t care. We’re budgeting delusions before we even leave rehearsal.”

With touring becoming pricier than ever (costs never truly lowered following the sup-ply-chain shortage stemming from the pan-demic), and younger artists heading out on the road, it’s important they’re aware of the limitations in touring. Oftentimes, the first several tours are lucky to break even – adding in production costs can cause up-and-coming artists to fall into debt.

Even bigger shows with established artists have been affected by rising production costs in recent years. While speaking with Pollstar last year, Meghan Trainor noted she chose to have backup dancers over a live band for her “Timeless Tour,” as she wanted to dance and deliver a real pop show.

Since 2020, inflation has increased by 21.7%, according to the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers. This has marked the highest rate of inflation in 40 years, with the peak rise taking place in June 2022 with inflation increasing by 9.1%. While touring has been evening out in recent years – no longer is everyone desperate to get back on the road after having spent a couple of years stuck at home – costs haven’t lowered.

Roberts has been a tour manager for over 20 years, and is an advocate for pay parity, women’s equality and diversity in touring.

Kosciolek has also been in the biz for more than 20 years, with experience as a production manager for various artists and a promoter representative for MTG. Hutson has toured with James Taylor and worked with Taylor Swift, Prince, Robert Plant and more. Kinder has worked with artists including Kacey Musgraves, while Farris has been a tour manager for more than 20 years and worked with Anderson Paak, Lil Wayne and more.

While it’s important to want to deliver an incredible experience for fans, the “Best Laid Plans: Reconciling Touring Ambition with Reality” panel hopes to discuss how to make touring cost-effective. The discussion takes place at Production Live! on Tuesday, April 15, at the Beverley Hilton in Los Angeles, California.