Tour Coordinator Jobs

About This Music Career

When on tour, the Tour Coordinator is one of the most important jobs. This individual is responsible for coordinating all of the many aspects of an act's tour, including overseeing everything that is undertaken by tour staff while on the road. It is the responsibility of the Tour Coordinator to manage the road personnel while also supervising the act.

There is a lot of planning and preparation the Tour Coordinator must engage in before the act even hits the road. He or she must work with the act's Management, Publicists, and Booking agents to map locations and schedule. With the Publicist, the Tour Coordinator discusses possible appearances, radio visits, interviews and special promotions for each city tour stop.

It is also the Tour Coordinator who works out transportation for entourage members whether they are musicians, singers, etc. Depending on how far they are traveling, the Tour Coordinator makes decisions like whether or not air transportation should be chartered or commercial. If traveling on the road, the Tour Coordinator maps out the best routes and makes reservations at hotels and rents cars, limos, buses, etc. With so much travel, it is important the tour Coordinator makes plans as economically as possible.

The Tour Coordinator and the Tour Manager work closely together, and many of their responsibilities are interchangeable. Sometimes the Tour Coordinator acts as the Road Manager as well. The Tour Coordinator much keep in close contact with the act's Management and Agent to let them know that everything is going according to schedule.

Anything that goes wrong and needs fixing, it is usually up to the Tour Coordinator to figure it out, whether the tour bus breaks down and other means of transportation is needed, or if a backup singer becomes sick and needs to be replaced.

Most tours are long (averaging six to eight weeks), the hours are irregular, and life on the road is extremely difficult – it is definitely not for everyone. The Tour Coordinator must be able to handle all of the responsibilities previously mentioned, and so much more, while everyone is under tremendous pressure.

The Tour Coordinator is pretty much always working, and is always on call for the act, the act's Management, the act's family, etc. They must truly love music and travel to succeed in this position.

Salaries
Because of the many responsibilities and working conditions, Tour Coordinator salaries average between $850 and $2,000 per week, plus other expenses and per diem. More prestigious tours allow for the Tour Coordinator to earn $3,500 a week plus expenses and bonuses. It is not uncommon for the Tour Coordinator to be paid a reduced salary while a group is not actively working in order to retain his or her services.

Employment
There are very few jobs in this area, so employment prospects are not good. As the price of touring increases, there are tours that employ fewer and fewer personnel, using Road Managers instead of Tour Coordinators.

Advancement
A Tour Coordinator can advance their career by finding success and then becoming a Tour Coordinator for a more prestigious act. Some Tour Coordinators make the jump to personal management or even booking.

Education and Training

Being a Tour Coordinator does not require a formal education, but due to competition, having a college background in accounting, bookkeeping, psychology, publicity or the music business in general is helpful.

Experience, Skills, and Personality
Prior to becoming Tour Coordinators, these individuals were roadies, road managers, and publicists. Some Tour Coordinators worked as travel agents or travel escorts prior. Due to the grueling nature of a tour, the most important trait a Tour Coordinator can have is a love of the road and travel. Really, the Tour Coordinator must like living out of a suitcase, and must remain extremely organized.

Unions and Associations
There aren't any unions or associations specific to the Tour Coordinators position.

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