How do bands set their tour dates? Unlike baseball and football teams, which create schedules based on algorithms designed to maximize fan attendance, many bands create their schedules based on attempting to expand the breadth of their fan base. Oftentimes, bands from Europe will go on brief American tours simply to increase exposure in this manner. Many of the music industry's major acts began in Great Britain and began their migration to the United States in this fashion. Practically every major English artist has played multiple tours in North America. These artists include the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Eric Clapton, Coldplay, Radiohead, and many more. Since European bands' American stints are often shorter, catching their American tour dates requires a lot of planning. Often, these bands play together at major festivals, such as "Burning Man" in Northern California and "Coachella" in Southern California. For a while, the Lollapalooza festival was a major tour date, but the overcommercialization of Lollapalooza led to a mass exodus of major bands and the eventual collapse of the festival as a touring entity. Typically, professional booking agents deal with a band's booking, but most acts still maintain a certain degree of control over where they tour. These days, bands almost always list their future tour dates on their websites. If you are really proactive, you can contact your favorite band's booking agency to find out more information about unlisted future tour dates. Band fans often collect a full spectrum of tour memorabilia, including tickets, posters, live tour albums, and even prizes and ephemera from shows. |
