Cash is on the decline (almost) everywhere, and being able to accept card payments is basically essential to any touring merch seller. However, once you leave the UK, you can run in to issues with some of the more common readers. This is a run down of the major card payment terminals available to artists and merch sellers in the UK, and the pros and cons of each.
One of the biggest skill jumps in your career as a Tour Manager will be from van tours to bus tours, and it’s a step that requires a whole host of new knowledge that might not be immediately obvious.
Since Brexit, carrying merch out of the UK in to Europe and vice versa is at least moderately more complicated than it once was. This guide is written from my experience as a tour manager for small and mid sized tours in Europe by UK and international artists and is not intended as legal advice – It just details how I’ve seen things work in practice, and may be subject to change.
I’m a big fan of Budapest for a lot of reasons. It’s still (just about) an affordable city for short trips from the UK if you stay away from the obvious tourist traps (although some below you should still check out).
I went to Iceland for the first time about six years ago. I took a solo trip, hired a car and drove The Golden Circle – a circular route of natural landmarks that takes about a day to get around – and then along the south coast to Jokulsarlon. Otherwise I mostly just hung out in Reykjavik, but I loved it…
An ATA Carnet (I’ll probably just call it a carnet from here on) is a legal document which allows you to take “professional equipment”, or in this case musical instruments, audio equipment, lights, stage props, tools etc. out of the country temporarily without paying any tax or duties on them.
This is a list I made back at the end of last year, updated solely for the purposes of kicking off the blog on this page. 2022 felt like a really strong year for music in a way that 2023 has yet to.
