You found out where you could park the van, loaded in your gear, did sound check, had a decent meal, played a stellar gig, sold some merch, got back to the hotel in one piece, peeled off your stage clothes, and tucked yourself into bed. It was a good gig!
Now that the morning light is shining through the vertical blinds of your hotel window, it’s time to grab a coffee and a bagel and hit the road again. The next gig is a five-hour drive, so you’ve got some time to hunker down in the back seat and catch up on some band business (even though your brain is a little fuzzy, you push through).
Touring is generally grueling, and what often makes it that way is the downtime: the driving, the waiting — those limbo periods. Well, luckily you can use that time to maintain and even grow your music business and creative output.
We’ve put together a list of seven great apps that keep you organized, connected, productive AND creative while you’re on (and off) tour. Use these to make your work quicker and easier so you can get a couple more hours of shut-eye before tonight’s show.
1) Optune
Before you even leave home for the great wide open, you should be using this app to get you and your band organized. It’s a cloud-based booking management tool that helps you score, schedule, communicate, plan and execute your gigs. And it comes with invoice and contract features. It’s the booking.com of the live music industry!
2) Onescreener
Is your website up-to-date? Do you have a website at all? If not, then here is your solution. Take your best band photo, your links, videos, and your upcoming gigs listings (which can be streamed directly from your Optune account, conveniently), and plug them into this super easy-to-use website designer. Within minutes you’ll have a simple and slick-looking site that you can promote the sh*t out of.
3) Buffer
The wheels on your tour van have to stop turning for pee breaks, but the wheels on your social media machine can keep on rollin’. Buffer is your answer to streamlining your content creation and posting duties. As they say, “Craft the perfect post for each social network, all in one place. Create a preset publishing schedule for each social account”. A little planning can go a long way.
4) Merch Cat
Put simply, make more money! Sell your merch, keep track of your inventory, and get reports and analytics on what’s hot and what’s not. You can also order customized merch and keep your followers in the loop with the Merch Cat Fan app.
5) Muzooka
Your Artist Assets are rarely more important than when you’re planning and promoting a tour. Muzooka is a hub where you can store, manage and distribute your photos, videos and other media assets across a multitude of platforms. They’ve also automated the submission of live setlists to Performing Rights Organizations. Now THAT is useful.
6) Songspace
“No more scattered files across emails, apps and computers — your Songspace catalog stores all of your music, lyrics, collaborations and information around your songs in one place”. We think this is a great idea for those musicians and bands who are inspired to do some writing when they’re traveling. Use this app to manage writing splits, and save yourself some headaches down the road.
7) Topline
Developed by Abbey Road Studios, Topline is basically a recording studio in your smartphone. You never know when the muses might visit, so be ready to record your ideas on-the-fly with his handy and comprehensive tool. Even The Beatles never had such a thing.
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