What is a Music Touring Assistant and What Does the Job Involve

Music Touring Assistants help keep the show on the road - literally. The job of a Music Touring Assistant is integral when it comes to making live music happen. Here, we’ll guide you through everything involved in a Music Touring Assistant job

Music Touring Assistant Job Description

A Music Touring Assistant will work to support artists, crew, venue owners, and other relevant parties when it comes to putting on live performances throughout the duration of a music artist’s tour.

Typically, the Music Touring Assistant will play an assisting role in helping with the logistics side of things. They’ll help with everything from ensuring an artist arrives at a venue on time, to liaising with the sound crew so that the performance is a success, to help with booking hotel rooms for the other members of the touring crew.

Basically, they’ll make sure that everything runs smoothly, so that the artist can deliver a great performance, an audience is able to be wowed by the power of live music - and all parties involved in the tour are able to benefit.

What is an Entry-Level Touring Assistant, and How Can I Start in This Role?

A touring assistant is often an entry-level role within the live music sector. Typically, a touring assistant will work with artists, crew, managers, venue owners, and other parties to ensure that each gig in the tour is a success.

Live music tours are surprisingly technical affairs, and each gig requires many assistants for problem-solving and communication.

If you’re starting from scratch, the best way to eventually become a Touring Assistant is to gain some applied experience; this means going and talking to a local band in your area and seeing if they need help setting up for their live shows - watch what they do, learn from the crew you're working with, and put in the effort to understand the ropes.

Then, when you find a place hiring a Music Touring Assistant, you’ll be able to leverage your experience and get the job.

Music Touring Assistant Salary

A Music Touring Assistant's salary will vary depending on experience, location, and whether you’re part of a well-known organization or not (or whether you’re a freelancer or not). Music Touring Assistants can make between $30,000 to $50,000 a year, according to online aggregators.

However, there is a lot of career development within this role, meaning that Assistants often go on to Lead Touring Managers, netting themselves a lot more money.

Music Touring Assistant Responsibilities

Let’s take a quick look at some of the main responsibilities of a Music Touring Assistant:

Logistics: A MTA will oversee much of the logistics involved in getting an artist on stage and in front of an audience. They might, in some way, deal with things like transportation, accommodation, scheduling, tour itineraries, rehearsals, sound checks, and ensuring that all crew members and management teams are happy.
On-Site Assistance: Music Touring Assistants will be there on the day of a live performance itself, to deal with any issues or extenuating circumstances. They’ll be front-and-center when it comes to setting up merch stands, dealing with artist riders, and ensuring that all equipment is present so the show goes off without a hitch.
Communication: This is one of the biggest responsibilities of a Touring Assistant (and one that is frequently overlooked!) Touring Assistants will often form part of the team that liaises between the artists themselves and the people on the ground at the venue/town/city where the artist is playing. Every gig you’ve ever been to has been made possible by the background works that have communicated with everyone involved (and dealt with some of the big egos out there in the music industry!).

Conclusion: What Happens On Tour…Can Help Excel In Your Career

The job of a Tour Assistant isn’t for everyone. It can be incredibly demanding, time-consuming, and involve a lot of problem-solving, ego-salving, and deadline-meeting.

That being said, this is one of the most important jobs in the live music industry, and the industry itself simply wouldn’t exist without the thousands of assistants out there putting in the leg work.

Touring Assistants might start at an entry level, but the experience they earn by being at the frontline of the industry will stand them in good stead as they advance further in their careers. Becoming a Touring Assistant is the first step to becoming a Tour Manager, a gig booker, an artist manager, or any other executive role within the music industry.

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The number of opportunities may surprise you, and you won’t need to be an expert concert pianist to succeed. If you're considering a path in the music industry, take the first steps and follow your dreams! Read The Beginner's Guide to Working in Music for you to get started!