Touring’s where it’s at right now – and that means someone has to get the band from A to B. Nick Easen reports on the people that put the (rock) biz into business travel...
AS LONG AS TOURING remains one of the biggest sources of income for top earners in the music business, travel managers globally will have a paymaster. Today’s music industry is all about the live thing – and for that, bands need to be on the road. Forget CD sales, music downloads, and retail and radio feats – the global gig and playing to audiences around the world, whether you’re U2, Adele, Lady Gaga, Sade or Elton John, is not only big business but also a source of income for the travel trade. According to Billboard, the music media experts, the concert business rebounded last year, with its top 40 A-list arena headliners making a good deal of their cash from tours. The industry could well be on its way to logging record numbers this year. For example, Sade’s 59-date tour posted over £29 million, while U2’s monumental ‘360° Tour’ generated over £700 million in revenues.