As part of our Horizon Future Leaders series of interviews, we are connecting with the music industry’s next generation of leaders to gather candid advice and insights into their career journeys.
This week we caught up with freelance tour manager Abby Meysenburg, whose hands-on, DIY approach has seen her grow from interning at a local grassroots venue to promoting to now running her own freelance tour management business.
Abby is a testament to collaboration over competition, sharing her advice on the importance of building experience in local scenes, and why supporting your peers can be the key to long-term success.
Read the full Q&A with Abby below 👇
What’s your current role in the music industry?
I’m a freelance tour manager!
What does your general day to day look like?
My days vary so greatly depending on whether I am at home or on the road.
At home, I am often working on budgets for upcoming tours, organising transit and accommodation, advancing shows with venues, and liaising with artists’ managers and booking agents.
On the road, I am responsible for getting the band and crew from point A to point B, making sure that everyone has food, water and adequate rest, overseeing soundcheck, setting up and selling the artist’s merch, working with venue and security staff to ensure a safe gig, and settling payments with promoters.
Each day is different and it’s very rare that I get bored!
What steps did you take early in your career to gain experience and build skills to get you where you are now?
I studied Music Management in Liverpool and, whilst I was a student, I worked on the bar at the local O2 venues, volunteered at a grassroots music venue, went to multiple gigs and open mics each week, and blogged about the music I loved.
Through each of those experiences, I met people who later became collaborators or clients, and I worked out which areas of the industry I wanted to focus on in the next steps of my career.
What opportunities did you explore early on that were particularly valuable?
I graduated from university during the first lockdown and knew that, if and when things reopened, there would be a lack of live opportunities for new bands. I built a brand called Bed And Breakfast which focused on promoting gigs in unconventional spaces and small businesses.
Through Bed And Breakfast, I ended up booking, promoting and managing tours for my friends Sara Wolff and Astles. The experiences I had on those tours clarified that I was better suited for tour management than promoting.
I pivoted from there by speaking to tour managers in my network, joining relevant Facebook groups (Women In Live Music and NOWIE are two I would recommend), and eventually connecting with an experienced tour manager who became my mentor and collaborator.
Has the opportunity landscape changed since then?
Though my ‘early career’ was only a couple of years ago, I think it has become even harder for bands and prospective tour managers to do DIY tours. Many of the venues I used to rely on have since closed and accommodation can be expensive, even if you’re looking at hostels or Premier Inns.
That being said, I have noticed that social media sites, such as Discord and TikTok, make it easier than ever to find kindred spirits nationally and internationally with whom you can ‘gig swap’, crash on each other’s sofas, and help build a wider community.
Are there any specific internships, projects, or initiatives that you would recommend to newcomers looking to pursue a similar role?
I spent a lot of time during university applying for internships in London and New York to no avail and remember feeling disheartened.
I ended up interning at the grassroots music venue that I had been volunteering for in Liverpool. I learned a lot whilst interning at this venue and I took on a lot of invaluable responsibility - likely much more responsibility than an internship at a larger company would have offered me.
Therefore, I am a big believer in building the role you want rather than waiting for it to come to you and, also, in staying local rather than running to a major city!
As well, when I started Bed And Breakfast, I received funding and mentorship from the PRS Foundation, which was massively helpful. And finally, I would recommend the programmes that Brighter Sound offers, if you are based in the North. Their Business Accelerator course changed the game for me!
What advice do you have for building and leveraging a professional network in the music industry?
First things first, be kind and attentive! This industry can feel a bit cutthroat at times, so showing genuine interest in what other people are doing and communicating passion for your own work goes a long way.
Going to events like The Great Escape or UK Music mixers can sometimes feel overwhelming but by focussing on introducing yourself to just a couple of people, it can start to feel more manageable.
I’m also a big fan of the mindset of ‘collaboration over competition’. It can be so hard to ‘make it’ in this industry and it’s easy to view other people’s successes as your failures.
Instead, position yourself as a cheerleader for the people coming up in the industry alongside you and explore how you can work together rather than against each other. Through collaboration, the likelihood of good, innovative work being made increases and you will probably feel loads better!
How has the evolving digital landscape impacted your role, and where do you focus to stay ahead?
In a lot of ways, tour management is an area of the industry where one can hide out from the digital landscape. However, I have noticed an increase in requests to schedule content opportunities in touring itineraries, as TikTok continues to be vital in artists’ growth.
I also think tour management hasn’t been affected too much by AI, at least not yet. AI will probably eventually be able to route, plan and advance a tour, but it will never make an artist feel safe and seen when they’re in the throes of touring, which can be a vulnerable and exhausting experience.
So I set my focus on being as present and helpful as I can for the artists and managers I work with!
What trends or changes do you see on the horizon for the music industry, and how can early career professionals prepare for them?
Unfortunately, I think the current state of politics indicates that touring will become even more expensive as countries implement more visa and carnet requirements.
I think we’re reaching a tipping point where the debts that up-and-coming artists are accumulating by touring will be fully unsustainable and we’ll see fewer tours through small and mid-sized venues.
Again, I think the best thing early career professionals can do is look local and focus on building experience in the scenes and communities around them.
What’s one piece of advice you wish someone had given you at the start of your career?
As I was starting my career, the advice I often heard was to seize every opportunity, to shake every hand and go to every gig, to never take a break. I was not very well at that time and remember feeling that I would never ‘make it’ because sometimes I couldn’t make it out of bed.
I wish someone had told me that taking care of myself was important and that nothing productive would come if I was not in a good place within myself. I now find that pausing and taking time away from music often makes me more creative and present when I return to my work.