Touring Production Company Positions
The job that I’m seeking upon graduating from university centers on event management/production management. I’m not entirely sure of what position I would ultimately want, however I understand in this industry it’s very much about starting at the bottom and working your way up. Whether I join a company and work from its headquarters in a particular city or join a touring company and travel, I’m also unsure of just yet. Jobs in this industry generally aren’t advertised, and it’s more or less a case of not what you know, but who you know. For this reason, it’s really difficult to ascertain salaries, working hours etc. Having worked in conjunction with a music production company for the last few years, I have a fair idea of the type of work involved in concert tour management and event coordination. Workers are generally on contracts for the duration of a particular artist’s tour (within Australia). They work incredibly long hours and don’t leave until everything is finished (this is often 3am in the morning). They are constantly contactable and have to be extremely flexible in their lifestyles i.e. not ideal for families, partners, mortgage etc. A general assistant tour coordinator’s salary is somewhere in the vicinity of $40-$50K p.a. Given the somewhat “behind closed doors” nature of the job, there are no internet forums or sites that I could find that discussed work in the industry. There is a Facebook group that’s for the general media industry; however this applies more to workers in film and television rather than music.
Some of the companies that I would be interested in working for are Frontier Touring Company, MC Productions and RoundHouse Entertainment, however none of these companies advertise positions. Roundhouse is the only company that uses volunteer workers at events, so this may be an opportunity to gain work experience. Frontier Touring Company has an interesting section on their website outlining job positions and profiles. Most of the profiles state that employees have no degree and were basically in the right place at the right time, emphasising personal relationships over CVs.
Two advertised positions that appealed to me were city based, however both required a portfolio of coordinated events and strong existing relationships with clients. These jobs would be more appropriate in several years once I have a strong body of work behind me and have tired of travelling. The first is for an events company, advertised through seek.com, however the company name was with-held. The salary was $75K p.a. plus super which is obviously not an entry level position. A strong background in business was also required, with arts/commerce degrees looked favourably upon (which is refreshing!). It’s apparent that without a degree, one can only go so far in this industry. The second job has just been de-listed, however it was for the position of events manager for Film Victoria- which would be my ideal job. I have a strong background in film and would love this Melbourne based position. This job was also advertised through seek.com but with-held all details of salary, starting date, contracts, working hours etc. In looking at jobs in this industry it’s clear that I need to start gaining experience now. This means volunteering (free labour) with several companies to build a broad base of experience. In terms of the New International Division of Labour, this position is indicative of where labour in this country appears to be headed, with workers changing positions frequently, working extremely long hours, being always contactable (the division between home and work eroding) and working to rigid and inflexible contracts that promise flexibility and diversity in the role.
