If you are in a band, you need this book. If you are thinking about joining or starting a band, you need this book. Crew member, tech guy, or roadie? Yep. If you are a music business major at university, this should be on your syllabus. If it isn't, have a sit-down with your professor, then go buy this book.

Billed as "the first real book about the business of touring," Tour Smart combines the experience of over 100 industry professionals to give you all the info on touring. When I say all the info, I truly mean it. The book covers the topics you would expect it to, like merchandising, advertising, budgets, and contracts. But it delves so much deeper, giving tips on maintaining a mailing list, managing a guest list, the basics of using Excel spreadsheets, what to do when your gear gets stolen, even tips on getting along with band and crew while on the road.

Martin Atkins has toured both as a band member and as a manager, and he has compiled advice from tour managers, promoters, musicians, producers, archivists, engineers, venue owners, and more - all people who have genuine experience on the road and with live music.

Each brief chapter is broken down into even shorter sections, some only a few sentences long. This makes it easy to find information on the precise topic you need. For example, the "Transportation" chapter is broken down into sections on traveling by bus, car, or van, tips for a safe ride, even van aesthetics. The sections on budgeting are very well illustrated, with Excel screen shots, actual band contracts, budgets, and riders. To make it even easier, each chapter concludes with a Cliff's Notes-style list that quickly sums up the important points.

Tour Smart breaks down all the boring, nitty-gritty details that most people don't want to bother with. After all, it is tiresome to learn how to budget - but it is necessary. Tour Smart does this without turning into an accounting book, or some sort of stale textbook. It reads like it was written by rock n' rollers - because it was. It makes it easy to learn all the stuff you just rolled your eyes at. The only thing to watch out for is that the book is huge - nearly 600 pages, weighing 10 pounds or so, which makes it a bit difficult to travel with when space is at a premium. A condensed travel version would be a great idea, something with little reminders about the most important stuff.