Five key banking tips for touring artists

With more and more artists touring in countries where they have never traditionally been, how is this changing landscape of touring challenging the professionals around the artists? Artists are reaching bigger, more diverse audiences, which means there is a lot more money involved.

In the fast-paced world of music, where creativity meets commerce, managing money in the face of fluctuating income whilst juggling creative and touring commitments can be a huge challenge. So, as touring schedules are well and truly under way for 2025, I’ve pieced together my top five banking tips to help professionals involved in the financial aspects of touring to maintain good financial management while hitting the road this year.

1. Set up a business bank account
A dedicated account is a far more tax efficient way to manage artists’ money and allows you to operate the tour as a business activity. It can also allow artists and their representatives to give their accountant, business manager, or a trusted person access to their bank account. This means they can leave the day-to-day operation of the account, salary payments, and hotel invoices to those they trust, allowing them to focus on touring, performing, and growing their fanbase.

2. Negotiate a competitive FX spread
An FX spread is what banks charge their clients for exchanging from one currency to another. Some of the questions I ask my clients are: What currencies do you need to trade (basically, what countries are you touring in)? How much will you be exchanging? And how frequently? It’s a good idea to have this conversation before the tour starts. Having a bespoke spread tailored to the currencies that matter to you can make a huge difference to your income and costs.

3. Access to people at the bank
Having an experienced professional on the other end of the phone is a total game changer. One of the main banking frustrations that touring professionals have is the inability to get in contact with anyone when their card gets blocked due to using it in different countries. Recently, one of my clients was trying to pick up the tab for dinner whilst on tour but couldn’t pay even though they had ample money in their bank account. They called me and we were able to get the card unblocked with our private banking helpdesk within minutes. I make it a point to introduce my clients to a few people within my team so that they always have two or three banking contacts to call in the event of an emergency.

“The music industry is an exciting world of passion and creativity but also one of immense financial complexity”

4. Activate banking on the go
We live in a world where everything is done at our fingertips. Our business online banking is available on an app, which means you or your accountant or business manager can make payments whilst on the go. It also means artists and their representatives can check their accounts and see what is coming in and out at every moment.

5. Get yourself an experienced relationship manager
This is vital because your relationship manager understands that you may not earn everything in your personal name or that earnings could be in euros or US dollars as well as sterling but is still open to having a conversation about your lending needs, for example, getting a mortgage.

I have not known an artist’s income stream to ever be straightforward. I recently spoke to a client who earned significant money in euros but had been struggling for two months to find a mortgage to buy a home in the UK. Because I understood their unconventional income structure, I was able to turn around a mortgage offer with my lending partner within three working days.

The music industry is an exciting world of passion and creativity but also one of immense financial complexity. Ultimately, the financial challenges musicians and other touring professionals face are not just about money – it goes beyond that to understanding their finances and not being afraid to ask someone to explain it to them. This will not only help them with good financial management but also helps with better contract negotiation and decision making.

• Get in touch to find out how we can help:
  Etiksha Patel | Head of Sports, Music and Entertainment
  [email protected]

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