Question for Bands and Management

[tomydacat]

The up and coming band that I know well runs on very thin profit margins.

What I'd do is contact some up and coming bands and ask them. There won't be too many layers to go through to get to them or their band leaders or their managers. My guess is that if they are a successful band, they know what their margins are and if their budget could take an extra expense that would afford some benefit.

They might even tell you about their current operations and that will allow you to fine tune your product.

Have you seen bandvan.com?

Thanks I will look in to this for sure ...perfect .. again thanks..

and as i notice these are just vans.. the bus could be used by the band like the van and they would not have the hotel finance as the bus has beds.. again this is just an idea .. thanks for the input

 

[tomydacat]

Also why go buy a van and trailer if you could own your own tour bus

 

[valus]

Also why go buy a van and trailer if you could own your own tour bus

Are you selling or renting the bus?

I know a few guys in regional acts that do the van/trailer thing. The van is their daily driver, and they hook up the trailer when they need to haul gear. You can't do that with a bus.

Moreover, as many people have mentioned, most musicians are broke. There's no money for tour buses.

Seriously, before you go much further with this venture, go price the insurance, licensing, legal fees, etc. The insurance alone will probably be enough to but the brakes on your plan.

 

[Bert Slide]

Cool sign me up. I'll definitely be needing that damage waiver. We are musicians after all!

 

[MattZilla]

A company that busses rich (compared to me) drunks, stoners and trippers around to phish shows, bachelor(ette) parties and wine tours would be something that I'd more quickly invest in.

A band bus company is something that I'd use until they inevitably jack up their prices to match the actual costs of maintaining the fleet and paying drivers who can be trusted to not partake in "band activities" which would definitely lead to no insurance.

 

[tomydacat]

Are you selling or renting the bus?

I know a few guys in regional acts that do the van/trailer thing. The van is their daily driver, and they hook up the trailer when they need to haul gear. You can't do that with a bus.

Moreover, as many people have mentioned, most musicians are broke. There's no money for tour buses.

Seriously, before you go much further with this venture, go price the insurance, licensing, legal fees, etc. The insurance alone will probably be enough to but the brakes on your plan.

I agree with you just thought it was a cool idea.. and i think we would be doing both renting and selling them ..like converting old school buses to gig mobiles. so insurance wouldn't be a big deal if we sell them.

 

[Joe Louvar]

So I’m guessing you scored an inside connection on the used school buses? Out of curiosity, what kind of deals (ballpark $) are you getting these old buses for, and what year, make, mileage, length, etc are they?

 

[valus]

I agree with you just thought it was a cool idea.. and i think we would be doing both renting and selling them ..like converting old school buses to gig mobiles. so insurance wouldn't be a big deal if we sell them.

Incorrect.

Say you sell a bus. As the happy new owner is driving away, a bolt you failed to tighten gives way, some critical part fails, and the bus slams into a granny and her eight grandkids. You're gonna need some insurance then.

All businesses need insurance, especially business putting large vehicles in the hands of musicians on public roadways.

Edited to add: There's just not much of a market for what you're suggesting. And creating a market, in any business, is always challenging, and your journey will be made more difficult by the fact that your target market has no money.

 

[ChrisB2]

LIABILITY!

MAINTENANCE!

DEALING WITH PEOPLE/CUSTOMERS!!

HEADACHES!!

GAHHHH!!!!

I would rather be beaten than operate such a business as this. Believe me, some day (soon) you will regret this undertaking!

Do yourself a HUGE favor. Ditch this idea and instead, buy these buses, trick them out as you describe, and sell them "AS IS" to these bands. Or better yet, invest your money in something more wise like expensive take-out coffee.

 

[pipFunk]

Umm... I don't want to rain on your parade, mate, but I'm pretty sure that if LandRover can't get a Defender (which is built like a brick) into the US because of health and safety requirements, then there'll be a zillion things you have to consider when you do the conversion.

Not the same thing at all, and things may well be different here, but we took a basic transit van and just put extra seats in the back. The floor fixings had to be stress tested, it changed from a yearly van test to a bus test and the seat configuration had to be very exact too, to meet transport department regulations. If you're doing it for yourself I guess you may say "what the heck", and take a chance. But if you do it and sell it, or hire it, something happens and someone gets hurt, then the insurance company is going to walk away the moment they find it's been done wrong. And, that's if you can find someone to insure it in the first place. In the UK, the moment you say musician to the broker it's like *crickets*

Also, for hire vehicles, don't forget you need some kind of back-up vehicle in case it breaks down. If the happens, it's your problem, not the band's!

 

[Dave W]

Say you sell a bus. As the happy new owner is driving away, a bolt you failed to tighten gives way, some critical part fails, and the bus slams into a granny and her eight grandkids. You're gonna need some insurance then.

In that instance wouldn't the owner of the vehicle need the insurance? It's not the businesses responsibility the second they sign the paperwork to buy it.

 

[Joe Louvar]

In that instance wouldn't the owner of the vehicle need the insurance? It's not the businesses responsibility the second they sign the paperwork to buy it.

Both should be insured. In that instance (that soon after the sell) most likely there could or would be a lawsuit against the seller.

 

[tomydacat]

So I’m guessing you scored an inside connection on the used school buses? Out of curiosity, what kind of deals (ballpark $) are you getting these old buses for, and what year, make, mileage, length, etc are they?

well we bought ours for $2000 and re did it probably for $500-$1000 more the engine is now being overhauled to see if anything is wrong or fixed as it has 195k miles. so if we could sell it for say 4500 to 5000 and maybe get another or 2 buses ....

 

[JohnMCA72]

In that instance wouldn't the owner of the vehicle need the insurance? It's not the businesses responsibility the second they sign the paperwork to buy it.

It's one thing to sell a used bus, modified or not, as-is to a private party from a private party. Once you form a business specifically to modify busses for resale, you've put yourself into a whole new liability category.

I'm not referring to liability for what happens operating the vehicle, but for its roadworthiness, safety, equipment & standards of construction, etc. There's a reason that you frequently hear about recalls of vehicles. It's because their manufacturers are on the hook for certain safety & roadworthiness issues. Once you become a "manufacturer", you're on the hook, too. For that matter, your state may have certification requirements just to allow you to do that sort of work (think ambulances, fire trucks, handicap vehicles, etc.).

 

[Bassdirty]

well the angle is that the school bus is set up like a tour bus and would not be as expensive as a tour bus. this is not like a school bus at all it is just the shell and motor..we of course would have more than one bus but you have to start somewhere. this as well is only meant to carry band members and maybe a driver

So..like a tour bus.. but really really cheap.


No offense, but.. Personally, I think any band that is "touring" and needs a tour bus, will get a tourbus. A band that wants to "tour" that cant afford a bus, will use a van.
Now, if your buses are that cheap, then maaayyybe. but then, wheres the profit? you'd need fleets by the hundreds..or more.

I (personally) just can't see a market for it. JMO?

good luck though.

 

[masterFlash]

I think it sounds interesting.
The other day I was pricing out an RV rental for taking my 5 piece upstate for a gig. The gig is 4 almost 5 hours away, so I thought it would be cool, only 1 person has to drive. we could load all the gear in it, save on hotel costs etc...

I might do it for novelty's sake, I'm not sure it's cost effective.

However, if you find that there aren't a lot of bands that could use your busses, there might be a lot of sport fans that would rent the busses as totally sweet mobile tailgate party vehicles.

Especially if it had a large screen tv, roku box and mobile wifi thingy.

 

[tomydacat]

well i do have a lot to look into for sure here.. and as far as road worthiness we are not changing anything in the engine, chassis, or drive train just taking out seats that dont have seatbelts anyway and adding beds and such and a wall between the gear and sleeping area.

 

[tomydacat]

I think it sounds interesting.
The other day I was pricing out an RV rental for taking my 5 piece upstate for a gig. The gig is 4 almost 5 hours away, so I thought it would be cool, only 1 person has to drive. we could load all the gear in it, save on hotel costs etc...

I might do it for novelty's sake, I'm not sure it's cost effective.

However, if you find that there aren't a lot of bands that could use your busses, there might be a lot of sport fans that would rent the busses as totally sweet mobile tailgate party vehicles.

Especially if it had a large screen tv, roku box and mobile wifi thingy.

exactly and it has a xbox 360 in it.. yes and wifi.. how much was the RV for rental??

 

[tomydacat]

So..like a tour bus.. but really really cheap.


No offense, but.. Personally, I think any band that is "touring" and needs a tour bus, will get a tourbus. A band that wants to "tour" that cant afford a bus, will use a van.
Now, if your buses are that cheap, then maaayyybe. but then, wheres the profit? you'd need fleets by the hundreds..or more.

I (personally) just can't see a market for it. JMO?

good luck though.

yes these would be tour buses for bands that have not made it yet.. and that can not afford hotel rooms every night .. and if you can buy a van that gets 10 miles to the gallon for 5000 why not buy a tour bus for the same that has beds in it?

 

[mikegug]

If you are modifying seat configuration, check with DMV and Highway Patrol. There are standards for these things for certain. Seat belting and seat anchoring is a science. Mostly physics.