Martin Atkins has a 30 year career in the music business that includes touring with the bands Public Image Limited, Killing Joke, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails and Pigface, owning an independent record label celebrating its 20th anniversary with over 350 releases, and is an instructor at Columbia College Chicago teaching The Business of Touring, Applied Marketing, and Indie Label Management. He is also the author of the book Tour:Smart. Be sure to catch Martin's presentation at this year's SXSW Music Festival on Wednesday, March 18th at 4:30 pm in Room 18 of the Austin Convention Center.

Going to SXSW? Watch this video:

I nibbled around the edges of it but it comes down to this: FREE IS THE NEW BLACK!

Strangely enough, I've seen a few articles recently in USA Today about sponsors of theatre and opera not following through with promised support and avoiding what amounts to collection calls from struggling organizations. It's tough when the real world comes knocking at your door like a landlord determined to collect the three-week late rent. Maybe a little bit of the real world is good in an arena partially unplugged from the harsh realities of ticket sales and making the most out nothing where ingenuity and imagination are key.

The reaction of a particular children's theatre group was astounding to me. They decided to save money by hiring sub-par actors. Additionally, they started charging $8/person for a performance that had originally been free. Is anyone actually wondering how this might end? It's the same as giving away apple pie, but when you run short of money, you decide to replace the apples with old truck tires you found in the scrap yard. Then on top of that, you decide to start charging for them. If something was free and now you're asking your customer to pay for it, it should be better, right? (Or at least as good).

The idea that someone has to live through the next two months to be able to fill in the blanks in their budget to actually see the sales line plummet through the x-axis on the graph would be hilarious if it wasn't so frightening. It supports the idea of the beginning of this post – that a dose of reality might be helpful in guiding direction and policy.

A t-shirt that says “free is the new black” might be required. The problem is, how do I make money selling a shirt that says “free is the new black?” I still need to think that one through, but it's not going to be by making one, giving it away, running short of money, then making a crappy one where the sleeves fall off and the label is cut (because it is a second) and it's itchy (because it's a cheap blend of fibers) and then try to charge money for it.

So, when you're confused - not by the easy decision you need to make – but by all the external pressures surrounding it that will push you off course, just remember: free is the new black.

This isn't just talk, because talk is cheap. Here's some examples of our recent triumphs with this strategy (keep reading, they benefit you!)

Here are some difficult suggestions

1. Give away a chance to win a guitar to anyone who purchases your book (not that you have to offer an inducement, but how about a free Dean guitar?) www.myspace.com/officialdeanguitars.com
2. How about three months' free subscription to Musician's Atlas?
3. How about $4,000 of musical equipment – a Pearl drums, PreSonus audio interfaces, another Dean guitar, and a free book?
4. How about free advice when you call me on the Tour:Smart hotline (you can only get the number the Tour:Smart SXSW Survival Guide. But, I'm sure by Wednesday afternoon some asshole will have posted it anyway)

For those of you thinking, "well that's alright for you Martin. You can give gear away, but we're a struggling band." We're all struggling. It doesn't make things any better to charge more money for something because people don't have any money anyway. What can you do as a struggling band? Do what bands have always done – make people feel better!

• Play for free. Give your friends an opportunity to let their hair down (if they haven't already ripped it all out) and spend what little money they do have on a pitcher of cheap beer. At a time when people are so emotionally raw and so mentally stressed, it's an entertainer's job to take their minds off of their problems.
• Don't complain. Tune up your guitar. Cut people some slack. Make a difference. That's what we're supposed to do.
• Make it special because it is.

One of our favorite bands Marrow also shared their favorite Tour:Smart tips.

Rent a new vehicle. Old ones will break down. Always. Never have down time. Use free days to flier, network, and give free stuff to locals. You never know where you'll find our newest and biggest fans. Don't assume they'll find you.

See Martin at SXSW:

Wednesday, March 18 - SXSW Austin, TX
* 4:30pm Martin Atkins Tour:Smart Seminar at SXSW! This is a can't miss talk. (Austin Convention Center, Room 18ABC)

Thursday, March 19 - SXSW Austin, TX
* 1:00pm Martin Atkins / Tour:Smart special book signing at Barnes & Noble in the Austin Convention Center – FREE Tour:Smart DVD with book purchase

Friday, March 20, - Waterloo Records, Austin TX - NO BADGE REQUIRED!!
* 12pm Martin Atkins / Tour:Smart mini-lecture and book signing at Waterloo Records (600 North Lamar) – FREE SHIRTS!! www.toursmartwaterloo.eventbrite.com

Saturday, March 21 - Houston, TX
* 6:00pm FREE Tour:Smart DIY Summit at the Meridian (1503 Chartres St). Reserve your spot at the seminar here http://toursmarthouston.eventbrite.com/Seminar is followed by show featuring The Queers, Los Skarnales, The Cute Lepers, Simpleton, SiNDADDY, Poison Arrows, Bozo Porno Circus, Whorehound, and Chant Martin Atkins will be DJing after the first band. Tickets for the show are $12 in advance http://www.meridianhouston.com/ConcertsEvents/tabid/57/Default.aspx#20090430dredge, $14 at the door.

Tuesday, March 24 - Los Angeles, CA
* 2:00pm FREE Tour:Smart DIY Summit co-promoted by Grammy U at University of Southern California's Ground Zero's Coffee House (615 Child's Way - Los Angeles, CA). Limited space! Reserve your space here here – We're giving away Tour:Smart DVDs with purchase of a book and a chance to win a PreSonus Faderport