For bands who manage themselves
Band management software
Band management software, or musician management software, keeps the business of a band in one place: the gigs, the plan for each one, the money, and a way to tell everyone. Tourouter is band management software for shows and tours, built for bands who manage themselves.
It is not a setlist app, a booking marketplace or a way to release music. This page says what it does, and what to use for the rest.
Four kinds of band management software
Search for band or musician management software and you get four kinds of tool. They overlap at the edges, but each is built around one job. Pick by the problem you have, not by the name.
Songs and rehearsals
Setlists, lyrics, chord charts and backing tracks, shared with the whole band.
Built for it: BandHelper
Bookings and paperwork
Enquiries, contracts, invoices and paying the players. Common with wedding and event bands, and with agencies.
Built for it: Band Pencil, Back On Stage, Gigwell
Releases and recordings
Getting songs onto streaming services, and keeping the files in order.
Built for it: DistroKid, DISCO
Shows and tours
The dates, the drives, the plan for each show day, the money on the road, and telling everyone.
Built for it: Tourouter
The other tools are listed as their own sites describe them, read on .
What Tourouter does for a band
Tourouter is tour management software for bands with no manager. One person plans the run. Everyone else just gets the plan.
Every date in one place
Shows, travel days and days off, as a list, a calendar or a map. The drive between each city is measured for you.
Where each show stands
Planning, inquiry, hold, confirmed, contracted. Nobody books a hotel for a show that is only on hold.
The plan for the day
Load in, soundcheck, doors and set time. The venue, the hotel, the guest list, and who to call when something is wrong.
The money
What each show pays, what the run costs, and who paid for what. At the end of the night, check what you were paid against the deal.
Everyone gets the plan
The whole band gets the day's plan by text each morning. Crew who never install an app still get it.
It works with no signal
Your active tour opens on the phone in a basement venue. Change something offline and it sends when you are back.
It also keeps the guest list, builds a tour book PDF, reads your dates from a photo or a PDF, and lets several bands share one tour.
Money
Band money, written down.
What each show pays and what the run costs go in one ledger. Fuel, hotels, food and merch: every line says who paid it.
At the end of the night, check what you were paid against the deal you agreed. At the end of the run, read what the tour made.
It says who paid. What the band does about it is the band's business.
Every morning
The whole band gets the plan by text.
A day sheet is one page that says what happens today: where the show is, when to load in and play, where everyone sleeps and who to call. Tourouter writes one for every date and texts it out just after midnight, so it is waiting when the band wakes up.
Nobody has to install an app or make an account to get it. The driver, the runner and the person selling merch for one night can be on the list too.
👋 Hi Dani Whitlock, 🎵 Here's your schedule for Wednesday, October 14, 2026: Gothic Theatre 3263 S Broadway Englewood, CO 80113 📋 Day Schedule: 10:30 am - Check out of Hotel Boulderado 11:00 am - Drive from Boulder to Gothic Theatre 🚗 Padded Drive Time: 52 minutes 3:00 pm - Load in 5:30 pm - Soundcheck 6:30 pm - Dinner 7:00 pm - Doors Open 8:00 pm - Static Bloom 9:00 pm - The Night Ferries 10:30 pm - Load out 🏨 Lodging: The Ramble Hotel 1280 25th St Denver, CO 80205 Check-in 3:00 pm / Check-out 11:00 am 🎟️ Guest List (11 total): Approved (8): Alex Rivera +1, Casey Nguyen, Kit Moreno, Morgan Blake +1, Sasha Petrov +1 Requested (3): Jordan Kim, Taylor Brooks +1 📝 Notes: Biggest room of the run. Load in through the alley door on Hampden, not the front. Backline is ours tonight, Static Bloom shares the drum riser. Marcus from the promoter's office is on site from 4. Guest list closes at 6, twelve spots total across both bands. Merch is at 20% to the house, settle with Tessa in the production office after load out. All times are local to the venue. Stay safe out there! - Jordan Reyes via Tourouter
What Tourouter does not do
Better you read it here than find out after signing up.
- Setlists, lyrics or chord charts. It is not a setlist manager.
- Finding you shows. It is not a gig-booking marketplace.
- Contracts, e-signatures or invoices.
- Getting your music onto streaming services.
When a group chat is enough
A band that plays a local show now and then does not need software. A shared calendar and a group chat will do, and anyone telling you otherwise is selling something.
It stops working when the shows come in a row, more than two people need the plan, and the plan changes after you leave home. That is the point Tourouter is built for.
Free tools, no account
Four things a venue or a sound engineer will ask your band for sooner or later. Free to use, with nothing to sign up for.
- Free stage plot maker
A stage plot is a drawing of where everyone stands on stage, for the sound engineer. Drag your band on and it writes the input list too.
- Input list maker
An input list is everything the sound engineer has to plug in, in order: drums first, vocals last. Start from a lineup and download it.
- Tech rider template
A tech rider tells the venue what you need from them. Copy it, fill in the brackets, attach your stage plot.
- Day sheet template
A day sheet is today's plan on one page. Copy it and fill it in for your next show.
Common questions
Mostly from bands working out whether they need software at all.
What is band management software?
Software that keeps the business of a band in one place: the gigs, the plan for each one, the money, and a way to tell everyone. The name covers four kinds of tool: setlist and rehearsal apps, booking and invoicing tools, release and catalog tools, and software for shows and tours. Tourouter is the last kind.
Is Tourouter band management software?
Yes, for shows and tours. One person plans the run: the dates and the drives between them, each show day's schedule, the venues, the contacts, the lodging and the money. Tourouter then texts the whole band the day sheet each morning. It does not do setlists, contracts or music distribution.
I am a solo artist. Is this musician management software too?
Yes. A solo artist with a driver and someone selling merch has the same problem as a five piece: several people need today's plan. You pay for editor seats, meaning the people who change the plan, not for the size of the act.
Does Tourouter do setlists, lyrics or chord charts?
No. Tourouter is not a setlist manager. If songs and rehearsals are your main problem, a setlist app such as BandHelper is built for that. The two do different jobs, so you can use one for the songs and Tourouter for the shows.
Does it find gigs, or handle contracts and invoices?
No. Tourouter is not a gig-booking marketplace, and it does not do contracts, e-signatures or invoicing. It does track where each show stands, from inquiry to hold to confirmed, and it keeps the deal on the date so the money is checked against what was agreed.
We mostly play local shows. Do we need it?
Maybe not yet. A local show now and then runs fine on a shared calendar and a group chat. Tourouter starts to earn its place when the shows come in a row, more than two people need the plan, and the plan changes after you leave home. Planning is free, so you can build your next run and see.
Is there a free band management app?
Planning in Tourouter is free with no time limit: build the run, add every date and invite the band without a card. There is no free tier for a tour that is live. The stage plot maker, the input list maker, the tech rider template and the day sheet template are free with no account.
What does it cost?
Nothing to plan. You pay when the tour goes live. Until December 31, 2026, the first 100 bands pay founding prices: $39.99 for a Tour Pass that covers one tour, or $29.99 a month for Band. After that a Tour Pass is $59 and Band is $49 a month. A Tour Pass covers one tour of up to 45 days. Band has no limit on tours.
Does everyone in the band have to pay, or install an app?
No. You pay for editor seats, meaning the people who change the plan. Crew and viewer seats are free and unlimited. The morning day sheet arrives as a text, so getting it needs no app and no account.
Put your next run of shows in one place.
Planning is free. Add your dates, invite the band, and see the whole thing before you pay for anything.
Start planning free
