The Hidden Toll of Touring No One Sees

1. 

   @Emman-Owoniyi

   March 22, 2026 at 7:47 pm

   The BOB joke was top tier. Love how you script your videos. Really inspiring

2. 

   @brucelmnop2043

   March 22, 2026 at 7:47 pm

   you really quote " The World Economic Forum" ?? that really hurts ones credibility.

3. 

   @selalewis9189

   March 22, 2026 at 7:47 pm

   Thank you for using your platform to cover topics like this in the music industry. I saw Childish Gambino last year and he put so much of himself into that show I couldn’t figure out how he was going to complete the rest of his farewell tour. Then he announced that he had to put his tour on indefinite pause due to emergency medical care. That sits with me when I watch this video. Thanks and take care ❤

4. 

   @SmolAliens

   March 22, 2026 at 7:47 pm

   The ‘skills gap’ is just late stage capitalism. Employers want college degrees that kids can’t afford to get. Then they don’t provide appropriate training to the ones who get the jobs, and they don’t pay the long time vets (or anyone) enough so they burn out and quit. High turnover and attrition as a result of all of these factors is literally where the skills gap comes from. I don’t love how it’s often being painted as if it’s the workers‘ fault.

5. 

   @maxheadrom3088

   March 22, 2026 at 7:47 pm

   Dude, I worked on 2 small live gigs and it was really draining – roadies are the best!

6. 

   @IWannaGoMissing

   March 22, 2026 at 7:47 pm

   Yeah regarding the skill gap I got taken out on a pop singer’s tour (who I loved) right after covid and they were desperate for someone. I was about 7 years in and had done arenas and stuff but that particular event we did no rehearsal and I walked up to a desk I’d never used before.

   Through a combination of Act of God technical problems and my own mistakes and panic, she didn’t have any monitoring onstage for the first few songs, the entire show melted down even once I had figured it out, she cried and had to go play drums to calm down, it was a disaster, I got fired and it was a very dark time. She was one of my favorites and to be standing at the monitor desk during a catastrophe show where the issue was monitors felt like a nightmare, like it couldn’t be real. Took some therapy to get that behind me. Brutal! Thanks for making this Mike and the roadie clinic!

7. 

   @Metar-and-Guitar

   March 22, 2026 at 7:47 pm

   That B.o.B joke lmaooo

8. 

   @jonessii

   March 22, 2026 at 7:47 pm

   8:27 Oh look, Scott Galloway being a sociopath again

9. 

   @nathangaspar4989

   March 22, 2026 at 7:47 pm

   2:17
   That is a joke I did not expect

10. 

    @icychill105

    March 22, 2026 at 7:47 pm

    As a stagehand/grip in my area the amount of work we do to get one show running and repacked is crazy. getting worn out on one show and getting a nights sleep in before driving to a different venue and doing it all again for a different artist.

11. 

    @chrisdemonbreun

    March 22, 2026 at 7:47 pm

    Great video my friends. The skills gap is a very real thing at the moment.

12. 

    @EntNatal

    March 22, 2026 at 7:47 pm

    It would be cool if musicians had free healthcare but it would be even cooler if everyone had healthcare

13. 

    @sarahmem444

    March 22, 2026 at 7:47 pm

    It's crazy how long this industry has operated in a way that is so unsustainable and unhealthy for everyone who works in it. I have an extensive background in live music & events for being only 27 years old, working mostly in front of house, ticketing, operations, and management. I only did one 2 week touring gig when I was 23 and it wrecked me. It was one of the most difficult experiences of my life, because I was surrounded by unhealthy people who made shitty decisions, which made me feel pressured to also make shitty decisions and neglect my health & safety like they did. The touring industry is the way it is because the culture of neglect, apathy, live fast party hard is so deeply embedded in the work and the lifestyle, since like the beginning of the touring industry in the early 20th century. I dream of a touring industry of the future in which it is mandatory for a therapist and a doctor to be on the road with the touring party. In the meantime, accountability, care, compassion, and meaningful legislation to protect workers would make a world of difference.

14. 

    @miketheproducerr

    March 22, 2026 at 7:47 pm

    Im an audio visual technician doing corporate av its been taking a huge toll on me and I don’t even get the benefit of live music which is what I studied to get this point

15. 

    @katmorgo1892

    March 22, 2026 at 7:47 pm

    Are their unions for roadies

16. 

    @mostlyimpulsive3462

    March 22, 2026 at 7:47 pm

    Sometimes I think about the fact that coldplay's been on tour SINCE 2022. And they're STILL touring right now until september. Like, their shows are incredible, but my god I can't imagine the stress on them and their crew! 💀

17. 

    @Alchemeleon

    March 22, 2026 at 7:47 pm

    I got off the road before I hit 30. I knew it wasnt for me. But I still work as a house audio tech at a few venues in a big city, and I see one example of the incredibly long days touring crews put in every single day I'm at work. Sure, we both work from 2 or 3pm to 1 or 2am, but at the end of it, I get to go home to my own bed. I'm glad some people are providing resources for the unseen heavyweights of the music industry.

18. 

    @evyvanleeuwen6596

    March 22, 2026 at 7:47 pm

    As someone who is planning to get into the "behind the scenes" work in the music industry (not in live music tho), I'm glad people are looking out for my future industry peers!

19. 

    @natet5959

    March 22, 2026 at 7:47 pm

    Please point out the people who are against advocating for better working conditions, so I can avoid meeting them, because I don't trust my temper these days.

20. 

    @partymarty6969

    March 22, 2026 at 7:47 pm

    Music groups: Livestream from your rehearsal space TO venues all around the world using Zoom for the interaction between the audience and the music group performing live from home. Use ListenTo by Audiomovers to stream 24bit live audio to the venue.

21. 

    @pumpkinpire

    March 22, 2026 at 7:47 pm

    TERTIARY? IS THAT YOU??

22. 

    @jackthesmoltangerine

    March 22, 2026 at 7:47 pm

    Thom Yorke losing his mind and nearly heading to see the pearly gates is a prime example of why famil/touring culture is a problem

23. 

    @apersonontheinternet4071

    March 22, 2026 at 7:47 pm

    Bro i cant be the only one that really wants him to do a deep discog dive on frank ocean, he has such a small yet PERFECT discography

24. 

    @Ptpop

    March 22, 2026 at 7:47 pm

    I’m a 59 year old solo acoustic musician. Been gigging for 30 years and it’s always been exhausting setting up and tearing down my little set up. Can’t imagine what it’s like having to setup and tearing down BIG shows.

25. 

    @Just.Jo.Music.331

    March 22, 2026 at 7:47 pm

    Young live sound engineer here. Covid absolutely killed the industry in my city. I was just starting out when everything shut down and I thought I wouldn't be able to make a life in concerts after. It took most of the venues around and most of the work with it. I feel cursed because I love what I do so much that I can't leave it behind. Most of my colleagues have fled the city to entertainment hubs due to lack of work, soon I'll likely do the same. This leaves my city with less qualified individuals running a smaller number of events. It feels as if music culture is declining locally around me.

26. 

    @mariokarter13

    March 22, 2026 at 7:47 pm

    "I demand a livable wage for developing artists."
    Those poor struggling millionaires.

27. 

    @cocoakusubuu7100

    March 22, 2026 at 7:47 pm

    my buddy's partner was an experienced and up and coming light tech for some bigger shows but then they had kids and the work load was way too much and so he chose his family. Good man.

28. 

    @AdamThorton

    March 22, 2026 at 7:47 pm

    But… Gene Simmons was charging good money for this experience…

29. 

    @danwilliams44

    March 22, 2026 at 7:47 pm

    We are truly living through “The Great Consolidation”
    If you’ve not been grandfathered into the system via heritage or years of experience, you can pretty much forget it at this point. That goes for every industry, not just the music industry.

30. 

    @robertmclaren5711

    March 22, 2026 at 7:47 pm

    I tired to explain how toxic touring is to a co-worker, she literally got mad at claiming it was was just rock and hip hop acts that had toxic tour regimes, but pop and country acts where good and wholesome like a long road trip with friends and family.

    The true toxicity is celebraty worship and thinking these people are "living the dream", a job is a job dude, it's tied to your survival which is never easy.

31. 

    @xmgaming2444

    March 22, 2026 at 7:47 pm

    Watching this before going to my work to tear down a festival setup in the hot sun all day is surreal.

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