5 Tips For Keeping Your Music Gear Safe On Tour

Ari Herstand tells an all too common story of having his music gear ripped off and then goes on to share a series of tips for keeping your gear safe. Planning ahead and thinking things through can make a big difference even for local shows. If you have additional tips for keeping your gear safe, please share them in the comments with Hypebot readers.

As Ari Herstand puts it, "Your Gear Will Get Stolen" (via Dotted Music).

Reducing the odds of that happening requires some forethought and a clear plan to follow no matter how you're feeling after the show. Here are some points to consider when you're thinking it through.

5 Tips for Keeping Your Music Gear Safe On Tour

"Don't Forget The Sheet"

Ari advocates camouflaging your gear if it's otherwise visible through the windows of your vehicle. For example, a bunch of equipment in the back of an SUV can be covered with a sheet so it's not so obvious that the cargo is valuable.

"Don't Advertise Your Band On The Side Of Your Van"

Part of camouflaging is not painting a big sign on your vehicle telling crooks that valuable gear is stored inside. That's good advice from Ari but tough for the marketer in all of us to accept.

"Get An Alarm Or Bright Blinking Light"

It doesn't always help but it can sometimes make a huge difference.

"Walls Are Your Friend"

Back that thing up! If you've got a van or trailer with a back door, backing it up to a wall at night is a smart move. Note that, in a pinch, light poles and similar obstacles that are positioned to block access to the lock may suffice.

"Insure Your Equipment"

After getting shafted by State Farm, Ari found MusicPro Insurance to be a much more effective solution to musicians' needs.

Bonus:

The only time I've been seriously conned by a stranger was when I was in extremely familiar and safe surroundings. I was mislead by the context to assume the best rather than objectively evaluating the situation.

So just cause you're back at your favorite hometown club with all your friends coming to the show, don't get sloppy with gear security. That's a bad way to kill a homecoming party.

Tips? Tales of woe? Tell us about it in the comments!

[Thumbnail image courtesy VBC17.]

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Hypebot Senior Contributor Clyde Smith (@fluxresearch/@crowdfundingm) also blogs at Flux Research and Crowdfunding For Musicians. To suggest topics for Hypebot, contact: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.