BritBus Gears Up for U.S. College Campus Tour

The annual BritBus Tour will make its reprise on college campuses around the country next fall with Virgin Atlantic and Gibson Guitar as two of the primary sponsors.

London-based All Terrain Music Rights Ltd. is in the process of soliciting for title and presenting sponsors on the 10-city U.S. circuit which will present concerts on campuses and in music clubs in Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, New York, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle.

“We’re looking at the potential for international brand alignment,” said James Craven, All Terrain managing director, who indicated discussions are proceeding with a wireless carrier and a videogame maker.

The tour will comprise two emerging British rock bands and five or six local American bands in each venue, according to Craven, who said the objective is to give the groups exposure potentially leading to recording contracts.

“It’s about international reach. It’s an international approach to bringing the consumer and the band together,” Craven said.

All Terrain pans a Web site launch later this week. Applications from amateur U.S. bands interested in trying to make the cut to demonstrate their musical chops will be accepted starting next spring.

All Terrain is aiming for an 18-to-26-year-old demographic on the tour, which will present video coverage of the concert and the cross-country trip itself on the BritBus Tour site and other video sites. The groups will write blogs on the multi-branded bus—a 1979 vintage London tour bus—during the tour from September through November 2009.

Along with grassroots exposure, British band The Crave signed a music licensing deal with Harley-Davidson after it toured the U.S. last spring. Another group, The Proxy, signed a deal with Island Records after the tour last year.

Some of the U.S. bands will get a shot at touring in the United Kingdom after the U.S. tour. All Terrain is also making plans for similar tours in Australia and India.