What to Expect When You Start to Play Live: The Basics

Live shows are the primary source of income for many musicians. Unfortunately, they’re also the source of a great deal of confusion.
Here, we hope to simplify the basics of the most common payment scenarios, what your contract may include, and other things that may serve as a source of anxiety for artists just beginning to enter the live performance stage of their careers.
Do keep in mind, all of this information is general and that all specifics will be determined by the parties involved

One of the biggest questions is concerning how payment works; are artists paid a flat fee or a percentage of ticket sales? The answer can depend on a number of variables, namely the type of venue and popularity of the artist in question. The average, moderately successful local band booked to play at a bar will often get paid a flat fee, or guarantee, in addition to a percentage of ticket sales or the evening’s cover charge. In order to get a club of any size to agree to a guarantee, it’s important to have built up at least a modest following, in most cases. Remember, from the club owner’s perspective, they’re paying the band to get more business through their door. While bands may like to have an amount of money guaranteed to them for playing, the club owner needs to feel some semblance of confidence that the band they’re paying will ultimately make them more money than it costs them. For this reason, guarantees tend to work best for artists who are known in a given area and can fairly safely predict the number of people who will catch their show. This is not the desired model if you’re playing in a town you’ve never been to before or if you’re a new artist still establishing a fan base.
For newer artists, venues may want suggest a ‘split,’ in which the artist splits the ticket sales/cover charge with the venue. The percentage can range anywhere from 25% upwards and will be based on the artist’s booking history and popularity. The percentage to be split between artist and venue will be agreed upon before the performance and will be specified in the contract.
Of course, there are also things such as open mics and local talent showcases which are nonpaying gigs. While money not be earned at these events, they can be great for networking and meeting people who can book your act for paying gigs. These are especially great for new artists or those trying to make new contacts.

More than likely, if your merchandise is sold at a show, a percentage of that money will also be shared with the venue. The standard amount is typically 25% of sales but this amount can be higher. As is the case with everything else, this amount will be agreed upon before the show and will be in the performance contract signed by the venue representative and the artist.

As for this oft mentioned contract, in addition to covering the specifics on payments and percentages, it will also have all of the other details about the performance.
Things that may not seem to be terribly significant often end up in contracts to protect everyone involved. From artist load in and soundcheck times, length of time allocated for the set, any neighborhood curfews that must be abided by, what the cancellation policy is for both parties, how may free tickets or guest list spots the band is allowed, and any backstage items the band requires, i.e; towels, drinks, food, towels, etc, any and all of these details will be specified in the contract. While it may seem amusing to act like a big pretentious rock star and try to ask for ridiculous things, keep in mind that your request for a turtle from Guam and peanut M & Ms with the peanuts removed is not only not going to be fulfilled, but you’re likely to look like an amateur and extremely unprofessional. Save the demands for when you’re playing stadiums and paying a super-manager. When playing small places around your city, beer, water, a veggie tray, and maybe a pizza is probably about as fancy as you can reasonably expect.
A quick internet search for ‘live performance contracts’ will give a general idea of what to expect if you’ve never seen one. While it may seem like a bunch of pointless details getting in the way of the music, all of this minutiae getting negotiated before the performance protects artist and venue alike.

Talking with other musicians about what has and has not worked for them may be a good idea. Perhaps they’ll have an inside track on what clubs charge a smaller percentage of merch sales or a venue manager who’s willing to book a lesser known band. While one payment scheme may work well in one situation, it may not work in another. With that in mind, always remember that the ultimate goal is to expand your band’s success and remain open to all opportunities that may allow you to reach a wider audience.