If you haven’t booked an artist event in the past, you may not realize how stressful and complex the process can be. While it seems like it should be pretty straightforward (find the artist, pay the price they’re requesting, have them show up), there’s actually a lot more that goes into an artist’s booking fees than you might think. A lot of the minute details are specific to a particular artist, but there are plenty of higher-level details that are common for every artist that you may not be taking into account.
So today, we’re going to take a look at both the big-picture items and the higher-level details that you might not have considered. Read on for more information – you might be surprised by some of the things we cover.
Know your event (and what you want them to do).
First things first, the easiest way to get a ballpark number for an artist booking is by knowing exactly what kind of event you’re having and by setting clear expectations on what you want the artist to do while they’re there. While you might think that an artist booking only consists of a performance, there are plenty of other options available to you (depending on your budget).
For example, if you don’t have the budget for a full performance from an artist, you can try and book them for a hosting or walkthrough agreement. These tend to cost less than a performance because less is expected of the artist. A hosting agreement just involves hanging out at the event or venue for a specified amount of time and interacting with guests. And like the name implies, a walkthrough agreement means the artist just has to show up, be seen at your event or venue, maybe take a few pictures, and then they’re free to leave.
A lot of artists like the hosting and walkthrough agreements – they tend to tour for most of the year, so any night where they don’t have to perform but can still get paid is an attractive option to them. For example, Nicki Minaj got paid $260,000 by a nightclub in Las Vegas a few years ago just to sit at a table in the club’s VIP section. It was a great deal for both parties; Nicki got paid to hang out at a club, and the venue brought in a ton of business from people looking to hang out with a celebrity. [Editor’s note: This is an extreme example of how a big-budget venue applies this strategy. Savvy operators with smaller budgets can do the same thing with careful planning and scaled-down execution.]
The booking fee isn’t your only cost.
One common mistake that people make is in assuming that the fee for booking an artist is the all-in cost. In almost all cases, the artist’s fee is strictly for them to show up and do what you’re asking them to do. There are separate costs that you’ll incur, and if you’re not careful, they can add up pretty quickly.
For instance, you’ll also have to spend money to cover the cost of all the requirements specified in their contract rider, the cost of the artist’s travel and hotel (and the group they’re traveling with – artists don’t travel alone), the cost of any equipment they might need, the cost of transportation to and from your event or venue, and any food or drinks the artist and their group will need while they’re in town.
A lot of bookers tend to overlook these costs or assume that they’re baked into the artist’s appearance fee, only to get a nasty surprise when they realize they have to pay extra money that they didn’t budget for. In some rare cases, you can try and include these costs in the artist’s appearance fee during the negotiation process (more on that in a minute), but don’t count on being able to do that.
When you’re booking the artist makes a difference.
An artist’s booking fee can also depend on when you want them to appear at your event or venue. Artists often charge more for weekend and holiday bookings, while weekday bookings are a little less expensive.
And if the artist isn’t on tour that means all those additional costs listed above (travel, hotel, etc.) could go up. Many bookers prefer to wait to book an artist until the artist is touring, and even then, they prefer to book the artist when they’ll already be in the area. You’ll still be responsible for the artist’s hotel and travel costs, but since the artist will already be in your area, it won’t be as expensive as it would be if you were flying them across the country to attend your event or venue.
Of course, touring is a grueling business, so there’s still a chance that even a touring artist won’t want to add another performance to their schedule. In that case, you can consider hiring them to host, either at your event or at an afterparty at your venue. This will allow you to utilize the built-in publicity and momentum from their tour to promote your event and get more people in the door.
Fees vary from artist to artist…
While it might seem like artists’ booking fees are dependent on the caliber of artist you want to book, there’s actually a lot of variances from one artist to the next in terms of their cost. For example, you might think Taylor Swift and Mariah Carey would cost the same for an appearance, but their prices are probably not as similar as you’d think.
One thing that makes it so hard to determine what you should pay for an artist is the fact that their fees are not public information. Sure, you can try a Google search and see what number comes up, but in all likelihood, that booking price is completely wrong.
…so, knowing how to negotiate is crucial.
Just because an artist quotes a particular fee doesn’t necessarily mean you should pay it, nor does it mean that they expect to receive it. Knowing how to negotiate is a key way to save yourself some money, and being willing to negotiate on their fee can save you a lot of upfront costs. As with any negotiation, though, you have to know when to push and when to ease off. If you don’t, you run the risk of ensuring the artist will never consider doing a show with you again.
There are a few easy ways to give yourself a leg up on the negotiation process. First, make sure never to make your first offer your best offer: set a limit for yourself based on your budget, then take 10% off of that number as an initial offer. If the artist’s agent doesn’t go for it, you can work from there, but at least you’ve given yourself some wiggle room. And second, always be willing to walk away. In order to effectively do that, you’ll need to have some backup options in mind if your first choice doesn’t go through. But showing a willingness to walk away from a negotiation gives you significant bargaining power.
As mentioned above, each artist will likely have specific demands as a condition of their booking fees, so you’ll have to be prepared for those whenever you’re dealing with a particular artist’s agent. But using this information as a guide, you should now have a much clearer expectation of all the commonly overlooked details and fees that come with booking an artist, and it’ll prevent you from losing money on an artist booking.
Booking an artist is usually considered a great way for promoters and event planners to make money. After all, if the artist is highly-regarded, they have a built-in customer base, and their fans will show up usually if they know about the show. And if they’re a little more obscure, the artist will be so grateful for the opportunity to showcase their talents that they’ll do a lot of the legwork in bringing people to their show, right?
Too often, that’s not the case. In fact, many concert and event promoters actually lose money on artist bookings, and they learn the hard way that securing an artist for an event is only part of the equation. While it’s all well and good to secure the artist, there are a lot more considerations to take into account in order to determine whether it ends up being a profitable endeavor for the promoter. With this in mind, let’s take a look at some of the other factors that can be the difference between a positive experience with booking an artist and a nightmare.
Overestimating the Artist’s Popularity
When booking an artist, it’s easy to be drawn in by the amount of hype or buzz an artist has. When considering acts to book, some promoters simply do a quick straw poll of their friends and contacts to determine if they would see the show, but if you’re looking for a thousand or more people to attend, asking a handful of people isn’t going to give you an accurate projection of the turnout.
Other promoters use things like the number of Spotify streams an artist gets as a barometer of that artist’s popularity, and they assume that just because a good amount of people listen to that artist, they can expect a similarly high turnout to their show.
But there’s more to an artist’s popularity than the number of people listening to their music. After all, listening to a song is a mostly-passive activity: all the audience has to do is press “Play” and sit back and listen. On the other hand, actually attending a concert is an active endeavor: people have to pay money for the show, make plans to get there, and plan their entire evening around one activity. And it’s the difference between those types of activities that can determine whether or not people pay the price of admission.
Finally, you should always take into account where an artist’s fanbase is located. Booking the Arctic Monkeys for an event in London is a smart move; booking them in Omaha is not.
Underestimating the Artist’s Rider
The most famous example of an artist’s rider is probably Van Halen’s “no brown M&M’s” stipulation. While it might seem like another example of a celebrity ego gone wild, there was actually a good reason for it: if a promoter hadn’t read the contract in enough detail to notice that request (or saw it and decided to ignore it anyway), then there was a good chance that they also didn’t see or chose to ignore the other stipulations in the rider (like the proper stage setup) that were there to ensure the band’s safety.
Nearly every touring artist has a rider in their performing contract that sets terms for the equipment, setup and amenities they require. Depending on the artist, however, the specifics of the rider can vary, and not paying close attention to detail can cost promoters far more than they expected. Promoters should always take a careful look at an artist’s rider before agreeing to the terms of the contract.
Lazy Accounting
In addition to securing the artist and making sure people attend the show, promoters are also responsible for setting the ticket price. Like everything else in the realm of artist bookings, this can go bad fast if it’s not done correctly and responsibly. It’s a difficult balancing act: set the prices too low, and the promoter won’t make enough money to cover the costs; set them too high, and people won’t bother to pay for a ticket.
When setting the ticket price, a lot of promoters make the mistake of dividing the cost of the artist and the venue by the expected number of people who will attend. So if the venue and artist cost $100,000 and the capacity for the venue is 5,000 people, the promoter thinks “I can charge $20 per ticket in order to break even, so I’ll charge $40 and make a profit.” And if it were that simple, we wouldn’t be talking about it.
What this “math” (if you want to call it that) fails to take into account is, well, a laundry list of things. For one, the cost of the artist and the venue aren’t the only costs associated with putting on an event. If the artist’s rider adds $50,000 worth of equipment and other expenses to the bill, then the break-even number is now $30 per ticket. Well, still making a profit, right?
Sure- assuming the place is filled to capacity. If only 4,000 people show up, the promoter loses $10,000 after paying all the expenses. And though it might be tempting to say “Next time, I’ll charge $60 per ticket just to be sure,” keep in mind that the higher that price gets, the less people are going to be willing to pay it.
So when figuring out the ticket cost, promoters should first determine exactly how much they’ll need to spend on everything: the artist’s appearance fee, the items in their rider, the venue, security, et cetera. They should also confirm (and double-confirm) the artist’s fee before the contract is signed, and they should also look at the average percentage of attendance capacity the artist actually brings in. If an artist consistently only sells enough tickets to meet 75% of a venue’s capacity, the promoter should adjust the ticket price to reflect that.
There are enough variables in the booking industry to keep promoters on their toes. But by using the data available to them and being thorough in their research, they can minimize the number of unknowns and focus on what they do best: putting on a great show.