About Playing Live...

Local shows will likely be your first "major" source of income. Expenses involved in local/regional shows will be limited to gas and maybe per diems. To get booked at a local or regional club, you will not need the services of a booking agent, instead you will be able to do it yourselves. All you need is a complete and updated press kit, lots of persistence, and the ability and confidence to play a 45-60 minute set.

Once you've selected local and regional clubs you want to perform at, send the venue your complete press kit and follow up with a phone call within 5 to 7 working days. The club will then tell you whether they're interested in booking you for a show or not. If they are, it will be your turn to tell the venue how much money you want for your performance. Once you've negotiated a deal you will have to gather all the pertinent information and set up a contract. (Note that after you've played a club for a couple of times and established a working relationship, the venue might not insist on a written contract anymore.) Nevertheless, getting things is writing is a very good habit to get into.

Here's a list of issues you will have to address and specify in a contract:

The four most common deals you will encounter:

You also need to address:

• Date of Event
• Set Length
• Deposit (if any)
• Who will pay to whom how much and when
• Admission Fee (Ticket Price)
• Capacity
• Act of Nature (Force Majeure). The force majeure (literally "superior force") clause is applied when there is an unexpected event that causes performance of the contract to become impossible; it releases one or both parties from their rights and obligations.
• Cancellation Fees
• Recording by Permission Only
• Promotional Commitment (This specifies the minimum amount of money you, the band, expect the club to invest in advertising the show.)
• Merchandise: How much the club will take from the gross of merchandise sold (usually 10%)

For information about playing live and other music business topics, please visit FourFront Media & Music.