For those who are new to the hectic world of the entertainment industry, or if you haven’t done a lot booking, the terminology can seem very overwhelming. This is especially true when you look at an offer sheet, contract, or a production schedule and realize that there are a lot of words that you have no idea what they mean. We are here to help, and our most recent blog will go over some of our most frequently asked questions and terminology you may encounter in a day’s work in the field.
Here at Degy, we work as booking agents. What this means is that our focus is to acquire gigs for our clients, and to develop relationships with venues and promoters. A major facet of this involves understanding our client’s target audience, and the general vibe of the establishments we are trying to work with. To learn more about agents, you can check out our blog: Who’s Who? The Difference Between Agents, Managers, and Promoters. There are multiple stages we go through when booking talent. The two we get the most questions about are the Offer Stage and the Confirmed/Contract Stage.
The Offer Stage is when we send an offer sheet to an agency, which is the form that outlines the details of a proposed deal, including the performance fee, date, location, deposit information, ticket prices, and so on. Before we can present the proposed show to the artist’s agent, we need to submit the offer sheet to the agency for their review. The Confirmed/Contract Stage comes later in the process, after the artist has confirmed the show. The contract is the formal agreement between the hiring party and the artist, detailing the terms and conditions.
While Degy’s contract process is straight forward, we wanted to take a moment to cover the difference between the contract status terms- Issued, Executed, and Fully Executed Contract (FEX). In short, an Issued contract means the show has been confirmed and the contract has been sent to the client/buyer. Once they receive the contract, the client/buyer will read it over, sometimes make edits which are then further discussed, and ultimately sign and return it to Degy. Once the client signs the contract, the status changes to Executed. A Fully Executed Contract (FEX) is a step further than the regular “Executed” status. It means Degy has countersigned and returned to the client/buyer. In summary, FEX means both parties have signed the contract, it’s been uploaded and recorded into our systems, and the show is good to go!
Now, there are specific terms within the industry that we often get questions about. Let’s break a few of them down.
1. Inclusive: think of this as “includes” – so if a contract says “inclusive of travel” or “inclusive of hotel and meal,” that means the final booking price includes the funds for the travel, or hotel, and/or meal; whatever the deal point describes. This means the ARTIST/ACT is responsible for making those arrangements.
2. Radius Clause: A form of non-compete clause used in the live music industry. Stated mileage from an event location that an artist may not perform publicly within a specified number of days prior to, and following said event. An example of this could look like the following, “Artist agrees to not publicly perform within 100 miles of the event location 90 days prior to 30 days following said Event.”
3. COI (Certificate of Insurance): A document that shows proof of insurance coverage for property or casualty. Each artist/act needs to secure insurance before their show, and requirements may differ depending in the hiring party. These policies typically last a year and are essential to protect yourself while on site. If you have questions, we are happy to recommend some trusted companies!
4. Block Booking: Three or more presenting organizations coordinating to book an artist or artistic group, making an offer which pools the combined individual offers off the “block” and offering performances along a route, and in a timeline official to the artist, three shows in five days, five shows and seven days etc.
5. Hard Ticket: A “hard ticket” event is a ticketed event where the artist is paid either in part or in total from the ticket sales revenue.
6. Soft Ticket: A “soft ticket” event is usually a non-ticketed, low priced ticket or festival event where the artist is paid a flat, competitive guaranteed fee regardless of ticket sales for the event.
7. Backline: refers to any equipment that you as the artist/act need! This can include band equipment, such as amps, drums, keyboard, etc. or for the more acoustic set, this could look like mic, loop pedal, and speaker set up. Pay attention to your contracts to see who the backline is provided by.
8. Advance: The process of organizing the show details! Each roster artist is responsible for reaching out to the main Point of Contact (POC) to discuss Day of Show (DOS) details. It is always highly recommended to get in touch with the POC at least 2 weeks out and also touch base the DOS to confirm the schedule (Ex. Arrival time, sound check time, performance start time, etc.) and to make sure there have not been any last-minute changes. The more communication you have the better!
9. Hospitality Rider: This is a document where the artist can ask for items to make them more comfortable. These items are usually set up in the green room or dressing room. Items may include specific drinks, food, and other items they may need before the performance.
10. Run of Show: An item-by-item sequence of events that will happen within the show. The detailed outline depicts what each department should be doing at what time. It typically includes a complete schedule, confirming load in, sound check, meal, actual performance time, etc.
11. Headliner: the performer or act that is the main attraction of a program and typically performs last.
12. Opener: an act that performs before the headliner at a concert or event. The opener’s performance serves to "warm up" the audience, making it appropriately excited and enthusiastic for the headliner
13. Electronic Press Kit (EPK): An EPK is like a resume for music artists. It’s designed to provide labels, agents, music supervisors, talent buyers, etc. with essential information to understand who you are as an artist for networking and booking purposes. An EPK is usually a few pages long in PDF format, and includes with your bio, a few photos, music reviews, links to content and performances, all social etc. Every music artist should have a polished EPK that showcases the artist’s talent and brand.
14. One Sheet: A one sheet is similar to an EPK, except it is on one page. Think of this as a condensed version. Industry-standard is for the one sheet to also be in PDF format, and should showcase consistent artist branding (colors, font, etc). Everything from social to video links should be clickable in a nice, clean presentation.
15. Stage Directions: The areas of the stage from the performer’s point of view (meaning they are facing the audience from the stage). There are 5 standard stage directions…
a. Upstage-The area of the stage that's farthest away from the audience. When a performer "moves upstage," it means that they move away from the audience.
b. Downstage- The area of the stage that’s closer to the audience. When a performer “moves downstage,” it means that they move closer to the audience.
c. CenterStage- The area that’s exactly in the middle of the performance area on the stage.
d. Stage Left- The area of the stage to the performer’s left. When a performer moves “stage left,” it means that they move to their left.
e. Stage Right- The area of the stage to the performer’s right. When a performer moves “stage right,” it means they move to their right.
And with that, consider yourself a pro! Well, maybe not a pro, but an advanced beginner. Hopefully, you can now go into a meeting with one of our booking agents with a bit more confidence about the process and have gained a better understanding terminology of the industry. As always, if you have any further questions, feel free to reach out to our team at Degy Entertainment.