Glossary

The show costs a promoter may deduct from ticket income before a door percentage is calculated. Listed and capped in the contract, proven with receipts at the settlement.

Cash paid instead of something the promoter would otherwise provide, such as dinner, the hotel or a driver. The amount and how it is paid are agreed in advance.

Part of the fee the promoter pays when the contract is signed, often 50%. It secures the date; the balance follows before or after the show, as the contract says.

The artist is paid an agreed share of the net door, with no guarantee. A full club pays well; an empty one pays little or nothing.

A fee for the performance only. The promoter covers travel, hotel and ground transport on top, booking them or paying them back, as the deal lists.

Gross is the amount before deductions; net is what is left after the deductions the contract names. On a fee that is VAT; on ticket income also fees and costs.

The amount the artist is paid whatever the ticket sales. In a flat deal it is the whole fee; in a versus or bonus deal it is the floor the fee can’t fall below.

A guarantee paid in any case, plus a set bonus once sales pass an agreed threshold, such as 450 paid tickets. Simpler to settle than a versus deal.

A fee that includes the artist’s travel: the artist side books and pays flights or trains out of it. On top, the promoter pays only what the deal lists as theirs, such as the hotel.

A written proposal for one show with every deal term in it: date, venue, fee and deal type, who covers what, payment and announcement. Once accepted, it is the basis for the contract.

The accounting after the show: tickets, income, deductions and costs, the artist’s final fee, what was already paid and the balance still due. Signed off by both sides.

The artist gets the guarantee or an agreed share of the net door, whichever is higher. Which one applies is worked out at the settlement after the show.

The share of a show fee a booking agency keeps for its work, usually 10 to 20% in European club music. It comes out of what the artist receives; the promoter pays nothing on top.

Austrian tax on fees paid to artists based abroad: the promoter keeps 20% of the fee, including costs it covers, and pays it to the tax office (§ 99 EStG).

German tax on fees paid to artists based abroad: 15% plus solidarity surcharge, 15.825% in total, withheld by the promoter (§ 50a EStG). Nothing up to €250 per performance.

The document that asks for payment and carries the tax details. For a show: who invoices whom, fee and costs on separate lines, VAT or the reverse-charge note, and when it is due.

A German levy on fees paid to self-employed artists, owed by promoters and other businesses that regularly use art: 4.9% in 2026. It also applies to artists based abroad.

The business that buys a service from another country accounts for the VAT instead of the supplier. The invoice goes out without VAT, with both VAT IDs and a reverse-charge note.

Less or no withholding tax because a double tax treaty gives the taxing right to the artist’s home country. Rare for live shows: most treaties let the country of the show tax.

The number that identifies a business for VAT in the EU. In Austria the UID-Nummer, ATU and eight digits; in Germany the USt-IdNr., DE and nine digits.

The date and time before which a show may not be made public in any form. It is set in the contract, in local time at the venue.

The contract terms for a confirmed show that doesn’t happen: what is owed depends on who cancels, how close to the date and why.

A request to the first hold to confirm or release by a deadline, because a hold behind it has a firm offer. The deadline is usually 24 to 72 hours.

A provisional reservation of an artist’s date for one promoter. It costs nothing, binds no one and ends when it is confirmed, released or expires.

The order of the holds on one night. The first hold may confirm first; if it is released or expires, the next one moves up.

The signed agreement for one show: who plays where and when, fee and deal, payment, who covers what, the riders and the cancellation terms.

A promise not to play other public shows within a set distance and period around a booked show, so it doesn’t compete with the artist’s other dates.

Giving up a hold. The night is free again and the next hold moves up. Either side can release a hold without costs, as long as nothing is confirmed.

The advance sheet is the written record of one show: deal, responsibilities, travel, hotel, ground transport, schedule, tech, hospitality, guest list, promo and contacts.

Advancing is agreeing every detail of a booked show in writing before the day: deal and payment, travel, hotel, ground transport, set times, riders, guest list and promo.

A day sheet lists one show day in time order, every time local to its place: travel, pickups, hotel, venue, set and the people to call.

Routing is the order and geography of an artist’s dates: which shows sit next to each other, and how the artist gets from one to the next without wasted travel.

The changeover is the handover from one act to the next: a few minutes of mixing over between two DJs, 15–30 minutes when a live act has to set up and line-check.

The curfew is the latest time music may play, set by the venue’s licence, a festival permit, noise rules or the house. A set that runs past it gets cut off.

The day-of contact is the one person on the promoter side who answers the phone all show day and looks after the artist at the venue. Name and mobile go on the day sheet.

Ground transport is every ride on a show trip: airport or station to hotel, hotel to venue and back, and to the airport again, with who drives, when, and who pays.

The guest list is the number of free entries the artist gets for a show, plus the names on them, sent to the promoter by an agreed deadline.

The itinerary is the artist’s whole trip for a show or a run, in order: every flight, train, pickup and hotel, with local times, booking references and contacts.

Local time is the clock time where something happens. On a day sheet every time is local to its place: departure where it leaves, arrival where it lands, the set at the venue.

The set time is when the artist plays, start and end, in local time at the venue and on the day it actually happens: 01:00–03:00 on Sunday, not on Saturday.

The equipment the artist plays through but doesn’t bring: for DJs players, mixer and turntables, for bands amps and drums. The house PA is not backline.

What the artist and their travelling party need around the show: backstage space, meals, drinks and hotel preferences. A good one is short and specific.

The artist’s official material for promotion and press: logos, press photos with credits, a short and a long biography, and links.

The artist’s technical requirements for a show: equipment with exact models, monitoring, booth or stage, power, setup time and a technical contact.