Buyout

A buyout swaps a service for money. The promoter doesn’t organise a dinner or a room the artist won’t use. The artist eats where it suits, stays with friends if they live in town, or takes a taxi instead of waiting for a driver.

Example

[Artist A] travels with a tour manager, lands at 21:00 and has friends in the city. The deal lists:

Usually paid in cash on arrival, against a signed receipt. The deal says how.

What to watch for

• The money replaces the item in full. If dinner is bought out, the venue doesn’t also have to feed the artist. The hospitality rider should say so.
• Late swaps. A hotel that is already booked costs the promoter twice if it becomes a buyout.
• Tax. Where fees to foreign artists are taxed at source (see Germany), a cash buyout can count as part of the fee, unlike costs the promoter pays directly. Ask before you agree on cash.
• The other meaning. In some contracts, especially from the US, “buyout” means a flat fee with no percentage. If a contract says buyout without naming an item, ask which is meant.