Landed deal

A landed deal moves the price risk of travel to the artist side. The promoter knows the full cost on the day of the offer. If flights get more expensive, the artist earns less; booking early or routing two shows on one trip leaves more.

Example

Say a 600-capacity club in Hamburg books [Artist A] from Lisbon for €3,000 landed. The contract is signed in January for a show in April. What the artist keeps depends on whether the flights are bought that week or left until March.

The same night as fee plus, at €2,600 plus flights, would cost the club €2,980 or €3,250, depending on when the flights are bought.

What to watch for

• Hotel and pickups. Landed covers getting there and back. Whether the hotel, the airport pickup (ground transport) and hospitality are in the fee is not implied by the word, and “all-in” means different things to different people. List every item with who covers it.
• Excess baggage and extra travellers. Records, a live setup or a tour manager change the travel cost. Agree them while the fee is still open.
• Cancellation. Say who pays for tickets that can no longer be refunded if the show is cancelled.
• Commission. For artists: agency commission on a landed fee is worked out on what is left after travel. The flight money carries no commission.