ROLES IN LIVE PERFORMANCE
Booking Agent
The booking agent is the person who works closely to the artist booking them shows for a tour or just one off shows. Quite often the booking agent will be in touch with the different promoters in an area and also the venues around as well.They will work as the middle man between the promoters and the artist. The agent will usually be one the one sorts the contracts and all the details for each show for the artist.
They are very much involved in the organising before the shows happen rather than all the work that happens on the day. You will most likely never see a booking agent at the gig itself because their time is much better spent in front of the computer getting in touch with people and booking gigs because that's how they make money. They will be in charge of putting together support acts for the show and working out payments across the whole event. They will usually be in charge of getting the artist accommodate and food supplies. A booking agent will put together contracts for the artists and support acts to make sure that they turn up with the agreed terms like payment. The Agent will be the one who secures information with everyone involved when putting on a show. The agent will be in constant contact with promoters who will be looking to book artist as well at the venue that they work for. They will also have to be in close communication with the promoter so they can discuss when release dates will be and when venues are available. I have played gigs myself where there has been no booking agent involved and just the promoter because I work as a agent for myself. I deal with all the contracts myself where as if I had an agent they would do all that for me. They would also find the gigs for me and let me know where I need to be and when, with what gear.
The booking agent will probably work normal hours from 9-5 but maybe later if there are people who need to contacted later at night. They will normally be available because artists don't work 9-5 so they need to be a available when an artist is so they can get in contact. Their pay is so varied because it really depends on the number of artists they work for and the number of gigs they book and the size of each one. If they work for another company they may get paid for the hours they spend in the day booking the acts but they will also get paid from the shows they get put on.
An agent is going to need a few skills to be successful such as they need to know as many people as possible whether that be other booking agent in case they cant handle an artist they could pass them over, they need to know loads of promoters, artists, venues and tour managers. They need to have a fairy good understand on the basic gear for each of their bands so they can talk to the promoters and the venues so they know their set up.
This job can be satisfactory because if you get to book a large act and book for large acts the satisfaction would be great as you would get paid more. There would also be down points when you cant find many people to book and they shows that they do play are not full and not making money. This is why they need to know lots of promoters so their work is worth it. Better acts will always sell more tickets.
The booking agent will not normally be on a contract if they work for themselves but they will be if they work for another company as a normal employee contracts. They may have contracts between them and the artist that they are working for so the artist doesn't keep booking with another company. They are probably paid hourly during the day if they work for another company as well as making money from the shows that they have booked.
There are a few risks that they have to take which are if they sign a band then they are devoted to selling that band at concerts. That band might not be very good and have a poor fan base and could always potentially split up or not practise or stop selling tickets at shows which would loose the booking money.
A booking agent has a hard job because they could have several artists all at the same time and they need to be on the ball always. They need to know there stuff when it comes to venues and promoters because they will be the people that make their job possible. Artist can work without them but they can only get so far so this section of the industry is very going to end because artist are always going to need someone to help them out when booking shows when they are at high demand.
FoH Engineer
The front of house engineer (FoH) is the person or people in charge of the live sound at a gig. This completely changes depending on the size of gig. The FoH will usually be told by the promoter who would have been told by the booking agent what the set up for the bands are so during the day of the gig he can prepare microphones and get everything ready for when the band arrive for the load in. When the bands load in he will be in charge of getting them on stage and ready for a sound check. The order of sound check usually runs backwards starting with the last band sound checking first. This is because the band that are on first can sound check last and they can leave their set on stage while the door open to the public. Normally he will do a line check before the band goes on stage just to check that everything is working and that they are ready to go.
The FoH is also in charge of getting levels for each band for their performance and when there are 3 or 4 + bands on the bill in one night things can get quite stressful for him so it really helps when a band nows exactly what they want and he can get through quickly. Fussy bands are the one thing they hate.
He is also in charge of the monitoring for the show and making sure that everyone can be heard on stage. He will be the first one to the venue and the last to leave.
A FoH engineer will be paid depending on how and where he works. If he is just a local FoH engineer for one venue then he might be paid per show or a percentage of the money the bar takes that night.
If its a large band who may be touring then he will be with them through out the whole tour and will get paid a daily rate as a freelancer. The hours that they will work really depends on the gig size. For a average venue they will probably arrive at about 14:00 to get the stage ready for when the bands arrive at 4:30/5:00 ready to set up and have sound check. They will then be there until the gig ends which in a lot of places there is a curfew at 11:00PM to they have to stop but it wont be until about 12:30 before they have packed up and put all the equipment away. If its a big gig then they will most likely be there the day before or at least the whole day doing the sound checks as there is so much to prepare. Their working environment will be anywhere that the gig is. A venue a pub, a stadium, a festival field or a garden or a garage. They honestly can work anywhere. Unless they are very professional a lot of sound engineers will probably have a day job or another line of work because they don't have to be a sound engineer every night and also during the mornings. They are more likely to work on weekends because this is when the events usually are.
A sound engineer will need a great knowledge on sounds, gear such as microphones, cables, speakers, mixing desks. They will need to know the different instruments that they will have to work with. The better you know the band the better you will be able to control their sound.
The job satisfaction for a sound engineer after the stress of getting through sound check is hearing the bands playing especially in a larger venue and knowing you have the control of everything thats going on. You can get very creative with sound and you can make great sound instruments that the satisfaction is creating that although its hard work learning the techniques that make you better. This is what I am working at and so far things are good but I need to make sure I know everything I can to be the best I can be.
The contract that a sound engineer is going to have if any will be for if they are going on tour with a band and they need to have a contract that the sound engineer will be there for each show and not prevent the tour from happening.
A live sound engineer isn't really going to have a contract if he works for a venue as they will probably have more than one and they will have set nights that they have turned up for. They may have a contract to secure payment agreements. The only risk that you may have is that if you get asked to go on tour with a band then they might be taking you away from a contract that you have with a venue.
CONTRACTS
Contracts are a huge part of the music they gel the whole thing together and you will find them in every corner of the industry.
When confronted with a contract it is important to know what the primary agreement is as well as the different more in depth part that can help you get out of trouble further down the line.
Many people in the past have just signed off the contract thinking this must be great and thats that. Further into the contracted years they will find out that they have no royalties to their music and the record has complete control over everything. This is why its important to understand the main parts to a music contract so that you don't get yourself into trouble.
________________________________________________________________________________
HERE IS A CONTRACT WE WERE GIVEN TO ANALYSE.
Dear Band Members:
This letter, when signed by you, shall constitute your and our deal memorandum agreement
(it being understood that this agreement shall be binding upon you and us until a more
formal long form agreement is prepared and signed by you and us), with respect to the
recording services of band member A, band member B and band member C, individually
and collectively, professionally known as the group "BAND 2", whose primary contact and
street address is:________________ (and whose e-mail address is: ) under the following
terms and conditions as of this 1st day of December, 2013:
TERRITORY:
Worldwide
TERM: A record contract will usually have what is called a 'term'. This states what included and or how long the contract is valid for. Information such as how many albums are included would be stated in this section. This contract only allows for 1 album and no options. An option is where they leave a set amount of albums up for discussion depending on how the prior ones go. This is where an artist may want to compromise and see if they can push another album because only being signed for one could be an inefficient use of time when they may have other labels calling for them too.
TERM:
1 Album + 0 options
(an album consists of 30+ minutes of original compositions + minimum of 1 releasable
single)
TYPE OF DEAL:
We shall own the copyright in the Master Recordings and shall have the right to exploit all
rights conveyed hereunder in for 5 years after the release date.
ADVANCE (“all in”) :
LP1: £2.000.
All albums to be released within 180 days of delivery of Masters to us.
Advances to be paid: 50% upon entering the studio; 50% upon complete delivery of such LP.
Note: 25% of the advances for LP1 shall be withheld until a more formal longform agreement
is signed by you.
ARTIST ROYALTIES:
30% (“Base Rate”)
Royalties are based on our net receipts (the amount actually received by the label)
Digital royalty rate: 100% of above rate
All sales Subject to 15% packaging deduction for jewel-case CDs and 25% on special
packaging CDs, vinyl, video and all other physical exploitation
No packaging deduction on downloads, electronic transmissions and non-physical sales.
All royalties subject to a reserve against returns of 25% to be liquidated 4 periods after such
reserve is established.
1st Territory: UK, Eire, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Netherlands,
Luxembourg: 100% Base Rate
2nd Territory: USA; 70% Base Rate
Rest of World: 50% Base Rate
50% of net income on 3rd party license
ARTWORK /PHOTOGRAPHY BUDGET: ARTWORK /PHOTOGRAPHY BUDGET:
£100 for Artwork per LP and £100 for Photography per LP, 100% recoupable
MERCHANDISING:
Rights for two (2) designs per LP, including LP cover artwork. Band is free to create and sell
as many additional designs as they wish.
20% royalty of wholesale price paid to band on each design, or 50/50 split for 3rd party sales
Merch sales are cross-recoupable with record royalties.
PR
The label shall pay for a PR company of their choice to promote the release. This will cost
£2500 and is 100% recoupable
RECOUPABLE COST:
Recording (studio, producer, mixing, mastering, artwork, travel, per diems) – 100%
Tour Support – 100%; Independent Promotion – 50%; Video – 100%;
CONTROLLED COMPOSITIONS:
USA and Canada: 75% of minimum statutory rate at time of recording of Masters (without
regard to any playing time formula); 10 song cap on LPs, 4 song cap on EPs, 2 song cap on
Singles
EXCLUSIVITY:
This deal is only for the band “Band 2”. Band members are free to perform in outside
projects.
FREE GOODS:
5 free finished copies of each LP released by label on the CD format, delivered at label’s
expense (Additional copies available for purchase at shows at royalty-free price of the then-
current PPD minus 30%)
________________________________________________________________
When getting offered a contract from a record company it's easy to think that this is it and you've 'made it' but in actual fact thats where the hard work begins. Once you have a lot more off your hand you will have a lot more on your plate and up against a lot more pressure and competition. It's important to look over a contract and find out how flexible you can make it. This could include doing collaborations with other artist or getting released on
If you ever wanted to get out of a contract you would have to contact a lawyer. Depending on the contract in question and the size of the company that you are dealing with depends on wether you could get out of it and how easily. if you wanted to try and get out of a contract you would have to have great reasoning and you could only really do it if the record company was in breech of the contract. Another way that you might be able to get out it to buy your way out. Record companies are expecting to make money from you if you want to leave before the contract is up they are going to want money to make up what they were expecting to earn from you.
• Will it protect me?
The contract is there to secure agreements. It will only protect you as far as the agreement stated. This could mean that things benefit you but sometimes they wont.
• What guarantees will it offer?
• How will I be paid?
• Pros/Cons etc
Record Contracts
When a record company offers you a contract, they will often send a 'deal memorandum (deal memo)' which outlines the main features of the deal. You will then examine this and negotiate on any points you are unhappy with until you come to a mutual agreement. This will then be drawn up into the long-winded full contract.
TYPE OF DEAL: Who will own the rights and for how long?
ADVANCE: is this enough to cover recording costs? have you already recorded any of it and, if so, would a distribution deal be more appropriate? Do you need to take time off from work to complete the album and, if so, will the advance allow you to pay bills? Do you intend to make a profit from sales after paying back the advance? [NB: see 'recoupable costs' as there may be more to the advance than you think... the advance is given in advance but they may add things to your bill during the process.]
ROYALTIES: is this a fair rate?
ARTWORK: have they budgeted for this and is it realistic? Do you need a budget for this or are you doing it yourselves/know someone who will do you a favour? Remember that the artwork is super important and get quotes if you need to.
PR: Have they budgeted for this? Do they allow you to choose who you use? Is the budget realistic?
RECOUPABLE COSTS: What else are they claiming back from you? Recording costs,, mastering, manufacturing, tour support, PR, artwork etc. Remember that any money they put forward, even if it is just for a bit of lunch in the studio, will need to be paid back by someone - you need to know if that is you, by it begin added to your advance.
EXCLUSIVITY: Does the contract allow you to work on other projects? Do you have any plans to re-release anything? Might you be offered a 'featured artist' role at some point? If you are in a band, do any of you work together on anything else outside this project?
Record Contract key Words:
- In perpetuity – forever
- Term – how long it is for
- ‘Rights’ – ownership of songs
- Recoupable – to be paid back to the label from the band out of royalties
- Exclusivity – how much they label ‘own’ you, or how free you are to be involved in other projects.
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