Questions to Ask When Booking a Music Venue
Questions for bands, solo artists and small promoters to put to the person who books a room, before a show is confirmed and announced. They follow the order a booking usually takes: the date and the room, the deal, promotion, sound and stage, the running of show day, then payment and terms. Most of it fits in one email, and the deal is worth a phone call.
Want questions from the whole vault instead? Try the random question generator.
The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
Date and room
Is the date we want open, and will you hold it while we confirm the rest of the bill?
Why ask it
Put the date in the first email along with links to your music, who else would play and an honest figure for how many people you bring in that town. A hold is not a confirmed show, so ask whether yours is a first or second hold and the day it lapses. If the date is gone, ask which nights the booker is trying to fill.
Are we booking the whole night, or one slot on a bill you are putting together?
Why ask it
Everything after this depends on the answer: who finds the other acts, who promotes and how the money is divided. When the venue builds the bill, ask who else is on it and in what order. When you build it, ask the deadline for the lineup and whether the booker has to approve each act.
What is the capacity of the room, and how many people make it feel full?
Why ask it
The licensed number and the comfortable number are different things, and tables or rows of seats change both. A hundred people in a room for 150 is a great night, and the same hundred in a room for 500 looks like a flop in every photo. Ask whether a balcony can be closed or the floor curtained off for a smaller show.
Is the show all ages, or is there an age limit at the door?
Why ask it
Age rules come from the venue's license and from where it is, so ask how it works in that room instead of assuming. If much of your audience is young, a limit cuts your draw before a ticket is sold. Ask as well whether a band member under the limit is allowed to perform.
What kind of acts do well here, and how did the last show like ours sell?
Why ask it
A booker knows which styles bring in the regulars and which nights depend entirely on the act's own crowd. A real number from a recent comparable show is worth more than encouragement. What you are finding out is whether anyone will walk in who did not come for you.
Is anything else happening in the building that night, before or after our show?
Why ask it
A club night after you means a hard finish and a load-out through a line of people arriving. A second room running its own show means a shared loading door and sound coming through the wall. Ask the exact time your stage has to be clear.
Are there other shows or events nearby that week that would compete with ours?
Why ask it
A similar act across town two days earlier, a festival weekend or a big game can each thin your crowd, and the person who fills the room's calendar usually sees them coming. Moving a week costs nothing at this stage and is close to impossible once tickets are on sale.
Do you ask for a radius clause, and how far and how long does it reach?
Why ask it
A radius clause is a promise not to play nearby for a stretch of weeks either side of the date. Get the distance and both dates in writing and check them against shows you have already agreed. Mention any that fall inside it now, while it is still a conversation and not a broken promise.
The deal
What kind of deal is it: a guarantee, a door split, a guarantee versus a percentage, or a room rental?
Why ask it
Each one puts the risk in a different place. A guarantee pays the same whatever the turnout, a split pays only on what sells, a versus deal pays the guarantee or the percentage, whichever comes to more, and a rental means you pay the venue and keep the tickets. Have the booker write the offer out in one line so you can set it beside offers from other rooms.
If entry is free, how are the acts paid: a flat fee, a share of the bar, or a tip jar?
Why ask it
With no ticket there is no door to split, so the money has to be named some other way. A share of the bar needs the same care as a door deal: which hours are counted, and who shows you the register total. If the only answer is a tip jar, decide whether the room and its regulars are worth a night at cost.
On a door deal, what comes off the top before the split is worked out?
Why ask it
The sound engineer, the door person, security and advertising are often charged against the gross before anyone's percentage is counted. Ask for each expense as a figure and for the total. Then work out what you would take home with 50 people in the room and with 100.
Is there a room rental fee or a bar minimum, and what happens if the night falls short?
Why ask it
Some venues call the rental a hire fee, and some reduce or waive it once the bar reaches a set figure. Find out who pays the gap if the bar comes up short, and whether that is settled on the night or invoiced later. Work out how many tickets cover the rental before you say yes.
Would we be expected to sell a set number of tickets ourselves, or pay for the ones we do not sell?
Why ask it
This is pay to play, and it should be said plainly before anything is agreed. If the answer is yes, ask what the venue itself does to sell the night. An arrangement where all the risk and all the selling are yours is one you are free to turn down.
Who sets the ticket price, and what will a fan pay at checkout once fees are added?
Why ask it
Whoever books the room has watched what its audience will pay, so hear the suggestion out even if the price is yours to set. Ask to see both the face value and the final figure, because fans tend to hold the act responsible for the total. Check too whether the price goes up on the day of the show.
Which ticketing platform do you use, and who keeps the booking fees?
Why ask it
A venue may be tied to one ticket seller, and the fees can sit outside the money that is split with you. Ask whether you can have an allocation to sell to your own fans, or a tracked link, and whether those sales count toward the deal in the same way.
How will we see the advance sales before the show and the door count on the night?
Why ask it
A weekly count or a login to the ticketing report tells you early whether to push harder. On the night, the settlement sheet should show tickets scanned, walk-up sales and the guest list. If nobody can show you those numbers, you are taking the payout on trust.
How is the money divided between the acts on the bill?
Why ask it
Where the venue pays the headliner and the headliner pays the support, you need that figure before you invite anyone. Agree each act's fee or share by message ahead of the date. It is also worth asking whether the venue will pay every act directly, which saves an awkward count in the parking lot.
Do you take a cut of merchandise sales, and is it different for music and clothing?
Why ask it
Some rooms take nothing and some take a percentage, occasionally at different rates for recordings and shirts. Ask whether the cut is on the gross, how sales are counted and whether the venue insists on its own seller. On a night where merch is most of your income, this answer can decide whether the show pays.
What hospitality comes with the deal: a meal, drinks, a buyout?
Why ask it
Count everyone who travels: a band of four with a driver and a sound engineer is six meals, not four. Where the kitchen shuts before you arrive, a cash buyout is a fair thing to request instead. Send allergies and dietary needs with the advance, not at the bar on the night.
Promotion
What does the venue do to promote the show, and what do you expect from us?
Why ask it
Push for specifics: the listing, the email list, posters in the room, social posts, any paid advertising. An answer that stops at the website tells you the selling is yours. That is workable if you know it now and the deal reflects it.
When will the show be announced, and when do tickets go on sale?
Why ask it
Timing matters if the date belongs to a tour or follows a release. Agree a day and an hour so the venue's post and yours go out together. Ask whether a similar act goes on sale that week, and pick a different day if so.
What do you need from us for the listing: photos, a bio, links, poster artwork?
Why ask it
Get the image sizes and the deadline in the same reply. Then settle who designs the poster, who pays for printing and whether the venue's logo or ticket link has to appear on it. A listing with no photo and a bio from three years ago is usually the act's doing.
Can you suggest a local opener who would bring a crowd of their own?
Why ask it
For a show away from home, a local opener with its own following may sell more tickets than any poster. Listen to the names the booker gives before you invite anyone. If the venue would rather add an act itself, ask to be told before it is announced.
Does our show get its own email to your list, or a line in a roundup?
Why ask it
A venue's mailing list reaches people who already go to that room, which often makes it the most useful promotion the venue has. If a dedicated email is possible, get the date it goes out. Offering a short piece of text and one good photo makes saying yes easy.
Sound and stage
What PA and monitors does the room have, and can you send the tech spec?
Why ask it
A spec sheet lists the speakers, the mixing board, the monitor wedges and the microphones. Pass it to whoever looks after your sound and set it against your input list. Where no document exists, a few phone photos of the board and the stage do most of the same job.
Is a house sound engineer included, and are they there for soundcheck as well as the show?
Why ask it
In some rooms the engineer is a line in the expenses, and in others they arrive when the doors open. Ask for a name and an email so your stage plot reaches the person who will read it. If there is no engineer at all, you need to hear that early enough to bring one.
Can we bring our own engineer, and what would they be allowed to touch?
Why ask it
Plenty of rooms welcome a visiting engineer with the house tech standing by, and some keep the system settings locked. Ask whether yours can mix on the house board or should bring their own, and whether the house engineer's fee is charged either way.
What backline is in the house: drum kit, bass amp, guitar amps, keyboard stand?
Why ask it
A house drum kit can mean shells only, with cymbals, snare and kick pedal yours to bring, so get the make, the condition and what is included. On a bill of several acts, find out whether sharing backline is expected and whose it will be.
How big is the stage, and how high is it off the floor?
Why ask it
Width and depth, in feet or meters, tell you whether your stage plot fits, and six people on a stage built for a trio is better redrawn at home than during soundcheck. Height decides whether the back of the room can see anyone. A photo taken from the sound booth answers both at once.
How many inputs and separate monitor mixes can you run?
Why ask it
Count your own channels first, then compare. If you need more than the board offers, decide at home what gets combined or dropped. Anyone on in-ear monitors should ask whether the engineer can feed them and what cables or splitters to bring.
What stage lighting is there, and does someone operate it during the set?
Why ask it
In a small room the lights are often set once and left. If you want a blackout between songs, or no strobes because someone in the band is sensitive to them, say so in the advance. Ask about haze too, since a room's smoke detectors may rule it out.
Is there a volume limit or a sound limiter in the room, and where is it measured?
Why ask it
Get the figure in decibels and find out what happens when it is passed: a warning light, a word from the engineer or the stage going silent. A hard-hitting drummer can reach some limits before a single microphone is switched on, which changes how you play the room. Settle this while you are still choosing the venue, not at soundcheck.
Is there enough power on stage, and where are the outlets?
Why ask it
Pedalboards, amps, keyboards and a laptop add up quickly. Find out how many outlets are on stage and which side they are on, and pack your own extension cords and power strips regardless. Acts traveling from another country should check the voltage and the plug type too.
Can we record or film the show, and can we take a feed from the soundboard?
Why ask it
A multitrack recording may carry a charge, and some rooms have rules about cameras. If a board mix is all you want, ask what format the engineer can hand over. Check as well whether the venue films shows for its own channels and what it does with the footage.
Show day
What time is load-in, and which door do we bring the gear through?
Why ask it
Get the entrance, the stairs or elevator and how far the vehicle will be from the stage. Turning up at the wrong door with a full van comes straight out of your soundcheck. Ask who will be there to let you in and for that person's phone number.
Where can we park the van, and can it stay there overnight?
Why ask it
Unloading and parking are two questions: a spot outside the door may be yours for twenty minutes only. Ask about cost and height limits, and about a trailer if you have one. If gear would sit in the van overnight, ask whether it can be locked inside the venue instead.
When is soundcheck, how long do we get, and do the support acts get one?
Why ask it
Checks often run in reverse order, headliner first and opener last, so the stage is left set for the first act. If the support gets only a line check, tell them before they travel. Ask what happens to your slot if traffic makes you late.
What are the door time, the set times and the hard curfew?
Why ask it
The running order belongs in writing: doors, each act, each changeover, curfew. What happens when a set runs over ranges from a quiet word to the power being cut, so find out which it is here. Build your set length backward from the curfew.
How long are the changeovers between acts, and who runs the stage?
Why ask it
Fifteen minutes is comfortable on shared backline and tight for a full drum kit swap. Find out whether a stage manager keeps time or the acts sort it out between themselves. Pass the plan to the other bands so nobody is hunting for a cable at changeover.
Is there a green room, and does it lock?
Why ask it
One small room shared by every act on the bill is a common setup, so find out who else is in it and whether you can reach a restroom without crossing the audience. Where there is no backstage at all, ask where cases, coats and bags are meant to go during the show. Never assume instruments are safe in an unlocked room.
Where does the merch table go, and is there light, power and a phone signal?
Why ask it
A table by the exit tends to do better than one in a dark corner behind the sound booth. Ask whether you can set up before doors and whether a table is supplied. Card readers need a signal, so ask about wifi if the room is a basement.
How many guest list places do we get, and when do you need the names?
Why ask it
Guest list places usually count toward capacity, and on a door deal each one is a ticket you did not sell. Ask the cut-off time for names and whether plus-ones are allowed. Photographers and press are sometimes handled on a separate list, so ask who approves those.
Who runs the door on the night, and can people leave and come back in?
Why ask it
The person on the door takes the money and gives your fans their first impression of the night, and their count is what your settlement rests on. If the venue decides your show needs extra security, find out now whether that cost lands on you. The re-entry rule is worth knowing so you can answer the fans who message you about it.
Can a person who uses a wheelchair reach the audience area, the restroom and the stage?
Why ask it
A description of the step-free route is more use than a yes or no, and so is knowing whether there is a viewing spot with a clear sightline. If a member of your band needs it, the stage and backstage matter as much as the floor. Put the answer on the event page so fans do not have to write in to ask.
Who is our contact on the night, and what time do they arrive?
Why ask it
The booker who made the deal is often not in the building for the show. Get the name and number of the night manager or production contact. A week ahead, send that person your arrival time, head count, stage plot and input list.
Payment and terms
Will the offer be confirmed in writing, and who signs it?
Why ask it
At the least you want one email that states the date, the deal, the times, the capacity and the ticket price. Many small rooms work from email alone, and that is fine when every number is in it. Reply to confirm, so both sides hold the same thread.
When and how are we paid, and is a deposit due in either direction?
Why ask it
Find out who settles and at what hour, because the manager may have gone home by the time you finish loading out. For a bank transfer, ask how many days it takes and what the invoice has to show. On a rental you will usually be asked for a deposit, so pin down when the balance falls due.
Is any tax taken out of the fee, and what paperwork do you need from us?
Why ask it
Tax on performance fees depends on the country, and sometimes on where the act is based, so ask the venue how it handles this. Find out before the show which forms or registration numbers are wanted. For anything beyond the venue's own process, an accountant is the right person to ask.
What happens if the venue cancels the show or moves us to another night?
Why ask it
Three things need an answer: whether any of the fee is still paid, whether travel you have already paid for is considered, and how ticket buyers get their money back. Get it into the confirmation email. A booker who has thought about this will answer in a sentence.
What happens if we have to cancel, and how much notice do you need?
Why ask it
Illness and breakdowns catch up with most touring acts sooner or later. Ask whether anything is owed, whether the date can be moved instead and who tells the people holding tickets. Knowing the notice period lets you make a hard call early.
If ticket sales are slow, is there a point where you would pull the show?
Why ask it
Some venues cancel a low seller a week or two out. Ask the number and the date of that decision, and what could be tried before it: a lower price, a local act added, a move to a smaller room in the same building.
Do we need our own insurance, and who is responsible if gear is damaged or stolen?
Why ask it
Requirements differ from venue to venue and place to place, so ask what the venue needs to see and by what date. Find out too what its own coverage leaves out. Unless you are told otherwise in writing, treat your instruments as your own risk.
Who handles music licensing for the night, and do you need our set list?
Why ask it
How live performance is licensed depends on the country, so ask what the venue files and what it wants from the acts. If you write your own songs, your performing rights organization can tell you whether and how to claim for the show. Keep a copy of the set list either way.
How to book a show with a venue
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
Before you write to the booker
Know your real draw
Count the people who paid to see you the last time you played that town, not your followers. A booker hears inflated numbers every week and remembers the acts whose figure matched the door. If you have never played there, say so and say who on the bill has.
Choose a room you can fill
Look at the listings for a month and see who plays there and on which nights. A venue two sizes too big makes a decent turnout look thin and makes the booker less likely to have you back. Selling out a small room is the better story to bring to the next one.
Keep the first email short
One date or a range of dates, one link to a live video, the proposed bill, your draw and a line on how you will promote. Leave the full questions for the reply. Bookers skim, and an email that fits on a phone screen gets answered first.
Decide your floor in advance
Add up fuel, a place to sleep, food and what each player needs to take home. That total is the least the night has to make. Having the number ready keeps you from agreeing on the phone to a deal that loses money.
Reading the offer
Run the split at three turnouts
Take the ticket price, subtract the expenses the venue named and apply your percentage at a poor night, an average one and a sellout. An offer that sounds generous at capacity can pay almost nothing at half full. The middle figure is the one to plan on.
Set a flat fee beside a percentage
A modest guarantee can beat a large share of a door that might be quiet, and the reverse holds when you know your crowd will come. A versus deal, the guarantee or the percentage, whichever is larger, gives you the floor and the upside, so ask for it when you have a track record in that town.
Count what the venue supplies
A room with a good PA, an engineer, backline and a meal has paid for things you would otherwise rent or buy. Put a rough value on each before comparing two offers. The lower fee is sometimes the better night.
When renting the room makes sense
A rental suits a promoter or an act with a dependable local audience, because every ticket past the break-even is yours. It suits a first show in a new town badly. Work out the break-even in tickets and ask yourself whether you would bet the rental fee on reaching it.
From confirmed to show day
Send an advance sheet
About a week out, email the night's contact one page: arrival time, number of people, vehicle, stage plot, input list, hospitality needs and your phone number. Ask them to confirm load-in, soundcheck, doors, set times and curfew in their reply.
Share the plan with the other acts
Forward the running order, the backline arrangement and the soundcheck times to every band on the bill. Most show-day arguments start with one act hearing the schedule for the first time at the venue.
Settle before you load out
Find the manager while the last act is still on, or as soon as you finish, and go through the settlement together. Check the ticket count, the expenses and the merch cut against what was agreed in the email. Questions are easy to raise that night and hard to raise a week later.
Leave the room wanting you back
Start and finish on time, thank the engineer by name and clear the stage quickly. Send the booker a short note the next day with the attendance and a photo. The next date, and often a better deal, comes from that note.
Warning signs in an offer
Numbers that stay verbal
A booker who will state the deal on the phone and not in an email is leaving room to remember it differently. Write it up yourself and ask for a one-word reply. If even that does not come, do not announce the show.
Expenses with no figures
A split after costs means little when the costs have no amounts beside them. Ask for each one, and ask whether there is a cap. An open-ended expense line can swallow a full room.
All the selling on your side
Ticket quotas, a rental fee and no promotion from the venue add up to renting a stage. That can still be worth doing for the right night, as long as you call it what it is and price it that way.
No spec and nobody to ask
If the venue cannot tell you what the PA is, who mixes or when you can get in, show day will be spent finding out. Ask for the name of someone who knows the room, or for an act that played there recently, before you commit.