The venue I work for is negotiating an event contract to have a live musical performance. We have a set budget. What kind of requests can I expect in the artist rider, and what requests should I ask the performer to remove?
Nicole pretty much covered a lot of things, but I wanted to add in 2 things which are usually always on the rider. The rider will usually tell you what type of hotels to book for the artist. Food and transportation are also recurring. I think one more thing I would add is that in the rider often times, it will be mentioned how many free passes that the artist will get. Its important to look out for this because I have worked with artists that have asked for 80 free passes. Which was crazy considering it was a 500 capacity event.
There are certain items you can pretty much expect in any artist rider. But, everything is negotiable until the contract is signed. If you can’t fit everything in your budget, make it clear to the artist’s representative that you are firm about certain expenses. It never hurts to ask. However, the best thing you can do is make sure you choose a performer who fits within your budget in the first place. It’s a waste of everyone’s time and money to start negotiations with someone just to see them fall through over the budget.
That being said, here are some expenses you can expect in most riders:
-Food and beverages (possibly including liquor) for the dressing room, with enough for the performer’s group of assistants
-Bottled water for during the performance
-Comfortable furniture for the dressing room
-Private areas for the performer(s) to prepare
-Security provisions
-Equipment for the performance and technicians to set up the stage
-Lodging for the artist and their assistants
-Transportation to and from the event for the artist and their assistants, as well as transportation to and from lodgings
-Comp passes
There’s more that can be in the rider, but those are the basics you can expect. Some performers may make more outlandish requests. It’s up to you and their rep what’s negotiable and what’s not. You could also just offer a food and beverage buy-out in the contract. That means you pay a set amount of money and the artist buys their own meals and snacks.
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