What Should Musicians Agree on Before a Live Gig? A Live Performance Agreement Checklist

You have been offered a gig. The date suits you, the fee is fine, and you want to say yes. This is the moment to spend ten minutes agreeing the details, because once you are on stage, it is too late.

Many disputes between musicians and organisers are not about bad intentions. They are about two people remembering a conversation differently. A short written live performance agreement, even an informal one, prevents most of them.

Here is what to agree, in the order it usually comes up.

1. The basics: date, times and place

• The date and venue, with the full address.
• Arrival time and sound check time.
• Performance start and end times, and how many sets, with breaks.
• A contact person on the day, with a phone number, who can make decisions.

If there are rehearsals, for example with a singer you have not played with or for a choreographed sangeet performance, agree their dates, times and place too, and whether they are paid.

2. The fee and when it is paid

• The total fee, and exactly what it covers: how many musicians, how many sets, which equipment.
• The advance: how much, and when it is due. An advance confirms the date for both sides.
• The balance: how much, and when. On the night, the next day, or within a stated number of days.
• How it is paid: bank transfer, UPI or cash, and to whom.
• Overtime: what happens if the organiser asks you to play longer than agreed.
• Paperwork: whether the organiser needs an invoice from you, and if they are a business, whether any tax will be deducted from the payment.

Write the payment dates down. "We'll settle after the event" can mean anything.

3. What you will play

• The style and the kind of set: covers, originals or a mix.
• Requests, such as a first-dance song, and songs to avoid.
• Languages, especially for weddings and mixed audiences.
• Who decides the set list, and by when it must be shared.

4. Sound and equipment

• Who provides the sound system, microphones, monitors and lighting, and who operates them.
• What the venue already has, such as a drum kit or amplifiers.
• Power: enough sockets near the stage, and a backup if the event is outdoors.
• Stage space for your line-up.

If you have a technical rider, a list of everything you need to perform, send it early so the organiser and the venue can confirm what they can provide.

5. Travel, accommodation and food

• Who pays for transport, including moving heavy equipment, and late-night travel home.
• Accommodation for out-of-town events.
• Meals and water for the musicians and crew.
• Parking or a loading point for equipment.

6. Cancellation and postponement

This is a term people often skip, and it can cause the hardest disagreements.

• If the organiser cancels: is the advance kept? Is any further amount due, and does it depend on how close to the date it happens?
• If you cannot perform, for example through illness: do you send a replacement, refund the advance, or both?
• If the event is postponed: does the agreement move to the new date, and what if you are not free?
• Things outside anyone's control, such as severe weather or an official ban on events: how are they handled?

There is no single right answer. What matters is that both sides agree before the day, so neither is surprised.

7. Recording, photos and streaming

• Will the performance be recorded, filmed or streamed? By whom, and for what use?
• Can the organiser use the recording on social media or in advertising?
• Can you use it for your own portfolio?
• Is there an extra fee for recording or broadcast use?

Many artists are happy for clips to be shared, but a full recording used commercially is a different arrangement. Agree it up front.

8. Publicity

• How you will be named in posters and posts, and which photo or logo to use.
• When the organiser needs your material for promotion.
• Whether you will share the event on your own channels.

9. Music licences

If the event involves performing songs written by other people, some events need licences. Agree who is responsible for any licence the event requires. It is usually a question for the organiser or the venue, but it is worth asking rather than assuming.

How to put your agreement in writing

For many gigs you do not need a lawyer. A simple approach that works:

1. After you agree the details, send one message or email listing them, point by point.
2. Ask the organiser to reply confirming it.
3. Keep the message, along with any payment receipts.
4. If anything changes, confirm the change in writing too.

For larger engagements, such as a festival, a tour or a long residency, a formal contract is worth having, and a lawyer can review it.

Where Gig'le fits

On Gig'le, organisers post gigs with the craft, location, experience level and pay stated, so the most important term is clear before you apply. When an organiser accepts your application, use this checklist to confirm the rest with them. Gig'le connects musicians with organisers and venues; it does not hold or process gig payments, so the agreement is between you and the organiser. Browse open music gigs or all gigs, and see how it works.

If you are still looking for the gig in the first place, read how to find paid gigs as an independent musician. If you are on the other side, organising an event, our guide to hiring a live band for a wedding covers the same terms from the organiser's view.

The checklist

Copy this into your notes and go through it for every gig.

• Basics: date, venue address, arrival, sound check, start and end times, number of sets, contact on the day
• Rehearsals: dates, times, place, paid or not
• Fee: total, what it covers, advance, balance, payment method, payment dates, overtime, invoice and tax
• Set: style, covers or originals, requests, songs to avoid, languages, set list deadline
• Sound: who provides and operates it, what the venue has, power, stage space, technical rider
• Travel: transport, equipment, accommodation, meals, parking
• Cancellation: if the organiser cancels, if you cannot perform, postponement, events outside anyone's control
• Recording: who records, what use, organiser's use, your use, extra fee
• Publicity: your name and photo, deadlines
• Licences: who arranges any the event needs

Join Gig'le to find gigs where the pay is stated up front.