If you’ve never seen a deal memo before, it can feel a bit overwhelming.
There is a lot of information to read through, process, and understand.
Becoming familiar with a deal memo is a necessary part of tour management.
It will help to guide you through budget creation, show advancing, show settlement, and tour accounting.
It can also impact tour logistics such as booking flights and hotels.
In this article, we’ll explain what a deal memo is, why it’s important, and break it down piece by piece.
What is a Deal Memo?
A deal memo in the live music industry is a document that outlines the specific terms of a performance or professional engagement.
You can think of it as a high-level overview of the nuts and bolts of a show day.
It outlines the agreement between the talent buyer and the artist’s team.
This is a helpful document to reference when the tour manager starts to build the tour with the rest of the team.
It acts as a precursor to the contract, laying out the key terms of the agreement.
Different Parts of a Deal Memo
The deal memo is typically divided into several different sections.
Every booking agency will present their deal memos in a slightly different format.
Below, we outline some of the common features found in deal memos.
Client Name
This section identifies who the deal memo is for.
It will list the artist’s stage name, along with their business name.
Show Dates
This identifies the date of the performance.
A seemingly small detail that has catastrophic consequences if not read correctly.
Number of Shows
This explains the number of performances that are part of the agreement.
This will identify if the artist is performing one set or multiple sets.
Timing Elements
This section will serve as a road map once you begin advancing.
What time do doors open? When is show time? How long is the artist’s set? What time is curfew? When are tickets on sale? Is there an age limit for the show?
Venue
This will outline where the performance is happening.
Buyer
This is the name of the company or person that is promoting the event, along with some key contacts.
- Buyer Signatory
- Promoter Contact
- Production Contact
In terms of advancing the show, the production contact is who a tour or production manager will be advancing with.
Deal Terms
This section details the compensation for the performance.
Depending on if this is a headlining performance, support slot, or festival play, you will encounter many different kinds of financial agreements.
Some common deal types you may find here include door deals, flat guarantees, versus deals, and promoter profit deals.
Deposit Schedule
This will outline if there are any deposits due for the show, along with the dates they are due.
Booking agencies will send out deposit reports detailing what has or has not been received by the agency.
This is something to clarify early in the day, prior to going into the show settlement.
Billing
This relates to how an artist’s name is presented on marketing materials or the marquee.
Examples could include an evening with, headlining, co-headlining, and supporting.
Performance Length
This is the length of time the artist agrees to perform.
This can be a specific length of time, or it can include more general language such as “artists to perform one complete set.”
If you’re on a headlining run with festival dates mixed in, it’s a good idea to identify any variations in set length.
This helps to avoid performing for too long, but also not long enough.
Sound & Lights
This explains who is providing and paying for sound and lights.
On a mid-level club tour, this typically is in reference to base-level house gear that will get the show off the ground.
This normally includes a house audio package and PA, along with house lighting consoles and fixtures.
This does not include any type of supplemental production that the tour may end up deciding to carry.
Sometimes there will be a sidecar to the artist guarantee called a production reimbursement.
This is a non-commissionable fee intended to supplement the cost of artist production.
Support Talent
This identifies who support is (if any), and what compensation they are to receive.
For a developing artist, this is typically a flat fee.
Catering
This answers who is providing and paying for the hospitality budget.
Normally, a promoter will cover hospitality expenses up to a predetermined amount.
The show expenses section further down the page will identify the available catering budget.
At times, this appears as a standalone line item, but sometimes the house nut includes the catering fee.
A house nut is a collection of different expenses that it takes to produce a show in a particular room.
Travel and Accommodations
This section will outline if any type of hotel or airfare is being provided by the buyer.
When preparing a hotel sketch for a tour, it’s important to review this section and flag it on your hotel sketch.
Destination venues will often have lodging on-site, or the buyer will have a relationship with a local hotelier.
Depending on logistics, sometimes you can request a hotel buyout and apply it as you see fit.
There is a benefit and a level of comfort in working with a travel agent who is familiar with the needs of your group.
Relying on someone else who isn’t familiar with your group can sometimes lead to avoidable lodging headaches.
Marketing
This section explains who the marketing contacts are and who the on-sales should be coordinated with.
This section is good to be aware of when it comes to ad spends for a show, and making sure it’s in line with settlement.
Additional Provisions
This section can be any and everything under the sun.
What is included here is highly dependent on the unique needs of the tour.
A key term to look for is per advance.
Per advance is the fine-tuning of the high-level overview.
It’s when things start to come into focus.
Additional parts of this section might include a breakdown of who should receive comp tickets, and in what amount.
If there is a VIP component, that is typically outlined in a very bare-bones format.
There could also be a mention of how recording or archival footage approvals should work.
This section will normally include an advancing contact for the tour, along with banking details for any deposits.
Again, what you find in this section really depends on the tour you’re on.
Merchandise
This section will outline the terms of the merch agreement.
Venues will frequently retain a percentage of hard and soft merch sales.
Physical recorded media is hard merch, while t-shirts and other cloth items make up soft merch.
It will also specify who is responsible for selling the merchandise.
If the venue is selling the merchandise, it is referred to as a venue sells.
If the tour is selling the merchandise, it is referred to as an artist sells.
Depending on the region you are touring in could include additional terms and agreements regarding merchandise.
Ticket Prices & Fees
This is an important section to pay attention to.
There can be multiple tiers of ticket prices depending on the venue the artist is performing in.
On the most basic level tickets are broken into pre-sales and day-of-show purchases.
There is typically an increase in price for day-of-show purchases.
Other items to look out for include facility fees, artist donations, and preservation fees.
Ultimately, all of these different ticketing tiers and deductions will come into play during settlement.
Expenses
This is another section to have a good grasp of leading into the settlement.
Common expense categories include advertising, catering, rentals, staffing, labor, parking, insurance, performance royalty organizations, and more.
Again, the expenses you find in this section are very much based on the specific venue you are performing in.
Shows in an arena will have different expense considerations compared to a club-level show.
A lot of the concepts are similar, and you’ll just end up adding zeros the larger shows you do.
The actual expenses for a show will often vary when compared to what is estimated in a deal memo.
It’s good to clarify who is paying for something if anything exceeds the original budget.
A show cost is paid for by the promoter, whereas an artist cost is paid for by the tour.
Conclusion
Being able to understand a deal memo is an absolute requirement to be a successful tour manager.
They help to get everyone on the same page and help to iron out potential issues leading into show day.
If there is something you don’t understand on a deal memo, get in the habit of asking versus assuming and you will make it a lot further with less trouble.
Remember, the goal of a deal memo is to foster smooth communication and coordination among all parties involved in the tour.
The more adept you become at reading and implementing these memos, the more streamlined your tour management process will be, leading to successful, problem-free shows.