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This article is written by Vartika Khanduja, pursuing a Diploma in Advanced Contract Drafting, Negotiation and Dispute Resolution from LawSikho.com.

Introduction

A venue promoter is someone who publicises and promotes events assigned to him. The event may range from being upcoming local or national, convocations or concerts, launches events or rallies, birthdays or weddings, so on and so forth. The task of a promoter ranges from initial preparations related to organising of events viz. choosing of dates which are followed by booking of venue depending on the occasion, performers for the event and its advertisement, to event day arrangements like security, catering, crowd management, backstage management and million things in between like contacting artists, preparing schedules, negotiating for fees, getting various permissions and approvals made etc. 

Importance of a promoter

Behind the scenes, the work of a promoter is so wide that it often overlaps with that of talent buyers, agents, event producers and other people working with them. But there happens to be quite a difference between them as while a talent buyer only books performers for the venue where they work and a booking agent is confined to representing performers looking to set up live shows, the concert promoters aren’t affiliated with any specific venue or artist. Rather, they work independently. They plan, market, and sometimes produce live concerts, including single shows, tours, festivals, and special events. The importance of a promoter can be briefly understood by the following tasks he carries out:

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  1. Budgeting,
  2. Securing permissions,
  3. The deal, 
  4. Event promotion, and
  5. Event day preparations.

Budgeting

The event budget can be explained as a projection of the income and expenditure that will incur in the event based on plans made and information gathered. Any event at heart is a numbers game, and since promoters assume all the financial risk on the event they put on, they need to be sure that the event ends up being profitable. Success hinges entirely on the promoter’s market savvy, negotiating skills, and ability to recruit a suitable crowd. Once a budget is in place, the organiser might secure performers, pick a venue, and negotiate contracts and fees.

Securing permissions

Promoters do not have easy jobs. It is a ton of work for concert promoters who have hundreds of tasks to get done, thousands of details to attend. As organising an event may seem a task for a day but behind it, many more things have to be managed, events in themselves mean crowd and crowd mean public management which requires convincing public authorities and coordinating with, informing the local administration. A denial to this may lead to serious legal action on the organiser which in turn will result in loss of event managers’ credibility, besides bringing a bad name.

The deal 

While you take on a new client for planning an event, don’t rely on a verbal agreement as it is never enough. A well written, and briefed event contract which outlines the terms and conditions of service is necessary. The contract will be the go-to source if a dispute arises. In your contract and in your event planning timeline, set a due date for the initial deposit. It’s possible that a client may pull out midway through the event planning process. In this case, your contract can protect you from monetary loss. In the contract, including the scenarios that allow you to opt-out. A termination clause should not be confused with the terms of cancellation. This may include weather-related incidents, a government shutdown, a pandemic, or another disaster.

Event promotion

Promotion is essential for all events and should be approached in a structured manner. Identification of your target crowd should take place at the outset of the planning process and knowledge of your targeted audience should guide each and every stage of the planning process. 

A promoter comes into the scene here as he knows the audience suitable for your event and strategies to approach them in order to attract appropriate numbers and mix of people to your event. He has a clear idea of your potential customers, who they are, who they will attend with, where they live, what media they are exposed to and what they will be expecting while attending your event. As the concert promoter, he is expected to create a buzz-worthy event where everyone has an amazing time.

Event day preparations 

 The day of the event is the most crucial day as all the preparations which were being made are going to bear fruit on this day. During or before a performance in order to avoid any unexpected glitch like artists just before an event asking for some pretty crazy stuff you need a pre-decided contract and negotiations This is where an event promoter comes into the scene.

At the event, it’s your job to make sure everyone has a great time and makes profits in the end. At the centre of it all, it is making sure the artist(s) are taken care of. This doesn’t just mean stocking the green room with a musician’s favourite bottled water. It means making sure the venue is ready to provide the right environment for their type of performance. It means promoting and marketing the event to the right people so there’s a full house with an enthusiastic crowd.

Venue promoter agreement

Parties to the agreement

Mr X (Name of the Promoter/ Name of the selected representative in case there is a company) (hereinafter referred to as “Promoter”) 

And

Mr. Y (Name of the Artist/ Name of the Represented Agent or Manager of the Artist) (hereinafter referred to as “Artist”)

Recitals 

  • Details of the Promoter (whether Promoter is a single person or Promoter is representing its company) 
  • Details of the Artist (Talent and skills of Artist) 
  • Object/ Purpose of the Agreement
  • Date of Performance
  • Location of the Venue

 Performance Clause 

  • Date of the event
  • Time of the event
  • The approximate number of guests who will attend the event
  • Details of the live performance
  • Access available to the venue prior to a performance of the artist
  • Duration of the live performance
  • Details of the venue (whether the performance is in an open, auditorium or in a stadium)
  • Backstage requirement of the artist

Payment Clause

This clause includes payment terms and conditions as agreed by the parties such as: 

  • Total Amount to be paid by the Promoter,
  • Booking charges or Advance paid by Promoter,
  • Balance Amount, 
  • Mode of Payment of Balance Amount (whether in instalments or in one go), 
  • Due Date(s) of Balance Amount. 

   Obligations of the Artist

  • The Artist shall himself examine the sound system prior to the performance.
  • The Artist shall be bound to terms and conditions of this Agreement in a case when manager or agent enters into this Agreement on behalf of the Artist. 
  • The Artist shall publicise the event on all his social media platforms and website.
  • The Artist shall make himself available for promotional activities with the Promoter provided if reasonable notice is given to the Artist by the Promoter for the same

Artists shall provide the list of technical requirements to the Promoter prior to 30 days of the event. 

Obligations of the Promoter

  • The Promoter shall provide a venue and sales facilities on the night of the show. 
  • The Promoter shall promote the event to the best ability.  
  • The Promoter shall provide the Artist details of the technical specifications of the venue prior to thirty days previous to the event.
  • The Promoter shall provide security to the Artist. The Promoter will arrange for Pick up and drop off of the Artist from the Airport to the hotel and from the hotel to the Venue of the event and then back to Airport including all the transfers and baggage costs. The Promoter shall ensure the safety and comfort of the Artist during the performance of the Artist. 
  • The Promoter shall provide and pay for all the technical assistance requires by the Artist.
  • The Promoter shall arrange and for the accommodation of the Artist and will bear for lodging and fooding of the Artist.
  • The Promoter shall provide one main meal with a drink, alcoholic if desired, to the Artist and a maximum of 3 other individuals.
  • The Promoter shall pay for and supply the Artist with all of the elements contained in her personal Rider, on the day of the event prior to the performance.

Privacy Clause

The Promoter shall not be entitled to record, videotape, reproduce, transmit or share any part of the Artist Performance, nor shall he encourage any such behaviour, but on the contrary refrain from it 

The Promoter shall ensure no photographs, or videos of the event should be released in the media and internet without the prior consent of the Artist. 

Cancellation 

  1. If Promoter wishes to cancel then Promoter shall give prior information to the Artist in case of the cancellation of the Event if such notice is given to the Artist at least 15 days prior to the event, in such situation Artist has right to retain the amount paid by the Promoter. 
  2. The Promoter if cancels the event at the last moment then Promoter shall pay the total amount due to the Artist 
  3. In case if the Artist cancels the event he is bound to refund the amount received by him and for losses incurred to the Promoter.

Termination Clause

The Promoter and Artist shall have the right to terminate the Agreement in case either of the parties breaches the terms and conditions laid out in this Agreement. 

Force Majeure Clause 

This clause covers both parties when the event has to be cancelled due to unforeseen events which are inevitable and beyond the control of either party. These events can be weather-related events, pandemic, government restrictions or any other event. This clause is now an important clause because of prevailing uncertainty due to pandemic.

Conclusion

In this cutthroat competitive era in order to ensure a smooth progression of an event, it has now become mandatory to employ such venue promoter agreement not only these agreements avoid willy nilly arrangement of an event but also make the relationship between the parties dispute free and hassle-free.

References

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