Performing - It's Good For You
Performing your music live is one of the main ways to making a living as a muso. Securing live gigs, whether it be the local pub or the WAMI Awards, gets you noticed, increases your skills, may give you some income and is of course a good promotional tool for your releases.

If you already have an experienced agent or manager, you can probably be pretty confident they will be busily organising gigs for you. Even so, it’s a good idea to have an understanding of the arrangements yourself, and be in a better position to give input into what’s going on.

If you or your band are just starting out, you’ll need to doing all the work such as ringing up potential venues, finding out what sort of music, and profile of performers the venues prefer, and whether they use a booking agent. Once you have a venue, its important to understand some of the basic points that should be agreed upon with any ‘employer’ of you and your act.

Check out the “Playing Live” page of WAM’s “Notes for Young Players” for info on playing live.

Performance Contracts
If you’ve scored a venue, several basic issues should be covered by a performance contract:

• Who will be performing and what you will be performing;
• Where and when (date and times) the performance will take place;
• How long the performance will run and whether it will have breaks etc;
• How much you will be paid and when you will be paid, including any deposit;
• If you and your band members are entitled to any complimentary tickets or ‘rider’;
• Who is responsible for providing the PA and any specific requirements you have;
• Terms dealing with cancellation by both you and the ‘employer’ before the show.

Of course other terms may be relevant, depending on your needs or other issues that arise.

Some venues may have a standard form booking contract that will cover these basic terms. If they don’t, make sure you discuss the main terms and confirm them in writing, even if it’s by way of a short letter. Check out the “Contracts Generally” pages of WAM GUFF - Legalease It to refresh!

The contract or agreement may be with a venue owner or operator, promoter or another band. Either way, you want to make sure your agreement is with someone with authority to agree. Agreements with another band may not help you if that band haven’t agreed with the venue.

Practical Considerations
There are all sorts of practical considerations to performing and touring. Ideally, these will be agreed and set out in the performance contract. Some examples of these practical matters are:

• Set up - there should be enough lead-in time to bump-in, set up, and do all sound and lighting checks before the show, and enough lead-out time to clear away all equipment. There should also be proper access to the venue and stage and adequate power it etc;
• Venue - anything supplied by the venue or promoter should be in good working order;
• Security - the venue or promoter should provide proper security for both you and your equipment, and provide adequate security to supervise the audience during the show and bounce at the door where you are being paid from door takings (or taking them yourself);
• Dressing Rooms - ideally, these should be properly equipped, for your exclusive use, and be secure. If you have any “special requirements”, these can be included in the contract;
• Recording the performance - the contract should state that no one with audio or visual recording equipment will be allowed to attend the gig without your prior written consent;
• Permits and consents - it is up to a venue or promoter to obtain all permits and consents, such as any necessary APRA venue permits or applicable noise or liquor licenses; and
• Ticket Sales - the contract should allow a representative of the band or artist to have full access to and supervise both the box office and door sales (if you are to be paid that way).

Payment for Live Shows
There are various options for payment to a live performer in the music industry. The options that you may come across more frequently (other than payment in fermented beverages!) are:

• A set performance fee;
• A percentage of gross or net income earned from the show;
• A minimum fee or percentage of the gross or net income (whichever is greater); or
• A minimum fee plus an escalating percentage of gross income above a certain amount.

In any case, you should make sure exactly when you will be paid, including an initial deposit. The deposit may be as much as 50% of the total fee and is often payable on signing the deal.

Termination
If either you or the venue or promoter wish to cancel the show, this should only be done with reasonable prior notice (21 days before a gig is the period required by the Musicians Union). If the venue/promoter cancels outside of 21 days (or other period you might agree), it should forfeit the deposit. If it cancels later than 21 days, then it should pay you the whole gig fee.

Your agreement should allow you to terminate at any time prior to the performance if you are unable to perform because of sickness, injury for example, or anything beyond your control.

Touring and Promoters
As with all matters relating to your music, touring is something you can do yourself (along with a manager) or you can use a promoter to handle all the necessary administrative tasks of booking gigs, such as dealing with venues, publicity, media, lighting, transport and supply of food and beverages. The promoter may even set ticket prices, taking into account the cost of the show and anticipated profit. You would contract with the promoter, who does all the rest.

Lists of promoters and other info are in the Australasian Music Industry Directory.

There are no minimum qualifications necessary to be a promoter, so it is a good idea to shop around, and ask others about recommended promoters. If you decide to go with a promoter, try and ensure that all major decisions are made in consultation with you and your manager, and are made subject to your consent. Ideally, the responsibilities of the promoter, and their relationship with you, will be set out in a written agreement. See “Contracts Generally”...

It isn’t uncommon for some promoters to be reluctant to hold off committing themselves to an agreement until it is certain that all necessary arrangements are in place. At the very least, you and the promoter should be prepared to sign a “letter of intent”, that shows you are both willing to negotiate in good faith after preliminary inquires or arrangements have been made.

The Arts Law Centre of Australia has some info on agents, but note it applies to visual artists.

Performer’s Rights
As a “performer”, you will have limited rights in relation to your performance, and protecting it within Australia, under “Part XIA” of the Copyright Act. This essentially gives you rights to prevent anyone recording or broadcasting your performance without your permission. It is not copyright, but the right does run for 50 years from the date the performance was given.

These rights don’t give you copyright in your performance, or recordings of it, which belong to whoever made the recording. Your ability to control the unauthorised recording is limited.

However, under the recent Australia/US Free Trade Agreement, changes to Part XIA of the Copyright Act, which came into effect on 1 January 2005, mean copyright in an audio only recording (i.e.. not video or film) of any performance will be owned by both the performers involved and the owner of the recording medium (the tape or recording device). Performers can agree to override this ownership split. This increases the ability of performers to control an unauthorised performance but it may be limited in practice. The “FTA” changes also give a performer “moral rights” in both their live performance and any recording made of it.

Further Information - Performer’s Rights
The Australian Copyright Council has an information sheet summarising the changes made to copyright, performer’s rights and moral rights by the Free Trade Agreement. Check their list.

More information on performer’s rights is available from the Arts Law Centre of Australia. There’s a little bit more here if you wanna insert Nude Surfing in your live show. Why not!?

Other info is at the Federal government’s Department for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts.

A sample agreement for a performer wishing to give permission for their performance to be taped or broadcast can be obtained (by order) from the Arts Law Centre of Australia website.

Performing - It's Good For You
Performing your music live is one of the main ways to making a living as a muso. Securing live gigs, whether it be the local pub or the WAMI Awards, gets you noticed, increases your skills, may give you some income and is of course a good promotional tool for your releases.

If you already have an experienced agent or manager, you can probably be pretty confident they will be busily organising gigs for you. Even so, it’s a good idea to have an understanding of the arrangements yourself, and be in a better position to give input into what’s going on.

If you or your band are just starting out, you’ll need to doing all the work such as ringing up potential venues, finding out what sort of music, and profile of performers the venues prefer, and whether they use a booking agent. Once you have a venue, its important to understand some of the basic points that should be agreed upon with any ‘employer’ of you and your act.

Check out the “Playing Live” page of WAM’s “Notes for Young Players” for info on playing live.

Performance Contracts
If you’ve scored a venue, several basic issues should be covered by a performance contract:

• Who will be performing and what you will be performing;
• Where and when (date and times) the performance will take place;
• How long the performance will run and whether it will have breaks etc;
• How much you will be paid and when you will be paid, including any deposit;
• If you and your band members are entitled to any complimentary tickets or ‘rider’;
• Who is responsible for providing the PA and any specific requirements you have;
• Terms dealing with cancellation by both you and the ‘employer’ before the show.

Of course other terms may be relevant, depending on your needs or other issues that arise.

Some venues may have a standard form booking contract that will cover these basic terms. If they don’t, make sure you discuss the main terms and confirm them in writing, even if it’s by way of a short letter. Check out the “Contracts Generally” pages of WAM GUFF - Legalease It to refresh!

The contract or agreement may be with a venue owner or operator, promoter or another band. Either way, you want to make sure your agreement is with someone with authority to agree. Agreements with another band may not help you if that band haven’t agreed with the venue.

Practical Considerations
There are all sorts of practical considerations to performing and touring. Ideally, these will be agreed and set out in the performance contract. Some examples of these practical matters are:

• Set up - there should be enough lead-in time to bump-in, set up, and do all sound and lighting checks before the show, and enough lead-out time to clear away all equipment. There should also be proper access to the venue and stage and adequate power it etc;
• Venue - anything supplied by the venue or promoter should be in good working order;
• Security - the venue or promoter should provide proper security for both you and your equipment, and provide adequate security to supervise the audience during the show and bounce at the door where you are being paid from door takings (or taking them yourself);
• Dressing Rooms - ideally, these should be properly equipped, for your exclusive use, and be secure. If you have any “special requirements”, these can be included in the contract;
• Recording the performance - the contract should state that no one with audio or visual recording equipment will be allowed to attend the gig without your prior written consent;
• Permits and consents - it is up to a venue or promoter to obtain all permits and consents, such as any necessary APRA venue permits or applicable noise or liquor licenses; and
• Ticket Sales - the contract should allow a representative of the band or artist to have full access to and supervise both the box office and door sales (if you are to be paid that way).

Payment for Live Shows
There are various options for payment to a live performer in the music industry. The options that you may come across more frequently (other than payment in fermented beverages!) are:

• A set performance fee;
• A percentage of gross or net income earned from the show;
• A minimum fee or percentage of the gross or net income (whichever is greater); or
• A minimum fee plus an escalating percentage of gross income above a certain amount.

In any case, you should make sure exactly when you will be paid, including an initial deposit. The deposit may be as much as 50% of the total fee and is often payable on signing the deal.

Termination
If either you or the venue or promoter wish to cancel the show, this should only be done with reasonable prior notice (21 days before a gig is the period required by the Musicians Union). If the venue/promoter cancels outside of 21 days (or other period you might agree), it should forfeit the deposit. If it cancels later than 21 days, then it should pay you the whole gig fee.

Your agreement should allow you to terminate at any time prior to the performance if you are unable to perform because of sickness, injury for example, or anything beyond your control.

Touring and Promoters
As with all matters relating to your music, touring is something you can do yourself (along with a manager) or you can use a promoter to handle all the necessary administrative tasks of booking gigs, such as dealing with venues, publicity, media, lighting, transport and supply of food and beverages. The promoter may even set ticket prices, taking into account the cost of the show and anticipated profit. You would contract with the promoter, who does all the rest.

Lists of promoters and other info are in the Australasian Music Industry Directory.

There are no minimum qualifications necessary to be a promoter, so it is a good idea to shop around, and ask others about recommended promoters. If you decide to go with a promoter, try and ensure that all major decisions are made in consultation with you and your manager, and are made subject to your consent. Ideally, the responsibilities of the promoter, and their relationship with you, will be set out in a written agreement. See “Contracts Generally”...

It isn’t uncommon for some promoters to be reluctant to hold off committing themselves to an agreement until it is certain that all necessary arrangements are in place. At the very least, you and the promoter should be prepared to sign a “letter of intent”, that shows you are both willing to negotiate in good faith after preliminary inquires or arrangements have been made.

The Arts Law Centre of Australia has some info on agents, but note it applies to visual artists.

Performer’s Rights
As a “performer”, you will have limited rights in relation to your performance, and protecting it within Australia, under “Part XIA” of the Copyright Act. This essentially gives you rights to prevent anyone recording or broadcasting your performance without your permission. It is not copyright, but the right does run for 50 years from the date the performance was given.

These rights don’t give you copyright in your performance, or recordings of it, which belong to whoever made the recording. Your ability to control the unauthorised recording is limited.

However, under the recent Australia/US Free Trade Agreement, changes to Part XIA of the Copyright Act, which came into effect on 1 January 2005, mean copyright in an audio only recording (i.e.. not video or film) of any performance will be owned by both the performers involved and the owner of the recording medium (the tape or recording device). Performers can agree to override this ownership split. This increases the ability of performers to control an unauthorised performance but it may be limited in practice. The “FTA” changes also give a performer “moral rights” in both their live performance and any recording made of it.

Further Information - Performer’s Rights
The Australian Copyright Council has an information sheet summarising the changes made to copyright, performer’s rights and moral rights by the Free Trade Agreement. Check their list.

More information on performer’s rights is available from the Arts Law Centre of Australia. There’s a little bit more here if you wanna insert Nude Surfing in your live show. Why not!?

Other info is at the Federal government’s Department for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts.

A sample agreement for a performer wishing to give permission for their performance to be taped or broadcast can be obtained (by order) from the Arts Law Centre of Australia website.