Glossary

Comp ticket

A comp ticket (short for complimentary) is a ticket given away for free, usually to artists' guests, press, industry contacts, or VIPs the promoter wants in the room. The guest pays nothing, but the spot still counts against the venue's capacity, so comps are inventory you can no longer sell.

Who usually gets comps

  • Artists' guests. Headliners and openers typically negotiate a number of guest spots into their booking, often 5 to 10 each depending on the show size.
  • Press and media. A local writer, a photographer, a podcast host who is going to cover the show.
  • Industry. Talent buyers, booking agents, managers, label folks who are scouting or supporting the artist.
  • Sponsors and venue staff. If a sponsor underwrote something, they usually get tickets. Venue staff sometimes get comps for friends as part of their contract.
  • Goodwill. The friend who hauled gear last week. The bartender who let you set up early. Comps are a currency of favors in the local scene.

Why you have to cap comps

Every comp is a paid ticket you did not sell. A capacity 200 show with 40 comps out is functionally a 160 ticket show, and your break-even math has to reflect that. Without a cap, comp counts creep. The headliner asks for a couple more. An old friend wants in. Your sound engineer mentions their roommate. Three weeks later you have 60 comps and a sold-out room that nets nothing.

Set a comp budget in your initial planning (often 5 to 10 percent of capacity for smaller shows, lower for bigger ones), allocate it to the parties that contractually need spots, and politely decline the rest. The more consistently you say no, the less you negotiate later.

How to do comps on DIY Stubs

Create a tier called Comp or Guest list, set the price to $0, set the capacity to your budgeted comp count, and use an off-sale time before the public on-sale so it does not appear on your public event page. Generate ticket links for the comp tier and share them privately with the people on your list. Each comp recipient gets a normal QR ticket by email and the door scans them in alongside paid attendees.

Comp tickets count against your event capacity on DIY Stubs the same way paid tickets do, so a comp issued is one less ticket available to sell.

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