Glossary
Gross vs net revenue
In ticketing, gross revenue is the total dollar amount of tickets sold before any deductions. Net revenue is what is left after platform fees, payment processing, refunds, and chargebacks have been taken out. The number that lands in the organizer's bank account is the net.
Why getting them confused is expensive
First-time promoters often plan a show against gross. They look at the dashboard, see "Tickets sold: 200 × $20 = $4,000," and pay the venue, the openers, and themselves out of that. Then the payout arrives and it is smaller than they expected. The difference is fees they did not subtract.
Net is the number you can spend. Net is also the number that determines whether you broke even. If the venue takes $500 off the top, your headliner takes $1,000 guaranteed, and the platform takes a cut on top of card processing, you can be at "sold out" on paper and still owe money on the night.
A worked example using DIY Stubs pricing
Suppose you sell 200 general admission tickets at $20 each, with the DIY Stubs 3% platform fee absorbed by you (the default).
- Gross revenue: 200 × $20.00 = $4,000.00
- DIY Stubs platform fee (3%): $120.00
- Net to you before any venue or artist costs: $3,880.00
Stripe's card processing is added to the buyer's total at checkout, so it does not come out of this number. If you choose to have buyers cover the 3%, the platform fee comes off the buyer's side and the net is $4,000 instead.
Other things that shrink net
- Refunds issued before payout reduce the balance dollar for dollar. After payout, you handle them outside the platform.
- Chargebacks (when a buyer disputes the charge with their bank) reverse the payment and add a dispute fee.
- Comp tickets and discount codes reduce gross before fees are calculated, so the platform fee scales down with them.