Glossary
Guarantee
In live music, a guarantee is a fixed payment a promoter or venue commits to paying an artist regardless of how many tickets sell. It is the artist's protection against an empty room and the promoter's biggest risk if the room is empty.
Who it protects, and who carries the risk
A guarantee shifts risk from the artist to the promoter. The artist gets paid the agreed amount whether 50 people show up or 500. Whatever happens at the door is the promoter's problem. If you sell out, you pocket the difference between the door and the guarantee. If it goes badly, you cover the difference from your own money.
Bigger artists with more leverage get bigger guarantees. Smaller acts often have no guarantee at all and instead get paid a percentage of the door (or whatever is left after the venue and the promoter take their costs).
Guarantee versus percentage of the door
A common booking format is "guarantee versus X percent of the door, whichever is greater". The artist is paid the larger of the two numbers. If the show underperforms, they get the guarantee. If the show overperforms, they share in the upside. This format is the booking agent's way of getting their client paid fairly without forcing the promoter into a bad deal on a small show.
From the promoter's side, the math works like this:
- Compute the door revenue (gross ticket sales after platform fees and processing).
- Compute the percentage owed.
- Pay the larger of that or the guarantee.
How to not lose money on a guarantee
- Know your break-even attendance before you sign. Divide guarantee plus other fixed costs by your ticket price (net of fees). That is how many tickets you have to sell to walk even.
- Be conservative on attendance estimates. Plan against a number you believe, not the number your headliner's manager mentioned.
- Write the guarantee, the percentage, and what counts as "the door" into the booking confirmation. Ambiguity at the night of the show is how relationships break.
- Track your guarantees against actual results across shows. A recurring loss on a specific tier of artist is information you can use the next time their agent calls.