PAYMENT

*Note that the following text primarily concerned unsigned acts in the first year or so of our existence. These days we book mostly signed headliners and then plug in unsigned acts beneath them so that the unsigned acts can play to a crowd. In these cases we tend to just pay the unsigned acts a flat fee but we still never ask them to bring anyone with them. We wanted to leave this text up here because, if nothing else, the spirit and ethos behind it remains the same.*


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Many venues give bands £X per person they bring down, which is there to incentivise the bands to pull a crowd / save the promoter from getting off their arse and actually promoting [delete as applicable] but we've no time for that kind of crap. Some venues tell you that if you don't bring X number of people they'll blacklist you, but that, as far as we're concerned, is a load of nonsense (and don't even get us started on promoters who sell bands tickets and then tell them to sell them to their fans. Don't even get us started on that.)

This is why we think it's a load of nonsense:

Let's say you're a Bristol-based band and you've managed to get a gig in London and the venue's giving you £1 per person you bring. But it's your first gig here so you've not got much of a fan base. You've had to hire a van and that's £80. Petrol? £40. That's £120 shelled out before you've played a song. And what are the chances of you recovering your costs? Close to zero. So that just makes the next out of town gig you play that much more difficult to afford.

We never, ever ask bands to bring X number of people before they get paid and we never, ever ask bands to guarantee they'll bring X number of people before we offer them a show. It's an unrealistic demand to make. If we're going to promote a show and call ourselves promoters then it's our job, primarily, to get people down. It's your job, primarily, to come and play music. If we're not going to promote a show, then we should just call ourselves bookers and be done with it.

So, will you get paid when you play here? Most likely. If The Luminaire is promoting the show, we give 65% of the net box office receipts [all the money taken at the door, including any advance ticket sales, minus costs] to the bands and keep the remaining 35%. The net door means that we take off 17.5% VAT to pay the tax man, then deduct our costs [these are between £30 and £50 per night], and what's left is the net, from which you'll be paid.

This 65% is split amicably, based on who came the furthest, who had touring expenses, who hired a van, who brought the backline and kindly let it be shared, who brought most people, who we really enjoyed, that kind of thing [please note that if we have to meet a band's 'guarantee' we deduct it from the gross door take, then split the remainder between the other bands. If they're a big draw their crowd will benefit everyone anyway].

Now, it's all very well us being altruistic, but common sense dictates that the more people each band brings, the better the night for everyone. We work hard to make each show as good as it can be and we expect the bands we book to enter into the spirit of things and do the same. We're in this together. If we can see you haven't pulled your weight, we won't invite you back.

Fair?

Good.