Feel like adding a little spice to a conversation among a group of seasoned house concert hosts? Well, that’s easy. Just ask them if they recommend offering an artist guarantee. (!!) And then stand back.
You’ll likely hear views that range from….
“What, are you crazy? This is folk music, played in my home. No way I’ll ever offer a guarantee. That’s just not the way house concerts work. Artists should never ask for one. Hosts should never give one.”
…..to…..
“Hey, are you crazy? How can I attract a strong artist without a guarantee, especially back when I was a newbie host and I had no attendance track record? These artists make their living from touring. They deserve a minimum. I always offer a guarantee. So should you, and so should everyone else. Always.”
You could probably slip away and return to that conversation two days later and the argument might still be raging on.
So, what’s the deal with artist guarantees?
First let’s look at some of the myths.
Myth #1: Since hosts don't make any money from house concerts, there’s simply no good reason to expect hosts to pay an artist to perform.
Actually, there are three myths going on here.
The reality is…..
a. Artists do not expect hosts to guarantee them. Artists may request a guarantee. Hosts will grant or reject that request.
b. A guarantee does not mean the host will automatically pay the artist out of pocket for the performance. A guarantee only requires the host to cover the potential shortfall between the amount of collected donations and the amount of the guarantee.
c. There are actually plenty of good reasons to offer a guarantee under the right circumstances. Fran mentions many important ones in his earlier blog post on this topic. Here are a few.
· “[A guarantee] shows that the host is serious, especially if they don't have a track record of successful events.
· "It also shows respect, and can go a long way to insuring artists against major losses, which can happen when they are far from home.
· "You have a shot at booking your dream act when you pay/guarantee extra to make the show happen.
· "Meeting the needs of the artists--if there is significant travel involved, the guarantee is often necessary to offset the time and expense of the travel.”
Myth #2: I failed if I ended up having to cover a donations shortfall in order to honor the guarantee.
Potentially wrong on two counts.
a) While you can take steps to generate enough interest to usually fill seats, you can’t control the cancellations. And occasionally, donations don’t quite reach your guarantee. That’s not failure.
b) Some hosts purposely plan to cover a shortfall that they guess will occur when they offer their first house concert or two. These hosts decide to bring in an artist they really want, who will create the word-of-mouth buzz that will grow interest in their future house concerts. And to book that artist involves offering a guarantee before the host can reliably draw enough guests to avoid covering a shortfall in donations.
Myth #3: I like the idea of offering a guarantee but I can’t offer the amount the artist is asking. And it’s important to me to book that artist. Well, y’know, life’s a gamble, and artist guarantees are no different.
No, no, no. Offering a guarantee that you cannot comfortably cover is the fastest way to fail at hosting great events. Because worrying about your guarantee will sap the joy of hosting. And at its core, hosting is about the pure joy of it. As Fran puts it, “Your guarantee should never be a gamble. It should be a reasonable budget for the potential cost of the event.”
Myth #4: There is only one kind of guarantee I can offer.
Nope. I’m aware of at least three.
1. Minimum guarantee. Where you cover a potential shortfall in donations.
2. A minimum guarantee that also includes full compensation to the artist in the event you cancel the event after an agreed upon date (e.g. within three months prior to the show).
3. Fixed guarantee. You agree to pay the artist a fixed amount on top of whatever they collect from the donations. Some hosts use this to help defray an artist’s unusual travel costs, which these days might include the everyday increased cost of fuel.
Okay, those are some of the myths surrounding guarantees.
More importantly, how do we decide when to offer a guarantee?
Here are three key questions you might ask yourself.
1. How important is it to me that I attract a killer artist for this event so that I can create word-of-mouth buzz about my series, regularly fill the room, and create a waiting list for most shows?
2. How confident am I in my ability to fill enough seats to either cover the guarantee, or at worst to reduce the shortfall to something I can comfortably afford?
3. How teachable am I at filling the room? (If you haven’t already, check out 8 Ways to Always Fill the Room.)
You can now see through the myths, ask the right questions, and learn how to fill the room. These will have an important bearing on your readiness to offer a guarantee.
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