NEGOTIATIONS: Riders & Guarantees

This one is easy.

If you're touring, and you're:

A: Away from home,

B: An unknown, and

C: Unsigned...

You needn't ask for more than 150 to 200 dollars. An even sweeter deal would be to suggest that you can take 10 percent of liquor sales. As far as contracts go, many venues will not sign one with cash in the terms unless it has been cleared with everyone in their venue. This is hard to do because they are busy, ALL OF THE TIME!

So, your initial contract should not contain a monetary guarantee. In fact it should only state that the venue will hold the date for you and not double book, if that happens, you are the rightful designee for the events of that date at that venue. THAT IS IT!!!

Look, most venues won't even sign THAT contract, but it shows you are taking care of business. If they won't sign anything, then you have a choice:

A: Don't book with them, or

B: Book it anyway and hope they don't screw you over (A good way to prevent that from happening, is to keep in contact with the venues on a weekly basis, you calling them should not be about the date, and whether they forgot you, but rather to keep them up to date on the progress of the show. Keep the conversation about your commitment instead of theirs.

Sometimes venue owners, talent buyers, and entertainment managers forget who they talked to, and what date they agreed to... You must remember these two things:

1. They are human beings, and they are busy. THAT job is very busy, and most times, it's an auxiliary duty, so it just adds to their workload in the venue. So be patient.

2. No matter how unprofessional YOU think it is that they forget, they are STILL the venue, and they hold the keys to you performing for a living. So be FUCKING PATIENT!!!

You see, talking about YOUR commitments for the date will put your act in their minds when they think about that date. So even if someone wants that date they will know off the top, it's yours. So, without asking about it, you are securing your date more and more. You might even get them excited about it after a few calls and emails. Email them, yes. But call at least ONCE a week. And NO! Not at 7pm or 10pm. Yeah, you know they'll be there at those times, but a call from you during their business hours, will net you an enemy. You want find a formidable ally in these venues when you do plan you tour, get it?

150 for you isn't bad, you can charge 1 or 2 dollars for the show or make it free (which will increase the number of the crowd), If you charge, it is only fair to cut the locals in if you can.

Other than that, the #1 GOLDEN RULE is:

If the touring act is only seeing a small guarantee, the locals should not expect pay. Especially if the touring act does all of the promotion, this usually happens.

For the sake of starting networks and relationships; If you are able to put up the touring act at your place, you should. You would want the same love shown to you, I promise. IF you do a two week tour, and you secure a 150 dollar rider at all of the venues... And you take two rest days during that time (you will need them), your gross will be 1800 dollars.

Subtract about 500-600 for gas and lodging, it could be up to $700 if no one puts you up. You still have 1200 dollars more or less, for two weeks of shows preceded by 4 months of late nights and planning. Horrible, but if it's worth it to you, it gets better. You will begin to make more with this type of rider-style touring.

But since we're hip hop acts, we can't ask for the moon in some of these regions across North America. Keep it realistic, and they will bite. They will pay you more the next time if you put together one hell of a show. It has happened to me. And I know I'm not some special isolated incident. It happens all of the time.

A less appealing method and mixed rate of success, is liquor sale percentages. You ask for 10 percent for any sales over $1000. If you promote it well, and can get the venue to make some cheap fruity shot (you want the females on location to like it) or bomb in your name, you can see alcohol sales get to the levels both of you want to see, it is a risk, they may not do it. Or nobody comes and you make a Twenty.

So manage your expectations.

LEAVE ALREADY: On The Road

You are on tour. I told you it wouldn't be easy. You're tired, you had to drive the first 50 miles right after the show so you could sleep into town that morning and you kept waking up because the damned roads are bumpy and they suck. Or, you linked up with one of your show mates who put on an after party for you and the rest of the bill. You partied too hard, and now you wake up with a sore throat, still tired and you have a show this evening!

These things either make us machines or break us down and send us back home scared to try anything like that again. Even the most hardcore gangster rapper will want his mommy if he had to plan and execute a grassroots tour and succeed.

We're not saying nobody will succeed, but before the tour is over; if it's a long enough tour, everyone will want to go home at some point. Fight through it. That's all I can give for advice in that matter.

You should try to get into each

town the morning of the show, because you might be able to get into the venue mid-day and drop off your things for the show... If the owner is more about music than liquor, you'll probably get a sound check right then. If the owner has a sound guy, and he/she themselves deal strictly with the bar, you'll have to wait. But find out when that will be and be there ON TIME for it.

Try to make sure your show mates in each town can meet you during the day as well. Not everybody can do it. But it helps when you can at least act like you've known each other forever when you're on stage doing shout outs to each other. A little inside joke you can laugh at makes you all seem like you've been around the scene. And that makes the crowd respect what is going on. They understand its a tour and they now think every act they're watching is a touring act. This instantly raises your stock with crowds. Not by a mile but it goes up a little, everyone is waiting for you to mess it up, really.

Double-check the posters and online promo during the daytime and hopefully you've contacted some type of media and the lineup can all go to the interview together. Also looks good to show united fronts. Do your best to engage everyone you meet leading up to the show time. It doesn't take a flier, just flirt with the drugstore clerk or gas station attendant while your buying smokes or juice and let them know your from out of town and your performing tonight at the whatever bar. Even if they don't go, your skill in engaging people is always needing to be sharpened.

1. Take a short nap

2. Use the bathroom (even if you don't think you have to)

3. Be on time for the sound check.

4. If there's a doorman there during sound check, see if you can convince them to get emails while they check ID's, they may want money; 20 should do it.

5. You will need a first-aid kit (even a mobile one)

6. Vitamins

7. A laptop

8. Drink plenty of water an continue to buy big cases of bottled water (especially on longer trips)

9. Supplementals: A lot of venues have poor lighting, so you should invest in a "wash bar", an LED light bar they cost about a hundred dollars and they are extremely transportable. If you want to be able to visually record your show, you need at least spectacular lighting going on. It really looks more professional.

​If you are doing your own DJ'ing while your on stage. PLEASE line your files up on an audio editor like FL, adobe audition or pro tools, or mixcraft or whatever you use to record your music, you can use it to organize your set list.

Feel free to put buffers in between your songs, buffers like thunder or gunshots or a funny sound clip. I use the sound clip from "Half Baked"! "F**k you, f**k you, f**k you... You're cool, and f**k you I'm out!" folks laugh and its light enough humor.

PLEASE stop going over to the laptop to change songs, that's whack city. Even if you are your own DJ it doesn't have to look like it. Leave a blank space in a few spots so you can talk to fans and engage them, tell 'em a joke. BUT TIME IT!!! Fucking Rehearse, man!!!

I was told not to do it, but I have not seen a failure rating on this: Self-Deprecating Humor works!!! Make your self the joke sometimes, then people won't take you for a douche-bag.

It helps you build the reputation that you're a humble and modest artist, and people like that

When you are done on stage, don't leave. Stick around and talk with people. IF you were good, they will do all of the talking, "That was amazing! Where you from? I have a couple friends that tour too, where's your next show? When are you coming back here?"

Sell them something! A shirt, a CD, a CD package complete with shirt, a sticker, a button, a hat, shoelaces, SELL THEM SOMETHING!!! They are looking to see what you want from them because you just gave so much a few moments ago.

Stay out of trouble, smoke your greenie weeds close to the venue, but not IN the venue, unless there's a green room. (I wrote this before half the country legalized weed) After the show, either leave town, or go directly to your crash spot. Don't hang around on the streets.

The rule is: The TOUR gets the money.

***UNDERSTAND that if you aren't the tour, and it doesn't go as profitable as planned, let them have at least the bullshit that becomes GAS MONEY, and don't look for the cash. You'll get your turn to tour as well.***

I agree, but only to an extent; the TOUR should get most of the money, but you should share some of it with the show mates who have maybe taken a day off work to show you around and help with last minute promo. Brought their crowd to see you both perform, etc...

But the TOURING ACT does need the money more, they are on the journey, and need the fare. Finally, you need to have an equipment checklist, we have a comprehensive checklist for members, so...

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