The gig contract: 12 clauses every band needs

A gig without a contract is a gig where the client remembers 21:00 and you remember 20:00, where the "two sets" turn out to mean three, and where the balance arrives, if it arrives, six weeks late. A contract does not make clients honest; most of them already are. It makes both sides remember the same thing.

This is not legal advice, and contract law varies by country. It is the list of things that, in the experience of working bands, need to be written down, with wording plain enough that a couple or an office manager will read and sign it. Two pages, maximum.

1. The parties and the date

Who is booking whom, for what, when. Full names, the band's legal name or the leader's, addresses, the event date and the venue with its address. If the client is a company, the legal entity and, where relevant, a purchase-order number. A surprising number of "contracts" are an email thread with no date on the first line.

The Client (Anna Meyer and Jonas Weber) engages The Velvet Tones (represented by Ben Schulz) to perform at their wedding on Saturday 14 June 2026 at Villa Rosa, Lindenstraße 4, Bad Homburg.

2. Times

Arrival, soundcheck, performance times, finish, load-out. Not "evening"; times. Performance times are what the client is buying; arrival and load-out are what the venue needs to know.

Band arrival 16:00. Soundcheck 17:00–17:45. Performance: first dance 20:00, sets 20:00–21:15 and 21:45–23:00. Finish 23:00. Load-out complete by 00:00.

3. The performance

What is delivered: line-up size, sets and their lengths, what is included (learned first dance, playlist in breaks, a DJ set) and what is not. If the line-up on the night may differ from the one the client saw, say so; see clause 11.

Five-piece band (vocals, guitar, keys, bass, drums). Two live sets as above. One first-dance song learned at no charge. Recorded music at background volume before, between and after sets, from the band's system.

4. The fee

The total, whether it includes VAT (and at what rate), and what it covers: performance, sound, lights, travel. Extras and their prices listed separately so there is no ambiguity. See how to price your band.

Fee: 2,200 € including VAT at 19%, sound and lighting for up to 150 guests, and travel within 60 km of Frankfurt. Additional learned songs: 80 € each. Acoustic ceremony set (30 min): 400 €.

5. Deposit and balance

How much, when, and how; and what the deposit does (secures the date, non-refundable). Then the balance date and method. Balance due before the event, not on the night, is the norm for private clients; 30 days after invoice is the norm for companies.

A non-refundable deposit of 500 € is due within 7 days of signing and secures the date. The balance of 1,700 € is due by bank transfer no later than 21 May 2026 (14 days before the event).

6. Cancellation

By the client: what is kept at what point. By the band: what the band does (finds a replacement of equal standard, or refunds everything paid) and that its liability is limited to the sums paid. Deposits and cancellation policies has a full policy text and the reasoning.

If the Client cancels more than 90 days before the event, the deposit is retained. Between 90 and 30 days, 50% of the fee is due. Within 30 days, the full fee is due. If the Band cannot perform for reasons within its control, it will offer a replacement band of comparable standard or refund all sums paid; the Band's liability is limited to the amount paid.

7. Force majeure and rescheduling

What happens if the event cannot go ahead for reasons outside both parties' control (venue closure, severe weather, public-health restrictions). Rescheduling within 12 months with the deposit carried over, subject to availability, is the reasonable version.

8. Overtime

Whether the band will play beyond the finish time, on whose decision, at what rate, and how it is paid. Cash on the night is common; an invoice the next day is cleaner.

Additional performance time, if agreed on the night by the Client and the bandleader, is charged at 250 € per 30 minutes or part thereof, payable within 7 days.

9. Set times and running order changes

Speeches overrun; dinners run late. The contract says what the band does then: the sets shift, but the finish time and the total performance time are the maximum, unless overtime is agreed.

If the running order is delayed, the Band will adjust set times to the extent possible. Total performance time will not exceed that stated, and the finish time is subject to the venue's curfew.

10. Food, drink, parking and access

Meals for the band if they are on site for more than five hours, non-alcoholic drinks, parking near the load-in, and a changing room. A band that has not eaten since 14:00 plays worse at 22:00. Say whether the client or the venue provides them.

The Client will provide a hot meal and soft drinks for 5 band members, one parking space for a van within 50 m of the load-in, and a room in which to change.

11. Line-up, illness and substitutes

The band reserves the right to substitute individual musicians of comparable standard where necessary. If the client booked a named singer, name the exception. See deps and substitute musicians.

12. Weather, power, PA and safety

For outdoor or marquee events: the band performs only under cover, on a dry, level stage, with adequate power (state it: two independent 16 A circuits, or whatever your PA needs). The band may stop if conditions are unsafe for people or equipment, without this counting as cancellation. If the venue provides the PA, state what is expected. Add a noise-limiter clause: the band plays to the venue's limit and is not responsible for the resulting volume.

For outdoor performances the Client will provide a covered, dry, level stage of at least 5 × 4 m and two separate 16 A power supplies within 10 m. The Band may pause or stop the performance if conditions are unsafe for people or equipment.

Also worth a line each

• Payment terms for companies: invoice date, 30 days, late-payment interest if your country allows it.
• Recording and photos: the client may record for personal use; commercial use requires agreement.
• Damage: the client is responsible for damage to the band's equipment caused by guests.
• Insurance: the band carries public liability insurance of X; certificates available on request.
• The contract is the whole agreement; changes in writing (email is fine); which country's law applies.

Making it usable

• Two pages. A wedding couple will not read a fourth page, and a contract nobody read is weaker.
• Plain language. "The Band will" and "the Client will". No "hereinafter".
• The quote and contract agree. Same fee, same times, same extras. Many bands make the accepted quote the schedule to a standard terms sheet, which keeps the contract to one page of terms plus the quote. See writing a quote clients accept.
• Signed by both sides, electronically is fine in most places, before the deposit is invoiced. A deposit paid against an unsigned contract is a grey area you do not want to be in.
• Get it checked once by a lawyer in your country. Then reuse it for years.

Do this today

• Take your last contract, or your last confirmation email, and check it against the twelve clauses. Note what is missing.
• Write the missing clauses in plain language, using the examples above as a start.
• Book 30 minutes with a lawyer or a musicians' union adviser to read it through.

Where expert.band helps

The numbers in the contract come from the quote, and expert.band's quotes hold the schedule of the day, the services with quantities and prices, what is covered, the VAT and the totals, and the payment terms as free text, in the client's language, on a link they can open on a phone. When the client accepts, link the quote to the gig so that the fee and the times on the gig page are the ones the client signed.