Booking

What does booking mean?

In nightlife, booking means securing an artist for a specific date. The word covers the whole process (finding the act, asking whether they are free, agreeing a DJ fee, signing the contract) and also the people who do it: the booker at a club, or the booking agent who represents an artist.

Local DJs usually book themselves, through Instagram, email or a friend of a friend. Established and international artists work with an agency that runs their calendar, negotiates fees and sends the rider. The agency is normally paid by the artist as a commission on the fee, so the organizer deals with one agreed total rather than a separate agency bill.

How a booking works, step by step

For bigger names the process often starts three to six months before the date. It usually runs like this:

• Request: the organizer sends the date, venue, capacity, the rest of the line-up and a budget.
• Offer: the agent replies with a written offer: fee, set length and slot, travel and hotel, and often a radius clause (no other show within a set distance for some weeks around the date).
• Contract: once both sides agree, a contract follows. A deposit, often half the fee, is due on signing and the rest shortly before or after the show.
• Advance: in the final week, set times, travel, hotel and technical needs are confirmed, and the timetable is shared.
• Show day: pickup, a quick check of the booth, the set, and the balance paid if that was agreed.

Example: booking a guest for Cologne

Say a crew in Cologne wants a well-known house DJ for a Saturday in October. They send a request in June with a budget. The agent replies with an offer: €2,500, a two-hour set from 2 to 4, flights, one hotel night and ground transport paid by the organizer, and no other show within 150 km for four weeks before. The crew signs, pays half as a deposit and builds the rest of the night around the date, with local DJs for the warm-up and the closing set.

In this example, the booking ends up costing nearer €3,300 than €2,500 once travel, hotel and rider are added. The headliner is usually the first booking for exactly that reason: the date, the ticket price and the rest of the budget all depend on it.

Tips for booking DJs

• Ask early. Popular DJs fill their weekends months in advance, especially in festival season.
• Get everything in writing: fee, set time, travel, hotel, guest list spots, and who pays for what.
• Budget for the extras. Travel, hotel, rider and taxes can add a third or more to the fee.
• In Germany, ask an adviser about the artists' social insurance levy (Künstlersozialabgabe) and, for artists based abroad, the withholding tax on their fee before you sign.
• Agree a cancellation clause that works both ways, including cancellations for weather or licensing reasons.

Common questions

How far in advance should you book a DJ?

For local DJs a few weeks is often enough. For touring or international artists, organizers usually ask three to six months ahead, and earlier still for summer weekends.

What does a booking agency charge?

The agency is usually paid by the artist, as a commission on the fee, often somewhere between 10 and 20 percent. The organizer pays the agreed fee and costs.

What is a radius clause?

A contract term that stops the artist playing another show within a set distance for a period before and after your date, so your event stays exclusive in the area.