How Bands Get Paid: The Indie Band Money Guide

Quick Reference

Bands get paid for shows under a deal. The deal says how the money from the night gets divided, and settlement is where that division actually happens, usually in a back office between midnight and 1am.

At the indie level, almost every show runs on one of four deals:

Door deal: You get a percentage of ticket sales. No guaranteed money.

Guarantee: You get a fixed amount no matter how many people come.

Versus deal: You get whichever is higher, the guarantee or your percentage of the door.

Promoter profit deal: Expenses and the promoter's profit come out first. Your share is calculated from what's left.

Between the gross ticket sales and the money in your hand sit four things that shrink the number: expenses off the top, comps, merch cuts, and whatever the band spends to get there. This guide walks through each one and links to the full article on it.

Step 1: Know Which Deal You're On

The deal type decides who carries the risk. On a door deal, you carry it. On a guarantee, the venue carries it. A versus deal shares it. A promoter profit deal spreads it across the whole show, and the expense lines are where trust tends to break down.

Most bands start on door deals, usually 70/30 or 80/20 in the band's favor, at venues under 300 capacity. Guarantees usually show up once you consistently draw 50 to 75 people in a market.

Read the full breakdown, with worked payout math for each one, in deal types explained: door deals, guarantees, vs deals, and promoter profit. If you're weighing just the two most common options, door deal vs. guarantee compares them side by side.

Step 2: Get the Deal in Writing

Whatever deal you're offered, get it in writing before show day. A text with the terms is the bare minimum. A deal memo, or a confirmation email that spells out every number, is better.

A good deal memo covers the split or guarantee, the ticket price, every expense in dollars, comps, the merch policy, and when and how you get paid. The red flags are vague expense language, an unmentioned merch cut, and payment terms like net 30 when you need gas money tonight.

Learn what to look for in how to read a deal memo. If the venue doesn't send one, that article shows how to make your own with a single email. For a blank template, see what is a deal memo.

Step 3: Watch What Comes Off the Top

"80/20 after expenses" and "80/20" are very different deals. On a $1,000 door, $300 in expenses takes your 80% from $800 down to $560. Same crowd, same night.

The usual deductions are sound, door staff, security, marketing, and hospitality. Get each one itemized in dollars so you can check it at settlement. The full list, with typical ranges, is in what "expenses off the top" means.

At bigger rooms, the same idea becomes a promoter profit deal: taxes, fees, expenses, and a 10% to 20% promoter profit all come out before your percentage is calculated. How promoter profit works walks through it from gross to net, line by line.

Step 4: Count the Free Tickets

Every comp is a ticket nobody paid for. On a door deal, 15 comps at $10 a head is $150 off the gross and $120 off your 80%. The venue's guest list and yours both count.

Cap the comps in the deal memo, ask whether the venue's own comps come out of your door, and settle comp pools on multi-band bills in advance. The math and the negotiating points are in comps, guest list, and how free tickets affect your payout.

Step 5: Protect Your Merch Money

Merch is often the only thing that makes a show profitable, and some venues take 10% to 25% of it. Ask about the merch policy in your booking email, negotiate the cut down or out, and count your inventory before and after so any cut is paid on real sales.

See merch splits and venue merch cuts for what to negotiate and how to run a merch table that sells.

Step 6: Settle the Night

Settlement is where the deal turns into money. You confirm the terms, get the paid door count, subtract the agreed expenses and comps, run the math on your phone, and get paid. Bring your deal terms, and settle before you load out, while you still have leverage.

How show settlement works covers the whole night, from before doors to what to say when the numbers don't add up. For the venue and tour manager side of the same process, see the complete guide to concert show settlement and walk-out numbers explained.

If the payout comes up short, most of the time it's a counting mistake or a deal nobody wrote down. What to do when you get shorted covers how to handle it in the moment and in writing the next day.

Step 7: Split It Without a Fight

Once the money is in the van, it has to be divided. Most bands take the net payout, subtract shared expenses like gas, tolls, and broken strings, and split the rest equally. The fights start when nobody tracks who fronted what.

Log every show and every expense the night it happens, reimburse whoever fronted money before anything splits, and open a band account once you're playing regularly. The full system is in how to split money without splitting the band.

The Short Version

1. Know your deal type, and who carries the risk.
2. Get every term in writing, in dollars.
3. Know what comes off the top before your percentage.
4. Cap the comps.
5. Negotiate the merch cut before you set up.
6. Settle with your deal terms in hand, before load-out.
7. Log the numbers that night and split them the same way every time.

Most of this comes down to writing things down. Get the numbers in an email before the show, and have them on your phone when you walk up to settle.