Live Performance Contract for Musicians
Your set. Your rights. Your terms — in writing before you plug in.
A live performance contract is the agreement between an artist and whoever is booking them — a venue, a festival, a promoter, a private client. It locks down the date, the fee, the set length, the tech rider, and what happens if the show falls through. Getting paid on time and on the terms you agreed on starts with this document.
Independent musicians too often book gigs on a WhatsApp thread and a handshake. That works until it doesn't. The venue changes the set time. The promoter disputes the deposit. The equipment listed in your rider is not there. A signed live performance contract turns each of those moments from a fight into a clause to read out.
MUSILOCK generates a live performance contract covering the essentials: parties and contact details, venue address, performance date and times, performance fee, deposit and payment schedule, cancellation policy, technical and hospitality rider, recording and streaming permissions, and force majeure. Every clause is drafted plainly, not buried in legalese.
The contract is bilingual from day one, which matters for touring artists crossing between Spanish-speaking markets and English-speaking ones. Both versions are legally equivalent. Electronic signatures via SignWell are recognized under the US ESIGN Act, the EU eIDAS Regulation, and equivalent Latin American frameworks, so the signed PDF is enforceable worldwide.
Once both sides sign, the finished PDF lives in your MUSILOCK account — ready to pull up when it is time to get paid, or if anything goes sideways. Use it for a single gig, a festival slot, a residency, or an entire tour: the wizard adapts to the scope.
Frequently asked questions
Do I really need a live performance contract for a small gig?
Yes — the smaller gigs are where informal agreements go wrong most often. A contract does not need to be long. It needs to state the date, the fee, how you get paid, and what happens if someone cancels. Even for a local bar date, having that in writing is worth the ten minutes it takes.
What is a rider and why is it in the contract?
A rider is the list of technical and hospitality requirements for the show — PA system, monitors, mics, backline, dressing room, meals, water. Attaching it to the contract makes the venue responsible for providing those items. Without it, you have no grounds to complain when you arrive and the gear is wrong.
What happens if the venue cancels?
The cancellation clause decides that. Standard practice is a scale: full fee if they cancel within a short window of the date, partial if they cancel earlier, nothing if they cancel with lots of notice. MUSILOCK lets you set the cancellation terms you want and writes them into the contract.
Can I use this contract for an international tour?
Yes. The template is bilingual and written to be jurisdiction-flexible. For multi-country tours, a contract per venue or per leg is standard. Electronic signatures are legally valid across the US, EU, UK, and most of Latin America, so you do not need to fly paperwork around the world.
Does signing a live performance contract mean I give up recording rights?
Only if the contract says so. The MUSILOCK template includes an explicit recording and streaming clause where you choose: no recording permitted, recording permitted for promotional use, or a custom arrangement. You own the default — the venue has to negotiate for anything beyond it.