What should a promoter agree in an artist radius clause?

You're ready to book an artist, and someone adds "local exclusivity" to the deal. It sounds sensible. You're paying for the show, spending money on promotion and taking the risk on ticket sales. You don't want an almost identical performance opening down the road just as your campaign starts working.

Then the agent asks whether the artist can play a support slot in the next town. Your booker thinks that town is outside the restriction. Your marketing manager thinks the restriction also covers announcements. Nobody has written down how the distance is measured.

An artist radius clause needs to answer those questions before either side commits. Agree the specific performance you want to protect, the area and dates affected, which other appearances count, what can be announced and which existing bookings are allowed. Keep the restriction as narrow as your commercial reason supports, and have the actual agreement reviewed under the law that applies.

For an independent promoter, the useful question is how much protection this particular show needs and what you're willing to pay for it. A wider restriction can cost more, block useful touring work and create arguments without making your event more attractive.

This guide explains how to negotiate that decision, work through nearby bookings, separate performance restrictions from announcement restrictions and give your team a record they can use. It includes a fictional concert budget and a worked negotiation brief. The figures and dates are teaching examples, not market rates or recommended legal limits.

Start with the booking you're trying to protect

A radius clause restricts specified activity within a defined area for a defined period. In a live music booking, that usually means certain other performances by the contracted artist. An agreement may also control when another show can be announced or promoted. Those are separate decisions, even when the contract puts them under one heading.

Start by explaining the concern in ordinary language. Perhaps you're selling a headline club show and the same artist is considering another headline show nearby during your main sales period. Perhaps your festival offer depends on a particular regional appearance being exclusive. Each concern needs its own explanation. "We always ask for this" doesn't tell the agent what would actually damage your event.

Write a short commercial note before proposing the restriction. Name the audience you expect to reach, the competing experience you're concerned about and the period when you think buyers would choose between them. Use your own event's sales history where you have it. If you only have a belief, call it an assumption and avoid presenting it as measured lost demand.

For example, a promoter booking a touring band's full headline set might be concerned about another public headline set in the same urban area shortly before the show. That doesn't automatically explain why a band member's unrelated teaching session, a private recording date or a performance in a distant market should be restricted too.

The artist has a commercial decision as well. An additional show may make a tour route affordable, cover a travel day or introduce the band to a different audience. Removing that work has a cost even if your own show sells badly. Treat the negotiation as a conversation about the actual booking, rather than assuming the artist owes you every possible form of exclusivity.

Our artist performance contract guide covers the wider agreement, including fees, riders, cancellation and settlement. The radius terms need to fit that agreement. A carefully described restriction can still cause trouble if a different attachment changes its meaning.

Check the legal position before treating a restriction as protection

There isn't a distance or number of days in this guide that makes a clause enforceable. Whether a restriction is lawful, binding and enforceable depends on the jurisdiction, the parties, the wording and the circumstances. Competition rules can matter alongside the law governing the contract. Get advice on the actual deal before relying on it, particularly when the restriction covers a large area, many events or a long period.

In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission's explanation of exclusive dealing describes how certain supply arrangements can support investment while also raising competition concerns. Its examples concern manufacturers and retailers, not a legal test written for concert bookings. The useful lesson for your review is that the effect of an exclusive arrangement matters. Calling a clause commercially useful doesn't settle whether your version is lawful.

The US Department of Justice's antitrust overview says exclusive contracts that reduce competition may violate the Sherman Act. It also distinguishes agreements among competitors to allocate markets from other restrictions. Don't turn an individual artist negotiation into an understanding with rival promoters about who gets particular artists, territories or customers. If a proposed collaboration involves competitors, let an adviser assess it before you proceed.

In the UK, government guidance on anti-competitive activity warns that businesses of any size can break competition law through market sharing or exchanging commercially sensitive information. An informal conversation can matter too. You don't need a signed agreement with another promoter for that risk to arise. Keep competitor coordination out of your booking process and ask for advice where a genuine joint project requires it.

One current US distinction is especially easy to miss. As checked on 25 October 2026, the FTC says its Noncompete Rule is not in effect or enforceable. Don't rely on an old headline about that rule to declare every artist restriction banned, or to conclude that every restriction is permitted. The status of that rule doesn't answer the legal questions about your particular booking.

For your booking, give your adviser the proposed terms, the relevant countries and states, the parties' roles, the existing commitments and your commercial explanation. A review of an isolated sentence without that context is a poor basis for deciding what to sign.

Define the artist and the appearances that count

The name on your poster may differ from the legal party signing the contract. Establish both. If an agent negotiates, confirm whom they represent and who can agree changes. Then identify the performing act covered by the restriction, including any agreed treatment of alternate names or different line-ups.

Avoid stretching a booking for one band into control over every project involving every member. A solo acoustic set by the singer might concern you because buyers see it as a substitute for your show. A drummer's unrelated session work might have no comparable effect. Discuss those cases directly. If something is included, explain why and describe it clearly enough that the artist can check a real offer against it.

You also need to say what kind of appearance matters. A public headline concert, festival set, support slot, guest appearance, private function and online broadcast aren't interchangeable. The terms should state which activities are covered and which are excluded or handled through consent. Don't assume "show" has the same meaning to everyone reading it.

A private event deserves a closer look than its label. An invitation-only corporate booking may have little overlap with your paying audience. A supposedly private event with tickets effectively available to the public may raise a different concern. Ask how people gain access, whether it's promoted publicly and what the artist is actually doing. Record the agreed treatment of the specific event.

Free public appearances can also compete for attention, so a restriction based only on whether admission is paid may not match your objective. Equally, restricting every unpaid appearance could prevent a short radio session that helps promote your event. Describe the activity and its audience instead of relying on a price label alone.

For the worked example, imagine a fictional band called North Quay booked for a full headline set. The promoter's initial concern is another public headline set by that same band. Support slots, side projects and broadcasts are discussed separately. Nothing about that starting position makes it the right scope for another act or a different market.

Before agreeing, send the agent the actual examples your team has in mind. If the answer changes depending on who reads the sentence, revise the terms. Discovering the disagreement while reviewing an offer is much cheaper than discovering it after another show has gone on sale.

Put a measurable boundary around the area

"Local" is too vague for a restriction that may stop someone accepting work. Name the reference point and the way distance will be measured. A venue address, a defined set of coordinates or an agreed administrative area can each produce a different boundary. Choose one deliberately and include it in the reviewed agreement.

Straight-line distance and driving distance can produce different answers. Driving routes may change with the mapping service, traffic settings or route selected. If you choose straight-line distance, identify the agreed points and calculation method. If you choose named districts instead, list them. Don't alternate between a circle on a map and a loose description of the surrounding region.

For illustration, North Quay's promoter proposes an area extending 40 miles in a straight line from an agreed point at the venue. The boundary includes locations exactly 40 miles away. A second venue agreed to be 39 miles away would fall inside that area. A venue 43 miles away would fall outside it. These distances are invented to show how the definition works, not to suggest an appropriate radius.

Now ask whether that circle describes the market you want to protect. A river crossing, limited late transport or distinct local audiences may affect how people choose shows. A neat circle isn't evidence that every performance inside it competes equally, or that every performance outside it has no effect.

Use past ticket-buyer locations where you can lawfully and appropriately analyse them, alongside venue knowledge and actual competing offers. Keep the analysis proportionate. You don't need to send an artist a file containing buyers' personal details to explain that most previous purchasers came from particular areas. A summary may answer the commercial question.

Decide how borderline cases will be resolved before you need a decision. Record the tool or calculation, who checks it and how both sides confirm the result. If a venue changes address or an event moves sites, reassess it. Permission for one identified location shouldn't quietly become permission for any replacement venue.

A map can help people understand the agreement, but the map and written description must match. Have the adviser resolve any conflict between them. Your operations team shouldn't be choosing which version wins when a booking deadline is approaching.

Give performance and announcement restrictions separate dates

A performance restriction controls when the artist can deliver another appearance. An announcement restriction controls when another event can be publicised. You may need one, both or neither. Explain the reason for each and record its own start, end and exceptions.

Consider the North Quay example. The concert is on 20 November 2027. For discussion, the proposed performance restriction covers public headline performances by that band within the agreed area from 00:00 on 1 November through 23:59 on 28 November, using the venue's local time zone. That is a specific proposed window, not a standard period promoters should copy.

The artist also has an offer for a nearby headline show on 4 December. Its performance date falls outside that proposed window. The promoter's remaining concern is whether an early announcement of the December show would affect November ticket sales. That is a different issue from permission to perform in December.

The parties might agree that this identified December show can go ahead, with its announcement held until 10:00 on 21 November. If they choose that arrangement, record the December event, the permitted announcement time and which channels it covers. Don't describe the performance as prohibited when the actual agreement only delays its publicity.

Specify whether publicity includes an on-sale page, a mailing-list presale, a venue calendar, an artist post and paid advertising. A listing accessible to buyers may reveal the show even when no social announcement has appeared. Decide who coordinates with the other event's team through the artist's authorised representative and what information can be shared.

The Musicians' Union's guidance for unsigned and emerging artists recommends agreeing promotional activity, including announcements, social media and paid advertising. Its guidance is aimed at that group of musicians, but the practical prompt helps a promoter too. Agree the activity before asking either team to schedule it.

Use dates and time zones throughout the approval record. "After our show" could mean after the artist leaves the stage, after midnight or the next working morning. If the event crosses midnight or your teams work in different countries, that shortcut becomes especially unhelpful. Your artist marketing approval process should use the same dates as the booking agreement.

List existing commitments before anyone accepts new restrictions

Ask the authorised artist representative to check existing bookings and restrictions before confirming the deal. An artist may already have agreed a nearby performance, an announcement schedule or exclusivity for another event. Your proposed terms can't be assessed properly without knowing whether they conflict with those commitments.

The request should be specific enough to answer. Provide the proposed area, activity and dates, then ask which known commitments need to be disclosed for that check. A general question about whether the artist is "free" may only confirm availability on your performance date. It doesn't necessarily answer the wider exclusivity question.

Create a dated list of agreed exceptions. For each event, record its identity, location, performance date, type of appearance, publicity status and any conditions attached to permission. If details must remain confidential, agree how the relevant facts can be verified and who may see them. Respect confidentiality obligations rather than asking the agent to forward someone else's full contract.

In our fictional example, suppose North Quay already has a private function on 12 November. The parties confirm it is invitation-only, not publicly advertised and not selling public admission. They record it as an allowed existing commitment on that description. If the organiser later wants to make it a public ticketed show, the artist's representative must return to the agreed consent process before treating the old permission as sufficient.

Also ask about offers under discussion. A tentative date isn't the same as a binding booking, but it can still expose a conflict worth resolving now. Your adviser can help distinguish how the agreement treats confirmed commitments, options and new offers. The important operational point is that your team knows which status has actually been checked.

An undisclosed event doesn't become harmless because someone forgot it, and a disclosed event doesn't become approved merely because it appeared in an email. Keep the request, the response and the authorised decision together. Each side should be able to identify the final accepted list.

Where two existing obligations conflict, stop making public promises while the representatives resolve it. You may need consent, a revised date, narrower terms or a different booking. Don't ask an artist to promise compliance with incompatible obligations and assume the problem will disappear once your deposit has been paid.

Make exceptions possible without making decisions arbitrary

A consent process gives both sides a way to assess an appearance that wasn't settled when the booking was agreed. It needs a named decision-maker, enough information to make the decision and a response deadline that fits the real offer. Otherwise an exception can remain unresolved until the artist loses the opportunity anyway.

Ask for the proposed event's date, venue, appearance format, public access, expected billing and announcement plans. Request the information relevant to the restriction. An artist's entire tour finances or another promoter's confidential budget may have nothing to do with the decision you're making.

Agree how a complete request is submitted and when the response clock starts. If your decision-maker is away, name a substitute with authority. Set out how questions pause or change the timetable, if that's what the parties intend. Don't let routine administration turn a stated response period into an indefinite wait.

For example, an artist might request permission for a short guest appearance at a nearby benefit event. You could decide it presents little competition and approve it on the facts supplied. A second full headline concert with a similar offer may prompt a different response. Explain the difference through the actual event, rather than treating permission as a favour that can be withdrawn without reference to the agreement.

Record the decision in writing. Identify the exact event and any agreed conditions, such as a particular announcement date or set format. Have your adviser specify the legal effect of consent, including whether it changes any other obligations. Don't assume a one-off permission rewrites the whole booking agreement.

Also agree what happens if no response arrives. Silence should have the effect the reviewed contract gives it. A promoter may assume it means refusal while an agent assumes it means approval after a deadline. Resolving that in advance protects both sides from a preventable argument.

If the artist needs an urgent answer, use the agreed escalation route. A stage manager's friendly message or a marketing assistant's reaction to a post may not come from someone authorised to approve the booking. Give your team a clear instruction about who can say yes, and make sure the artist's representative has the same contact details.

Work out whether wider exclusivity is worth the price

A restriction can change the artist's fee. Before agreeing to pay more, put that extra cost into the event budget and ask what would have to happen for it to pay back. Use the money retained from an additional ticket after the costs that rise with attendance. Gross ticket revenue will overstate the benefit.

Here's a fictional comparison in US dollars. North Quay's promoter has 600 paid tickets available and plans to charge $40 each. The example allows $5 per paid attendee for selling and attendance costs, leaving $35 per ticket towards fixed costs. That $5 is an invented budgeting allowance, not a Loopyah fee or an industry benchmark.

The planned fixed cost is $18,000. It comprises $6,000 for the artist, $4,000 for venue and production, $2,400 for event workers, $1,600 for promotion, $1,200 for travel and hospitality, $1,200 for organiser and administration work, $600 for agreed access provision, $500 for insurance and permissions, and $500 contingency treated as spent. The artist allowance includes any agreed agency charge. The model assumes no sales tax applies and excludes business income tax. It includes no bar, sponsor or merchandise income.

At $35 contribution per ticket, 514 tickets contribute $17,990 and leave a $10 loss. Selling 515 contributes $18,025 and leaves $25. That is the ticket-only break-even point under these assumptions, with the planned costs unchanged across the sales levels discussed here. The 600 paid tickets are the agreed sellable allocation after guest and companion places have been allowed for; this is not a total venue occupancy figure.

Now suppose broader exclusivity would add $1,200 to the artist fee, taking fixed costs to $19,200. It would require 549 paid tickets to break even. Those tickets contribute $19,215. Selling 548 would contribute $19,180 and leave a $20 loss.

The extra $1,200 requires at least 35 additional full-price tickets to cover it, because 34 contribute only $1,190 while 35 contribute $1,225. The two break-even counts differ by 34 because each is rounded up separately. That's a test of the extra cost, not evidence that a wider clause will sell those tickets. You still need a credible reason to expect the additional demand.

At a forecast of 540 paid tickets, the narrower deal leaves $900 before income tax. The broader deal loses $300 at the same sales level. At the full 600-ticket allocation, the respective results are $3,000 and $1,800. Exclusivity hasn't created that difference in sales; this comparison deliberately holds sales constant to show the cost you are taking on.

Ask what evidence supports paying the premium. Is there a specific competing booking that would otherwise proceed? Does it reach substantially the same audience? Could a shorter announcement delay address the concern at a lower cost? If the answer is mostly anxiety about an unknown show, price that uncertainty honestly before increasing your commitment.

Don't ignore cash timing. An extra advance payment may be due before your main sales period, even if you hope to recover it later. Include it in the payment schedule and available cash calculation. A deposit credited against the agreed artist fee is part of that fee, not another cost to add on top.

Prepare a negotiation record your adviser can turn into terms

Use a plain-language record to collect the commercial decisions before an adviser prepares or checks the actual wording. This is a brief for review, not a clause to paste into a contract. Mark unresolved items clearly instead of making the record look finished because a deadline is approaching.

For the fictional North Quay show, the record could read as follows. The artist, event and numbers are invented, and the proposal still needs the parties' agreement and legal review.

• Booking: North Quay's full headline performance on 20 November 2027 at the venue identified in the main engagement agreement. Record the legal contracting parties and the authorised representatives by name.

• Commercial concern: a nearby public headline performance by the same band during the agreed period could offer a close substitute to the audience buying this concert. Record the evidence and assumptions supporting that concern.

• Area: locations at or within 40 straight-line miles of the agreed venue reference point. Attach the point, measurement method and any supporting map, with their relationship resolved in the reviewed terms.

• Performance period: 00:00 on 1 November through 23:59 on 28 November 2027 in the named local time zone. The show date is 20 November; a change of date requires a separate decision about the restriction.

• Covered activity: public headline performances by the contracted band. Agree separately how support slots, guest appearances, side projects, free public shows and broadcasts are treated. Don't leave these categories undecided in the final agreement.

• Existing permission: the identified invitation-only private function on 12 November is allowed on its agreed facts, including no public admission sales or public advertising. A changed format returns for review.

• Later nearby show: the identified 4 December headline performance is outside the performance period. Its separate agreed announcement time is 10:00 on 21 November, covering the channels expressly listed in the reviewed record.

• New requests: send the event facts to the named authorised representative, with the agreed response deadline, substitute contact and escalation route. Specify the contractual consequence of silence and the form of valid consent.

• Price: the proposed narrower deal uses the $6,000 artist fee in the $18,000 fixed-cost example. A broader proposal costing $1,200 more must be priced and assessed separately before acceptance.

• Changes and disputes: resolve postponement, cancellation, loss of exclusivity, notice, remedies and the relationship with the main contract through legal review. Name the governing law and agreed dispute process in that contract.

The blank decisions are as useful as the completed ones. If nobody can explain what happens to the restriction after cancellation, that needs discussion before signing. If an agent can't confirm the private function's publicity status, don't label it approved unconditionally.

Send the same version to everyone who needs to review it. Keep a dated final record with the signed agreement and its attachments. Your team should never have to guess whether a marked-up draft, an earlier email or a message saying "looks fine" contains the accepted terms.

Decide what happens when the show moves or is cancelled

A radius clause can become particularly awkward when the event it was meant to protect no longer happens as planned. Address that while negotiating the original deal. The commercial reason for restricting other appearances may change completely if you cancel, postpone or move the concert to another market.

For postponement, ask whether the original restriction ends, continues or changes only after a fresh written agreement. A moved show can otherwise leave the artist facing restrictions around the old date and new requests around the replacement date. Don't assume the dates automatically follow the event unless the reviewed agreement actually says so and the consequences have been considered.

The same applies to the geographic reference point. Moving the concert across town could change whether another venue falls inside the radius. Moving it to another city changes the commercial discussion more substantially. Record how the parties approve that change, including existing bookings that may have become conflicts through no change by the artist.

For cancellation, agree how the restriction interacts with the reason for cancellation and any payment obligations. If the promoter cancels, the artist may want freedom to replace lost work. If the artist cannot perform, the promoter may have different concerns. Your adviser should set out the consequences under the applicable law rather than leaving either party to improvise a remedy.

Ticket buyers create a separate responsibility. A booking dispute doesn't tell customers whether your event is happening, who will perform or what options they have. Keep the artist negotiation and the buyer communication coordinated, but don't delay necessary customer action while waiting to settle every contractual argument.

Avoid promising that a radius breach automatically lets you cancel without paying, keep the deposit or deduct a fixed amount. Those outcomes depend on the actual terms and legal position. A payment demand, withholding decision or threat of proceedings needs advice on the facts, including what notice the contract requires.

The UK's Equity guidance on one-off live performance contracts makes two useful points for that review. A contract can arise without a signed formal document, and signature alone doesn't make every term legal. Its guidance concerns its performers and UK context. Ask your adviser how the law applies to the way your own booking was agreed.

Connect the agreed terms to the event launch

Once the agreement is ready, turn the accepted dates and permissions into instructions for the people doing the work. Your booker may understand the deal while a freelancer prepares an ad claiming "only regional appearance." That claim needs to match the actual agreement and known appearances, including exceptions.

Be precise about the public promise. If the restriction only covers public headline shows in one defined area for one period, don't turn it into "only show this year." If an allowed private booking exists, consider whether a broad claim would mislead buyers even if the public performance restriction remains intact. Ask the artist's representative to approve the exact wording you intend to use.

Build that approval into the artist and promoter ticket-sales plan. Record who approves the artist description, who controls announcements and who can stop scheduled material when the facts change. An exclusivity message may appear on the event page, in press copy, on venue listings and in a promoter's email. Check all the versions you control.

When you're ready to sell, set ticket types, prices and quantities around the agreed concert offer. Loopyah's ticket selling tools let you give a ticket type several releases with their own prices and quantities. That helps you publish the planned ticket offer once the booking and announcement are cleared. The decision about the artist's contractual availability remains with you and the authorised representatives.

The fictional budget assumes every paid ticket contributes $35. If you introduce an early release at a lower price, recalculate the budget using that actual mix. A selling tool can make the release available; it doesn't make the original break-even calculation true after you've changed the price.

For email, prepare the approved message before scheduling it. Loopyah's attendee email tools support sending yourself a test and choosing a send time and time zone. Use those steps to check the artist wording and permitted release time. Confirm the booking and approvals yourself before you send a campaign; don't treat a prepared draft as a cleared announcement.

Keep material aimed at past buyers distinct from necessary updates to current ticket holders, with the appropriate audience and permissions for each message. If an artist agreement changes after on-sale, the customer update should explain the relevant change plainly. Legal uncertainty between the contracting parties is no reason to leave buyers reading an event page you know is inaccurate.

Handle a suspected conflict with facts before demands

You notice an announcement for another North Quay show. Start by saving the listing, its publication time and the relevant event details. Check the actual signed agreement and later permissions. A screenshot can establish what you saw; it doesn't establish that a breach occurred.

Work through the questions in order. Is it the same covered act? Is the appearance of a covered type? Is the venue inside the agreed area using the agreed method? Does the performance fall within the restricted dates? If it doesn't, is there a separate announcement term that applies? Is the event already listed as an exception?

For our example, the 4 December performance isn't prohibited by the 1 to 28 November performance window. If it appears online before the agreed announcement time, the issue concerns that separate permission. Calling it a prohibited November performance would send the conversation in the wrong direction immediately.

Contact the named artist representative with the facts and the relevant provision. Ask for clarification and follow the agreed notice process where needed. The listing may contain an incorrect date, refer to a different format or have been posted by a venue without the artist team's approval. You still need a response, but the next action should fit what actually happened.

If the issue is real, discuss practical options with your adviser. These may include correcting a listing, changing an announcement plan or negotiating consent, depending on the agreement and circumstances. Don't promise a particular result before the parties have agreed it. The other event may have its own contractual commitments that your team cannot simply change.

Keep a record of commercial effects you can substantiate. Track actual refunds, documented campaign changes and additional costs separately from an estimate of lost sales. A slow week of ticket sales doesn't prove that another announcement caused the shortfall. Your adviser can assess which facts matter to any claim and what evidence is needed.

Give one person responsibility for the response. Conflicting messages from a booker, lawyer and social media manager can make resolution harder. Staff should know who is handling the matter, what they can tell buyers and whether any scheduled claims need to be paused or corrected.

Review the decision before you commit

Before signing, ask someone who wasn't involved in the negotiation to explain the proposed terms using a real nearby venue and date. Give them the final documents, not the background conversation. If they can't decide whether that appearance needs consent, the record still needs work.

Run the same check on an announcement for a later performance. Then test an existing private booking, a guest appearance and a postponement. You aren't trying to predict every imaginable event. You're checking that the situations already discussed have an answer your team and the artist can both recognise.

Check the budget again with the final fee, deposits, agreed discounts and any extra artist obligations. If the broader restriction needs more ticket sales to pay for it, say how many and show the assumptions. If you can't make a credible commercial case, propose a narrower restriction, an announcement arrangement or a booking without exclusivity.

Your legal review should address the whole accepted deal and the actual market circumstances. Keep the adviser's questions visible until they're resolved. A clause that everyone can read can still be unlawful or unenforceable, and a restriction that is legally possible can still be a poor purchase for your event.

For the North Quay example, the promoter's next decision is whether the defined headline-show restriction and the separate December announcement arrangement provide enough commercial value at the agreed fee. Settle that with the artist's representative, complete the legal review and confirm the final launch instructions before any public claim of exclusivity goes out.