Pricing appearances, travel and exclusivity

A performance fee pays for far more than the minutes on stage: travel, set-up, waiting, rehearsal and the dates you turn down. Learn how to build an appearance rate, price travel and overtime, charge fairly for exclusivity, and show it all in an all-in rate card.

Read the transcript

Pricing appearances, travel and exclusivity.

A client sees a 45-minute set and wonders why it costs 1,500. dollars

You see two hours of driving, an hour of set-up, an hour waiting for speeches to finish, the show, the pack-down, the rehearsal that made it possible and the Saturday you could have sold to someone else.

What an appearance really costs.

List every hour a typical booking takes.

Most performers are surprised by the total.

Worked example: building the base fee.

Ember and Silk, a fictional two-person aerial and fire act in Mississauga used here as an illustration, wants to earn 70,000 dollars a year between the two performers, after costs.

Their annual business costs, including insurance, rigging inspection, equipment, vehicle, marketing and accounting, come to 22,000. dollars

Travel zones.

Travel is a cost, not a favour.

Clients and planners prefer predictable zones over a per-kilometre formula they have to calculate.

Overtime, extensions and add-ons.

Decide in advance what happens when they do, and put it on the rate card and in the contract.

Include a reasonable window, such as 60 minutes after the agreed start, in the base fee. Charge a set amount for each additional half hour of waiting.

Exclusivity and radius clauses.

Some clients ask you not to perform for anyone else: a competitor at the same trade show, another festival in the same region that weekend, or any other wedding on the same day.

Exclusivity has a real cost, because it removes bookings you could have sold.

That is the lesson. The worksheet and the quiz are just below this video.

What you will be able to do

• Calculate an appearance fee from the full hours a booking takes, not just the performance time
• Set travel zones, overtime and add-on rates that are clear to clients and planners
• Price exclusivity and radius requests based on the work they cost you

A client sees a 45-minute set and wonders why it costs $1,500. You see two hours of driving, an hour of set-up, an hour waiting for speeches to finish, the show, the pack-down, the rehearsal that made it possible and the Saturday you could have sold to someone else. Pricing well starts with counting all of it.

What an appearance really costs

List every hour a typical booking takes. Most performers are surprised by the total.

The audience sees 45 minutes. The booking takes about nine hours. Then add the costs that do not appear on any single job: insurance, props and equipment, costume replacement, vehicle costs, music and software subscriptions, marketing, accounting and the weeks of the year with no bookings at all.

Worked example: building the base fee

Ember & Silk, a fictional two-person aerial and fire act in Mississauga used here as an illustration, wants to earn $70,000 a year between the two performers, after costs. Their annual business costs, including insurance, rigging inspection, equipment, vehicle, marketing and accounting, come to $22,000. So the bookings must bring in $92,000 before HST.

They expect about 60 bookings a year, with most in May to October and December. That is $92,000 divided by 60, or about $1,533 per booking. They round their base fee for a standard appearance within their home zone to $1,600.

Now test it against the hours. At nine hours per performer per booking, two performers give 18 hours. $1,600 divided by 18 is about $89 an hour before costs. That feels reasonable for skilled, insured work with real risk. If the hourly figure had come out at $30, the fee would be too low however busy they were.

Run the same calculation in reverse when you are tempted to discount. Ten bookings at $1,200 instead of $1,600 cost $4,000 in income, and require exactly the same nine hours each.

Travel zones

Travel is a cost, not a favour. Clients and planners prefer predictable zones over a per-kilometre formula they have to calculate. Set three or four zones from your base and build the travel into the fee for each one.

Each zone fee includes the travel, so the price a client sees is the price they pay, plus HST. For overnight trips, quote accommodation and meals as part of the total, or ask the client to book the hotel directly and say so in writing.

Overtime, extensions and add-ons

Events run late. Decide in advance what happens when they do, and put it on the rate card and in the contract.

• Waiting time. Include a reasonable window, such as 60 minutes after the agreed start, in the base fee. Charge a set amount for each additional half hour of waiting.
• Extensions. Price an extra set or an extra half hour of strolling in advance, so the planner can say yes on the night without a negotiation.
• Add-ons. A second costume change, a custom routine with the client’s product or logo, a meet-and-greet, a workshop for children, or extra performers. Each has a set price.
• Rush bookings. If you charge more for bookings within two weeks, say so before the client asks for a quote.

Exclusivity and radius clauses

Some clients ask you not to perform for anyone else: a competitor at the same trade show, another festival in the same region that weekend, or any other wedding on the same day. Exclusivity has a real cost, because it removes bookings you could have sold. Price it by asking what it takes off your calendar.

1. Same-day exclusivity. Agreeing not to do a second show that day. Charge a premium equal to a share of what a second booking would usually earn, or include it in Saturday evening rates.
2. Competitor exclusivity at a trade show. Agreeing not to work for a competing exhibitor at the same show. Usually reasonable, and often priced as a modest premium on the daily rate.
3. Radius and period clauses. A festival asks that you not perform at any public event within 50 kilometres for two weeks before and after. Estimate how many bookings that would cost in that season and price accordingly, or negotiate the radius down.
4. Character or concept exclusivity. A brand asks you to create a character they will own, and not to perform it elsewhere. Treat this as a creative commission with a licence, and price it separately.

Write every exclusivity term precisely: which events, which competitors, which region and which dates. A vague promise not to work for competitors can cost you a year of bookings.

Presenting the rate card

Your rate card is a marketing document as much as a price list. Planners keep it on file and use it to build budgets, so it should answer their questions in the order they ask them. A structure you can copy:

1. What you get. The standard appearance in one sentence: two 20-minute aerial sets and a fire finale, two performers, rigging supplied.
2. Where and how much. The all-in fee for each zone, before HST, with peak dates marked.
3. What is included. Travel within the zone, set-up, sound cue, a 60-minute waiting window and liability insurance.
4. Optional extras. Each add-on with its price, clearly marked as optional.
5. Terms. Deposit, balance date, overtime rate, cancellation and how exclusivity is priced.
6. Next step. How to check a date and how quickly you reply.

Give planners and agents the same card, with their net rate on a separate sheet if they receive one. Review it every January. If you are fully booked on peak dates by spring, your peak rate is too low.

In Canada and the GTA

All-in pricing. Since June 23, 2022, the Competition Act has treated drip pricing as a false or misleading representation. A price is a drip price if it is not attainable because of fixed obligatory charges or fees. For performers, this means a published fee that later gains a mandatory travel fee, booking fee, sound fee or admin fee is a problem. Build those charges into the fee for each zone. Only charges imposed by law, such as HST, may be added on top. The Competition Bureau says consumers should see the true total cost upfront, without scrolling or reading fine print, and that variable charges can also raise concerns. Its drip pricing page explains the expectation. Genuinely optional add-ons are different, provided the client chooses them.

HST. The HST rate in Ontario is 13 percent. You remain a small supplier, not required to register, while your taxable supplies are $30,000 or less in any single calendar quarter and over the last four consecutive quarters. Once you pass $30,000 in a single quarter, you must register within 29 days. When you charge HST, tell the client the total includes HST, or show the HST amount separately, or show the 13 percent rate. Invoices of $500 or more must also show the buyer’s name, a brief description of the service and the payment terms. The CRA’s RC4022 guide lists what an invoice must include.

Estimates and consumer agreements. Under Ontario’s Consumer Protection Act, 2002, which applies until the 2023 Act is proclaimed, a business cannot bill a consumer more than 10 percent above an estimate unless the consumer agrees in writing to the extra charges. If you quote a wedding couple an estimate and then add overtime, get their written agreement to the overtime terms in the contract, before the event. Corporate clients are not consumers under the Act, but the same clarity prevents disputes. Booking a performance months ahead is typically a future performance agreement, so state the date, the service and the price clearly. Check ontario.ca for any change when the new Act takes effect.

Ontario travel realities. Highway 401, the Gardiner, the QEW and the Don Valley Parkway turn a 40-kilometre trip into a 90-minute one on a Friday evening, and winter weather adds more. Build your zones on driving time at the hour you usually travel, not on distance. Downtown Toronto adds parking costs and loading restrictions; ask the venue where you can unload and park, and build the cost into Zone 1 or 2 for downtown bookings. Ferry, island and cottage-country bookings need their own quote, because a missed ferry or a long cottage road can turn a two-hour trip into a full day and sometimes an overnight stay. Quote those dates only after you have checked the route at the time you will be travelling.

GTA pricing pressure. The cost of living in the GTA pushes performers’ costs up, while many clients compare your fee with what a friend paid years ago or with a performer from outside the region. Do not compete on price alone. Show what is included, the insurance you carry and the hours a booking really takes. Peak dates, such as Saturday evenings in June and September, December weekends for corporate holiday parties, New Year’s Eve and major cultural festivals like Diwali and Lunar New Year, justify peak rates; weekday daytime corporate and school bookings can carry a lower rate that fills quiet days.

Contracts. Exclusivity, radius and overtime terms belong in a written contract, not in an email thread. This is general information, not legal advice. For your own situation, check the official source or a lawyer.

Worksheet

Download the worksheet and complete it for your own business, using Lantern & Lane as the model where it helps. Keep it with your marketing plan. It takes about 10 minutes.

Download the worksheet (PDF)