Queen is Britain’s Dream Festival Act, What's Yours?

What is your ultimate festival line-up? A recent competition hosted by a UK ticketing marketplace asked this question and collected 12.5k votes to put together peoples’ ultimate top-20 list.

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Cover Band Performance Contracts

If you are planning a live music event you will need to make sure you have a contract in place with the performers. This is especially important if you have a financial stake in the event and are inviting paying customers. You need to make sure you have a written guarantee that the cover band will attend the engagement and what is expected from both parties. There may be occasions with local function bands where a contract is not needed. Sometimes an email confirmation may be enough if you know of the act.

If you do go down the contract route the live band may issue you a standard contract with their terms. These are available from the Musicians Union and are very simple straightforward contracts. It will usually include as a minimum the date and time of the engagement, the location, fee and duration of the performance. More in depth contracts may include who is responsible to providing equipment such as staging and PA systems. Some cover bands will be paid a set fee for the gig and other larger acts may ask for a percentage of ticket sales as well. This is something that should be negotiated early on.

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Planning corporate music entertainment

Planning corporate entertainment can be daunting. There is a lot to consider and getting it wrong might not improve your career prospects. Perhaps a cheesy cabaret entertainer or comedian won’t quite cut it. Most corporate companies are looking to impress potential business partners so you need to go all out with the entertainment.

For most corporate businesses though the entertainment industry is not too familiar. The best place to start is a reputable entertainment or music agent. A live band always goes down well at such event however you need to be sure of the quality of the act. Bands that perform at corporate events understand the attitude and planning needed to make sure everything runs smoothly. There are lots of great bands out there but not all have experience of working with corporate clients. If you can find an entertainment agent that specialises in corporate bands then even better.

If you are looking for everyone to have a great time and provide a true party atmosphere then live music is second to none. A great front man can work the crowd and get the whole audience involved. By booking through an entertainment agent you are usually assured a quality band. You should always talk to the agent though and be very precise about your requirements. Listen to demos usually available on the agent’s site and browse pictures and video footage.

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