Show Settlement Sheets: Splitting Ticket Revenue With Venue and Artist

On this page 9 sections

1. The Deal Memo Decides Every Line
2. Getting From Gross to Net on a Show Settlement Sheet
3. Card Processing Fees: Count Them Once
4. Comps and Refunds Stay Out of Gross
5. Chargebacks Can Arrive Months After the Artist Is Paid
6. Settle on Tickets Sold, Not on What Has Funded
7. Paying the Artist: Method, Paperwork and Withholding
8. A Worked Settlement for a Versus Deal
9. Write the Settlement Terms Into the Deal Memo Before the On-Sale

Key takeaways

• Buyer-paid service fees stay out of gross. The FTC's total-price rule changes what buyers see at checkout. It doesn't change how your contract splits the money.
• If processing is a show expense, charge it only on card sales. Don't also recover it through the service fee.
• For a future event, the chargeback window can start on the show date. A dispute can arrive months after you've paid the artist, so put a recovery clause in the deal.
• A contract clause saying the artist "handles their own taxes" won't cover you on a foreign act. Only an IRS Central Withholding Agreement changes your withholding duty.

A show settlement sheet is the document the promoter and the tour manager sign at the end of the night, usually with the venue rep at the table. It turns ticket sales into the amount each party is owed. You start with gross box office receipts and take out money that never belonged to the box office, such as buyer-paid service fees and ticket taxes. Then you subtract the expenses the contract allows, apply the deal terms and deduct the deposit already paid. If every line follows the contract, settlement takes a few minutes. Disputes come from the lines the contract never covered, and card fees and processor timing top that list.

This is general information, not legal, tax or accounting advice. Your artist contract and venue agreement control every line of a settlement. Confirm tax and withholding treatment with a qualified professional.

The Deal Memo Decides Every Line

Read the deal before you open a spreadsheet. Each common structure puts the risk in a different place.

Versus deals produce the most disputes, because every expense line moves the artist's check. On a flat guarantee, a tour manager has little reason to question your security bill. On a versus deal at 85%, each $100 of expenses costs the artist $85, so expect every receipt to be read.

Getting From Gross to Net on a Show Settlement Sheet

Most deals define two figures: gross box office receipts (GBOR) and net box office receipts (NBOR). If either one is wrong, nothing after it will reconcile.

1. Count paid tickets by price tier. Pull the final report from your ticketing platform, add box office walk-ups, and multiply each tier by its face value.
2. Leave out buyer-paid fees. These usually go to the party the contract names, often the ticketing company or the venue. Facility fees are the ones most often treated differently, so check the wording.
3. Remove admissions or amusement taxes. Many local and state governments tax tickets, and that tax isn't the artist's money. The rules vary widely. Our breakdown of the Chicago amusement tax on tickets shows how one city handles it.
4. Subtract refunds issued before settlement. A refunded ticket doesn't belong in gross.
5. What's left is NBOR. In a versus deal, approved show expenses come off NBOR before the percentage applies.

Next, reconcile the manifest. Capacity should equal tickets sold plus comps plus kills plus unsold seats. Kills are seats held off sale for production, sightlines or the soundboard. Some gap between tickets sold and tickets scanned is normal, since some buyers never show up. When the platform report and the box office count disagree, something is wrong. Find the cause before the tour manager sees the sheet.

Card Processing Fees: Count Them Once

Agents question the card-fee line more than any other. There are three legitimate ways to handle card costs, and the contract should name one.

The common mistake is double recovery. The service fee is meant to cover processing, and "credit card commission" also shows up as a show expense. Experienced tour managers catch this right away, and it costs you trust for the next booking. If processing is an expense, base it on your processing statements or on the rate in the deal memo. Don't estimate it.

People often misread the FTC's total-price rule on this point. The FTC's Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees (16 C.F.R. Part 464) took effect May 12, 2025. It requires anyone selling live-event tickets to show the total price up front, including mandatory fees. The FTC's FAQ on the rule says only government charges, shipping and optional add-ons the buyer chooses can be left out of the advertised total, and those still have to be disclosed before payment.

The rule governs what the buyer sees. It doesn't govern how your contract splits the money. If your deal keeps a mandatory service fee outside GBOR, it stays outside GBOR even though it now appears in the advertised price. For display details, see our coverage of the FTC total price rules for tickets. If you're deciding how much to charge, read pricing ticket service fees to cover costs.

Cost programs such as surcharging, where permitted, and dual pricing carry their own card network and state rules on disclosure and receipts. Set them up correctly before tickets go on sale. Fixing them after the first complaint is harder.

Comps and Refunds Stay Out of Gross

Comps go on the sheet with a count and a value of zero. Deals commonly give each party a comp allowance. Some contracts let the artist charge comps beyond that allowance at face value against the promoter's share, so keep a signed comp list broken out by source.

Refunds processed before settlement reduce gross. For refunds after settlement, such as those following a partial cancellation or an accessibility complaint, you need a written agreement on how they're shared. If the whole date is at risk, our guide to refund rules for cancelled or postponed events covers what to do first.

Chargebacks Can Arrive Months After the Artist Is Paid

Many promoters assume that a ticket bought in March can't be disputed by summer. For a service that hasn't been delivered yet, that assumption is wrong. Industry summaries of Visa's dispute rules, including Chargeflow's, say cardholders generally have 120 days to file. For services not received, the clock starts on the expected delivery or service date, with an outer limit of 540 days from processing. A ticket's service date is the show itself, so a buyer can file roughly four months after the night you settled. Confirm the exact limits for each card network with your processor.

Unless the contract says otherwise, that loss usually lands on whoever collected the money. That's typically the promoter. You can protect yourself in two ways. One is a clause that lets you recover documented chargebacks from the artist's share within a set window. The other is evidence: scan records, IP and device data from online orders, and delivery confirmations. Our guide to using scan data to fight ticket chargebacks explains what issuers look for. Stolen-card purchases are a known pattern for high-demand shows, so it also pays to screen orders before the event.

Settle on Tickets Sold, Not on What Has Funded

The artist expects to be paid tonight for the tickets sold, but some of that card money hasn't reached you yet. Card batches typically fund a business day or more after you close them. Some ticketing platforms pay out only after the event. Processors know a cancelled show can mean mass refunds, so some put a reserve on ticketing merchants or hold funding until the date has passed. We explain why in MCC 7922 and ticketing risk.

None of this changes the sheet. Settlement reflects tickets sold, and your funding timeline is your operating problem, not the artist's. Before the on-sale, get two answers from your processor in writing: how long batches take to fund, and whether a reserve or hold could apply to a future-dated event. Then keep enough working capital to pay the artist and the night's costs without waiting on card funds. For ways to get money earlier, read getting ticket revenue before the show. If your funds are already frozen, start with why processors hold merchant funds and how to get paid.

Paying the Artist: Method, Paperwork and Withholding

Agree on the payment method when you advance the show, not at settlement. Cash is immediate and still traditional in small rooms. It has to be counted and guarded, though, and it leaves a weak paper trail. Have two people count it twice and get a signed receipt. A company or certified check leaves a clear record. A wire or same-day transfer keeps cash off site, but it depends on verified banking details and your bank's cutoff times. If the artist's side changes bank accounts, confirm by phone with a known contact at the agency or management company. Payment-redirection fraud targets touring payouts, so an email alone isn't enough.

Collect tax paperwork before show day. For U.S. payees, that usually means a completed Form W-9. The IRS instructions for requesters warn that if you don't collect backup withholding when it's required, you can be liable for the uncollected amount.

Foreign performers carry more exposure. The IRS says payments to nonresident alien artists are generally subject to 30% withholding on the gross amount, reported on Forms 1042 and 1042-S. A Central Withholding Agreement, applied for on Form 13930, can lower that by basing withholding on net income. Many promoters misunderstand one point here. According to the IRS overview of the program, no document overrides the withholding agent's responsibility unless a CWA is in effect. A contract clause saying the artist handles their own taxes won't protect you. Don't assume that paying an artist's U.S. company settles the question either. Bring in a tax professional as soon as you book a foreign act.

Show the booking deposit as its own line and subtract it from the amount due.

A Worked Settlement for a Versus Deal

These figures are illustrative. They show the order of operations, not typical prices, fees or splits.

Assumptions: a 500-capacity club with 420 paid tickets at $30 face and 40 comps. Face value includes $600 of admissions tax, and there were no refunds. The artist gets the greater of a $2,500 guarantee or 85% of net after approved expenses, and the promoter paid a $1,250 deposit at booking. Card sales made up $10,000 of the $12,600 gross, and the deal memo sets processing at 3% of card sales.

Buyer-paid service fees aren't on the sheet because this contract keeps them outside GBOR. Processing appears once, so the service fee isn't covering it a second time. The 3% also applies to the $10,000 of card sales, not to the full $12,600.

Now run the same night through other deal types and the risk becomes concrete.

On 420 paid tickets, a 70% door deal loses the promoter money. That's why door deals usually come with a much leaner expense structure. Before you agree to percentages, run your realistic attendance through this table. Then run it again at 60% of that attendance.

Write the Settlement Terms Into the Deal Memo Before the On-Sale

Every term in this article belongs in the deal memo before a single ticket sells:

• definitions of GBOR and NBOR
• the approved expense list
• how card fees are treated
• comp allowances
• refund and chargeback recovery terms
• the payment method

Build your settlement template to match that contract language line for line. Make sure your box office can keep selling when the connection drops. Our guide to box office card readers that work offline covers the options, and MannyPay offers mobile terminals for walk-up ticket sales.

MannyPay provides payment processing for event ticketing and promotions, including online checkout, box office hardware and compliant cost programs. To compare processing options for your next on-sale, request a free quote. A MannyPay specialist will respond within one business day.

Sources

1. FTC: The Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees, Frequently Asked Questions
2. Federal Register: Trade Regulation Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees
3. IRS: FAQs About Foreign Artist and Athlete Withholding
4. IRS: Overview of the Central Withholding Agreement Program
5. IRS Publication 515: Withholding of Tax on Nonresident Aliens and Foreign Entities
6. IRS: Instructions for the Requester of Form W-9
7. Chargeflow: Credit Card Chargeback Time Limits
8. Chargebacks911: Visa Chargeback Time Limits

IC

About the author

Isabella Cruz

Isabella Cruz is Business Growth & Commerce Editor for Beyond the Swipe, writing for small businesses, restaurants, retailers, entertainment venues and e-commerce sellers.

This article is for general educational purposes and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Card network rules and state laws change; confirm current requirements for your business.