Glossary of Misunderstood Live Music, Touring & Ticketing Terms

The live music business might be the most jargon heavy corner of the music industry. Dynamic pricing, backend deals, ticketing reforms, holdbacks, all-in ticketing are all in the headlines, but not everyone understands them.

This Hypebot Glossary of Misunderstood Live Music, Touring & Ticketing Terms breaks them down from venue economics and federal regulations to how artists actually get paid on the road.

Advance (Touring)

Often confused with a bonus or guarantee.
An advance is money paid to the artist before the show, usually a portion of the guarantee. It helps cover travel and production costs—but it is not additional pay.

All-In Ticket Pricing

Misunderstood as causing higher prices
An all-in price simply displays the full cost (ticket + fees) upfront. It doesn’t change the amount paid; it changes the transparency of the checkout.

Backend / Profit Split

Often described as “bonus money.”
Backend refers to the artist’s share of profit after expenses. If costs run high, there may be no backend at all.

Box Office Settlement

Fans often think it’s just “counting ticket sales.”
The settlement reconciles ticket revenue, expenses, fees, and percentages to determine what the artist and promoter actually earn.

Cash Deal

Misinterpreted as “all cash, no fees.”
A cash deal is when a promoter pays a flat fee and keeps all box office risk. It has nothing to do with physical cash.

Cut of the Room (Merch Cut)

Sometimes viewed as venues “stealing from artists.”
Some venues take a percentage of merch sales. It’s contractual—sometimes negotiable—and heavily debated, but not universal.

Dynamic Pricing

One of the most misunderstood terms in all of live music.
Dynamic pricing adjusts ticket prices based on supply and demand. Crucially, most dynamic pricing decisions are made by the artist and promoter, not the ticketing company alone.

Drip Pricing

Fans confuse this with all service fees.
Drip pricing refers specifically to hidden mandatory fees shown only at the end of checkout. Regulators are targeting hidden fees – not legitimate service fees.

Face Value Resale

Often mistaken for “banning resale.”
Face-value resale allows fans to resell tickets only at the original price or with small capped markups. It aims to eliminate profiteering, not restrict transfers. The UK has made Face Value only resale the law and some in the US are pushing for it too.

Fees: Service, Facility, Order Processing

Fans often assume the ticketing company keeps all fees.
Fees are typically split among the venue, promoter, ticketing company, and occasionally the most popular artists. Exact splits vary by contract.

Flex Holds / Holdbacks

Commonly misinterpreted as “hoarding tickets.”
Holdbacks reserve inventory for presales, artist allocations, credit card partners, and venue programs. They’re standard though often opaque.

Front-of-House (FOH)

Many think it refers to ticketing or lobby staff.
FOH is the sound engineer operating the main mix during the show.

Guarantee

Fans often think artists earn the guarantee plus backend.
A guarantee is the minimum an artist will earn. Backend may add more—but only if the show is profitable after expenses.

Kills (Ticketing)

Not “tickets destroyed.”
A “kill” is a seat intentionally removed from sale for production reasons, ADA needs, camera positions, or sightline issues.

Load-In / Load-Out

Misunderstood as simply “show setup.”
Load-in includes equipment arrival, staging, patching, and soundcheck. Load-out is teardown and exit—often the longest part of the night.

Net vs. Gross (Touring Revenue)

Commonly confused terms.
Gross = total ticket sales.
Net = gross minus expenses (production, crew, marketing, venue costs, etc.).

On-Sale vs. Presale

Fans often believe presales “sell out the whole show.”
A presale is controlled early access with limited inventory (like an artist’s fan club), while the on-sale is the full public release.

Overages

Often misunderstood as “more fees.”
Overages are expenses that exceed the agreed budget and may reduce artist profits or backend earnings.

Promoter Profit / Promoter Share

Incorrectly viewed as promoters taking extra money.
Promoters earn a negotiated share of profits after the show breaks even—compensation for taking financial risk.

Radius Clause

Seen by artists as unnecessary restriction.
A radius clause prevents artists from playing nearby shows within a certain distance and timeframe to protect ticket sales for the contracted event.

Rescinded Tickets

Often misinterpreted as “tickets stolen back.”
Rescinded tickets are voided for fraud, bots, chargebacks, or violating transfer rules.

Soft Ticket vs. Hard Ticket

Fans often misunderstand event types.
Soft ticket: part of a larger attraction (fair, festival, cruise) where artist is not solely responsible for selling tickets.
Hard ticket: artist-driven show where sales reflect demand.

Speculative Tickets

Often called “ghost tickets”

Tickets made available for sale that are not actually in the possession or control of the seller. After the ticket is “sold” the ticket scalper that attempts to procure a similar ticket. This deceptive practice leads to disappointed fans.

Transfer Restrictions

Often claimed to be “banning resale entirely.”
Restrictions control how and where resale happens. They don’t always eliminate transfers.

VIP Package

Misunderstood as “pay-to-meet-the-artist.”
Some VIP packages include meet-and-greets, but many include early entry, exclusive merch, or special viewing areas instead.

Bruce Houghton is Founder & Editor of Hypebot, Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, a Berklee College Of Music professor and founder of Skyline Artists.