Until now we’ve been worried about getting the gig. But what if you or the promoter have to cancel the date? The first item of business is making sure you have a good cancellation clause in your contract.

Let’s lay down some basics. The first, and most important, is that you have an entertainment lawyer help you create your performance contract or at least review it for the proper inclusion of clauses relevant to the state from which you operate. Each state may have specific legal elements that you need to be aware of and an entertainment lawyer licensed to practice in your state will be able to inform you with knowledge. Second, I am not a lawyer. I have had all of my contracts reviewed by attorneys while booking my acts and the ones I offer in my book have been reviewed by various entertainment attorneys. With that established, I want to discuss cancellation clauses because they are an important tool to help protect yourself when special circumstances arise for you or the promoter.

I have always included a cancellation clause in my contracts detailing under what circumstances my artist may cancel their contract to perform. I also include a clause that describes the penalties in case the promoter terminates the contract.

We are not discussing cancellation due to acts of God, such as disasters, accidents, death, illness, union strikes, etc. Those are covered in another clause called Force Majeure. Here, we worry about cancellation for reasons other than the above.

The artist’s reasons for canceling fall into the category of career advancement. The promoter’s reasons for canceling fall into the category of insufficient funds. As we go through each one, think about times when you might have faced similar situations and if you had included a comprehensive cancellation clause in your contract, things might have worked out differently.

Artist Career Advancement:

It is important to understand that you must use this clause with integrity, honesty and a sense of concern for the promoter’s situation while remaining true to the career opportunities that are presented to you. Your integrity in the business will be called into question if you start using your cancellation clause to regularly cancel one date and accept another, just because the new gig pays a little better. That is not the way to use this clause. The following examples should give you some understanding.

1. Tour support act – You have the good fortune to get a slot as a support act for a major artist or at least an artist whose reputation is much greater than yours. This opportunity is rare and has the potential to boost your career to a new level in your market. Any club booking agent or promoter understands this and also realizes that a tour like that can increase demand for your act, making you more valuable to them at a later date. When you approach the promoter to cancel, offer them a future date. To sweeten the pot, perhaps offer it with the same guarantee, but increase the percentage or ticket price. After your support tour, having a better ticket price and/or a higher percentage will pay off for both of you. The biggest drawback to opening a full tour is that you will have to cancel more than one date if you have a lot of dates booked for the future. Here, it is important to weigh the benefits of doing the support tour against the tour you have already booked. If you have really good dates booked, with good rates, in areas where you normally do very well, make sure the tour you’re supporting really has the potential to make a difference to your future career.

2. Great media outreach opportunity – There are many syndicated radio shows, cable and network TV shows and movies that could help create national or international recognition for your performance. Most of these shows schedule their guests well in advance. Canceling a date to perform at one of these media opportunities will leave the promoter with plenty of time to find someone to fill their appointment without too much trouble. Again, promoting it in the media can cause more demand for your act, benefiting both you and the promoter in the future.

3. Unique opening act for a major artist – Please consider this carefully and re-evaluate the benefits of making this date by which you have to cancel. How much of a career boost could this make? Is it really worth canceling your date for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity at the headlining artist’s audience? Think of ways you can use this opportunity to make it worth your while and worth the trouble of canceling.

Most of the promoters and club bookers have faced these situations many times. My experience has been that, given enough notice, they are happy about the act and adjust to the situation. To make the need to cancel as seamless as possible, I will offer the following clause for you to use or manipulate as your situation requires or your attorney deems necessary.

Buyer agrees that Artist shall have the right to cancel this engagement without liability upon written notice to Buyer no later than thirty (30) days prior to the performance date, in the event Artist is required to provide services for an appearance on radio or television. , movie, or any career advancement opportunity. Artist will attempt to reschedule with Buyer for a mutually convenient time.

Thirty days is a standard number of usage days. You may increase or decrease the number of days as you see fit or as your situation dictates. Thirty days gives the promoter time to find another act and do proper promotion. Many promoters will sign the contract leaving this clause as it is. Some may cross it out entirely or change the number of days. Be prepared for those discussions. I’ve only had to put the clause into practice a few times in my 20 years as a reservations agent, but thank God it was in my contract when I needed it.

Insufficient Promoter Funds:

The promoter or owner of the club may, on occasion, find it necessary to cancel. The situations you may face are as follows.

1. Poor ticket sales – Most promoters do not cancel a program for this reason, although if a promoter is inexperienced or has not adequately planned for support funds, they may cancel. I have known festival promoters cancel an entire festival when advance ticket sales were below expectations based on the previous year’s sales.

2. Lack of sponsorship funds – When a promoter plans an event and the expected sponsorship does not materialize or a major sponsor withdraws support unexpectedly, the promoter can cancel.

3. Denial of grants – In the non-profit world, many performing arts centers and government agencies rely on grants to run programming. These developers often write specific clauses in their contracts that protect them from liability in case they are denied financing.

Protecting yourself in these situations is a matter of planning and forecasting. You should include the following clause or something similar in your contracts for such an occasion.

If Buyer has reason to cancel this Agreement, Artist must be notified in writing no later than thirty (30) days prior to this commitment. Any notice given less than thirty (30) days will require Buyer to pay Artist in full as described in the Agreement paragraph (insert paragraph numbers describing your compensation), unless Artist agrees to waive any part of that payment or Buyer and Artist agree to reschedule the engagement for another mutually convenient time.

There are certainly other possible ways to write this clause and it is recommended to consult with your lawyer. I have known many artists who were faced with a cancellation and had no recourse. They were not owed any of the contracted rate because they did not include any type of cancellation clause in their contract. Discuss this with your attorney and your group and be prepared for the variety of situations that often arise. It’s smart business and even smarter planning.