Production cost rule of thumb on ticket sale ?

A

andrew gissing

Sophomore
Jan 11, 2011
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Perth Western Australia
www.stylusra.com.au
Hi,

I'm aware of a rule of thumb that gear usually rents for about 1-5% of purchase price plus labour, travel and other such. A lot of places in my town do this.

Has anyone done a calculation on total production cost vs ticket sales ?

Eg i've quoted $15,000 for a show; tickets are $100, expected sales are 2,000-2,500 people so this means between $6-7.50 of each ticket goes towards production.

Is there a rule of thumb that says for shows around X people attendance, production would be approx $y per head ?

Andrew
 
Re: Production cost rule of thumb on ticket sale ?

I have never heard of anything like that. It is obvious the more people we have to cover the more speakers and power it takes but I have never thought of it on a "per head" basis. Interesting concept. I have done jobs where my pay has been a lower guarantee with a percentage of ticket sales on the back end. In that situation we take part of the risk but also get part of the gain if the event does well. I have done very well sometimes and not so well others. I at least try to get enough minimum to cover crew and fuel at worst case.

In general I use the 5% version of your first method as a place to start. My Super Secret final calculation goes something like this: "The maximum amount I can bid, still get the gig, be hired back for the next event, and still be profitable enough to do it. "
 
Re: Production cost rule of thumb on ticket sale ?

andrew gissing said:
Hi,

I'm aware of a rule of thumb that gear usually rents for about 1-5% of purchase price plus labour, travel and other such. A lot of places in my town do this.

Has anyone done a calculation on total production cost vs ticket sales ?

Eg i've quoted $15,000 for a show; tickets are $100, expected sales are 2,000-2,500 people so this means between $6-7.50 of each ticket goes towards production.

Is there a rule of thumb that says for shows around X people attendance, production would be approx $y per head ?

Andrew
Click to expand...

Hmm..

this is usually best determined by the Promoter or Show Producer. Most Promoters are not willing to share that information with anyone, except possibly during contract negotiations with an Act that's in demand. Many times the Group/Artist will have a performance minimum or % of the gross receipts less the Merch.

Also, the ticket x price per ticket, sounds like an easy way to calculate a gross ticket sale, but, it is usually not that simple. Often, some tickets are comp'd (for guests, radio/Tv contest winners) or sold at "pre-sale" prices, or sold in blocks of tickets that are discounted to ticket sellers. Of course there's also the unsold tickets.

Many times the ticket prices are tiered... or graduated in price. Some seats are more expensive (the first xx of rows, balcony rail center, box seats, etc..) and some are very much lower in price (nose bleed balcony or last rows of the Main Floor).

Also...if you're renting a system for a Monday,Tuesday or Wednesday night, you might bid slightly less, as there's less work available those nights and more gear sitting around per less demand.

Hammer
 
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