You may have heard this concept of a “hold” or “placing a hold” thrown around in the context of live music booking. This could sound really confusing to the uninitiated. So what does it mean exactly?

A hold is a request from an artist to a venue to perform on a specific date. Venues collect many holds from artists for each date and this provides them with a list of artists who have explicitly expressed interest in playing at the venue for specific dates. Requesting a hold or “placing a hold” is the first stage of the process of actually booking the show. Not all venues use this process. Generally this process is used by mid to large capacity venues who book touring acts.

The Hold Process

There are three key stages to get from requesting a hold to signing a performance contract. Placing a hold, challenging, and confirming.

1. Placing a Hold

Step one is to request a hold from a venue for a specific date. The venue will collect holds and keep track of the order in which they come in. That means, if you are given a hold you also are in a certain place in line. You might have a “1st hold” or “2nd hold” or “3rd hold” etc. The venue may or may not limit how many holds they take, but they always have an expiration date. What that time comes, the venue will offer the gig to the artists in order starting with the 1st hold and so on. Once someone accepts the offer, they will move on to the signing an actual performance contract.

Offers can also go out as a result of a challenge or confirmation by the 1st hold.

2. Challenge

A challenge happens when an artist who has a hold other than the 1st hold is ready to commit to the date. If they have the 3rd hold, for example, the venue will offer the gig to the 1st hold and then the 2nd hold before offing it to the “challenger”. If the first and second hold are not ready to commit to the date then the offer will go to the 3rd hold, in this case, the challenger. They will then confirm and move on to signing a performance contract.

3. Confirm

If the artist who has the 1st hold is ready to commit to the performance date, they will notify the venue to confirm because there are no holds “above them” to challenge.

Who Uses the Hold Process?

Generally, only venues who book touring acts deal with this type of system. Your local bars and restaurants are mainly just filling spots in their calendar and don’t bother with this system. The hold process makes much more sense for touring acts who are trying to put together a good route. They place holds on lots of venues with the hope that they will be able to piece together a tour route that makes sense and doesn’t leave them broke and tired.

Is a Hold Legally Binding?

A hold is absolutely not legally binding. It is a simple verbal expression of interest to perform at a venue on a specific date. Even once you confirm the gig, if you have not signed a performance contract, you are not legally bound to anything. Backing out of a hold is not considered unprofessional at all. That is what the system is there for. When someone is ready to commit, they confirm or challenge and if those who are in line in front of the challenger are not ready to commit then they back out and it goes to the artist who is ready to commit to the show. That being said, if you back out after confirming, it could be seen as unprofessional depending on the circumstance. But nothing is legally binding until the performance contract is signed.

Conclusion

A hold is a request from an artist to a venue to perform on a specific date. This is mostly a relevant procedure when booking a tour at mid to large capacity venues.

By John Filippone