Holds, offers and confirmations: a booking agent's guide

In live music booking, a hold is a provisional reservation of a date, an offer is a promoter's written proposal of terms for that date, and a confirmation is when both sides agree the deal and the show is going ahead. Holds are ranked (first hold, second hold and so on), and a lower hold can "challenge" the one above, forcing it to confirm or release. Managing this cleanly is most of what keeps an agent's diary accurate.

The terms are used slightly differently across agencies, venues and countries, so treat what follows as the common UK practice rather than a rulebook. Whatever conventions you use, agree them with the people you work with and write them down.

Key takeaways

A hold reserves a date provisionally. It isn't a booking, and either side can release it.
Holds are ranked by position, and a challenge gives the higher hold a set period to confirm or release.
A proper offer is in writing and includes fee, deal type, capacity, ticket price, timings and key conditions.
A date is confirmed when both sides agree the offer, and is secured once the contract is signed and any deposit paid.
Every hold needs an expiry or review date, or your diary fills with dates nobody intends to use.

What a hold is

A hold is a provisional claim on a date. There are two kinds you'll deal with:

Venue holds. A promoter asks a venue to pencil a room on a date. The venue keeps a list of holds per date in order.
Artist holds. An agent pencils a date in the artist's diary for a promoter or market while terms are worked out.

Holds let everyone plan without committing. The cost is that a held date can't easily be offered to someone else, so stale holds quietly cost the artist work.

Hold positions: first, second and third

When more than one promoter wants the same venue or the same artist on the same date, holds are ranked:

Position	What it means
First hold	First right to the date. If they confirm, the date is theirs
Second hold	Next in line if the first hold releases
Third hold and below	Further back in the queue, rarely converts without a challenge or releases above

A venue might have three or four promoters holding the same Saturday. An artist might have holds in several cities on the same night while the tour takes shape. Only one of them can become the show.

Challenges: how a lower hold moves up

A challenge is how a lower hold asks to move up. Typically:

The second hold has a firm offer and wants the date.
They (or the agent) challenge the first hold.
The first hold has an agreed period to either confirm (make a firm offer or commit) or release.
If the first hold releases or doesn't respond in time, the challenger moves up and can confirm.

How long the first hold gets varies. As a rough guide, many people work to 24 to 72 hours, but there's no universal standard, so agree the period when the hold is placed. A challenge should be in writing so there's a clear time stamp.

Releasing a hold

Release holds as soon as you know a date won't happen. Common reasons:

The artist confirmed another show that day or in the radius.
The routing changed and the date no longer makes sense.
The promoter couldn't get the venue or the numbers didn't work.
The hold passed its expiry date without progress.

Tell everyone affected. A venue or promoter who learns about a release late is less likely to give you an early hold next time.

What a good offer includes

An offer is the promoter's proposal of terms. It should be in writing, and specific enough to become a contract with little or no change. A complete offer usually covers:

Artist, date, venue and room, with capacity.
Billing: headline, co-headline or support, and any other acts on the bill.
Fee and deal type: flat guarantee, guarantee versus a percentage of net box office, door split or another deal, with how net is calculated.
Ticket price and booking fee, and any price tiers.
Expenses if they are deducted before a split, ideally itemised and capped.
Timings: doors, set time, set length and curfew.
Radius clause and any announcement restrictions.
Hospitality and production basics, or confirmation that the rider will be met.
Announce and on-sale dates, and whether there's a presale.
Deposit and payment terms.
Offer expiry, so the offer doesn't sit open indefinitely.

If a promoter sends "£500, all good?" by message, it's worth replying with a fuller offer summary for them to confirm. It saves a lot of trouble later. For the clauses that should then appear in the contract, see live performance contracts: the clauses that matter.

Comparing competing offers

When several offers arrive for the same date or tour, don't just compare headline fees. Compare:

Total value: a guarantee versus percentage deal at a well-run venue may beat a slightly higher flat fee elsewhere.
The promoter's record: ticket sales history, marketing effort, how they settle and how quickly they pay.
Routing: does this date fit with the rest of the run? See tour routing basics.
Radius impact: will this offer block better shows nearby?
Career fit: room size, the bill, and whether the show helps build the artist's market.

Confirmation: when is a date actually booked?

There are usually three steps, and it helps to be explicit about which one you've reached:

Confirmed in principle. Both sides have agreed the offer, usually by email. The date is no longer a hold.
Contracted. The contract has been issued, checked and signed by both sides.
Secured. Any deposit has been paid.

Until the contract is signed, a confirmed date is still exposed. Until the deposit lands, many agents treat the show as not fully secure. Avoid announcing a show before at least the confirmation stage, and ideally until the contract is signed.

Once the date is confirmed, release other holds for that artist on that date, raise the deposit invoice (see invoicing as a booking agent) and start the advance.

Keeping a clean holds system

Most hold problems come from tracking them across emails, chats and a whiteboard. Whatever you use, every hold should record:

Artist, date, market, venue and promoter.
Position (first, second, third).
When it was placed and by whom.
An expiry or review date.
Status changes over time: placed, challenged, released, confirmed.

Then review open holds weekly, sorted by date. Anything near its expiry gets chased or released. In Backline, holds sit alongside bookings for each artist on the roster, so you can see what's pencilled, what's confirmed and what's about to lapse.

For what to look for in software that handles this, see what a booking agent's CRM should do.

Etiquette that keeps relationships good

Don't place holds you don't intend to use. Speculative holds block other promoters and annoy venues.
Respond to challenges inside the agreed period. Silence usually means release.
Be honest about position. Tell a promoter if they're on second hold.
Put it in writing. Holds, challenges, offers and releases should all have a written record.
Release early. It costs nothing and builds trust.

Frequently asked questions

What is a first hold in music booking?

A first hold is the top-ranked provisional reservation on a date, either at a venue or in an artist's diary. The holder has first right to confirm the date. It is not a booking, and it can be challenged by a lower hold with a firm offer.

What does it mean to challenge a hold?

A challenge is when a lower-ranked hold, usually with a firm offer, asks the hold above to confirm or release within an agreed time. If the higher hold doesn't confirm, the challenger moves up. The response period varies, so agree it when the hold is placed.

How long does a hold last?

There's no fixed rule. Holds should have an expiry or review date set when they're placed, and they should be released as soon as it's clear the date won't happen. Holds without expiry dates tend to linger and block other offers.

What should a booking offer include?

A booking offer should set out the artist, date, venue, capacity, billing, fee and deal type, ticket price, timings, radius, deposit and payment terms, and an expiry date for the offer. It should be detailed enough to turn into a contract without renegotiation.

When should a show be announced?

Ideally after the contract is signed by both sides, and with the announce date agreed by the artist's team and the promoter. Announcing on a verbal confirmation risks having to cancel publicly if the deal falls apart.