It's on the rider!
What’s a hospitality rider?
A hospitality rider, or hospo rider, is a list of things an artist or tour would like to have at the venue on the day of the show. There are many misconceptions about hospitality riders, so let’s clear some of them up.
Who decides what’s on a hospo rider?
Typically, the tour manager will get in contact with each person on the tour before it begins and ask them what they’d like to add to the rider. I send a group email to everyone with a link to a Google Doc where they can add anything they want. Dietary restrictions and allergies can be difficult to work with on tour, so I always ask them what will make their day better to have in the green room.
Who goes to the store and buys the stuff on a hospo rider?
During an advance, the TM will send the hospo rider to their advance contact. That contact will then pass it on to a hospitality coordinator, a runner, a promoter rep, or anyone who has been tasked with doing the rider shop. They’ll typically reach back out to the TM to make sure the rider is up to date, and then go to the store to shop on the day of the show. Some venues will place an order online with a grocery store and either have it delivered or go pick it up. Online pre-shops have their pros, but the big con is the same as if you were to online shop for groceries for your home: You typically get what you ask for, but the quality of the produce can vary. I personally ask to either avoid online pre-shops or let the hospo contact know that if I’m given unripe or inedible produce, I’ll consider it a gift and have the cost removed from the hospo budget.
Who pays for the stuff on the hospo rider?
There are a lot of common misconceptions about who pays for this stuff. I had a runner once tell me that the hospo budget “comes off the top.” She couldn’t tell me what it was off the top of or even explain that thought process to me because even she didn’t understand where the money comes from for a hospo rider. Unless the promoter is your mom and wants you and your friends to have some snacks before the show, either the promoter or the artist is paying for the stuff on the rider. Nothing is free.
Let me explain: If the catering/hospo budget is included in the contract as a “show expense,” the show’s income via ticket sales has to cover the full cost of the hospo budget before the show can go into points. If the show goes into points, the artist has paid for the hospo budget.
For more info on different kinds of deals and what “going into points” means, check out this BLOG.
Now, if the show doesn’t sell enough tickets to go into points, the promoter will foot the bill for the hospo budget. Promoters are huge risk-takers and most of them know their market really well, so they're not going to offer or agree to a huge hospo budget for an artist that may or may not sell enough tickets to cover it as a show expense. If a promoter really wants an artist in their market and feels like it will create more opportunities, they will accept the cost as an operating expense.
Hospitality rider waste
To be frank here, the sheer amount of rider waste can be jarring. I’ve seen some green rooms full of sushi trays, huge bowls of fruit, all kinds of drinks, cupcakes, you name it, just go completely untouched on a show day. I think some of it is rooted in not really understanding who pays for it, and some of it is rooted in not taking the time to reevaluate what a tour really needs day by day. I was raised by "there are starving kids in Vietnam" parents, so wasting food to me is a travesty. As a TM, I’m really diligent about sending an updated rider for every show to reduce rider waste as much as possible. Instead of sending the same rider to every show, check in with the folks you’re on tour with regularly and ask them if any changes should be made. If you ask for protein bars and notice no one is eating them, bring it up to everyone and then take them off the rider. Save money, save time, and stay efficient.
How to write a hospo rider
The key to a hospo rider is details. Again, someone is paying for all this, so being specific is important to avoid not only getting what you don't actually want but also saving the expense and time of someone going to the store and standing in the isle just guessing when they're shopping.
Here’s an example of a small snack rider that sucks:
Beef Sticks
Macro Bars
Iced Coffee
Fruit
Hummus
Mint Gum
Sandwich stuff
This list leaves too much to interpretation for the person shopping the rider. In the list below, all the guesswork is removed. This list states exactly what I want and how much. And, yes, I even put photos of stuff that might cause confusion on my rider.
Here’s how this rider should look:
2 1.15oz Stick Chomps Grass-Fed and Finished Jalapeño Beef Meat Snack *photo below
2 Macro Bars (Oatmeal Chocolate Chip) *photo below
1 SToK Black, Unsweetened, Medium Roast Arabica-Based Blend Cold Brew Coffee, 48 fl oz Bottle cold *photo below
4 ripe bananas
4 ripe apples (Envy, Honey Crisp, or Gala)
1 10 oz Gluten-Free Classic Hummus cold *photo below
1 Extra Spearmint Sugar-Free Chewing Gum - 15 Ct (3 Pack) *photo below
1 loaf of soft, pre-sliced bread from the bakery, enough for 6 sandwiches (whole wheat, sourdough, seed bread)
FROM DELI COUNTER - not pre-packaged
1 ½ lb bag of each: Smoked Turkey and Ham cold
1 ¼ lb bag of each: Cheddar and Muenster cold
Condiments: Mustard/Mayo, packets are fine, no need for large jars cold
PHOTO
One of my favorite parts of TMing is writing and managing the rider. I like to observe and adjust as we go. If anything, making small changes shows you’re paying attention and care about how things are running.
What do you add to your hospo rider?
