Musiker spielt Wohnzimmerkonzert

FAQ for music fans

Everything you need to know to become a SofaConcerts host

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Marie-Lene und Miriam explain how SofaConcerts works

All you need to know about SofaConcerts

House concerts are intimate concerts usually in private homes, without much fuss but with great atmosphere. Your living room, the kitchen of your student dorm, your garden or attic – every room is a potential concert venue. Artists and audience are on eye-level, get to know each other on a personal level and each concert is an incredible and unique experience!

SofaConcerts is a network for open-minded music lovers who want to open up their homes or other special venues for live music. It doesn't matter whether you are already an experienced house concert fan or want to give it a shot for the first time - join us and find the perfect artist for your next house concert, birthday party or special event!

SofaConcerts allows you to present your living room or any other venue as a potential stage with ahost profile. With this, you can be found by artists on tour who can apply to perform for you. It's up to you to join the community with a full host profile or to just organize individual events.

Nothing except some space for musicians and a small or big audience of your friends. This could be your own home, a club, office, co-working space, a studio or gallery, changing venues for an event series - or any other place with a cozy atmosphere. Most artists perform unplugged and bring along any equipment they may need.

Usually not. Hosts are responsible for providing a suitable and cozy venue and to invite their guests. Most artists will bring their own equipment or perform unplugged if it is a small venue. In the simplest case, you will only have to provide electricity and a chair for them.

It's up to you to decide which artist will perform in your home and who will be your guests. 15 people are already small crowd, but you will be surprised to see how many people you can squeeze into your home!

Every concert is as unique as the people involved in it - there are no rules, only recommendations. In our experience, it is best to invite your guests for 7 or 7:30 pm. Then the concert can begin at 8 pm and will already be over by 10. If the artists arrive a bit earlier, you'll have enough time to get to know each other and talk about the evening. It's a good idea to provide some food and drinks for the night. And if you ask your guests to bring along some drinks and snacks, you don't have to worry about anything else.

Even though a house concert is not a regular party, music can at times be a bit loud. However, if the concert starts at 8 pm, it should be over by 10 pm. After that everyone can still hang out at your place and chat with the artists or you can all decide to continue somewhere else. But of course, the best plan is to simply invite your neighbors to join the concert!

That depends on each individual artist and the specific occasion for the concert. Artists' state their fee expectations for different occasions on their profiles. Have a look at the question mark to find the individual basis for negotiation: . Bear in mind that travel expenses, extra equipment or a bigger line-up may not be included. Our booking system will guide you through the process and help you negotiate a fair deal.

That depends on what kind of concert you are hosting and which country you live in. In Germany, only public concerts have to be declared and licensed with GEMA. In other countries, other copyright collectives are in charge. If you are not sure whether there are legal issues to be taken care of, simply ask your artist for advice. Most artists know whether and what needs to be done in terms of performance and copyright issues.

Bookings and fees - individual and reliable

SofaConcerts recommends a booking tool which provides a safe and secure framework for the negotiation of contracts, processing payments and liability. You can contact artists for free and request quotes from them. For each concert, you negotiate an individual fee with your artist and only pay once you have agreed on a suitable offer. Within the booking tool & framework, you will be asked to cover a booking charge 2 % of the fee to cover the transaction costs of the secure escrow payment solution. Artists' usage fees are covered by them and you won't be charged with any further costs.

Options for fees

SofaConcerts provides three different ways to handle the fee for the concert. In each case, we can guarantee a painless, safe process for host and artist.

Fixed fee

Fixed fee

You book the artist at a fixed price and don't have to worry about the money at the concert. Artists receive their fee from SofaConcerts, as agreed in the framework, as soon as the concert has taken place. SofaConcerts holds the fee in escrow for the artist and takes care of all payment and payout processing.

For birthdays, weddings, corporate events, and other special occasions this is the most common solution.

Guaranteed fee

Hat with guarantee

This fee mode is a guarantee to the artist for a minimum fee amount. You will pay in the guarantee using the SofaConcert's booking platform, which will then be paid out to the artist after the concert is complete. You agree to pass a hat at the concert, or charge a door fee. You can then take your deposit out of the hat and anything extra will be collected by the artist. If the donations exceed the guarantee, the artist receives the extra amount. If there is less in the hat, you carry the difference. This means the artists have at least their expenses covered and you share the financial responsibility for the show.

Hat without guarantee

Hat without guarantee

This is a fee mode that is initiated from an artist request to play a SofaConcert hosts location. This fee mode has more risk for the artist, but does not require any payment up front. You agree to pass a hat at the concert or charge a door cover and the musician(s) receive whatever is donated. Make sure to tell your guests in advance that a donation is expected! To confirm this type of concert, SofaConcerts charge a cover service charge of  EUR (incl. VAT). This charge cannot be refunded and helps our platform cover our costs and ensure that the host has some "skin in the game".

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