Guides for people who run a band
Pricing, contracts, deps, invoices and the rest of the business side, written by a bandleader who plays around 100 gigs a year.
- Best band management software in 2026: 12 tools compared: An honest comparison of 12 band management and booking tools for wedding, function and cover bands and small agencies: who each is for, starting prices, AI features and where each one falls short.
- How much should a wedding band charge? A pricing method for bandleaders: How to work out your wedding band price from musician fees, travel, gear and admin, with a real worked example from a 6-piece party band in the Netherlands.
- Band contract template: a free musician performance contract for wedding and function bands: A free band and musician performance contract template, plus the clauses every wedding or function band contract needs: fee, deposit, timings, stage, power, cancellation and deps.
- Musician invoice template: free band invoice with deposit and balance: A free musician and band invoice template, what every gig invoice must include (numbering, VAT, payment terms), and how to invoice a deposit and balance.
- How much deposit should a band take? Deposits and balance payments explained: How much deposit a wedding or function band should ask, when the balance is due, what to do about cancellations, and how to stop chasing payments.
- Technical rider and stage plot template for bands: A free technical rider and stage plot template for wedding, function and cover bands: input list, monitors, power, stage size and hospitality, ready to copy.
- How to pay your band members and deps: Fee models for paying band members and deps, when to pay them, how to keep a fee sheet per gig, and how to know what each gig really earns.
- Band Pencil alternatives in 2026: 6 options compared: The best Band Pencil alternatives for bands and booking agencies, with prices, who each one suits, and why bandleaders switch.
- HoneyBook alternatives for musicians and bands in 2026: HoneyBook alternatives built for musicians, bands and entertainment agencies, with prices and what each one adds that HoneyBook lacks (lineups, deps, call sheets, musician fees).
- GigPlanner alternatives for bands and agencies in 2026: GigPlanner alternatives for bands that have outgrown a shared calendar: tools that add enquiries, offers, invoices, payments and musician fees, with prices from each vendor's own site.