Negotiating deal terms in-thread
The venue replied with terms. Negotiate without leaving Mintoor — and keep the math clear while you do.
When you'd use this
A venue responded with an offer and you need to push back on the guarantee, add a rider ask, or ask about expenses.
The offer structure
Venues typically reply with one of:
- Interest + ask for terms. "Yes, we'd love to have you. What are you asking?" → you put forward a guarantee or versus.
- Offer. "$500 guarantee or 70% door after sound ($150)." → you accept, counter, or ask clarifying questions.
- Alternative date proposal. "10/17 booked, but 10/24 open." → evaluate the routing impact.
- Decline → polite thanks, note for next tour.
Counter-offering
In the inquiry thread → Counter-offer button:
- Mintoor opens a structured reply composer
- Fields for: guarantee ask, versus ask, door %, expense deduction cap
- Live math: shows projected take-home at venue's terms vs. your counter
- Compose message is pre-filled with the math; you tweak the words
Example: venue offers $500 guarantee. You want $700. Mintoor's counter-composer drafts:
"Thanks for the offer — appreciate the interest. Given our typical draw in your market (150–200 based on past shows at [venue X]), we're targeting $700 guarantee. Happy to do versus if that's easier — $700 v. 80% after $200 expense cap."
Venue replies; you iterate.
Rider asks
Separate from the financial deal, you might ask for:
- Backline — borrow house kit, use house amps
- Hospitality — catering, snacks, waters
- Green room — access, size
- Merch table — location, no-fee merch sales
- Sound engineer — house engineer or bring your own
- Parking / load-in — loading dock access, free overnight parking
Store the rider info on your band profile so you can paste it into a thread without retyping. A formal rider template engine isn't built yet — for now, keep your standard asks as a saved note and copy them into the message when you need them.
Settlement preview
Before agreeing to any deal, Mintoor's Settlement preview tool shows you:
- Projected take-home under the current deal terms
- What would happen if attendance came in 20% below your projection
- What would happen if attendance came in 20% above
- Sensitivity to expense caps
Useful when you're trying to figure out if the floor matters ($500 guarantee is fine if door upside is limited; $1,000 floor matters more if upside is capped).
When to push vs. accept
Push when:
- You have past draw data in that market that justifies a higher ask
- Your tour P&L is tight and this leg pushes you into the red
- The venue is clearly programming at your tier and has budget
Accept when:
- The date is critical for routing and this is the only viable option
- You're building the market from zero (first-time) and need the gig
- The offer is already within 20% of your ideal
Locking the deal
Once agreed:
- Confirm button in the thread.
- Mintoor:
- Marks the stop Confirmed on the tour
- Populates deal terms into the settlement record
- Triggers next steps (day-sheet generation, venue contact storage)
- Sends a confirmation email with deal summary to both sides
Both you and the venue get a clean, shared record of the deal.
Still stuck?
- Venue won't commit to written terms. Verbal agreements are risky. Ask "can you confirm over email?" If they refuse, you might want to walk.
- Need to add a show detail post-confirmation. Open the confirmed stop → Amendment → propose change. Venue approves, it updates.