What Do I Do When a Venue Doesn't Pay Me?

It's a horrible feeling: the room was decent, the set was tight, and now the booker isn't answering. Getting stiffed happens to almost every gigging act eventually — and how recoverable it is depends almost entirely on what's in writing.

The recovery play, in order

• Write, don't call. A polite email stating the agreed amount, the date, and who agreed it creates the record you'll need. Attach any texts or DMs where the deal was made.

• Invoice formally. A numbered invoice changes the conversation from 'chasing' to 'accounts payable.' Your gig tracker generates one per show with the balance due.

• Escalate calmly. A second email a week later noting the outstanding balance; managers change, venues answer to owners.

• Small claims exists. For real money, it's built for exactly this — and your written trail is the case.

• Tell your scene selectively. Not a smear campaign — but other bookers and bands quietly track who pays.

Make the next one un-stiffable

Working performers converge on the same protection: a one-page contract (deposit, balance due day-of before the set, a cancellation ladder) and a signed settlement sheet at the end of the night — deal terms, counts, deductions, amount received, two signatures. A discrepancy caught at midnight with signatures is a conversation; discovered next week without them, it's a loss.

Both are free in Musavise: the gig contract generator with unlimited e-signing, and a printable settlement one-pager on every gig — pre-filled with your ticket scans if you used the free QR ticketing. The gig tracker carries the 'owed to you' balance in amber until it's paid, so nothing silently slips.

All of it lives in one free Musavise account — free means free, within honest limits, and your data exports whenever you want it. Create your free account; it takes about two minutes.