For a theatre the ideal would be to persuade a touring company to hire its
venue at top rates, and some theatre chains are powerful enough to be able to
get visiting companies to agree to a ‘straight hire’. This places the entire
responsibility on the touring management to sell tickets in order to cover this
cost and make money. For a touring company the ideal would be to extract a
very high fixed fee from the venue for its appearance. This would place the
entire ticket-selling responsibility on the venue – and some starry touring
productions can dictate terms like this. In real life, of course, the vast majority
of deals involve either side taking a risk on ticket sales, but with one usually
securing an advantage in terms of a safety margin. The factors at play are not limited to the power of a particular outlet or the allure of a particular
production. Timing comes into it, as tour promoters need to fill their schedules
and organize the logistics of getting the production around the country.
Similarly, presenting venues may be desperate to fill a particular week in an
otherwise full season with a suitable show which will complement the rest of
what they have on offer. It may be that touring managements will be prepared
to accept less attractive deals on the first outing for an unfamiliar orchestra or
company, in the hope that next time they tour as a known quantity they will be
able to negotiate better terms