The right shows on your calendar. Show days that run without you.
For independent venues and performing arts centers. We take talent buying, programming, and venue operations off your desk and fix them for good, so you get your time and your focus back.
Built by operators with decades in booking, production, hospitality, and venue management.
Know what's broken and want it fixed?
Book a discovery callNot sure where to start?
See how we workof independent stages weren't profitable in 2024.
Do you run the venue, or does the venue run you?
Most venues are losing money.
In Florida it was 65%. Nearly a third of what independent stages spend goes straight to artist and booking fees.
Most of it traces back to programming: the wrong shows, on the wrong nights, on the wrong deals.
And the people running them are doing three jobs at once. Booking, advancing, settling, putting out fires. The work that would actually fix the business never gets a day.
The usual answer is to squeeze the deal and run leaner. That saves money on one show and costs you the next ten.
Source: National Independent Venue Association, The State of Live (2025).
Both sides of the stage.
Every show is an agreement between two sides that need different things. Most venues only see their own side of the table. We've stood on both, so we build deals and operations that work for the artist and the room.
What the band needs
- A fair offer, made clearly
- An advance that answers every question
- A room that's ready at load-in
- Hospitality that's handled
- A settlement that adds up
The deal in the middle
Get it right and both sides win. The artist wants to come back, the audience feels the difference, and the room makes money.
What the room needs
- Shows that fit the room and the market
- Deals that pencil before you confirm
- Show days that run without the GM chasing them
- Staff who know the plan
- A settlement with no surprises
“A sharp strategic mind, strong industry instincts, and a genuine ability to balance the needs of artists, venues, and audiences.”
What we fix.
We take the problem off your plate, build the fix inside the tools your team already uses, and make sure it stays fixed.
Talent buying and programming
The right shows, on deals that work.
- Programming strategy for your room and market
- Agent relationships and outreach
- Offers, ticket scaling, and break-even before you confirm
- Calendar and hold strategy
- Settlements with no surprises
Operations
Show days that run without you chasing them.
- Hold and calendar discipline
- Advance and show-day workflow
- Artist hospitality standards
- SOPs and staff training
Systems and AI
Hours back every week.
- Venue systems builds and cleanup
- AI and tool integrations across booking, operations, and reporting
- Automated advances and task handoffs
- Daily digests and show recaps
From the problem on your desk to a system that runs.
Discovery call
Tell us the problem that's eating your week. We dig into it with you and your numbers.
Proposal
You get a written proposal: what we'll fix, in what order, what it costs, and when it's done.
Build
We do the work inside the tools your team already uses, alongside the people who'll run it.
Handoff
Documented, trained, and running without us. Or we stay on retainer and keep it sharp.
Ways to work together.
We buy for you
Outsourced talent buying and programming. We find the shows, make the offers, work the agents, and fill your calendar.
Best for: rooms without a full-time buyer, or a buyer stretched too thin.
We build your buyer
We embed with your team and train an in-house buyer on deals, agent relationships, scaling, and programming strategy.
Best for: venues bringing buying in-house, or a buyer who needs a sharper process.
We build your systems
Venue systems builds and AI integrations behind your shows, built with your team and handed off documented.
Best for: venues where show days, advances, and settlements depend on one tired person.
Project-based or on retainer. Every engagement starts with a discovery call and a written proposal scoped to your room.
Check if a show can pay for itself.
Free break-even calculator from Here's the Deal. Know if the show can pay for itself before you say yes.
Book a discovery call.
Tell us what's eating your week. A deal that won't pencil, an advance that keeps falling apart, a room that isn't filling.
- We talk through your room, your calendar, and what's not working.
- We send a written proposal with scope, timeline, and price.
- You decide. No pressure either way.
Prefer email? hello@ethoseventpartners.com