During the challenging times of the COVID-19 crisis, we agents often noticed that we needed to read contracts for our artists more closely. Many clauses that we previously assumed would “never actually apply” suddenly became very relevant.
However, even in the absence of general theatre closures due to a pandemic, there are pitfalls in guest contracts for artists at German theatres that I have long opposed, albeit with little success so far. One such pitfall is that a growing number of contracts includes clauses that allow the theatre to cancel a performance eight days in advance without paying the agreed-upon artists’ fee. Everyone in the opera and concert world knows that it is nigh impossible to one find another engagement in so short a time. This leaves the artist eating the loss: He had blocked these dates on his calendar and may even have declined other offers, trusting in the perceived security of his contract. Worse yet, none of these contracts allow the artist to cancel an engagement without significant reason. Thus, he must live with uncertainty — even a contract offers no real security.