Contracted Support

Staff Responsibly

To support you as a Local Producer, Event Staff, MCs, and Audio Engineers play a key role in shaping the show experience — ensuring that our guests, hosts, and artists feel welcomed, valued, and inspired in every Sofar space.

Each team member is expected to uphold the highest standards of hospitality, inclusivity, and professionalism at every event. The people we choose to represent Sofar directly influence how our community experiences our shows. A great Sofar starts and ends with passionate, engaged teams.

By taking on this role, all contracted support members agree to fulfill the responsibilities outlined in their job description to the best of their ability. While we often contract experienced team members, you may also bring on a trusted individual who’s new to Sofar; though we highly recommend they attend a show or two first to get a feel for the atmosphere.

For legal reasons, contracted support must meet the following minimum age requirements: 21+ in the US, 19+ in Canada, and 18+ in the UK and ANZ. CALIFORNIA IS EXEMPT FROM CONTRACTED STAFF REQUIREMENTS, AS ALL EVENT STAFF SHOULD BE STAFFED AND PAID BY THE PRODUCER DIRECTLY.

Guidelines for Hospitality 

As City Lead, you’re responsible for setting your team up for success. This means making sure everyone understands the show flow, knows what’s expected of their role, and is prepared to deliver an exceptional level of hospitality. Each team member must be ready to P.O.P

P for Professionalism

Be a true professional by honoring your commitments, being on time, and proactive communication. Your actions set the tone and contribute to the team’s success.

O is for Ownership

Throughout the entire event, be an owner. Own the event like it’s your own and strive to create something magical. If you spot an issue, take initiative, troubleshoot quickly and loop in your team. Great experiences come from a crew that leads with care and action.

Handling Situations

When you're dealing with the public, anything can happen. Read our “Conduct & Response guidelines” here and learn how to navigate emergencies or other safety concerns. It’ll include proper escalation guidance, how to keep you and your community safe, what to do if press reaches out, and everything in between.

In addition to being able to handle unexpected situations, sometimes you may find yourself in a difficult conversation. Be prepared in how to handle sensitive topics with our “Conversation Toolkit for Sensitive Topics” guide here.

When in doubt, reach out to the Global Communities. 

P is for Prioritizing People

From the first hello to the last goodbye, host like it’s your home. Be warm and inviting like it’s a gathering at your house! Make your artists feel at ease, and connect with guests in genuine ways, whether it’s asking about their day or celebrating a special moment. Putting people first creates the kind of experience everyone remembers.

Roles & Responsibilities

Event lead aka you or someone you delegate to lead the event day of will responsible for:

  • Timeliness: Ensure the event runs smoothly from setup to breakdown. Doors should open on time, shows should start and end as scheduled, and artist sets should stay within the 20–25 minute range communicated to guests.

  • Pre-show Communication: Check in with all staff, artists, and the host before the show to confirm roles, timing, and any key details.

  • Delegation: Assign clear responsibilities to your team and check in throughout the event to make sure everyone is on track and supported in their roles.

  • Team Morale: Foster a positive and supportive environment through pre-show huddles, ongoing rapport, and clear expectations that promote collaboration.

  • Problem Solving: Address and de-escalate any issues that arise during the event. Use constructive feedback and established safety plans to improve the overall experience.

MCs are vital to setting the energy of the room. Treat them like they’re part of the lineup as they’ll be responsible for:

  • Navigating the tone for that event

  • Owning the Mc script like it’s their own, not reading from a book

  • Ushering our guests through the Sofar experience

  • Introduce the artists well and warm them up to the crowd.

  • Acting as the marketer for upcoming shows; try to get guests to come back

General support team members are the backbone of any Sofar event. Their diligence is what elevates a Sofar show. Some responsibilities are, but not limited to: 

  • Checking guests in and managing the guestlist

  • Setup and teardown management

  • Mingling with guests, anticipating needs

  • Checking in with the artists and host to ensure they're comfortable and have everything they need

  • Time Keeper to ensure we’re on schedule

  • Liasoning with artists, MC, and/or hosts.

  • Controlling or dimming lights appropriately.

Audio Engineers ( AE for short) are not mandatory for every show if you’re aiming to do acoustic. If you do work with one, they should be responsible for: 

  • Loading in and out of the space in a timely manner

  • Communicating beforehand how many outlets they’ll need

  • Ensuring soundcheck starts and ends on time

  • Making the artists' sound as clear and strong as possible (mixed to the room)

  • Being alert during sets and proactively making any adjustments as needed

While you may hire a videographer and photographer, Sofar will not facilitate payment as these are not recognized as operating expenses. All payment for videographers and photographers must be 100% funded and facilitated by the Producer/Curator. 

Navigating the Concert Planner

Before assigning your team to roles on the event card, ensure they’re added to the Internal User Directory. Before you can take any actions, your team member should have an account on Sofarsounds.com. Please note, that members can have multiple roles. 

To add members:

  1. Go to the Internal User Directory

  2. Click “+Add Internal User”

  3. Select the user by email and role. Certain roles are city-based, so if applicable, a “select City” field will pop up. 

To remove members:

  1. Go to the Internal User Directory

  2. Search for the user and click expand details ( bottom right of card)

  3. Click “REMOVE ALL ADMIN ACCESS”

Please regularly review and update who has role permissions for your city. Once a member is granted a role, they will be able to access the Crew Portal. Members can view upcoming shows and will receive important show details via email. With the exception of trusted team members that can be granted internal "Self-Scheduling" permissions, they cannot sign themselves up for shows. If you wish to grant  "Self-Scheduling" permissions, you will:

  1. Go to the Internal User Directory

  2. Search for the user and click expand details ( bottom right of card).

  3. Click “Roles +” under the Roles and Permissions Section.

  4. Select “Self-Scheduling Show Support” role. 

  5. Select your City.

  6. Press Save. 

Contracted Support Finance

Sofar will facilitate payment for all contracted event staff*. In order to do so, all details must be up to date within the event card under the team section and the Revenue/ Expenses/ Payment section. Please keep the following in mind:

  • All staff must have Confirmed status in the Event Planner.

  • If a staff member’s compensation differs from your city or country’s default rate, update the correct amount in the Revenue/Expenses/Payment section.

    • If a team member should not be receiving payment, be sure to modify their role and click “Disable Payments for Role”

  • All details must be accurate before the event starts 

  • If a staff member drops out last minute, please remove them from the Planner ASAP to avoid them being paid out. 

Failure to properly input the details into the Event Planner may result in a delay in payment and/or an inaccurate amount paid. If you notice an error, please reach out to the Global Communities team ASAP. 

*California is exempt. All event staff in California are subcontracted and paid by the local producer. 

Setting up Payments  

Payment links and instructions will be included in the Crew Advance( sent 3 days before the event) to Crew. Ensure all emails are up to date so emails may be sent out correctly. 

For USA: Team members are paid automatically through Dots, a payment platform, within two business days after the event. First-time recipients will receive an email prompting them to create a Dots account and enter their banking and default payment information. Once this is completed, they won’t need to re-enter it for future events.

For the rest of the world: Team members will be ask to complete a Formstack. This form will have the payment amount auto-populated for event staff, however audio engineers will need to enter the amount they should be paid. Once submitted, the Sofar team confirms and approves ONLY IF the amount and date matches the event card. If there are any mismatches, the form will be declined. Payments should be sent within 14 business days, although usually faster. 

For the UK: All event staff and audio engineers have been added to Handles. To add a new account, email the team member’s name, email the team at gc@sofarsounds.com and add any special notes to the Global Communities team prior to the event. From there, the team member can log in the hours worked and their payment info.  

Compensation

For general event staff and MC: Payment is $100/£80/Can$140. 
For Audio Engineers: Payment is $150/£140/Can$225. 

If you need to set custom compensation, you can do so on your Event Card under Revenue > Expenses > Payments by editing the “Support Fee” field. Make sure to update this before the day of the event and confirm that any additional costs can be covered by the event’s total revenue.

Crew emails- For Producer cities only

Email communications to team members will be automated unless you choose to turn them off. To view, go to the “Email” section on your event card. To edit the automation, click “ Manage email settings for this event at the bottom of this section.

Emails that go out to team members are:

  • Crew event advance: Sent when the event is 3 days away. If added to an event in less than 3 days, added Crew will not receive advance email and a manual trigger is necessary for them to receive it. This email includes a run of event sent to the team members assigned to that event in the event planner.

  • Crew payment: Sent on the day after the first full weekday after the event (e.g. if event is on a Monday, email is sent on Wednesday). This email includes a link for first-time team members to enter their payment information, or notifies repeat team members that they have been paid.

  • Crew payment reminder: This email sends as a reminder to first-time team members who have not yet clicked on the link in the Crew Payment email to enter their payment information.

Contracted Support FAQ

  • Yes. You can customize payment fields under the Revenue/Expenses/Payments section on your event card. Simply, edit and fill out the “Expenses” field accordingly. Be mindful that the payment does not exceed your estimated ticket revenue.

  • Yes. Click on the team member under the “team” section on your event card. From there you can click “Disable payment for this role”.

  • As long as it complies with your local laws.