In thirty years of tour management, I’ve seen every catering rider imaginable. From the perfectly reasonable (“coffee, water, fruit, a few sandwiches”) to the genuinely absurd (a specific brand of French mineral water that isn’t distributed in Australia, hand-selected M&Ms, and a particular type of candle). The rider is where the business of touring meets the reality of human appetites, and it’s where more money gets wasted than most people realise.

What a rider actually is

For the uninitiated, the catering rider is a section of the artist’s technical requirements that specifies what food and drink should be provided at each show. It’s part of the contract between the artist and the promoter, which means it’s legally binding. Fail to meet the rider, and technically the artist can refuse to perform.

In practice, most artists are reasonable about minor substitutions. The ones who throw tantrums over the wrong brand of hummus are the exception, not the rule. But the legal obligation is real, and it means the rider needs to be taken seriously.

The cost reality

A modest rider for a band of four or five people — meals, snacks, soft drinks, a bit of alcohol — will cost $200-$400 per show. That’s reasonable. But it adds up across a 15-20 date national tour, and when you multiply it across a lineup of several acts, catering can become one of the larger daily expenses.

The riders that blow budgets are the ones with specific brand requirements, large quantities of premium alcohol, and elaborate meal specifications. I’ve managed tours where the headliner’s daily catering bill exceeded $2,000 per show. On a 20-date tour, that’s $40,000 just on food and drink for one act.

For promoters and venue operators, understanding the catering rider before you agree to the deal is essential. I’ve seen situations where the guarantee for the artist looked affordable, but the rider costs pushed the total above what the show could support.

Negotiating the rider

Here’s something a lot of people don’t realise: the rider is negotiable. Particularly for mid-level acts on the Australian circuit, there’s usually flexibility on specific items and quantities. The key is to negotiate before the contract is signed, not on the day of the show.

Approach it respectfully. Don’t challenge the artist’s right to have a rider. Instead, frame it as practical problem-solving. “We’d love to provide everything on the list, but we can’t source this specific item in this town. Would this alternative work?” Most management will say yes.

For tours that hit regional venues with limited catering infrastructure, it’s worth having this conversation early. A rider that’s easy to fill at a major city venue may be impossible (or prohibitively expensive) to replicate in a country town with one supermarket and no caterer.

What makes a good rider

The best riders I’ve seen share these characteristics:

Clarity. They specify exactly what’s needed for how many people. Vague riders (“assorted snacks, some drinks”) lead to over-ordering, waste, and nobody being happy.

Flexibility. They note where substitutions are acceptable. “A selection of fresh fruit” is much easier to fulfil than “specifically organic Tasmanian blueberries.”

Reasonable quantities. A bottle of spirits for a four-piece band on a one-off show is reasonable. A bottle of spirits per person per show is a hospitality expense that belongs in the guarantee negotiation, not hidden in the rider.

Dietary awareness. The best riders clearly flag any dietary requirements (vegetarian, vegan, allergies, halal) so the caterer can plan properly. There’s nothing worse than discovering at load-in that the singer is coeliac and the entire meal needs to be remade.

The buyout option

Increasingly, Australian promoters and artists are moving toward catering buyouts. Instead of providing the rider, the promoter pays the artist a flat fee per person — typically $30-$80 per head depending on the market — and the artist takes responsibility for their own meals.

This simplifies the logistics enormously, particularly for regional touring. The promoter knows their exact cost, the artist gets to eat what they want, and nobody has to source organic almond milk in Broken Hill.

My advice for anyone entering tour management: learn to read a rider critically before you sign the contract. It’s not the exciting part of the job, but it’s where a lot of money either gets spent wisely or gets wasted. And if you’re the one writing the rider, be reasonable. The venues and promoters who host you will remember, and they’ll be more enthusiastic about bringing you back.