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Headliner

How do you book multiple artists for a music festival?

Support Browse verified acts · lock the slot
Openers Confirm the night · 0% platform commission · artists keep 100%
The short answer

Book multiple artists for a music festival by setting your total talent budget first, securing one or two anchor acts that justify the ticket, then filling the rest of the lineup around them across stages and time slots. Confirm every act in writing with fee, set time, and tech needs, and book early. On iKonX you set your price and keep 100 percent of it at 0 percent platform commission, while the buyer pays a flat 10 percent on top.

Shane Brown · Founder, iKonX
The bill
Slat 01 · the gap

Booking one artist is a transaction. Booking a whole festival lineup is a system, and that is where organizers get overwhelmed. You are juggling a fixed budget against a wishlist of acts, balancing big names that sell tickets against the cost of filling an entire schedule, and trying to lock everyone before they get booked elsewhere. Get the sequence wrong and you either blow the budget on one headliner or end up with a lineup nobody recognizes.

The second problem is logistics multiplied by the number of acts. Every artist has a fee, a set length, a tech rider, a travel and hospitality need, and a contract. Coordinate ten or twenty of those by scattered DM and the details fall through the cracks · a double-booked slot, a missing rider, an act that thought they were headlining. The complexity compounds, and so does the risk.

The third trap is timing. Talent gets booked far in advance, especially the acts worth anchoring around, so an organizer who starts late is left choosing from whoever is still available. Booking early and in the right order is the difference between curating a lineup and scrambling to fill one.

Slat 02 · the lineup

A festival lineup is built in a deliberate order. Start with the budget: decide your total talent spend before you contact a single act, because every later decision depends on it. Then secure your anchors · the one or two acts that justify the ticket price and drive early sales. Headliners book far ahead and eat the biggest share of the budget, so lock them first and build everything else around what is left.

Next, fill the undercard. Use mid-tier and local acts to round out stages and time slots, balancing genre, energy, and draw across the day. This is where most of your lineup lives and where the budget stretches furthest, and it is also where local artists with a genuine following add real value for a fraction of a headliner's fee. Book early; the good undercard fills up too.

Finally, keep every booking clean. Confirm each act in writing with the fee, set time, stage, and tech needs, and manage it through a system rather than a pile of DMs. iKonX is full of independent artists who price their performances and take bookings while keeping 100 percent of what they earn at 0 percent platform commission, with the buyer paying a flat 10 percent on top. Booking the undercard direct keeps fees clear, contracts simple, and the whole machine coordinated.

Lineup status

Slots open · the bill is filling

100%
of the fee goes to the act · iKonX takes 0% platform commission
Available
0
gatekeepers between you and the act you want to book
Available
10%
flat fee the buyer pays on top · no broker cut, no surprises
Active
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The whole network lives in one app.

iKonX puts every side of the music business in your pocket. Artists set their own price and keep 100% of it · iKonX takes 0% platform commission. Browse, message, and book straight from the app.

The iKonX app on an iPhone showing the artist discovery screen · where music meets business with 0% platform commission
Run of show

How to book a festival lineup, step by step

  1. 01Date locked
    Set the night and the room. Everything on the bill hangs off this one fixed point.
  2. 02Stages set
    Decide the stages and the zones. Map where each act plays before you book a single name.
  3. 03Acts confirmed
    Browse verified artists, agree the fee directly, and lock each slot. The act keeps 100% of the price they set.
  4. 04Run of show
    Order the bill headliner to opener, set the set-times, and share the night with the whole lineup.
  5. 05Doors
    Confirm and pay through iKonX, then open the doors on a lineup you built act by act.
  1. Set your total talent budget first. Decide the full spend before you contact anyone. Every booking decision after this depends on knowing the number you are working within.
  2. Lock your anchor acts early. Secure the one or two headliners that justify the ticket and drive early sales. They book far ahead and take the biggest budget share, so confirm them first.
  3. Fill the undercard around them. Use mid-tier and local acts to round out stages and slots, balancing genre, energy, and draw. Local artists with a real following add value for a fraction of a headliner fee.
  4. Confirm every act in writing. Lock the fee, set time, stage, and tech rider for each booking. Coordinating a multi-act lineup by scattered DM is how slots get double-booked and riders go missing.
  5. Book the undercard direct on a real system. On iKonX, independent artists price their sets and take bookings while keeping 100 percent at 0 percent commission, so you fill the lineup with clear fees and clean contracts.
The stage map
Main stage
Your headliner act · the top of the bill
Second stage
Support acts · the build-up sets
Opener slot
Local openers · the night's first names
Curated lineup vs gatekept booking

How to fill a festival lineup, by tier

Lineup tierWhat it doesBudget share
Anchor headlinersJustify the ticket and drive early salesThe largest share · book first, far in advance
Mid-tier and direct bookings (iKonX)Round out stages and add genre balanceModerate · artists keep 100% at 0% commission, fees stay clear
Local draws and openersAdd community pull and fill early slotsSmallest · strong value for a real local following

Festival booking professionals widely recommend securing headliners far in advance and building the undercard around a pre-set talent budget, with local acts providing strong value per dollar (industry guidance 2026). Headliner fees typically consume the largest share of a festival's talent budget (industry standard 2026). All third-party fees vary by plan and change over time. The only fixed claim is the iKonX model: artists keep 100 percent of the price they set, iKonX takes 0 percent platform commission, and the buyer pays a flat 10 percent on top. iKonX is free to download and explore; full access to paid features is a flat 9.99 dollars a month; the only payout deduction is a low, sub-5 percent withdrawal fee, below the industry standard, disclosed in the FAQ and Terms.

FAQ

Booking a festival lineup FAQ

How do I book multiple artists for a music festival?

Set your total talent budget first, lock one or two anchor headliners early, then fill the undercard with mid-tier and local acts across stages and slots. Confirm every act in writing with fee, set time, and tech needs. iKonX lets you book the undercard direct, where artists keep 100 percent at 0 percent platform commission.

Which artists should I book first for a festival?

Your anchor headliners. They justify the ticket price, drive early sales, book far in advance, and take the largest share of the budget, so securing them first lets you build the rest of the lineup around what remains. Starting late means choosing from whoever is still available.

How far in advance should I book a festival lineup?

As early as possible, especially for headliners, who are scheduled far ahead. The good undercard fills up too, so booking early is the difference between curating the lineup you want and scrambling to fill one with whoever is left.

How do I keep a multi-act festival booking organized?

Confirm each act in writing with the fee, set time, stage, and tech rider, and manage bookings through a real system rather than scattered DMs. The complexity compounds with every act, so a structured booking flow is what prevents double-booked slots and missing riders.

Why book the festival undercard direct on iKonX?

Because you reach independent artists who already price and run their bookings, so fees and terms stay clear and contracts stay simple. The artist keeps 100 percent of the fee at 0 percent platform commission and you pay a flat 10 percent on top, which stretches a fixed talent budget further across a full lineup.

Connected sides of the network

Explore the connected sides of the network

Read the full guide How To Plan A Festival Lineup How Far In Advance Should I Book Talent For A Festival How To Find Affordable Artists For An Event How To Find Local Artists To Perform How To Get Booked For Shows As An Artist The iKonX music ecosystem

Build the night, act by act.

Curate a lineup, do not scramble to fill one. Download iKonX, book your undercard direct with clear fees, and keep the whole machine coordinated.

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The Festival Lineup Planner

A run-of-show grid, a stage-and-set-time worksheet, and a multi-act budget template for building a festival or showcase lineup end to end.

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