What does a “versus gross” deal mean?

A “versus gross” deal occurs when the buyer agrees to pay the artist a minimum guarantee and potentially a portion of the gross ticket sales, but only if the gross ticket sales exceed the minimum guarantee amount. One example of this would be: a guarantee of $5,000 vs 60% of the gross. In the event the ticket sale gross is $10,000, you would simply calculate 60% of that, which is $6,000. This means that the artist would receive an additional $1,000 above the guarantee (given $6,000 is greater than the $5,000 minimum guarantee) and the buyer would retain the remaining $4,000 for their expenses. The primary advantage from this arrangement is that the buyer doesn’t need to report any expenses to the manager or track any complicated settlement sheets. It is a very simple and straightforward method for splitting ticket revenue.