YOUROPE Standard Terms
First published in 2012, YOUROPE’s Standard Terms, aimed at festivals that book international artists for live performances, is a public document. The basic version can be downloaded by anyone and is free to use for all member and non-member festivals provided it remains unchanged. YOUROPE members can request an additional advice note (The YOUROPE Advisory) to accompany the document.
Since its first publication, the document has been revised and updated several times, most recently in 2023. In 2022, an update on force majeure caused by the COVID-19 pandemic was realized. YOUROPE’s legal advisor, Prof. Dr. Ralf Kitzberger, explains: “In the YOUROPE Standard Terms, we have stated that COVID-19 constitutes force majeure. If a festival has to cancel due to Covid up to three months before the event, the festival is not required to make any payments. However, if a festival has to cancel less than two months before the event, it has to pay the production costs mentioned in the contract.”
YOUROPE also regularly negotiates more specific terms with big artist agencies like William Morris Endeavour Entertainment (WME) and Creative Artists Agency (CAA). These more specific documents are not public and only accessible to members of the association. If members have trouble negotiating terms with these agencies on their own, they can also request legal support from the association.