Some myths about Surreal
There are a few weird misconceptions we've seen floating around over the last few years. We’re not fans of that. So it’s time to mythbust!
For entertainers
Myth 1: Surreal impacts and/or causes payment delays for entertainers
False.
Surreal actually speeds things up. Our invoicing and payment system is designed for efficiency and transparency. Everyone gets real-time payment updates, and average payment times have dropped significantly, something we’re super proud of. Check out the process below:
How payments work on Surreal:
- Gig is confirmed on Surreal
- Gig concludes and venue approves
- Surreal automates a weekly invoice to venues for the previous week of gigs
- Including unapproved ones, to avoid delays
- This triggers an automated invoice from the entertainer to Surreal (or your agency if you're paid by them), accessible in platform
- Surreal checks for payments daily, and once funds arrive, we pay entertainers in the next pay run — usually the same or next business day.
Myth 2: Fast track payments are the only way to get paid
Not true.
Fast track payments (3.9% fee) are optional and only if you want to be paid before the venue pays Surreal. Otherwise, you’ll be paid once the venue pays — with no fee.
Myth 3: We delay payments to push fast track fees
False.
Our system is built with a fly-in, fly-out process. As soon as the money is paid from the venue, it's queued for payment to you. This means we do not hold payments as it would create a much bigger administrative load for us. More importantly, one of our missions as a business is to ensure fair payment to suppliers, and our entire ethos and platform relies on entertainers, agents, and venues trusting the process.
Myth 4: Entertainers have to pay to use Surreal
False.
Surreal is 100% free for entertainers. There are no fees to you for any of your bookings on Surreal. The only fee, which is at your complete discretion to opt in for, is if you choose to Fast Track a payment.
If a venue discovers you on Surreal then a 15% commission does get applied. This is an old legacy fee structure from our old platform Muso, however we are phasing this out shortly.
Myth 5: Surreal doesn’t offer value to entertainers
We feel we do, but we acknowledge it’s limited
Our old Muso system probably felt a little more interactive for entertainers. We stripped out a few key bits that weren’t having the desired effect and decided to rebuild from the ground-up; i.e. things like the gig marketplace were removed.
While our old product Muso had more features for entertainers, Surreal still gives you:
- A centralised gig calendar with reminders
- Automated invoicing and follow-ups to venues
- Real-time payment tracking
- A personalised profile for prospective venues
We will be increasing entertainer functionality shortly and will be back with something way more valuable than they’ve seen from us before.
Get in touch via support@surreal.live if you want to give us feedback or be part of the build process with us
Myth 6: Surreal can be used to find gigs
While our old product Muso had a gig feed for this, this is no longer on Surreal and we have removed our marketplace
For Agents, Bookers and Promoters
Myth 1: Surreal is a booking agency that competes with agents
Not true.
Surreal doesn’t book gigs or make adjustments. We just provide the software. Hundreds of agents worldwide use Surreal to manage their bookings. In our Muso days, we did bookings — now, we just build great tools.
We pass on venue / client leads to those in our agency network to service any requests we do get. Let us know if you’d like to be a part of this program.
Myth 2: Venues can see my agency rates
False.
Venues only see the total rate for a gig — never the breakdown between entertainer and agency.
Myth 3: My roster isn’t protected on Surreal
It is.
When you add contacts to Surreal, they are added to your agency’s Contact page only. They are not added to the Contact page of the venue that you book them into.
If a venue tries to re-book one of your acts directly by searching them elsewhere on the system, you are immediately notified via email - outlining which venue and act it relates to. Additionally, with our agency exclusivity feature, you can lock in your agency fees and ensure you’re automatically added to bookings involving any of your exclusive acts.