Superannuation for Bands & Multi-Member Acts on Surreal

Introduction

It’s entirely up to you how you structure your business and manage your obligations. Surreal does not provide legal or financial advice, but we encourage you to consider how your chosen structure may affect Superannuation and other requirements.

For example, we often see multi-member acts (like bands) operate under a Partnership, Trust, Company or Sole Trader structure. If you're using a Sole Trader profile, Superannuation contributions may apply, depending on how bookings are set up.

Only one Super fund and one set of bank details can be attached to an entertainer profile for now (changing soon), meaning Super can only be paid to one individual per performance. If multiple members are Sole Traders, this may require some internal distribution or administration on your part.

Please read all disclaimers and warranties carefully when selecting your business structure on the platform and consider seeking professional advice if unsure.

How Superannuation is processed on Surreal:

12% of the performance fee will be allocated to Superannuation only when:
- The entertainer profile is registered as a Sole Trader, and
- A party (agent or venue) to the booking has opted in to contribute Super.
For example, if a booking is made for $1,000, and Superannuation applies:
- $892.86 would be paid to the bank account saved on your entertainer profile.
- $107.14 (12%) would be paid directly to the nominated Super fund linked to that same profile.
- The individual managing the profile and receiving the funds would be responsible for distributing the balance to any other members of the act, in line with your internal agreement.
If your profile is registered under any other entity type (e.g. Partnership, Company, or Trust), Surreal will not process Superannuation payments, even if a party has opted in (as they only apply to Sole Trader bookings).

Other important bits to know:

In many multi-member act setups, it’s common for one person to act as the organiser - managing the profile, sending invoices, receiving payments, and then distributing funds to the rest of the group.

If that organising member is registered as a Sole Trader and receives the full performance fee, and if Superannuation applies, the 12% Super contribution will be calculated on the total fee and paid to the Super fund linked to that profile.

In this scenario, the organising member would also be responsible for managing any Superannuation obligations to other group members, if they too are Sole Traders, based on the internal agreements within the act.

This is a common structure, but one that performers are sometimes unaware may carry additional Superannuation responsibilities. We recommend reviewing your setup and seeking advice if you’re unsure.

If I am a band member, for Super to not apply, do I need to change to a non sole trader ABN?

Each entertainer profile on Surreal is tied to one individual in terms of payment and structure, so it is the person who manages the Surreal profile and receives payment that is making the declaration as per their personal set-up
That individual is responsible for distributing payment externally to band members
For Superannuation not to apply, this individual would need to obtain an ABN under a non sole trader structure
Other band members don’t need to change their business structure, only the person receiving/distributing payments, if you didn't want Super applicable
We understand this is limiting however and are changing this in the near future so that Super contributions can be split amongst band members
See more below on why it's been built the way it has so far and what the changes will be to make it much more suitable for bands/multi-member acts

Here’s how things currently work and where we’re headed:

How Surreal Handles Band/Duo/Trio Set-Ups (for now):

Each entertainer profile on Surreal is tied to one individual in terms of payment and structure, so it is the person who manages the Surreal profile and receives payment that is making the declaration as per their personal set-up
That individual is responsible for distributing payment externally to band members
For Super not to apply, this individual would need to be set up under a structure other than a sole trader
Other band members don’t need to change their business structure, only the person receiving/distributing payments

Current Limitations:

Right now, Surreal only supports one entity type per profile
That means Super can only be paid to one recipient per booking
This is a compliance-driven limitation, we had to move quickly to align with the law, even though it created gaps for multi-member acts like bands and duos.

What’s Changing Soon:

We’re actively building the ability for multiple structures and Super fund details to be attached to entertainer profiles
This will allow Super to be split and applied per person in a multi-member act
We’re committed to getting this right so it works seamlessly and is best-in-market

Why It’s This Way:

The law around “Band Superannuation” (multiple sole traders working together) feels pretty tone deaf to the reality of bands playing at different levels and frequencies
Like you, we were shocked at how impractical it is to expect bands to manage this themselves
To meet compliance and protect clients who need to make Super contributions, we had to release the current version quickly, while planning multi-member/band super as a fast-follow priority

Resources:

Here’s a resource that breaks down definitions and legislation: Superannuation compliance – how Surreal supports it

Next Steps:

We’re building band Super support now
If you’d like to share feedback or ideas on how it should work for Band Super, please email support@surreal.live directly, as would love to hear your thoughts!

Setting up individual profiles per band/act member

Important: This option will not be relevant once we introduce the ability for Super payment splitting for bookings (Nov/Dec), but in the interim, you could opt for this set-up so that Super contributions are made relevantly to each act member that is a sole trader.

You can set up individual entertainer profiles on Surreal for each band member, but the venue will need to book in each band member individually and book these in for the respective cut of each band member too. We understand this is a little bit hands on, but again this is just an option. We have commonly seen bands and multi-member acts change their structures and update their Surreal profile so that Super is not applicable. Again though, how you structure your business is not something we or the venues can advise on.

Steps for this as per below:

You create / update your entertainer profile name to call out your individual name in a bracket, e.g. Tommy O'Brien Trio (Tommy)
Each individual entertainer will need to sign up here and create new entertainer profiles in the same format as your profile name but using their name in the bracket instead, e.g. Tommy O'Brien Trio (Jason)
1. Each individual can then add their banking details and Super details (if app)
Once all entertainer profiles are set up, advise your venues and/or agents to add all of your entertainer profiles to their "Contacts" by searching the act name, e.g. Tommy O'Brien Trio, as then all individual profiles will show
Moving forward for bookings, the venues and/or agents will need to book each individual entertainer profile into seperate performances with their corresponding individual fees

Closing

We understand that navigating Superannuation requirements can be complex. Surreal is designed to help facilitate compliance with the Superannuation Guarantee, where applicable.

You can update your business structure on the platform at any time to reflect your current setup or preferred arrangement. If you're unsure which structure is right for you, we recommend seeking independent advice.