Originally posted by deanallison:I don’t know the ins and outs of it but I do think that with the curfews in Europe there is significantly high charges for going over them. I think the band play it safe though by starting early enough to give themselves room to go over there alotted time without exceeding the curfew. I don’t have a clue if it works any differently when it comes to paying the crew overtime though.
Venue curfews at arena size are at least £1k per minute. This £1k isn't just a fine though ; it covers the costs of the (average) 350+ arena staff entering overtime on their contracts (i.e. at doubletime hourly rates ; even minimum wage would cost an extra £3k for venue staff) , extra costs incurred by potentially keeping public transport open post closedown, carparks, and also knock on costs for the road crew who may see a 6am loadin>2am loadout become a full 6am loadin>4am loadout + late loadin at the next show - for example.
In 2002 GNR's then manager bought Axl a sports car every show he turned up on time to demonstrate how much money the late starts cost him.