What Is a Technical Rider?

In Brief

A technical rider tells the people preparing a show what an artist or production requires for the performance.

It may be a single document or a package containing a written specification, stage plot, input list and information for several technical departments. The detail varies with the act and the production.

A rider is not an automatic equipment order. Receiving it does not mean that every line has been accepted, assigned to a supplier or confirmed as available.

The document has to be reviewed against the event, venue, local production, schedule and agreed responsibilities. Questions, differences and alternatives then have to be resolved with the appropriate people.

A technical rider communicates requirements. It does not remove the need for production advance.

A Technical Rider Communicates the Production Requirement

A live performance has to connect with a production that may have been designed by different people, in a different venue and with different equipment from the artist's previous show.

The technical rider is one of the principal ways the artist or originating production communicates what that performance needs. It gives promoters, venues, production managers and technical suppliers a common starting point for planning.

The rider describes the requirement; it does not necessarily describe the complete local solution. The same rider can lead to different production plans because venues, event formats, schedules, supplier scopes and available equipment differ.

A rider is the beginning of a technical conversation, not the end of one.

Who Prepares a Technical Rider?

Who prepares the rider depends on the artist and the production.

For a touring production, the document may be assembled by a production manager, tour manager, technical director, sound engineer, lighting designer, musical director or another responsible member of the artist's team. A smaller act may prepare its own rider, sometimes with help from the people who regularly provide its technical support.

Several departments may contribute to one package. What matters is that the information reflects the current show and identifies an appropriate contact for questions and approvals.

There is no single authoring structure or mandatory universal rider format.

Who Uses It?

The rider may be used by the client or promoter, production manager, venue technical team and the suppliers responsible for sound, lighting, video, staging, backline, power, communications or other production systems.

Different people will read different parts of it. A sound team may focus on inputs, microphones, monitoring and playback. A backline supplier may focus on instruments, amplifiers, hardware and accessories. Venue and production teams may need to consider stage space, access, power, schedule and working constraints.

Simply circulating the rider is not enough. Each requirement has to reach the people responsible for reviewing and delivering it, and responsibility for the relevant scope has to be explicit.

What Can a Technical Rider Contain?

Depending on the show, a rider package may include:

• the current version date and technical contact details;
• a written technical specification;
• a stage plot;
• an input list or channel list;
• microphone and DI requirements;
• performer monitoring requirements;
• backline requirements;
• playback and other content requirements;
• lighting and video requirements;
• stage, rigging, power or communications information;
• setup, changeover, rehearsal and soundcheck requirements;
• information about what travels with the artist and what must be supplied locally.

Not every rider covers every discipline, and the level of detail can vary greatly. A rider should therefore be read for what it does say and reviewed for information it does not provide.

Hospitality information may be supplied alongside the technical rider, but it serves a different planning purpose and may be handled by different people.

The Stage Plot

A stage plot is a visual plan of the performance area. It can show where performers, instruments, amplifiers, keyboards, drum kits, microphones, DI points, monitor positions and power connections are expected to be located.

The stage plot is not the same thing as the complete technical rider. It may form one page of the rider or be supplied as an attachment.

Its value is spatial: it shows relationships and positions that are difficult to communicate in a written list. It should be consistent with the written specification and input list. If those documents conflict, the difference has to be clarified rather than guessed.

The Input List

An input list describes the audio sources that need to enter the live-sound system. A row may identify the source, preferred microphone or DI, stand requirement, stage location and relevant notes.

The input list helps the sound team plan channels, patching, microphones, DI boxes and stage cabling. It can also help other departments understand where performance equipment connects with the audio system.

An input list may be included within the technical rider or supplied as a separate document. It is one part of the technical requirement, not a replacement for the rider as a whole.

Backline Requirements

Backline requirements describe the instruments, amplifiers and other performance equipment an artist expects to use on stage.

A model name may be only one part of that requirement. Configuration, quantity, size, hardware, accessories, tuning, setup and acceptable alternatives can all matter.

This foundational Article explains how those requirements fit within a rider. How to Read Backline Requirements in a Technical Rider provides the deeper workflow for inspecting the backline section item by item.

Other Technical Requirements

A rider may communicate much more than sound and backline.

Lighting requirements may describe positions, control, cues or artist-carried elements. Video requirements may identify playback, content, screens, cameras or signal interfaces. Staging information may affect dimensions, risers, access or performer movement. Power and communications requirements may involve several departments and the venue.

These requirements still have to be interpreted within the local production. A rider does not replace detailed system design, venue approval or work by appropriately qualified specialists where those are required.

Why the Rider Must Be Advanced

Production advance is the process of resolving requirements, responsibilities and logistics before the production reaches the venue.

During the advance, the current rider is reviewed against:

• the actual event format and performance duration;
• the venue, stage, access and installed infrastructure;
• the local production design and supplier scopes;
• available equipment and approved alternatives;
• setup, changeover, rehearsal and soundcheck time;
• what the artist carries and what must be supplied locally;
• questions, conflicts and information still outstanding.

The purpose is to establish a current, shared understanding of what has been agreed, who is responsible and what remains unresolved.

A technical rider communicates requirements. It does not remove the need for production advance.

What If Something Is Unavailable?

An unavailable item should not be replaced silently.

First establish what the requested item is expected to do, how exact the requirement is and whether the artist has already stated acceptable alternatives. Then describe the proposed alternative accurately and obtain approval from the person authorised to make that decision.

The exact make and model may be essential in one case and a preference in another. That distinction should be confirmed, not assumed.

The agreed production record should show what will actually be supplied, rather than leaving the original request and the approved plan in conflict.

What If the Rider Is Incomplete?

An incomplete rider is a list of questions, not permission to fill the gaps by assumption.

The receiving team should identify the missing information, explain why it matters and request clarification from the appropriate contact. Where a decision cannot yet be made, it should remain visibly unresolved in the production record.

The gaps may concern quantities, stage positions, monitor requirements, model flexibility, carried equipment, power, schedule or responsibility. Some can be resolved quickly. Others may depend on the venue, artist representative or another supplier.

Version and Revision Control

Riders change as shows, personnel and production arrangements change.

A useful rider should identify its date or revision and the appropriate technical contact. The receiving team should confirm that it has the current version, record approved clarifications and make sure later changes reach the departments affected by them.

Old attachments, forwarded email chains and unrecorded verbal decisions can leave different teams working from different requirements. Final preparation should be based on the current agreed information.

A Rider Is Not an Order Form

Receiving a rider does not automatically mean that everything listed has been ordered, quoted, approved or assigned to a particular supplier.

The production team still has to distinguish between:

• what has been requested;
• what is functionally required;
• what is available;
• what has been proposed as an alternative;
• what has been approved;
• what each party has agreed to supply.

Treating the document as a shopping list can preserve its words while missing its purpose. The objective is an agreed production plan that supports the performance in the actual event.

Key Takeaway

A technical rider communicates requirements. It does not remove the need for production advance.

A rider is the beginning of a technical conversation, not the end of one.