Doing this doesn’t magically solve any of the problems of getting contracts back. But it does accomplish one and possibly two things. First, it gives me a reason to put a date in my own system stating when I need/expect to get the contract back, and my database displays that information prominently (along with things like when a concert program needs to be submitted). As the deadline approaches, I will go back to the presenter and ask about the missing contract.

Second, it might give a presenter an incentive to deal with this item of business, because failing to do so could in theory jeopardize a date they want to confirm, and at the very least sitting on the paperwork will make it necessary to jump through a hoop of asking for an extension, getting the document updated, and so forth.

A good number of years ago, I received a phone call from a presenter, who told me that she was calling on the 59th day after the contract was issued, mindful of the deadline, and sadly that she was going to have to pull out of the engagement. She’d held off as issues with funding developed, but as the end of the second month approached she realized the situation was hopeless and she’d be doing a disservice to everyone not to confront the issue.

I thanked her for her forthrightness, and because it was still relatively early in the booking season, with some luck I was able to recast the tour in a way that took care of the open date. I have always felt that without my contract deadline it is likely this matter would not have come to a head for some additional weeks or months, and my chances of fixing the problem would have been crippled.