Music

6 absurd, hilarious, and incredible artist rider infographics

by Daniel Halyburton

August 13, 2014

For many of us, becoming a famous musician seems like the ultimate dream job. You make your living by travelling the world, playing music nightly, and avoiding a soul crushing 9-5 office job. But it also comes at a cost: months away from friends and family at home, long drives through the middle of nowhere, and endless amounts of time-killing at venues.

One way to maintain comfort and routine comes from the hospitality rider. Here they can request all the food, drinks, and in the case of Beyoncé, grapefruit scented candles to keep their spirits high night after night or on those marathon photo and video shoot days. It’s not all about diva demands though – the inclusion of specific items also ensures that the contract and specs from the artist are being completely read through.

We’ve visually quantified the majority of backstage and on-set dressing room riders of a few artists to see if it is just all champagne-steamed lobster and Acqua di Cristallo Tributo a Modigliani, and the take-away is pretty interesting. For the pop giants, we find incredible amounts of fried chicken, very specific flower arrangements, and if we are to take Drake and Katy Perry’s word for it, learn that Santa Margarita is the only Pino Grigio you should be drinking. On the smaller scale, Ryan Hemsworth lives up to his single-serving lonely-boy persona with one hot meal or a $20 food buy-out. We’ve also thrown in the incredibly modest rider of the grandfathers of pop music, The Beatles, for comparison. For the full riders—which often include a ton of other worthwhile wordiness, like Katy Perry amazingly requesting her drivers do not stare at her in the rearview mirror—click the link under each graphic.

Is “ABSOLUTELY NO CARNATIONS!!!“ the new “No brown M&M’s”?