The first reaction on seeing a commission is to subtract it mentally from income. It is a healthy reaction, and also an incomplete one: the useful question is not how much is charged, but who pays it, whether it is visible before accepting, and what is delivered in exchange for that percentage.
The three models that exist
Commission on the provider. The platform deducts a percentage of what the musician charges. It is the most common model and the most uncomfortable, because the musician watches their rate shrink: if they agreed to 3,000 pesos and the commission is 20%, they receive 2,400. The problem is not that the commission exists; it is that often it is not clear from the start how much will be deducted.
Fee on the client. The musician collects in full and the platform adds a visible charge paid by whoever hires. With the same example, the musician receives the full 3,000 pesos and the client pays 3,000 plus the service fee, which is usually shown before confirming the booking. The musician loses nothing from their rate and the client knows exactly what they are paying extra and why.
Subscription. The provider pays a fixed monthly fee and there is no commission per event. It works well for someone with high volume, because it spreads the cost over more events, and it penalizes someone just starting out, because they pay the full fee even if they land few events that month.
How to compare without fooling yourself
A 15% commission on the provider and a 10% fee on the client are not directly comparable, even if the lower number looks better at first glance. They have to be brought to the same point of comparison:
- How much does the musician end up receiving? It is the only number that matters to whoever plays, and it has to be calculated in pesos, not in percentage.
- How much does the client end up paying in total? It is the only one that matters to whoever hires, and it pays to add it up before comparing two options.
- Is it visible before accepting? A commission that only appears at settlement is a surprise, not a transparent business model.
- Are there hidden costs? Charges for withdrawing money, for cancellation, for featuring the profile in results, for using certain payment methods.
A simple exercise helps: take the same hypothetical 3,000-peso service and calculate, for each platform you are considering, how much the musician would receive and how much the client would pay in the end. Put in the same currency and the same example, the comparison stops depending on which percentage sounds smaller.
What it should deliver in exchange
A platform that only lists profiles justifies no commission: a Facebook group or any directory does that for free. What does justify it is solving something the provider cannot solve alone:
- That the client arrives without the musician having to actively look for them every week.
- That payment is guaranteed and does not depend on the goodwill of whoever hired.
- That there is a record of what was agreed if something goes wrong on the day of the event.
- That the profile shows up in search engines without the musician having to learn web positioning.
- That there is support to resolve questions or conflicts before and after the event.
Questions to ask any platform before joining
Before creating a profile or accepting the first booking, it pays to ask directly: what is the exact percentage and who is it charged to, when is the payment released after the event, what happens if the client cancels at the last minute, and whether there is any additional charge for withdrawing money to a bank account. The answers to these four questions usually reveal more about the real model than any description on the home page.
It is also worth asking how a disagreement is resolved if the client claims the service was not what was agreed, or if the musician cannot arrive because of an emergency. A serious platform has a defined process for those cases, and one that has it written down nowhere usually improvises when the problem appears.
Common mistakes when choosing a platform
The first is looking only at the percentage without calculating the final amount in pesos, which is what really affects the wallet. The second is joining several platforms at once without tracking which one is worth concentrating promotional effort on, which ends up diluting time without improving results. The third is ignoring when the payment is released: a low commission loses its appeal if the money takes weeks to arrive after playing.
The warning sign
When the commission rises to the point where it pays the provider to take the client outside the platform, the model has already broken. No contract prevents it in practice: a platform's only real defense is to keep being worth what it charges. That is why very high commissions are usually a sign of a business that does not trust its own value to retain those who use it.
On Serenattia the musician collects 100% of their rate and the service fee, 10% with a minimum of 200 pesos, is paid by the client and is visible before booking.
Frequently asked questions about platform commissions
Is it normal for a platform to charge a commission?
Yes, every platform that connects clients with providers has some charging model. The relevant question is not whether it charges, but who it charges and whether that is visible before accepting the service.
Which model suits a musician who is just starting out?
A model where the musician receives their full rate and the client pays the fee usually suits better, because it does not reduce income per event while a client base is being built.
How do you compare a commission on the provider with a fee on the client?
By calculating, for the same hypothetical service, how much the musician would receive and how much the client would pay under each model. The percentage alone says nothing if it is not brought to concrete pesos.
What hidden costs should be checked before joining a platform?
Charges for withdrawing money, for cancellation, for featuring the profile, and the time it takes for payment to be released after the event.
Is a high commission always a bad sign?
Not always, but when it is so high that it benefits the provider to avoid the platform on the next booking, it is a sign that the model is not calibrated to the value it delivers.
On how income is organized for those who make a living from playing, see the Mexican musician as a microbusiness and the comparison Serenattia vs Cronoshare for musicians. Rate ranges by format and city are in the Serenattia Index of music prices in Mexico, and anyone who wants to compare active profiles can search on Serenattia.
Written by Christian López, Head of Operations, Serenattia. Last updated: September 2026.