Billing is written into the contract, not decided by whoever designs the poster. It fixes the order of the names and the size of the type.
What gets specified
- Position: top line, second line, or 'and guests'
- Type size, usually as a percentage of the headliner's, such as 60 percent
- Whether the name appears in adverts, on the ticket page and in radio spots
- Whether other artists may be added above or between
Why it is fought over
Billing is the public record of where an artist stands. An agent who takes second billing at 50 percent type is pricing the next offer as well as this one. Festival posters are read the same way, line by line, by everybody in the trade.
Practical points
Ask for the artwork before it goes to print. Check the spelling, the artist name and the Headliner order against the contract. Corrections after a print run are paid for by whoever got it wrong.