For the purposes of these General Terms and Conditions (‘Terms and Conditions’), the following terms are taken to mean:
(1) These Terms and Conditions are part of all Contracts and shall apply to all related acts, legal or otherwise, performed by the RCO.
(2) The applicability of terms and conditions or stipulations set by the Other Party is explicitly excluded by the RCO.
(3) Amendments or additions to any provisions of the Contract and/or Terms and Conditions shall be applicable only if they have been agreed by the RCO in writing and pertain solely to the Contract in question. Clause 2
(1) The RCO shall not be bound by any offer or quotation, which shall serve solely as an invitation to enter into a Contract.
(2) A Contract shall be deemed to have been entered into only if and to the extent that the RCO has accepted it in writing, or if it performs a Contract.
(1) Prices are based on the circumstances prevailing when the Contract is drafted, including government subsidies, rates charged by Performers, wages, social security costs, import and export duties, excise duties, levies and taxes which are levied directly or indirectly on the RCO or which are charged to the RCO by third parties. Should these circumstances change after the Contract has been entered into, yet not before the Contract has been performed, the RCO shall be entitled to pass on the resulting costs incurred to the Other Party. In the event of a price increase within three months after the Contract has been entered into, the Other Party shall be entitled to terminate the Contract.
(2) After the Contract has been entered into, the RCO shall be entitled to correct any and all evident mistakes and spelling errors appearing in brochures and offers.
(3) Payment must be made within the agreed period after the invoice date, without the Other Party being entitled to invoke a right of compensation. Under no circumstances shall the Other Party be entitled to suspend its payment obligations, unless and except the Other Party submits the dispute to the court of competent jurisdiction pursuant to Clause 9 within two months after the relevant payment has become due.
(4) In the event of late payment by the Other Party, the Other Party shall be deemed to be in default without any warning or notice of default being required. In such a case, all claims, for whatever reason, made by the RCO against the Other Party shall be due and payable immediately. If payment in instalments has been agreed, and the Other Party is deemed to have defaulted on one such payment instalment, all outstanding instalments shall be due and payable immediately.
(5) On all amounts still outstanding on the last day of the payment term, the Other Party shall, starting from that day, owe default interest equal to the statutory rate of interest applicable in the Netherlands at that time, plus a two per cent surcharge.
(6) Should the Other Party be deemed to be in default with respect to the RCO, the Other Party shall be obliged to reimburse in full all legal and other costs incurred by the RCO. The other costs to be reimbursed by the Other Party shall amount at least to fifteen per cent of the outstanding amount, with a minimum of €100, plus VAT.
(1) The RCO hereby guarantees to the Other Party that that which it supplies shall conform to that which has been agreed.
(2) Complaints regarding the RCO having failed to meet its obligations under the Contract must be communicated in writing to the RCO no later than eight working days after such failure has occurred. Alterations to the RCO’s own concert programmes or alternatively its enlisting the services of other Performers as a result of force majeure as defined in Clause 5 shall not constitute grounds for a complaint.
(3) Provided that the Other Party has communicated its complaint in a timely, correct and justified manner, the RCO shall have the choice of either offering a similar performance at no charge or refunding the agreed price.
(4) The RCO’s contractual and statutory liability shall in all cases be limited to direct damage or loss incurred by the Other Party in respect of persons or property. The RCO shall therefore not be liable, either under the law or under the Contract, for any so-called indirect damage or loss or consequential damage or loss which the Other Party may incur, including a loss of profits or immaterial damage or loss.
(5) Without prejudice to the provisions of the preceding clause, the RCO’s contractual and statutory liability shall in all cases be limited to the amount paid out by the RCO’s insurance company.
(6) Unless damage or loss has been caused by the wilful misconduct or gross negligence of the RCO, the Other Party shall indemnify the RCO against any and all claims made by third parties relating to the Contracts entered into by them, and shall compensate the RCO for any and all damage or loss it incurs as a result of such claims.
(1) Force majeure is taken to mean a non-imputable failure of the RCO rendering it either wholly or partly incapable of fulfilling its obligation to the Other Party, or resulting in the RCO not being reasonably expected to do so, regardless of whether the specific circumstance was foreseeable at the time when the Parties entered into the Contract. Such circumstances include, but shall not be limited to, strikes, blockades, fire brigade/police operations in the immediate vicinity of the Operator’s building, the absence of any government-issued licence, and schedule changes necessitated by external circumstances, including the failure of one or more Performers to appear (e.g. because of illness) at the concert, as well as an Operator failing, or being unable, to perform, a Contract entered into with the RCO.
(2) In such a case, the Other Party shall not be entitled to compensation – either for damage or loss, or otherwise – even if the RCO might have derived any benefit from the aforementioned force majeure.
(3) If, as a result of force majeure, the RCO is unable to fulfil its obligations to the Other Party, the RCO shall have the choice of making changes to the concert programme or the Performer(s), cancelling the concert and
refunding the agreed price, or rescheduling the concert on a date of its choosing, or alternatively (more generally) suspending its obligations to the Other Party.
(1) In the event of a temporary or permanent suspension of payments, bankruptcy, the closing down or liquidation of the Other Party or its business enterprise, all Contracts shall terminate by operation of law unless the RCO communicates within a reasonable period of time its wish that either all or some of the contractual obligations be fulfilled.
(2) If the Other Party is in default or if one of the circumstances described in Clause 6(1) arises, the RCO shall be entitled to suspend performance of all Contracts and/or terminate, either wholly or partly, all Contracts.
(3) The provisions of Clauses 6(1) and 6(2) shall not affect any of the RCO’s other rights under the law or the Contract.
(4) Should an event referred to in (a) Clause 6(1) or (b) Clause 6(2) occur, (a) all claims by the RCO on the Other Party under the relevant Contract(s) or (b) all claims by the RCO on the Other Party, shall be immediately due and payable in full, and the RCO shall be authorised not to perform the relevant Contract, respectively.
(1) The Algemene Bezoekersvoorwaarden (General Terms and Conditions for Visitors) shall apply to all Contracts with Subscribers and Purchasers of single tickets, on the understanding that in the first sentence of Clauses 2(4) and 3(4) of the General Terms and Conditions for Visitors the word ‘Theatre’ should be read as ‘the RCO’ and that in Clause 3(5) of the General Terms and Conditions for Visitors the word ‘Theatre’ should be read as ‘Theatre and/or the RCO’. The General Terms and Conditions for Visitors may be obtained at the Operator’s box office free of charge.
(2) The Operator and the Client hereby guarantee to the RCO that the General Terms and Conditions for Visitors shall apply to all those who, either directly or indirectly, obtain through them an admission ticket to attend an RCO concert.
(1) No intellectual property rights whatsoever shall be acquired by the Other Party as a result of the RCO performing the Contract.
(2) Without the RCO’s express permission, the Other Party shall not be permitted to make, or arrange for the making of, any audio or video recording of any concert performance. The Other Party shall incur a penalty of €25,000, due and payable immediately, for every time it commits an infringement of this provision.
(1) These Terms and Conditions, as well as the Contract, are governed by Dutch law.
(2) All disputes arising from the Contract or these Terms and Conditions shall, unless otherwise provided by mandatory law, be subject to the discretion of the competent court in Amsterdam, on the understanding that the RCO shall be entitled to bring claims, simultaneously or otherwise, against the Other Party before other courts having jurisdiction to hear such claims.
(1) A subscription must be ordered following the procedure outlined in the season brochure of the relevant season. Single tickets must be ordered following the procedure outlined in the relevant publicity material.
(2) Subscription orders are processed following the procedure outlined in the season brochure of the relevant season.
(3) Single ticket orders are processed in the order in which they are received once all subscription sales have been concluded.
(4) The risk of loss or theft of an admission ticket shall be borne by the Subscriber/Purchaser of single tickets. Whether the Subscriber/Purchaser of single tickets is provided with a duplicate admission ticket shall be at the discretion of the RCO. The resulting costs incurred shall be borne by the Subscriber/Purchaser of single tickets.
(5) Subscription and single ticket sales and reservations, as well as the seating plan and the allocation of seats, shall be at the sole discretion of the RCO and shall be determined by the RCO or by the Operator on the RCO’s behalf.
(6) Admission tickets may not be exchanged or returned. Even if no use has been made of the admission ticket, the Subscriber/Purchaser of single tickets shall not be entitled to a refund of the price of admission nor any other compensation.
(1) The RCO shall in all cases be entitled to make, or authorise third parties to make, television, compact disc, radio, or other audio or video recordings during its concert performances and, to that end, place all necessary equipment in the concert hall and, if necessary, make changes to the seating plan, even if this results in inconvenience, nuisance or a restricted view of the stage for the Subscriber/Purchaser of single tickets.
(2) The RCO shall make every reasonable effort to limit all inconvenience, nuisance and restricted view of the stage for the Subscriber/Purchaser of single tickets. Where this requires the Operator’s cooperation or consent, the RCO does not guarantee that such cooperation or consent will be obtained.
(1) Data relating to the Subscriber/Purchaser of single tickets, including information such as the name and address of the Subscriber/Purchaser of single tickets, which are recorded by the RCO when subscriptions and single tickets are sold are recorded in a system within the meaning of the Wet Persoonsregistraties (Data Protection Act). The RCO is the controller of this system. In accordance with the Data Protection Act, a copy of the system registration form is available for inspection at the RCO. Should the Subscriber/Purchaser of single tickets not wish to receive information personally addressed to him, he may inform the RCO in writing to that effect.
(1) Neither Party shall be entitled, without prior written consent, to transfer its rights or obligations, either wholly or partly, to a third party, nor to arrange for a third party to perform the Contract, either wholly or partly, with the exception of the RCO’s right to transfer to (a) third party/parties claims against the Operator/Client for collection.
(2) Should, after the Parties have entered into the Contract, the control over all or a significant part of the RCO’s activities change hands, either directly or indirectly, or the control over the Operator/Client change hands, either directly or indirectly, the RCO shall be entitled to unilaterally terminate the Contract, either wholly or partly, without judicial intervention, by registered letter giving one month’s notice and without incurring any liability for damages or loss. This right shall lapse, however, if the RCO has not exercised it within fourteen days after the aforementioned transfer has come to its attention.
The General Terms and Conditions of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra are filed with the Amsterdam Chamber of Commerce under the number 2697.
All transactions carried out via this website or other RCO publications are subject to the General Terms and Conditions of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.
Click here for a PDF file of the General Terms and Conditions of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.
Click here for a PDF file of the VSCD’s General Terms and Conditions for Visitors (in Dutch).