Switching to IEMs doesn't simplify your plot. It changes it entirely.

A lot of musicians make the jump to in-ears thinking it cleans up the stage. No wedges, less bleed, more control. All true. But the stage plot doesn't get simpler — it gets different in ways that catch people off guard.

The first thing that changes is your monitor mix count. With wedges, you might have three or four mixes covering the whole band. With IEMs, every person running their own pack needs their own mix. Six musicians on IEMs means six discrete monitor mixes. That needs to be in the plot clearly — not just "IEM" next to everyone's name, but which mix number, who's on a personal mixer, and whether the pack is wired or wireless.

The second thing is the input list. Wireless IEM transmitters need rack space and sometimes their own power. If you're running a personal mixer on stage that feeds the IEM system, that's an additional piece of infrastructure the crew needs to know about and account for in the patch.

The third thing nobody documents: what happens when the IEM fails mid-show. Is there a wedge backup? Which mix does it replicate? The crew can't make that call on the fly without instructions.

IEMs make the show better. They make the documentation more important, not less.

What's the most complicated IEM setup you've had to document?