So my band (2 guitar, bass, drum) gets a gig doing a birthday party and we are promised 50 bucks.

We do the show and they liked us so much the guy who hired us gave us quadruple the amount of money ($200). This is a really big deal to us because we haven't been around much longer than a year and we are all still 17-18, plus we dont have jobs ;), and this our second paying gig, etc.

So all is well and we have just got done unpacking at our practice space and are just siting there basking in our victory when my guitarist goes
"Alright wheres my money?'
...
now we are all very sarcastic rebellious teenagers so i thought he was kidding but just in case i say
me: What?
Guitarst: Were is my money. (yes that is a period)
Me:whaddya mean Your money?
Guitarist: we were paid 200 dollars, and 50 of that is mine!
Me: are you serious steve?
Guitarist: YES! Give Me My Money!
*he begins to hold out his hand and become very insistent*
Me: Steve we never said we were gonna split the money four ways, we should probably keep it and use it for band money.
Drummer: Yea, when we need to buy something were gonna have to use our own money anyways
Lead Guitarist: Yea we should probably save up for a PA or something
Guitarist(steve): I. DONT. CARE. (he says through grinding teeth) Give Me My Money!:mad:
Me: okay steve, were gonna do it like this. Daulton(drummer) do you think we should save the money
Drummer: yea
Me: Mike(Lead Guitar) do you think we should save the money?
Mike (Lead GUitar): Yea dude we should save for a PA or something
*I look at steve and he looks at me because he knows he SOL*
Steve: Thats not fair! 50 of that is mine!
Me: Whats more fair than a democratic vote steve?!
Steve: Well i dont think you should hold it.
Me: Why not?
Steve: Because i dont trust you!
Me: You dont trust me?!!? Are you serious? What do you think im gonna do, go spend it somewhere?
Steve: Yea! I do! One of our parents should hold it!
Me: No! Look steve, i was the only one back there when he paid us. I could have just taken the 150 and said "Hey guys we got paid 50 bucks as promised"
Steve:........Well i still think one of our parents should hold it.
Drummer: My mom could hold it for us
Drummers dad walks down the stairs: HEY! you guys! im gonna tell you a life lesson here so listen up...NEver give money to a woman! Okay?
All except steve: lawlz

then me and steve continue to argue and finnaly the drummer and other guitarist break it up.

Yea, sorry for the long post, i needed to vent. It just sucks that the moment we get our hands on money our band starts to fall apart. It doesnt help that me and the other guitarist dont like steve and want to kick him out. Plus my technique is better and quicker than steves, this doesnt say much of anything but it gives you an idea of how much time he spends with his guitar :rollno:

Just wait until someone gets the hots for someone else's girlfriend.

... Seems that everyone gets this wrong, just as you have. The Bible says ( I Tim 6:10) that the love of money is root of all evil... NOT money itself, so lets stop compounding that myth please.

(For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.)

1 - Steve needs to grow up

2 - Drummer's dad is a wise man ;)

eh, money is evil too


I for one favor a barter system

In return for your gigs, you get a cookie.

The whole community pot thing never works out, should have gave everyone their split IMO.

It's also not really a great I idea to go in on equipment together. The band will break up and people will want money or parts of a pa you need for your new band, and it will end badly.

Split the money. You have no jobs and maybe he needs it. You want to have a PA and equipment go get jobs to pay for it like all of us. I dont feel its right to take his pay over bands equipment cuz if you split how will you get the money you put into PA etc back?

Bands need to understand not everyone has the same interests as some of the other members. Maybe this is only something he wants to do for a while and he's not so focused on being in a band and sharing his pay.My band has recording fees coming up. We all agreed to take a gigs pay to take care of it but we all agreed. Maybe he didnt handle this the right way but you should of set this up before you ever took a dime from a gig...its his share and you should give it to him.

My drummer used to be in a band who for 6 years of giging pretty high paying shows never made one dime. All the money was put into a band account for making a CD...a pretty big budget CD for a local band. They never sold hardly a copy gave hundreds away and never made anything back for the return. I would of thrown a fit or walked but the bandleader thought it was cool to have multi track pro CDs made...but for what?

... Seems that everyone gets this wrong, just as you have. The Bible says ( I Tim 6:10) that the love of money is root of all evil... NOT money itself, so lets stop compounding that myth please.

(For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.)

Not neccissarily. You could be desparate enough to get the bills paid to rob a bank without ever loving the money.

You're all mates right? You guys got a nice surprise there right? You should celebrate it!!!

Either split the cash and spend it on yourselves, or go put on a huge party with it, charge 5 bucks a head, and split that!! Don't worry about who needs what, just deal with their issue, not getting the money. IMO you all earned your share and "band" money isn't, especially when it's kept at the drummers house for "safe keeping" **

... Seems that everyone gets this wrong, just as you have. The Bible says ( I Tim 6:10) that the love of money is root of all evil... NOT money itself, so lets stop compounding that myth please.

(For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.)
I did not know that. This is the one time I actually appreciate the text within the reference. I hate growing up!

:scowl:

Not neccissarily. You could be desparate enough to get the bills paid to rob a bank without ever loving the money.
The love here is having the MONEY to PAY your bill, and being desperate enough to roll someone for it.

Money in and of itself is nothing more than printed paper and punched coin.

** My wife and I used to buy charity boxes of chocolates and keep the money in the bag. More than once, we dipped into it when necessary, just because it was there. THEN we had to tell people, next week. Understanding as they were, they're not stupid as to why we couldn't give them what we raised, and the balance in chocolates.

If he agreed to give his share of the money towards the band fund prior to the gig, then he shouldn't gripe.

If he didn't agree to it, then it's not right for you guys to assume what he's supposed to do with his money. You can ask him to contribute to the band fund, but it is his right to say no. You took his money without letting him make his decision regarding it.

Next time, if you're gonna do the band fund, agree to it prior to the gig. If I were in any band that pulled that, I'd be out the door pronto. I have no problem feeding the band kitty, but I want the right to make the decision. It's my money, and I'll make the decisions on what to do with it. Don't make decisions for me after I've done the work to earn it. I don't care if it's "democratic". I can take a vote on TB to see what we should do with your next paycheck. How does that sound?

The band I'm currently and we're the same age group as you guys. We do the whole band account thing, but that's something we decided together to do since day one. We used our "band" money for a PA, a couple of cheaps cabs for our guitarists, and now we're currently saving it to get a little studio time and everything's working great for us.

If you guys are really serious about this and really want to put your money to use for a PA and stuff then it sounds like you need to talk to your guitarist. Kind of like the other guys said he may not be as serious, and if this is true you guys don't want to waste alot of time with someone who isn't in it for the same reasons.

I say you talk to him, find out how serious he is, if he feels the same then he'll unerstand, if not, give him his $50 and find someone else...

I guess this really only works if you guys are really serious, if you're not, then most of my post probably wouldn't work...lol...

Just my take on the matter...

Not neccissarily. You could be desparate enough to get the bills paid to rob a bank without ever loving the money.
Not "necessarily" what? I think you better re-read my post.. as I was not stating an opinion at all. But I do see your point of course.

If he agreed to give his share of the money towards the band fund prior to the gig, then he shouldn't gripe.

If he didn't agree to it, then it's not right for you guys to assume what he's supposed to do with his money. You can ask him to contribute to the band fund, but it is his right to say no. You took his money without letting him make his decision regarding it.

Next time, if you're gonna do the band fund, agree to it prior to the gig. If I were in any band that pulled that, I'd be out the door pronto. I have no problem feeding the band kitty, but I want the right to make the decision. It's my money, and I'll make the decisions on what to do with it. Don't make decisions for me after I've done the work to earn it. I don't care if it's "democratic". I can take a vote on TB to see what we should do with your next paycheck. How does that sound?
A big +1

Go by what was agreed going into the gig. I'd say give him the money if he expected it. If he agreed to contribute and then changed his mind after the gig, then it's another story.

He could have changed his mind because he really needs the money. It's an opportunity to help a band mate in need.

Decide what to do with the money before your next gig.

The lack of money is the root of all evil! How the money was to be split,if at all,was something that should have been worked out before the gig.

Dont split the money!

You guys made that money as a team, and that makes it totally okay to have a vote about what to do with it. If the guitarist had been on stage doing sweeps for an hour i dont think he would have any money!

I dont think that it is a good idea to buy gear with community pool money, but there are loads of other costs that is going to need money, especially if you are starting out. A good demo recording can cost loads, you might need to hire a van, you might get important gigs that doesnt pay, and you (sadly) are going to get stiffed at some point.

Community pool works! Just lay down the rules first, and if the geetard dont get it, boot him. There is almost an unlimited supply of guitarists, and few of them are idiots.

I don't care if it's "democratic". I can take a vote on TB to see what we should do with your next paycheck. How does that sound?

A better analogy would be that you demand to get your taxes back bacause you dont think you ar going to use any schools or hospitals.
When you think about it, this is a micro sized version of the classic battle between common good and special interests

... Seems that everyone gets this wrong, just as you have. The Bible says ( I Tim 6:10) that the love of money is root of all evil... NOT money itself, so lets stop compounding that myth please.

(For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.)

I don't think he got it wrong at all - that story was exactly about the love of money, souring their friendships!

Money....is the the root of all evil today!!!!

ha! ha! ha!,
Pink Floyd

Such a minor amount of money to quibble over, but if you're 17, $50 is a lot.

That being said, I hate to take his side, BUT $50 of it IS his money.

If you're going to do a band fund (and by the way, at $200 a gig, you're going to be saving for a long time to buy a decent PA and board), you need to AGREE TO THIS IN ADVANCE. To do otherwise is not fair if you are all equal members of the band.

plus, I've seen too many cases when someone kept a "band fund" and could not account for all the money later on.

Why not split it 5 ways? each member gets a cut and some gets put into the band fund. ie) 40 bucks each and 40 into the band "pot".

Your still getting some cash- but can slowly start to put things away.

Give him his money. Our drummer owns the PA and if it needs to be fixed he pays for it. If he didn't already have it I'd expect the lead singer who plays no instrument to buy it. Either way, at the end of the night, our money is split.

... Seems that everyone gets this wrong, just as you have. The Bible says ( I Tim 6:10) that the love of money is root of all evil... NOT money itself, so lets stop compounding that myth please.

(For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.)

yes cos everything written in the bible is 100% truth and all reference vaguely similar are direct quotes from said "factual" text. :rolleyes:

I have to agree that it's his money. He should get it. But it does sound like he could have gone about getting it in a more polite manner.

I had that happen once, I got screwed out of pay at a gig, and the guy who collected it (the singer) acted dumb, said he never got paid, and a week or so later, he showed up with some really cheesy t-shirts with our name on it... now this was wrong on a couple of levels, but mainly because he never had my permission to take my money. (And I'd have gladly handed it over to him, if the whole creation of the t-shirt was a democratic process that was discussed before the money was used.)

Money is the root of all that is evil? IMO that's absurd and naive. Read this speech from a famous novel:

http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=1826

Sorry, but you're in the wrong. You all played the gig, you all get equal pay, and you all get to decide what to do with your share.

Basically, you robbed that guitarist. I hope you're happy with yourself. If I were him, I'd be gone.

yes cos everything written in the bible is 100% truth and all reference vaguely similar are direct quotes from said "factual" text. :rolleyes:

...What are you getting on about? It is a quote from the Bible. They were just correcting an incorrect quote. I'm a bible skeptic too, but you're just being silly.

i'm just saying saying that the quote didn't appear as a direct "quote" and therefore did not need correcting.

Give the guy his money and be glad it's not MY money you have.

I would have taken it from you.

Dont split the money!

You guys made that money as a team, and that makes it totally okay to have a vote about what to do with it. If the guitarist had been on stage doing sweeps for an hour i dont think he would have any money!

I dont think that it is a good idea to buy gear with community pool money, but there are loads of other costs that is going to need money, especially if you are starting out. A good demo recording can cost loads, you might need to hire a van, you might get important gigs that doesnt pay, and you (sadly) are going to get stiffed at some point.

Community pool works! Just lay down the rules first, and if the geetard dont get it, boot him. There is almost an unlimited supply of guitarists, and few of them are idiots.



A better analogy would be that you demand to get your taxes back bacause you dont think you ar going to use any schools or hospitals.
When you think about it, this is a micro sized version of the classic battle between common good and special interests

I can also say that they might not have been able to make the gig without a guitarist. Yes, they made money as a team, but a good team usually takes the concerns of each member to account. Personally, I wouldn't feel like a member of a team if decisions were made without my input.

I think my analogy is correct. We are all members of TB, we contribute in our own ways, and we gain as a "team" when we contribute, so why shouldn't we have a say on what to do with someone's paycheck? Maybe we can all vote on what to do with people's money so that they can support the site, since it's for the "common good". Maybe a better analogy would be that we should get to vote on Paul's proceeds from the site, since we contribute to it.

The funny thing about the "love of money" is that it is being committed by both parties. Both parties "love" the money for what it can do. It's just that one wants a PA, and the other wants to use it for something else. Both parties want the money, they just differ on how to use it.

If you really didn't "love" the money at all, just give the guitarist his share and give the rest to charity so that the "love of money" doesn't ruin your band.


I'll agree with what Shawn-o says in that you can split it 5 ways, with one part going to the band fund. Just make that clear before committing your band members to a gig.
I've done this with numerous bands, and it worked out very well. People stay motivated by getting paid regularly, and the band still gets income for stuff like advertising.

Last piece of advice here, but in music as in life, it always pays to invest in people rather than gear.

I think that Steve was right and you were wrong, and the Bible has nothing to do with it.

You should apologize to him, tell him you were wrong, and see if you can keep the band together.

Next time you get paid, don't try to screw him out of his pay.


my $.02

... Seems that everyone gets this wrong, just as you have. The Bible says ( I Tim 6:10) that the love of money is root of all evil... NOT money itself, so lets stop compounding that myth please.

(For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.)

He's correct with the quote. ;)

Money isn't the root of all evil, but rather the lack of money that is. Welcome to the reality of being in bands. The more money that's involved, the worse it gets. If everybody's already arguing over chump money like $50, it's probably a situation you should run, not walk away from. Give these cats their money and chalk it up to experience. Look at it on the bright side; it only cost you $150 to get rid of them.
A bargain, i'd say. Just another perfect example of why real musicians have day jobs.

...By the way you guys should have discussed what you were going to do with the money before the gig. Since you didn't the guitar player has every expectation to his cut. I suggest you guys divide the money this time to keep the peace. Next time work this out before hand. :) I do like the 5 way split idea that someone suggested earlier. Maybe he will go for it next time.

When you think about it, this is a micro sized version of the classic battle between common good and special interests

There is no "$" in "team." ;)

Somebody back there said at 200 a gig it'll take a long time to save up for a good rig. Just exactly how much are you getting paid? I don't know how it works in other places, but here.. you're pretty much lucky if more than a dozen people show up to see your band for chump change on 5 dollar beer bust night. Apart from the bar scene though, it's more likely you're opening for a more well known band at no pay.. unless you get lucky and sell 10 or 20 dollars worth of merch.

Just so I'm not off topic though I will say that I agree with the 5 way split. Give everybody a cut and put some towards the band. If I was Steve I probably would have walked out. 'We voted and you don't get paid' would set me off for sure. Good luck though. Try not to fight. I've been in 2 bands that split from fighting.

I thank you all for your advice.
i dont know though. You bring up some good points. But i guess i was just shocked about how concerned he was with the money. I thought that it was understood between us that we were in this for more than the money, and any money we got would be used to advance the band. At least this was understood between me and the other two guys.
It not like we are learned adult musicians, gigging around with different bands. We arent just a bunch of guys jamming together to do a gig or two, we are all friends who wanted something more out of the band. We are all pretty ambitious. We actually kinda want to go somewhere with the band. That really isent much justification, i know, but i just kinda assumed everyone wanted to do the same thing with our band, that we were gonna try to take far as we could. I suppose steve doesn't think the same way we do. Plus he doesnt need the money. He was just gonna go buy some weed or shrooms with it anyway, thats probably why he was so insistent. Not that what he doest with the money is justification for keeping the money either.
So...the situation is that me and the other two guys were thinking on the same page but steve wasent. Perhaps ill just talk with steve and ask him what he really wants, the money, or the band.
I guess thats what happens when you assume.
This is sorta like Pete Best and the Beatles.

yes cos everything written in the bible is 100% truth and all reference vaguely similar are direct quotes from said "factual" text. :rolleyes:

What sucks more than people who try and ram the bible down your throat as the absolute truth? Answer: People who try and ram their view that the bible isn't absolute truth with quotes from the bible.:smug:

Last piece of advice here, but in music as in life, it always pays to invest in people rather than gear.
+10. Theres an insightful comment right there!

But i guess i was just shocked about how concerned he was with the money. I thought that it was understood between us that we were in this for more than the money, and any money we got would be used to advance the band. At least this was understood between me and the other two guys.

Thats not good enough. EVERYONE needs to know before hand, and a majority "knew" means nothing to the guy in the dark.

Next time, clarify pay before a gig, and don't make assumptions.

And remember, assumptions just make an ass of u and me ;)


It not like we are learned adult musicians, gigging around with different bands.

That does not entitle you to steal, or withhold money once being accused of it.


We arent just a bunch of guys jamming together to do a gig or two, we are all friends who wanted something more out of the band.

Want to stay friends?


We are all pretty ambitious. We actually kinda want to go somewhere with the band.

Treat this as a lesson learned, don't let it happen again, and you might. If I was your guitarist I would have already posted complaints around the local scene.


That really isent much justification, i know, but

But means disagree ;)

That'll do I've stripped you down enough. Bottom line, don't assume. And if you do, try to make good to the people who are affected by your thoughtless lack of judgement.

And your Dad was smart to leave you to work it out and not give you an easy out. Wise man, in more ways than one.

Good luck

He was just gonna go buy some weed or shrooms with it anyway, thats probably why he was so insistent. Not that what he doest with the money is justification for keeping the money either.
So...the situation is that me and the other two guys were thinking on the same page but steve wasent. Perhaps ill just talk with steve and ask him what he really wants, the money, or the band.

1. What he wants to do with HIS money is none of your concern - it`s his and his alone to decide.

2. A good friend of yours, and a guitar player in your band should probalby be worth more to you than 50 bucks. I`d give him his 50$ without any hesitation - after that I`d try to persuade him to invest in the band (PA etc.), but that`s a different story.

Money are relatively easy to get - good friends and musicians are not.

What sucks more than people who try and ram the bible down your throat as the absolute truth? Answer: People who try and ram their view that the bible isn't absolute truth with quotes from the bible.:smug:

Or Liberals who try and shut down the free speech of anyone who doesn't agree with them. They are FAR more insidious.

I thank you all for your advice.
i dont know though. You bring up some good points. But i guess i was just shocked about how concerned he was with the money. I thought that it was understood between us that we were in this for more than the money, and any money we got would be used to advance the band. At least this was understood between me and the other two guys.
It not like we are learned adult musicians, gigging around with different bands. We arent just a bunch of guys jamming together to do a gig or two, we are all friends who wanted something more out of the band. We are all pretty ambitious. We actually kinda want to go somewhere with the band. That really isent much justification, i know, but i just kinda assumed everyone wanted to do the same thing with our band, that we were gonna try to take far as we could. I suppose steve doesn't think the same way we do. Plus he doesnt need the money. He was just gonna go buy some weed or shrooms with it anyway, thats probably why he was so insistent. Not that what he doest with the money is justification for keeping the money either.
So...the situation is that me and the other two guys were thinking on the same page but steve wasent. Perhaps ill just talk with steve and ask him what he really wants, the money, or the band.
I guess thats what happens when you assume.
This is sorta like Pete Best and the Beatles.

Just because he wants to use his share for something other than sitting around for a few years waiting to be invested in a PA eventually doesn't mean he doesn't care about the band, and it would be wrong to try and make him choose "the money, or the band." Every band I've ever been in has ALWAYS split the check evenly. From there we might decide to go together on something, or I might just use the money on my own equipment, or just put it straight into my gas tank. The point is that we each get our share of the money and we have control over what happens to it. In no way am I or the other guys neglecting the needs of the band, seeing as we, as the members, ARE the band.

1 - Steve needs to grow up

2 - Drummer's dad is a wise man ;)

+1

Give the guy his money and be glad it's not MY money you have.

I would have taken it from you.
You're just saying that because your name's Steve too. :spit:


But seriously, much as the guy sounds like a jerk, the band owes him his $50.

What you guys just did shows how badly government can be when people think they have the right to decide what to do with other peoples money.

Give everyone their money, and look for a guitarist not named Steve! :p

I think the best way to buy a sound system when one person can't afford it all is for each member to agree on buying pieces, rather than the community pot.

Then if there's a 'band divorce', there is no quibbling over how much of the system needs to be split up; the member leaving takes their power amp, speaker or whatever they own and the remaining members look for replacements.

1.
who died and left you the wolfman, jack.
2.
i dont know about you but at 17 i was years past dragging my mommy into it.

Somebody back there said at 200 a gig it'll take a long time to save up for a good rig. Just exactly how much are you getting paid? I don't know how it works in other places, but here.. you're pretty much lucky if more than a dozen people show up to see your band for chump change on 5 dollar beer bust night. Apart from the bar scene though, it's more likely you're opening for a more well known band at no pay.. unless you get lucky and sell 10 or 20 dollars worth of merch.

Just so I'm not off topic though I will say that I agree with the 5 way split. Give everybody a cut and put some towards the band. If I was Steve I probably would have walked out. 'We voted and you don't get paid' would set me off for sure. Good luck though. Try not to fight. I've been in 2 bands that split from fighting.

really?
in the mid 90's we would get 650 a night and beer up to 30 bucks each. and a bonus if we had a good draw.

split the cash.

I'm sure glad my day job doesn't run on the same basis as your band: "Well Ian, you worked 40 hours this week, but we're going to hold onto your wages so we can redecorate the office".

Ian

split the cash.

I'm sure glad my day job doesn't run on the same basis as your band: "Well Ian, you worked 40 hours this week, but we're going to hold onto your wages so we can redecorate the office".

Ian

You misunderstand. It was understood between us that we werent in it for the money. we've kept money we have been paid before in the "band account". But steve got greedy once the amount of money we were getting paid increased. Had we just been paid 50 bucks, it wouldent have been a big deal.
You dont need to be so condescending.

The whole community pot thing never works out, should have gave everyone their split IMO.

It's also not really a great I idea to go in on equipment together. The band will break up and people will want money or parts of a pa you need for your new band, and it will end badly.

I agree.

I think a better way to approach the "community pot" idea is to do like you're at church and tithe to it.

When we get paid, we take a tenth of it and put it into a pot. That way, we have something with which to buy *emergency* supplies, like a new PA cord, or a pack of 9v batteries, or strings/sticks, etc., or to pay a sound man or a sit-in player if/when we need to.

Big-ticket items, like PA speakers, head, amps, etc., are purchased by the individual, and if the band breaks up, that individual keeps what he/she bought.

That way, there is no fighting over equipment, and band members keep most of what they make.

Cherie

really?
in the mid 90's we would get 650 a night and beer up to 30 bucks each. and a bonus if we had a good draw.

Maybe it's just a location thing? My band makes absolutely no money at all. Granted we're not exactly up and running yet, but we're a few grand in the hole easy. Nobody expects to break even unless we can really hustle some CD sales.

What I said was gathered from people I've talked to and bands I know that play around here locally. Mostly rockabilly/psychobilly and punk rock n roll. The general trend is if you don't headline you don't get paid, and if you do headline you shouldn't expect much. Maybe it's just the lack of interest in 'underground' styles of music around here, but we have real trouble getting more than a dozen people out to a free show. The bars and venues make such little money from bands they can't afford to pay good money. I've even talked to some well established bands touring through, and they say they're basically doing it for gas money and free beer.

650 would be amazing.

ask him what he really wants, the money, or the band


See there you go again.... it's HIS money PERIOD. :confused:

.... I thought that it was understood between us that we were in this for more than the money, and any money we got would be used to advance the band. .... We are all pretty ambitious. We actually kinda want to go somewhere with the band. ... Perhaps ill just talk with steve and ask him what he really wants, the money, or the band.


Experienced bands know these truths:

1) All money the band receives should always be split equally among band members at the earliest possible convenience (preferably right after the show) with no questions asked and no strings attached.

2) Playing music is a reward unto itself, but any money earned from a show pays for things that a musician needs or wants, whatever that happens to be. Other band members questioning the motives of how another musician spends his money is arrogant.

3) Bands that are serious enough to create special "band funds" to finance PA's, recording time, albums and t-shirts and other advertising are also serious enough to form themselves into a legal entity. Simply registering "The Buttkicker Blues Band" with the government and setting up a bank account with that name that takes in and pays out money forces the band to be formally accountable for the flow of its funds by requiring that decisions about money that benefit the band as a whole are discussed ahead of time and written down as agreed upon.



You unknowingly contradict yourself when you say that you're not in it for the money but you want the band to seriously advance. Bands can't advance without money (all serious undertakings require money) and there's nothing wrong with that because that's what the purpose of money IS: a tool to advance your cause. Your belief that the money is somehow a corrupting agent (you called it "the root of all evil") is clouding your judgment and causing you to become the moral decider of money in your band and actually preventing you from advancing your music. The real challenge is to keep the money issue seperate from the art and make sure that the handling of the money is done in an open, honest and accountable manner that is fair to all parties.

The money thing really should have been discussed and agreed upon before hand.

If I was in your position I would split the money from this gig evenly between everyone. Now call a meeting and make an agreement how future monies earned by your band are going to be divied up.

Members
Support crew and gear rental (PA and lights)
Expenses (gas, food, rooms, etc)
Promotion (promo pak, ads, posters and handouts, etc)
Equipment maintenence

sorry man, but is his money.