Grrr!

[littlekatie]

Ok so here's the thing. I don't mind doing gigs for free, I'm only just starting out and I love playing, so gigs for free is fine. This was all working out really well for me until a couple of months ago when the recitals of the students at my college in their final year came up. I play baroque bass as well, so this girl asked me to play for her finals as part of a small group, promising £15 a rehearsal. Not a lot of money, but as I said, I don't mind playing for nothing, so £15 is a nice bonus, couple of drinks in the pub, whatever. Anyway she then calls an obscene amount of rehearsals which I attend all of (cancelling lessons, classes, gigs, etc in the process). Then we get to the final, I email her about payment and she replies with:
Hello Katie,

Thanks for your e-mail. I think you were not there when I said to everyone that I would pay the restaurant in Jakobs after the exam, as it is impossible for me to pay the performers as I intended to do so originally. I am very sorry if you missed that ,but I did say so.

Hope you are not too desappointed and well done for friday.

Is it just me, or is that totally not on. This girl owes me at least £120. That's not even my rent for one week, and I'm a student for crying out loud. Any ideas on what to do next? It's not so much the money (although yeah, I really could do with the money), but its the fact that she totally lied to me - had she said 'Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realise we needed that many rehearsals, I can't afford to pay you that much, I'm really sorry, I'll give you £whatever towards your expenses' then it would have been fine. It's the fact that she is treating me like an idiot which annoyed me...and now I want my money!

Any advice, morale-boosting or violinist-lynching tips much appreciated. Needless to say, her name is dirt amongst the bass section at College now.

[Aaron Saunders]

Get your money -- she jerked you around like crazy...how to get your money? Hound her, constantly, and make sure everyone knows exactly what she did. Don't settle for the bass section, tell everyone.

[Jason Sypher]

Tell her that you that deciding not to pay you after the fact is completely unacceptable. It doesn't matter if she says she told you, you didn't know. It is her responsiblity to make sure you know you wont be getting paid and give you a chance to back out. It is obvious that she didn't do this. She dropped the ball and now she should honor the original contract. It's not the amount that counts, forget about that, it is the agreement that you made. It's always the ones that are hardly paying you anything in the first place that end up trying to not pay you in the end. Get the money. And you don't really have to be nice about it either.

[Aaron Cohn]

That's absolute bs (no, not a new vodka flavor) on the violinist's part. You should make sure you get paid.

As an aside, is it just me or is calling for way too many rehearsals a fairly accurate warning sign?

[Marcus Johnson]

Tell her what you told us. Best case, you scare her and she pays, worst case, you get to vent on her sad a$$. Doubt you'll work with her again either way, so nuthin' to lose.

Imagine trying her tactics with a doctor or a plumber. Good effin' luck!

[joel kelsey]

I agree with everyone who has posted so far. However, if she doesn't pay you, YOU NEVER HAVE TO WORK WITH HER AGAIN. In some situations that is better than getting the money. Also, telling her off could be good practice for future situations when "real money" is involved. Good luck!

[Fat.Mike]

That is Bs. Don't play with her agian and like others have said, HOUND her untill she pays (like a bloodhound on the trail of a Raccoon)!!! There is no excuse for going back on your word. If one says they will do something, they had better do it or thier word is worth what they are. Nothing!

[Freddels]

She told everyone else that she couldn't pay but didn't tell you. It was her responsibility to tell you of any changes to the deal. She owes you for what you did. Period. Get her to tell you again that she told everyone else and also the fact that you weren't there when she did this. Have a couple of witnesses with you when she re-tells you this so that you have some proof that you were not given notice of this new deal.

Then there must be some sort of small claims court there that you could use. Bring your witnesses to backup your version.

[Heifetzbass]

Originally Posted by Jason Sypher

She dropped the ball and now she should honor the original contract.

That is why I never leave the house without a contract... not sure how binding verbal contracts are in your neck of the woods, but I get it in writing. I agree with the rest of the guys, try to get the payment. If you don't, chalk it up to professional experience...

FWIW
Brian

[Stan Haskins]

Ugh.
Different versions of this story have happened to me so many times, I don't even want to try to count. It's a big part of the reason I'm no longer trying to be a "pro" player. People promise everything until it's time to pay up.

If you're preparing for a career doing this (playing bass), you have to start developing strategies for collecting payment and avoiding these situations in the future. YOu probably won't collect in full from your colleague this time - but don't be shy about spreading the word regarding her unprofessional dealings.

[littlekatie]

Have just discovered that she didn't say she would pay any of the other players. So she is talking complete phooey. The only reason I went to all her stupid rehearsals is because she was paying me (or so I thought!). I think I'll go and see her head of faculty, see if he can help me out. Oh I'm so cross. Next time I'm getting it in writing, trust me. I have it on email...hang on I'll find it.

[littlekatie]

Here it is ...

Happy new year Kate! I wanted to ask you wether you were free po play the basse part in a great concerto by Vivaldi, "La tempesta del mare". I want to play this for my finals and I think it is nicer to play with an early-music ensemble rather than a continuo and harpsichord.
I will pay 15 pounds per people for each rehearsal, I know it is not much , but I hope we won't need too many rehearsals.
Please let me know asap if you can take part in this project!

[G-force]

Hey, Bummer but be glad it was only this. You got a lesson on doing business.
I play the bass to earn money to feed my family and pay the bills. I treat my career accordingly.
I NEVER tell people, NEVER that I play for free. I often think it but NEVER tell people this. That is for ameteurs.
I hate when this happens.
I tell people I play for free but my time costs money.

My advice is to drop it and move on. It could have been moch worse.
G

[*smb]

Your email should be enough evidence should you decide to take it up with the college or whatever. Personally there is absolutely no way I would stand for this. Give her a deadline to have the money in your hand and make it clear you mean business. Should no payment be forthcoming I'd let everyone know so they don't make the mistake of working with her.

[Bruce Lindfield]

Students never have any money - if this violinist has no money - there's not much you can do about it...

Except treat it as a life-lesson and make sure you get money upfront - you can always say to people in future : well last time I did that, I lost out badly and you can cite this case !

[Damon Rondeau]

Is it any kind of normal on the London classical scene for students to be making offers to pay people for rehearsals and performances? The reason I ask is because it's distinctly NOT normal in my my neck of the woods (not London, not classical, admittedly.) It's so not normal it's downright fishy. What's up with this person? I would wonder where the money is coming from. If I thought the person was anything other than wealthy and generous I would be suspicious that I was dealing with a say-anything-to-get-help, renege-after-the-fact type of person.

All the other stuff folks have said about insisting on getting paid, etc., is good advice, but I think perhaps this one should have set off the warning bells right from the get-go. Maybe it doesn't speak well of me, but I would have been suspicious and reluctant to trust.

[Marc Piane]

Personally I am a strong believer in karma. What she was not cool and it will come back to bite her in the butt someday, somehow. Don't concern yourself with the when or the how or even find satisfaction in the thought that it will happen. I can get into a whole philosophical dicussion about my views on karma but this is not the place.

Time is money and spending our time chasing her down for not very much money is a waste of your time and energy. Talk to her. Ask for your money. Tell her what she did was not cool. Don't work for her again. Learn your lesson. Leave it at that. Don't bring it to the college or spend any more energy messing with it.

[littlekatie]

Originally Posted by G-force

I NEVER tell people, NEVER that I play for free. I often think it but NEVER tell people this. That is for ameteurs.
G

Just to clarify, I didn't. I think she was having trouble finding a bass, but hey that's not my problem.

[John Sprague]

Personally I am a strong believer in karma. What she was not cool and it will come back to bite her in the butt someday, somehow.

I agree with you Marc, but the difference between our views is I have named my right foot "Karma". I like karma dispensed in close temporal relationship to the act of disharmony.

Katie, the bigger issue you make of it, the more it will be discussed on campus, and more musicians will give it some thought, and fewer people will get screwed down the road.

Call her parents?

[Freddels]

Originally Posted by Bruce Lindfield

Students never have any money - if this violinist has no money - there's not much you can do about it...

She's got a violin!!

Small claims . . . judgment . . . seize violin . . . magically appearing payment