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Band Finance Advice

I'm a band leader/band manager/music director.

I have thought about this six ways until Sunday.

I always come full circle: If I establish any kind of band fund (or joint ownership of ANYTHING) that involves my band mates and members, sooner or later, I am going to have a major conflict on my hands.

Yes, I get the short end of the stick financially. A lot. But it's the price I pay to attract and employ really good musicians who make my project shine.

I think it would take a very special and trusting relationship before you go with joint ownership in any conceivable respect. If you have it, great, you have earned my unbridled respect and envy. If not, play yer cards close to yer chest, mate.
 
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Didn't read all the replies thus far, but I say no to a joint bank account, but yes to a band fund held by and accountable to one responsible member.

Original act or not, expenses can occasionally come up for things like replacement mics, PA upgrade/ repair, band van tires, whatever...

Ultimately it depends on what your bands needs are, and if the members are all responsible & financially stable to enough to (A) pay out of pocket if the need arises, or (B) you're not in an outfit with untrustworthy people
 
I’ll say this last thin, then let others chime in.

Why does the band want a joint account? For expensive purchases? If so, why not just take a vote, all agree to pay a certain amount (maybe $200 over 4 gigs, $50 a gig goes to the purchase fund), and then individually save or have one member take ownership over that purchase.

I just don’t see why else a band would need a joint account.

Man, that is a Blue Sky scenario. Hat's off to you for thinking so optimistically.

On any given performance, I have at least three musicians who rely on their gig pay for living expenses. Rent, utilities, food. Hard core stuff, no playing around. And these musicians deliver the chops to warrant that.

I pay my band members equally and fairly, and that's where the money chain ends. I'll absorb the costs for web site, insurance, P.A., light show, bookings, backlined rehearsal space, and so much more, just for the privilege and peace of mind of having control of the project and not being beholden to my band mates.

I don't ask them for a penny, and they don't question my administrative decisions or try to dig into my/the band's pockets.
 
It's simpler if one person is the band motor. More than likely not everyone wants to do the bookings, which is the hard part.

The guy who books the gig puts the entire sum in their personal bank account (a separate account from their personal finances). This person pays the musicians for their services from the total funds received from the client. This person also takes a greater share of the total than the other musicians to compensate for the sales, marketing or other expenses s/he wants to incur. This person isn't required to disclose the total fee charged to the client to the band, and shouldn't to avoid hard feelings. S/he simply offers the musicians the gig at a price they will accept and the business/band motor can afford. If they refuse, find a sub and grow your options. A hassle at first, but eventually you hit a threshold where everybody can be subbed to the point you don't have to check availability for gigs -- just book them and fill them with able musicians. At the end of the year, report the gross sales, and subtract all your equipment and musician expenses. The surplus is your net income you report on your personal tax return.

At the end of the year 1099 those who earned more than the contractor's threshold of $600 in 2018.

Buy the PA and other equipment yourself, or Frankenstein a system with the other members, and don't fall into the trap of paying people who haul parts of the PA more than everyone else. Don't expect others to drop coin for band equipment, as they may want compensations. I don't, and no one complains. Help people at the gigs haul the stuff though, to mitigate the pain.

This is simple. If someone gets mad, leaves, quits, dies, moves, etcetera, you are still in place and can keep on a-bookin'. You have musicians, equipment, and a surplus in the bank to cover various expenses. And the band members who aren't business minded can just show up and play -- what most want to do anyway!

I would avoid a complicated agreement where everyone has ownership and you have to make decisions as a group on the business end. Just offer them what the gig can afford to pay them after compensation for your trouble and your expenses. But be fair! If you get a good paying gig, share it generously with the musicians. I even play for free sometimes if we don't have much going and I want to keep the band sharp. But I broadcast this to everyone, along with the expenses I have to pay (insurance, for some gigs, repairs on broken equipment, web hosting fees).

I used this method after I found a) no one wanted to do the gig booking work to help me b) they didn't answer email or approve reasonable band expenses and c) I started feeling like a doormat for the band. They controlled the repertoire, demanded high rates of pay, etcetera, while I sat unfulfilled in my requests for songs to play, and my lackey status in the band.

No more. This system has me feeling fairly compensated. I know the rates various musicians will perform at, and I invite them to perform at gigs accordingly. I have four piano players, three bassists, two sax players, a flute player, two guitarists, 5 drummers a drumming and a partridge in a pear tree. Plus a big band to draw on in case all these cats are busy.

It's heaven. And with an ever-shifting group of musicians, you end up standardizing the repertoire and not having to rehearse much.

Interpersonal problems are almost non-existent. And when one cropped up recently, all it took was a stern kind of warning and the two guys apologized and stopped their objectionable behavior recently. When you are paying people, acting more like a booking agent than a peer in a band, you get privileges that, in my case, make me want to keep on being a band leader.
This is pretty much where I’m heading this year. Got DBA, bank account and tax ID last year. Been paying my guys with checks and 1099’d them this year for 2017 so I didn’t take a hit on taxes. This just might work!
 
I like the band accumulating money in an account. Gig money goes to band leader. 1 cut to each and every member. 1 cut to the person booking. 1 cut to anyone who did big stuff (driving 100 miles, for example). 1 cut to the band fund.

When you go in to record, the band pays first. When the band buys CDs*, the band pays first. When the van breaks, the band pays first.

It helps to smooth out emergencies and big expenditures, but doing it from a joint account is a bad idea.

*scrims, shirts, vinyls, stickers, hats, cookies, water, and whatever else you sell/give out at shows.
 
I know I’m going against the grain here, but there is at least one good reason to have a band fund/joint bank account... and that is if one person is depositing all of the checks/cash, and then 1099’ing the band members each year, their tax bracket is based on the gross income they made before any adjustments and deductions. That means they could be (and if the band makes enough, will be) paying a higher tax rate than if everyone shared the tax burden equally with a legal partnership or other business structure, a tax ID #, and a joint bank account.

Mind you, this is definitely NOT for bands that have revolving members, or bands that do not have a great deal of trust for each other personally, or trust that everyone will remain in the band for the long haul. Still there is always going to be some risk, but it can be mitigated somewhat by having the bank account require at least 2 members be present for a withdrawl. My main band has this type of structure, however everyone in the band has been close friends for over 20 years, and this band has been going strong for over 7 years now. Still, a member recently quit in my band, and we just had to remove him from the account. It wasn’t difficult or a big deal to do.

The main reason we decided to become a legitimate business and open an band account was because my band was/is making several thousand dollars a year, and it was totally screwing up my guitarist’s tax bracket (who previously took care of all the money and 1099’ed the rest of us), and the IRS thought he was a lot richer than he really is. My wife (who is an MBA) set us up with the new system a couple years ago and it has worked out much better for us than the way we used to do it. The other reason we needed a band account is because we have a lot of expenses to keep our band running tip top and maximizing our profits... everything from gas and hotels, to recording, videos, photo shoots, ordering merch, food on the road, hiring guest musicians, putting on our own shows and renting venues, renting buses... the list goes on.

All that said, of course band accounts aren’t for everybody. I’m just putting it out there that it can be done sucessfully in some cases.
 
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I applaud their enthusiasm, but NO.

There are only types of bank accounts: Personal, and Business.

If it's a personal account, it belongs to one person as the primary account holder. It's under their SSN.
I am not sure whether or not a bank would let it be jointly owned by another unrelated person - never saw that before.
But a) everybody in the band would need to TOTALLY trust that person, and (b) that person and their spouse, if married, would need to be willing to take on that burden, which will very quickly become a royal PITA.

If it's a business account, you will first have to register the band as a business with the IRS and with your State. The band will get its own Tax Identification Number (called an EIN), which is just like an SSN but it means the band itself is a legal entity. (It could be a Corporation, an LLC, an LLP, or whatever other corporate structure is appropriate in your state.) You would need some legal documents like articles of incorporation explaining the structure of the company and who owns what portion of it, etc.
Then the company would need to file its own tax return. The band would probably want to pay a CPA to do that.

So basically it boils down to a choice between massive headaches or massive headaches. Which do you prefer?

If the band is making so much money that you feel it would be best if the band pay its members a salary that is less than the band's actual income, and then the band keep some money set aside for future capital expenditures as well as paying an accountant to do the band's tax return and annual state filings etc., then congratulations - the band is doing VERY well and it would make sense for it to become a corporate entity.

What might make more sense is for each band member to have a sole proprietorship performing services as a professional musician so that they can deduct from their income taxes any expenses related to their "business" as a musician. This involves careful and thorough record keeping - talk to a tax accountant to learn what you should and shouldn't try to get away with.
 
Several years ago, as a 4-piece band, we decided to take 20% of each gig and put it in a band account to cover expenses....and repairs to PA or lights, and to pay for travel expenses...hotels etc. It worked very well for a year. We were a well-known band in a small market.
I owned the PA, lights, and booked all the gigs and always took an even cut of each gig. The bank account was under my name only and I shared each monthly statement....so everything was "above board". At the end of the first year, the guitarist quit. I promptly paid him 1/4 of the amount in the account. He wanted more saying part of the money was spent on the PA. I reminded him that was part of our agreement (and part of doing business since I purchased the PA prior to him joining the band.... repairs are necessary to continue to perform). I He received no more money and it cost me a friendship...we are on speaking terms after 20 years. So now, I have no band account. I still own the band PA, lights, do all the booking and still take an even cut. Each person gets a 1099 and I claim all band related expenses on my taxes.
 
It's simpler if one person is the band motor. More than likely not everyone wants to do the bookings, which is the hard part.

The guy who books the gig puts the entire sum in their personal bank account (a separate account from their personal finances). This person pays the musicians for their services from the total funds received from the client. This person also takes a greater share of the total than the other musicians to compensate for the sales, marketing or other expenses s/he wants to incur. This person isn't required to disclose the total fee charged to the client to the band, and shouldn't to avoid hard feelings.....

Pau absolutely nailed it! I've been in many situations and this is the only one that works. I hate booking gigs, so I happily leave it to someone else. The most professional bands I work(ed) with run this way. Hobby bands use some other way that usually screws someone. I've learned the hard way not to get involved with those situations.

For example, I was asked to audition for a band that ended up being a fair hobby band but, had gigs. Audition went well. I clearly stated I don't load my gear and drive for anything less than $xxx. When it was explained that the gig money went to a sound man and/or promotion before anyone got paid, I wished them well and went on my way. No hard feelings in the present or future.

M
 
My opinion, unless you are making so much that you need to form a company to manage the income from the band, don't do joint anything, divide the fees after each gig as per usual or whenever the money comes in if it's paid by check. Never have group gear ownership, trust me.

That was my thought. A shared account that's just among an informal, voluntary collection of people who happen to play music together (sometimes for pay) is a really bad idea. Members can come and go and it only raises problems of who has a claim to what or control over this or that. It only makes sense if it becomes a business and is formally constituted as such, and there are incorporation articles and bylaws and all that stuff that specifies how it's handled.
 
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For small action bar bands, no reason for a checking account. If you're playing taxable gigs, you need something. Also, if you plan to do a CD, or have merchandise, a joint account can fund those expenses. Otherwise, even those items can be funded without an account, just pooling commitments. I've never had an issue eitherway, but I have turned down band offers where the finances were "funny", usually involving a band account, usually starting with "we pay the band first, then we pay the members". Like many famous band leaders, there are small town band leaders who figure out creative ways to skim, control the cash, use it to spend for favors, like purchasing equipment from friends and favorite stores, etc.
 
New band is sort of taking off (at least by standards of things I've done in the past). Good reception, coupla three paid gigs a month (in a smallish market). We've never really had any formal discussion of band finances. So far, we've just settled up at the end of the night. A couple of the guys seem to want a joint bank account for the band, but I don't think this is a great idea. We basically don't have any collective expenses at the moment (all promo is free social media, Singer owns a PA, don't do originals so probably won't be recording), so I'm not seeing a reason not to just keep paying everybody in real time. Am I missing something here? Seems like keeping the band money together is just asking for trouble down the road at this point.

Band bank acct. lol. Just no.
 
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