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Gig money split?

#21
Thanks to all of you who commented.....I feel like a real idiot letting this happen to the girls -- The sad thing is -- they love playing so much -- they'd continue to play for free if I would allow it....There are others in our area that would like to form a new band with my girls -- so that's always an option -- they're young, but they really are talented
 
#23
What's a reasonable rate to pay sidemen in your area for the kinds of gigs your daughters are playing? One good basis for comparison might be union scale in your area. If you know other pro or semi-pro musicians, it couldn't hurt to ask what kind of money is being paid for the kinds of gigs your daughters are being asked to play.

From what you've written, it sounds as though your daughters are definitely more like proteges or employees than equal partners. From a pragmatic perspective, as long as you assure your daughters are being reasonably compensated for their respective contributions, a calculation of the percentage they receive is immaterial.
 
#24
As far as I see it. If they are a "band" they should split everything equally, regardless of gear. My guitarist plays a $3000 guitar and my most expensive is $1500... he doesn't demand more pay it would get rather rediculous to start adding up everyones gear and ratioing out the gig pay accordingly.

If they are not a band then the girls should get paid an appropriate amount for being hired muscians. Or as mentioned before not do the gig at all if reasonable pay can't be negeotiated.

If however,the PA was specifically bought so they can play the gigs then it should be paid off with gig money and become the bands PA, the remainder of the gig money should be divided equally. If or when the band splits up the PA should either be bought out by a band member or sold, profits being split equally.
 
#25
It sounds like this guy has not been very honest. If the band has been payed for the shows they've done and the impression was that this money was being put aside for the band as a whole, the fact that he might have spent it or has only now decided to "explain" the pay setup doesn't make him sound very trustworthy.

Maybe he's playing up the fact that your daughters are young and are just happy to be playing at all. One thing is for sure, if it is anything but an equal cut for each band member, it has to be agreed to upfront and not after the fact.
 
#26
Dang, that's good money for a teenage band. See, you didn't tell us this before that they got nothing. This kid is clearly ripping them off. Before, I was totally on his side because I thought they were getting paid (poorly, but they accepted it). Now I'm totally against him, and your girls should bolt.

What the girls should do now is to learn how to write and sing their own songs, and play the twin thing up bigtime, and learn how to market themselves. Then they hire a guitarist, and THEY can make all the money. A couple of cute twin girls who sing and play instruments are a marketable entity far greater than this snotty little brat who's ripping them off.
 
#29
Let me put on another hat . . . if they formed this band together and absent any written agreement, they are a de facto partnership and without a written p/s agreement, everything is shared equally. They are owed some money here.

This is different from where someone would call them and say they have a gig and it pays $50 and they accept that (without knowing what the leader is getting paid and it doesn't matter).
 
#31
JamTwins said:
My girls formed the band with this guy - they are 15 - he is 17. He has handled all the money from the beginning - and yes, he does get most of the bookings -- They've had about 8 gigs and have been paid around $2800 - My girls have gotten nothing so far. Until just recently, when he brought up this ridiculous split offer, we have been under the impression that this money was in a band account -- Turns out -- I think all of that money is gone.....We have a meeting with him (and his parents) tomorrow....We'll see how that goes.....
Click to expand...

So what happened at this meeting?
 
#32
I think the guy owes your daughters 1866.00. They deserve an equal share. We split evenly even though I have the most inveted. What he is doing is just wrong. I would wait until the evening of the next gig and refuse to play without an even cut. He gets burned and the girls skate if he says no. If it is a band then I think it should be eual partners. You mentioned you were meeting with his parents too? They may have other ideas about what heis doing too.
 
#33
Well, had the meeting -- they stated that the band was in the hole and that my girls actually owed them about $1,000! (The proceeds from the gigs, as far as I can tell, went to update and improve the sound system - which he will walk away with) He said basically that my girls were renting the PA from him -- it's really crazy -- and then they also insisted on mileage (the standard IRS mileage rate of 48.5 cents per mile) for times when they drove his mom's car. Frankly, I just want my girls out of this -- we walked away with nothing -- they are looking at our numbers and figuring what they might owe us -- I'm expecting nothing -- Once again, I want to thank all of you for your advice -- you guys have been awesome!! I wish you all the best!
 
#34
Too bad nothing was really resolved. Your best bet is to take what you can and walk away from it. You have certainly learned to look out for this crap with the next band your daughters play in, hopefully it will be a real band where everyone is treated with the same respect.
 
#35
JamTwins said:
Well, had the meeting -- they stated that the band was in the hole and that my girls actually owed them about $1,000! (The proceeds from the gigs, as far as I can tell, went to update and improve the sound system - which he will walk away with) He said basically that my girls were renting the PA from him -- it's really crazy -- and then they also insisted on mileage (the standard IRS mileage rate of 48.5 cents per mile) for times when they drove his mom's car. Frankly, I just want my girls out of this -- we walked away with nothing -- they are looking at our numbers and figuring what they might owe us -- I'm expecting nothing -- Once again, I want to thank all of you for your advice -- you guys have been awesome!! I wish you all the best!
Click to expand...
I think he's using the same split formulas that human traffickers are using!
 
#38
JamTwins said:
Well, had the meeting -- they stated that the band was in the hole and that my girls actually owed them about $1,000! (The proceeds from the gigs, as far as I can tell, went to update and improve the sound system - which he will walk away with) He said basically that my girls were renting the PA from him -- it's really crazy -- and then they also insisted on mileage (the standard IRS mileage rate of 48.5 cents per mile) for times when they drove his mom's car. Frankly, I just want my girls out of this -- we walked away with nothing -- they are looking at our numbers and figuring what they might owe us -- I'm expecting nothing -- Once again, I want to thank all of you for your advice -- you guys have been awesome!! I wish you all the best!
Click to expand...


Whoaa..this is totally messed up. He takes what should be their money and uses it to buy equipment for "the band" (which I'm sure he says he now owns) without letting them know? And his parents are backing him?!? :mad: I say break up the band, and force him to sell the upgraded equipment, splitting the proceeds evenly.

Of course, that will never happen without small claims court. Maybe it is time to get Judge Judy involved:hiding:

Good luck to your girls on their future music endevours. I'm sure after this rotting experience, anything will be an improvement.
 
#40
On one hand, everybody should be an equal and get paid that way. If not, things go bad. Especially if it is not determined up front. Does the guy carry everything in and out of the gig by himself? does he set up and tear down by himself or do they help?

anyway... if he is going to be the "rockstar" type guy

split it like this

drummer... 25%
bass player...25%
guitar/singer ...25%
pa sound guy ... 15%
booking person ...10%
 

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