Has Anyone Been Screwed When Using a Contract?

[azureblue]

A contract with no teeth is useless. .....ALWAYS include a penalty for late payment clause, and include wording to the effect that the venue , will pay attorney's fees and court costs incurred in the process of recovery of the money, should they break the contract. (and word it so that you have the name of a person, not just some vague business entity -- I put a line of text underneath the signature line for the venue that read,"authorized signatory party"). I usually specify payment no later than 30 minutes after the end of the last set, and to whom the payment is to be given. This saves having to chase down the money. Always have a bounced check fee.


It sounds harsh, but putting penalties for late or non payment has saved bands I have been in the headache of getting paid by venues or events trying to screw the band. And it makes the venues and event planners take the band very seriously.

 

[Ric5]

There's been some discussion on the value of contracts, and I'm curious as to what people's experiences are. Especially, whether anyone still got screwed even though they had a contract.

I know there's going to be some folks who say a band can't get a gig around here if you ask for a contract, and that's fine. The discussion is centered more around folks that have used them, instead of whether or not to use them.

Billy Joel and Aerosmith both got screwed by bad contracts.

 

[Scatterblak]

There's been some discussion on the value of contracts, and I'm curious as to what people's experiences are. Especially, whether anyone still got screwed even though they had a contract.
I know there's going to be some folks who say a band can't get a gig around here if you ask for a contract, and that's fine. The discussion is centered more around folks that have used them, instead of whether or not to use them.

Absolutely. We *always* execute a contract, but we still got screwed by the Hard Rock Live in Nashville (and we're not the only ones) because the booking agent and the venue couldn't come to terms and the contract ended up being such a mess that it would have cost us more money to sue than we would have made. We paid our opening act out of our pocket and made nothing on a gig where we packed the place all night long. At this point, most bands in Nashville know how the HR organization rolls, and they either won't play there or, if it's a small gig for fun/friends/family, they might play just because it's a well known name (as far as clubs go). The bottom line is, unless you're prepared to pursue enforcement legally, a contract is basically not worth a lot - and legal enforcement might cost some real dollars.

 

[TRichardsbass]

Contract is good for going to court, which unfortunately some times you need. The fee for filing in small claims can be asked for and awarded by the judge to you if you win in court, so its worth it if you get screwed bigtime.

I filled in with a friends band about a month ago. The NY Yankees playoff game was on. Started first set at 9pm as requested. Game was still on and crowd was watching the screens and screaming with every play, The bar owner would not put the sound of the TV down.

Played second set and at almost the end the Yankee game ended, Yankees lost. Bar was full of sour pusses who left about 10 minutes after the game was over. Bar owner cut the last set short, then stiffed the band only paying about 60%. His excuse is that the band didn't make the people stay (although just my fans/friends was about 20 people who were still there, and maybe about thirty total.)

When the band leader explained that it is normal for people who are all wearing Yankee jerseys to come for the game and then leave if the Yankees lose, and that the bar didn't lower the volume on the game at all during the two sets, the bar owner just looked at him with an angry look.

The band left. As the band leader was leaving out the door he picked up the very nice, new sign the bar owner had made for outside his door, packed the sign into the car, and left. Since its a local place, I've been back, and the bar owner still bitches about the missing sign, and wants to know who would take his $700 sign. I just snicker. Not quite like getting paid, but....

By the way, I don't really condone this behavior, but its still funny to hear a guy who screwed the band (and others I've found out) complain that someone screwed him...

 

[TRichardsbass]

Most bars don't go for contracts. I make sure that I send an email to them confirming the date and the amount. I print it. When I get to the bar, I remind whoever the manager is using the email to show the amount. If the manager disagrees or wants to change the amount, I remind him of the email. When he tells me to take it up with the owner, he is only going to pay $X, I then talk to my guns for hire. If we agree to stay and play, we usually cut the sets really short and often cut a complete set on top of it.

I did this a year ago at a local pub who the owner was great but he hired a manager to run the place. The manager was a prick. When I did my normal check in routine, he told me that instead of the $150 per man (4 of us) he was only "authorized" to give us $375 total. I showed him the email, and he said he didn't care, all he was going to give us was $375. Instead of me calling the owner, we played a three song first set.

The bar manager came flying over and screamed at me. I told him, politely, that any lawyer and court would tell him that by him telling me he was only going to pay what he was, he constructively changed the contract, or in a sense voided it, so I was free to change any agreement that I had made as well. That meant that I could play as long or short as I wanted. I told him I would honor the three sets, however the length of each set was up to me.

Then he said he wasn't going to pay at all. We started to pack up, and asked our fans to leave the bar and just go wait by their cars. The bar was packed because we were celebrating one of my bandmates birthdays, maybe about 80 people in a bar that on most good nights might have 35 or 40 in at any one time.

The bar suddenly emptied, and I mean only two regulars left, and it was about 10pm. The managers face was white as a ghost. He came over to me and started crying about how it was going to be a big losing night now. I reminded him he said he wasn't going to pay, and had originally changed the amount we already agreed on with the owner. He asked me what he could do to get all those people back. I told him, "Don't screw the band." We left.

The owner called me the next day, was a little irate but appologized, and asked if I would play another date. I told him no, because the manager is an extension of you, and therefore you screwed me.

The bar closed for good about 6 months ago....