Jerk Club Manager. I read the title and thought it might be a recipe....hmmm....maybe that's your answer
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Jerk club manager
- Thread starter Stilettoprefer
- Start date
Welcome to the world of "non paid festival gigs for orignal bands"
I'd speak in person - then post on CL... if he's a dirt bag, the local scene will enjoy hog piling on them ...
You'll never get your money, but will help others not become part of the situation.
Make sure you're not embellishing any facts if you choose to let your CL community in on this.
I'd speak in person - then post on CL... if he's a dirt bag, the local scene will enjoy hog piling on them ...
You'll never get your money, but will help others not become part of the situation.
Make sure you're not embellishing any facts if you choose to let your CL community in on this.
The BBB won't get the money for you, its not their purpose, but the business using shady practices still should be reported.
That's what they are there for.
More important is to let all the other bands in the area know that the club's run by a slimeball, and he's not to be trusted.
There's a bar not far from here that used the same tactics, and now no one plays there, even though there has been a change of management.
It was a good spot before the previous owner ruined it.
Word of mouth about the lousy owner killed that venue.
Make flyers that say "the club manager refuses to pay my band xxx our hard earned money. Don't support this venue" sit out side of the next show the venue holds and give them to every person who walks through the door. You'll get your money.
contact the manager and or the owner or leave a message and tell them you are looking up every band that is booked for the next 'period of time" to his club and sending them a message that he doesnt pay and is untrust worthy. let them know they have 2 days to get back to you, then go for it...hit the facebooks, myspaces, emails etc
Are you suggesting that having a contract will ensure that you'll get your money, or that if management wont sign a contract, they're going to screw you?
I dont think either is correct.
No contract ever written ensures payment of anything. That's not what they're for. It's a written record of an agreement between parties, nothing more. It's a handy piece of evidence if you ever have to go to a court, arbitrator, etc. to resolve a dispute. You don't want to have to do that if you can help it, & sometimes the knowledge that you have such a strong piece of evidence is enough to prompt somebody to settle in your favor.
It can also be a useful tool to understand who you're dealing with. If you have a verbal "gentlemen's agreement" with somebody, they should have no problem putting their John Hancock on an accurate written description of that agreement. If they balk, I can't help but wonder which of the terms they have a problem with (that pesky "payment clause" being most likely, as well as most important to me).
Don't get me wrong - I work without (written) contracts all the time. At the same time, there are certain people that I won't work with without putting it in writing. Such people usually also need to pay at least a cash deposit up front as well. Unfortunately, by the time you find out that certain people are "that way", it's usually too late to do anything about it. Would you rather find out that somebody is going to screw you at the time you book the gig, before you've moved a single piece of gear, given up other gigs, or played a single note? Or would you rather wait until 3:00 AM after everything else is said & done?
I hate to say it, but THIS is the problem. Some bar owner takes you guys for a bunch of punks and doesn't feel like you'll do anything about it. A typical bully.
Is this a place well-known to the local area you're in? Not much can be done about your money at this point, but the internet can ease a LOT of you pain with a horrible, scathing, well-written review.
Also, feel free to "spread the word" of this jerk's club to the online networks: Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, Craigslist, etc. You in highschool? Does this place let highschool kids in? Spread the word and tell people never to go there. If a lot of his pull is younger kids, he'll get the point quick when no-one shows up.
Remember, it's not slander if it's the truth...
Taking it a step further, you could stake out in front of the club with picket signs that said "We never got paid" or "Bands DON'T PLAY HERE" or something of that nature. You could even consider talking to the bands that are scheduled to play there and tell them of your horror story. Politely ask them to boycott this location since they don't pay anyways.
jive1
Commercial User
+1000
You're already there, and any time or energy spent afterwards decreases your take from the gig. And usually it's a lesson in futility or patience. They already have what they want, and have you out of their face, so they don't have much motivation to pay you now. My guess is that they probably already have a bunch of hands out wanting to get paid.
My policy is not to leave until you're paid. You're already there that night, and who knows what tomorrow brings. At that point, they are motivated to get you out of there so the staff can go home, or do their after-bar activities. They still have the band's performance and their take fresh in their minds. If you have to make a scene, call the cops, your agent, or whatever, you do it then and there. There is no take care of it tomorrow, unless you've had a long standing and trusting relationship with that venue.
In the OP's case, he's shorted $100. If it's a 4 piece band, each guy makes $25. If you were to spend 8 hours contacting them, hassling them, picketing them, etc. you're earning $3 an hour if you get paid what you are supposed to. Hate to say it, but you'd have better luck recovering those funds by flipping burgers for a day.
Do what you can to get paid, and let others know how you were treated. But, don't waste too much time on it. Use that time to move your band forward, not get revenge on a scam venue. These venues tend to fall apart on their own, with no help from a band.
I think it's OK to report the club to the BBB (after other avenues have been exhausted). I just posted what I said because I think a lot of people have more faith in the BBB than is warranted. Many folks are often under the false impression that they're some sort of government agency that will help rectify their situation.
This. Use every social media outlet available to let people know what happened. Put it on your band's Facebook page, and have every band member put it on his/her individual pages. Put it on Twitter. Etc. etc. Identify the club and the owner by name and say exactly what did and did not happen.
You probably still won't get paid but at least it may keep other bands from taking gigs there and getting stiffed too. And hopefully your friends won't go there again and spend any more money there which will at least put a little dent in their income.
I wouldn't be smattering accross my personal website/facebook/myspace.
negativity is infectious for your band's image.
negativity is infectious for your band's image.
Well then at least spread the word far and wide verbally.
Sleazeball operators like this aren't gonna change their ways until someone calls them out on it publicly, and hard. Or, until they can't find any bands to play their venue anymore. Somehow you've got to bring this out into the light.
Hey, around here you can get a AAA rating from the BBB for a price. I don't think the BBB has much of a reputation any more. At least in this area.
Oh wow. Thanks!
Those articles really put some light on the matter.
IMO, the BBB has lost all credibility.
My stepdad's band was waiting on payment for an entire weekend at a bar, that shockingly enough is now out of business 
After stopping in every day for a week he got fed up with it, and proceeded to take all of the pool balls, and the triangular rack from the bars only pool table. He walked up to the bartender, told him that he was taking them and suggested that the owner call him to negotiate a ransom. The owner called and gave him the "What's the problem?" bit. He said that he could have his stuff back upon payment for the weekend that they were owed. He went in the next day, got paid, returned the pool gear, and laughed as the owner told him "You didn't have to do that. I've had your money." Really? Why didn't you just pay it in the first place?
Moral of the story: Most club/bar/venue owners are morally bankrupt vampires that will do whatever they can to keep you from getting paid, be it partially or fully.
After stopping in every day for a week he got fed up with it, and proceeded to take all of the pool balls, and the triangular rack from the bars only pool table. He walked up to the bartender, told him that he was taking them and suggested that the owner call him to negotiate a ransom. The owner called and gave him the "What's the problem?" bit. He said that he could have his stuff back upon payment for the weekend that they were owed. He went in the next day, got paid, returned the pool gear, and laughed as the owner told him "You didn't have to do that. I've had your money." Really? Why didn't you just pay it in the first place?
Moral of the story: Most club/bar/venue owners are morally bankrupt vampires that will do whatever they can to keep you from getting paid, be it partially or fully.
Hmmm. So what would someone do if their employer refused to pay them after they had already done the work? That is how I see this situation. I understand it is slightly different because of the nature of the music industry (and people think they can get away with not paying bands, especially young ones), but the only way someone could justifiably refuse to pay for services they received is if they reasonably thought the services broke their agreement or were sub-par. It sounds like the band had a decent draw, so I think it is reasonable to assume they held up their part of the deal.
My father is in construction/remodeling, so I think of it like this: he bids a price for a job, the customer accepts (if they choose to go with him of course), he does the work, and gets paid if they are satisfied with it. He is good at what he does, and has never not gotten paid, and the according to the OP's story they did well that night so they should get paid as well. All of that to ask: Who should he get involved in this process in order to get his money?
Young band, old band = irrelevant. If the owner agreed to pay you and didn't pay you, he is essentially stealing from you. I don't think it'd be inappropriate at all to call the cops and tell them that you are being robbed - because that's exactly what's going on.
Call them - tell them that you are getting robbed by the manager of the bar and that you need a cop to come by and deal with him or arrest him for stealing your money. The minute you fulfilled your end of the deal and completed your show the money in his til that was owed to you became yours. Just because he hasn't handed it to you doesn't mean it's still his.
And I like the pool balls held hostage thing - but being that the OP is young, I'd shy away from any strong-arm tactics without adequate backup - hence the cops. While this is probably a pain in the butt for them - it's the s-head bar manager who's to blame, not the band getting stiffed. If enough bands call the cops complaining about this either the bar will stop trying to screw young bands or get closed down for running a scam.
Call them - tell them that you are getting robbed by the manager of the bar and that you need a cop to come by and deal with him or arrest him for stealing your money. The minute you fulfilled your end of the deal and completed your show the money in his til that was owed to you became yours. Just because he hasn't handed it to you doesn't mean it's still his.
And I like the pool balls held hostage thing - but being that the OP is young, I'd shy away from any strong-arm tactics without adequate backup - hence the cops. While this is probably a pain in the butt for them - it's the s-head bar manager who's to blame, not the band getting stiffed. If enough bands call the cops complaining about this either the bar will stop trying to screw young bands or get closed down for running a scam.
