Both of my bands played at the same open mic on Monday night (R.E.M tribute and 90s/2000s cover band), and it was cool that they got to meet and both bands played pretty good sets.
At the end of the cover set the woman who'd been recording the sets for YT came up to me in a huff, saying, 'Your singer broke my camera!' She's a regular on the scene who posts little bands playing little venues on YT pretty much every day and books for one of the local venues that welcomes new acts, so not someone to be on the wrong side of. I'd actually been talking to her about an hour and a half before, sitting at the table next to the very wobbly one where she'd set up her camcorder on a tiny tripod. A mutual friend arrived and set his little plastic tripod on the table, and it wobbled so badly the camcorder started to fall, but she caught it that time. I actually said, 'You need to extend the legs on that tripod if you can or that camera is for sure going to take a dive', but she was busy talking and I guess she didn't hear me. Figured she's done this hundreds of times, and will definitely secure her gear before the place fills up.
Well, she didn't and it was the singer from my cover band whose arm brushed the table as he came offstage, causing the camera to overbalance on its little phone tripod and fall 4' from the table to the floor. It's toast, apparently, and cost her $1200 a few years back. Warranty/Damage coverage from BestBuy is expired, and she doesn't want to involve her homeowner's insurance for fear of raising her rate (likely under her deductible, anyway). I've stepped in to mediate this, as I've known her since last October or so. We emailed the next day to discuss, and she said the camcorder is definitely history, and that new ones now sell for around $900. In response I asked her what she thinks is fair in this situation, and await her reply. I fear it will be, 'replace the used, out of warranty camera I set up as a trap in a crowded bar with a brand new camera', which is a non-starter for us. I'm thinking that used, out of warranty consumer electronics are worth about 1/2 of what they cost new, and we'd be willing to assume 1/2 of the 'liability' for the accident just to keep on her good side, so planning to propose that we kick in $2-300 for a better tripod (she has a backup camcorder of the same model) and some accessories.
Think that's fair?
At the end of the cover set the woman who'd been recording the sets for YT came up to me in a huff, saying, 'Your singer broke my camera!' She's a regular on the scene who posts little bands playing little venues on YT pretty much every day and books for one of the local venues that welcomes new acts, so not someone to be on the wrong side of. I'd actually been talking to her about an hour and a half before, sitting at the table next to the very wobbly one where she'd set up her camcorder on a tiny tripod. A mutual friend arrived and set his little plastic tripod on the table, and it wobbled so badly the camcorder started to fall, but she caught it that time. I actually said, 'You need to extend the legs on that tripod if you can or that camera is for sure going to take a dive', but she was busy talking and I guess she didn't hear me. Figured she's done this hundreds of times, and will definitely secure her gear before the place fills up.
Well, she didn't and it was the singer from my cover band whose arm brushed the table as he came offstage, causing the camera to overbalance on its little phone tripod and fall 4' from the table to the floor. It's toast, apparently, and cost her $1200 a few years back. Warranty/Damage coverage from BestBuy is expired, and she doesn't want to involve her homeowner's insurance for fear of raising her rate (likely under her deductible, anyway). I've stepped in to mediate this, as I've known her since last October or so. We emailed the next day to discuss, and she said the camcorder is definitely history, and that new ones now sell for around $900. In response I asked her what she thinks is fair in this situation, and await her reply. I fear it will be, 'replace the used, out of warranty camera I set up as a trap in a crowded bar with a brand new camera', which is a non-starter for us. I'm thinking that used, out of warranty consumer electronics are worth about 1/2 of what they cost new, and we'd be willing to assume 1/2 of the 'liability' for the accident just to keep on her good side, so planning to propose that we kick in $2-300 for a better tripod (she has a backup camcorder of the same model) and some accessories.
Think that's fair?
