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Should I be reimbursed?

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#41
newyorkiddo said:
I only agreed to the studio time because from what I was told, the studio could work with my schedule. The guitarist found out the first day he went in that that would not be possible.
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Sounds like you were mislead. Important detail. That puts some of the responsibility on your band mates' shoulders.

If I made it clear that I could not take time off and could lose my job for doing so, and my band mate told me the studio would work around my schedule, I would expect that to be the case.

It really changes everything in my mind. Keep trying diplomacy. You say they are friends, I hope they do the right thing.

BTW, some of the people sharing their legal advice on this thread obviously have no idea how a small claim works.
 
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#43
[QUOTE="newyorkiddo, post: I only agreed to the studio time because from what I was told, the studio could work with my schedule. The guitarist found out the first day he went in that that would not be possible. /QUOTE]Whoa hold on a sec. Did they tell you that for sure it could be done on your schedule, or not? Or sorta? Maybe/probably? He didn't find out until he went in? Something stinks here.
 
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#44
newyorkiddo said:
Well, I'm pretty sure they'll give the money back. They are friends after all. But I think you're all coming at this from a perspective of music being a job. I'm doing this as a hobby and have mentioned it to the band time and time again because of my busy work schedule. I only agreed to the studio time because from what I was told, the studio could work with my schedule. The guitarist found out the first day he went in that that would not be possible. We all live in the same city. One of the guitarists has taken the whole month off of work to record, and is staying with friends. I couldn't do that because I wouldn't have a job. Also, I do not have sick time I can use.
I felt I would be kicked out after I paid the money in advance for the studio time. That's why I didn't quit before paying.
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I'm coming from the perspective of a guy who plays in a band and holds down a 5 out of 7 days a week job. You didn't bother to discuss the recording schedule, take vacation or personal time, consider recording at night, looking for a local place to record or any of that before you put your money in then decided you couldn't do it.

I play in a band that has people sprinkled throughout the Central New York. We have people in Ithaca, Oswego, Syracuse, Utica and Bridgeport. Everyone is about an hour from someone, except for those who are two hours away. When it comes time to rehearse it's inconvenient for EVERYONE. When we gig in any of those towns its inconvenient for everyone. So you plan. You discuss and you block days and times. Recording is an investment in money, time and effort. It sounds like some didn't put much thought into that.
 
#45
sounds like , from your statements , that you did not want to record at the time ... SO , why did you give them money to do so ..?? that would mean a commitment to me ... and you would need to be there whenever you need to be there ... no excuses ... or making excuses for the excuses ... I expect when folks make plans that they will stick to them ..! I worked /played Full Time days/nights for decades , both need to be a bit flexible for things to work smoothly ... and planning becomes even more important ...
hence , the reason all involved must keep their Word ..... making music is emotional & art ,... but it is also a business ...
 
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#46
newyorkiddo said:
Well, I'm pretty sure they'll give the money back. They are friends after all. But I think you're all coming at this from a perspective of music being a job. I'm doing this as a hobby and have mentioned it to the band time and time again because of my busy work schedule. I only agreed to the studio time because from what I was told, the studio could work with my schedule. The guitarist found out the first day he went in that that would not be possible. We all live in the same city. One of the guitarists has taken the whole month off of work to record, and is staying with friends. I couldn't do that because I wouldn't have a job. Also, I do not have sick time I can use.
I felt I would be kicked out after I paid the money in advance for the studio time. That's why I didn't quit before paying.
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Weren't you the one mentioning a lawyer in the first post?
 
#47
another option is to ask to join the band again - apologize and say you quit in haste, but that you would like back in - if they accept you back, you get the benefit of whatever revenus the recordings generate - if they say no, then ask for your money back - they will likely say no, but threatening them with a lawsuit will only cause bad blood - you could always ask for a cut of the profits from the recordings as you invested in the studio time - and make your money back that way.
 
#48
Did the other members hold a gun on you for the $800? Were you coerced? Did you ever have any intention of recording? If you never really planned on recording......... A fool and his money will soon part.
 
#49
You should look at the big picture.
As a band, as one entity, your people have shelled out $4k for recording. That's not small change.
I wonder whether you withdrawing your contribution would have jeopardised everyone else's money.

I remember working in hospitality, running wedding receptions. The bride and groom would pay for their 120 guests upfront. There were numerous occasions where some guests didn't turn up, and the bridal couple would ask for that guests $ charge to be refunded. Sorry, no go.
 
#50
Most people on here are in hobby/weekend warrior bands. It is a pain sometimes to schedule practices, recording sessions and gigs, especially when you've got 4 or 5 people with different schedules and priorities. But if you already agreed to something, paid for it in advance, and then bail out at the very last minute, that is on you, not your band mates. I think it's kind of a dickish move on your part to even ask for your money back.

And get the idea of a lawsuit out of your head. That's just a time waster for all parties involved, especially for a paltry $800.
 
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#51
newyorkiddo said:
The band I was previously working with is recording this month. I however, did not want to make a three hour trip to record parts the guitarists can do better. This, for some reason upset them, leading them to begin talking mess and being dramatic. I do not appreciate unnecessary drama, and decided to quit. I wasn't really expecting much from the band and am not really good friends with the members, so I saw no reason to stay. I know I am the bassist and therefore should record my parts, but it is really inconvenient for me to travel that far just to record. I gave the band 1/5 of the cost of recording, which was $800. Do I have a right to ask for that money back, especially since I didn't even record, and am no longer part of the band? I was thinking of asking that the money be fully returned to me by the end of April, and if not, I would resort to filing a lawsuit/claim, since that is quite a bit of money for me. Could someone pitch in on how to handle this?
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If they already had the studio time booked and you bailed, without giving them a chance to salvage the booked time, then you shouln't expect any money back.
 
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#52
Carl Hillman said:
If they already had the studio time booked and you bailed, without giving them a chance to salvage the booked time, then you shouln't expect any money back.
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Plus, if your leaving incurred additional costs because of finding a replacement, you could realistically expect to get sued by the band for breaking a verbal contract.

Decisions can have unintended consequences.
 
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#58
newyorkiddo said:
Well I work 5 out of 7 days of the week. My days of are days when the studio is not open. I work all but four of the hours the studio is open. I have four hours to get to the studio, and one hour to prepare and record. That doesn't seem doable for me.

Definitely not. Everyone was in a financial rut when the guitarist decided he wanted to record with this guy. If the studio was not paid for, the deposit would have been kept by the studio with no recording at all.

Yes, they are my friends. And roommate. They all know my parts. They are all better musicians than I am. They could all record the parts much better and efficiently than I could. I asked them to do my parts for those reasons. To make it sound better and spend less time
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This whole thing sounds like a poorly thought out plan from every angle...a bassist in a band who shouldn't be the bassist at all, a studio that is inexplicably closed on weekends and also absurdly far away from where everyone lives, a non-refundable deposit placed without actually having the full funds to record at that studio, friends who aren't really friends but are roommates, trying to make $800 appear out of thin air...

Not trying to be rude either honestly, just stating the facts as they are; none of you thought this through and are now all essentially in a state of buyers remorse.

Learn from it and move on.
 
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#59
electracoyote said:
It seems doubtful. As a band member who entered a contract, if anything, you violated that contract.

If you wrote them a check, there is a paper trail. You might consider running this by an attorney to be sure. Many attorney's will do a free initial consult and hear your situation to assess the case.

EDIT: Start by politely asking the band leader if there is any remedy short of you flushing $800.00. That is a lot of money. And scrutinize the advice of strangers on the internet (including me).
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My tip on the lawyer is to run it by one, if the lawyer will take it for a percentage of the expected win, it's a legitimate case. If he wants a fee and charge by the hour, you will most likely end up paying the lawyer and still loosing the case. The magic 8 ball said your chances of winning are "Very Doubtful".

It costs you nothing to ask for your money back. If they don't give it to you send written notice requesting it. Then you can decide if you want to file in small claims court and give up a days pay to see if you can win.
 
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