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Would you sign this contract ??
- Thread starter mike buzzetti
- Start date
No. It is customary that the venue get the rights for the music even if you are performing all original music. So that's a hard no. It is difficult to procure rights as an independent musician. The websites for the music rights are all geared toward a venue. And that will substantially eat into the $450 you are paid.
Not for $450. There's no way the band can reasonably expect to cover rights for the gig and have enough left over for gas money. The venue should be covering that.
Also, they should have insurance, so damages caused by you or to you shouldn't be your responsibility.
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It looks like they have been bitten in the past by 2 key things:
- Bands not paying their taxes and saying the venue should have withheld them
- The venue being placed on the hook for royalties
Royalties aren't complicated. There are 4 major companies that manage royalties. Normally a venue pays a fee to those companies that allows playing music. You don't have to get individual song rights.
For example, a university will pay a fee every year to those companies for the royalties. So do performance halls. Even if you are Metallica playing your own music, the band couldn't play their own music without the venue paying for the rights.
The venue is 100% responsible for music rights. Always. That’s how ASCAP, BMI, etc., work. #8 is simply not how it works legally.
Even if an artist plays original work, if the work is registered with ASCAP, BMI, etc., the venue must still have a license with that entity!
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Even if an artist plays original work, if the work is registered with ASCAP, BMI, etc., the venue must still have a license with that entity!
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There's a few things I don't like about that contract but I agree #8 is the showstopper.
For $450, you could do this, or get a gig at the local watering hole on a hand shake and cash at the end of the night.
The venue pays for performance rights, not the band. The winery is trying to be cheap under the guise of a lot of legalese. The contract holds the band liable for everything and the venue liable for nothing. No. And all that for $450? Hell no, why work for pennies for a sue happy venue?
yep JUNK crap , the guy got back to me and said MAybe we can work together in the future !! LMFAO not with that crap.
THanks
THanks
You could always anonymously forward a copy of the contract to ASCAP, BMI, etc and have them pay a visit to collect performance rights.
I rarely see such a unanimous opinion on TalkBass. That says something. Hopefully this thread can help educate people.
my favorite answer lol !!
Maybe I missed something, but I don't see anything that's way out of line. I'm assuming that the venue has already purchased the necessary ASCAP license, as that's on the venue, not the performer. I think that #8 is a CYA move, but has little practical application. I'm not an attorney, and I could be completely wrong about that. It's worth asking exactly what that item means. I'm really surprised they don't require you to provide proof of liability insurance. Maybe it's in there somewhere, but I didn't see it.
I would assume the opposite, at least that's been my experience with these types of contracts. The venue doesn't want to pay for performing rights. They try to shift that responsibility to the band.
