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Would you sign this contract ??

would you sign this contract

  • yes

    Votes: 11 5.6%

  • no

    Votes: 187 95.9%
  • Total voters
    195
#221
Maki_Randy said:
I don't know how it works in the US. But in Belgium even if you play originals you need to pay royalty fees. You pay for playing music and it doesn't matter who's music.
If you wrote and play originals you get a cheque from the royalties organization. A non existing cheque if you're a small band or writer but still you get some cents a year..
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Caveat: I know nothing about Belgian law, but wouldn't that only be if you had registered your original with the rights organization? I've only done that with a handful of the hundreds of songs I've ever written. If I go somewhere and play an original that I've never registered, no one has ever signed a contract with the rights organization or otherwise with respect to that composition or its performance, so how could it possibly be true that I would need to pay royalty fees?
 
#222
J-Mags said:
#8 and #12 are deal breakers. If the owner is negligent, damages are capped at the $450 that the owner agreed to anyway. Ultimately the winery wants total control over everything, plus indemnity, plus band pays royalties for $450. Band on the hook for owner's out-of-pocket expenses if someone gets sick? Arbitration clause. Forget it. It's an adhesion contract where owner gets everything, band gets nothing for $450 divided how many ways?
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CRAP CONTRACT ! done
 
#223
J-Mags said:
#8 and #12 are deal breakers. If the owner is negligent, damages are capped at the $450 that the owner agreed to anyway. Ultimately the winery wants total control over everything, plus indemnity, plus band pays royalties for $450. Band on the hook for owner's out-of-pocket expenses if someone gets sick? Arbitration clause. Forget it. It's an adhesion contract where owner gets everything, band gets nothing for $450 divided how many ways?
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It's not an adhesion contract. Band can take it or leave it or get their pens out...
 
#226
I wouldn't put down this venue for putting these issues on a contract, even if it is a $450 bar gig. It is good to agree on things ahead of time to avoid misunderstandings. BUT if they want your performance, your payment for performance rights, your image to use indefinitely for unlimited publicity, AND liability protection, they need to offer much more than $450. You could return the contract to them with changes to make it much more fair and reasonable, and up the fee for having to do all that work on the contract. Maybe then they'll understand that they're already getting a hell of a deal paying $450 for just the performance. But then you have to be ready for them to withdraw the offer and give it to some other chump who will sign it without even reading it :(
 
#227
SoCal80s said:
I wouldn't put down this venue for putting these issues on a contract, even if it is a $450 bar gig. It is good to agree on things ahead of time to avoid misunderstandings. BUT if they want your performance, your payment for performance rights, your image to use indefinitely for unlimited publicity, AND liability protection, they need to offer much more than $450. You could return the contract to them with changes to make it much more fair and reasonable, and up the fee for having to do all that work on the contract. Maybe then they'll understand that they're already getting a hell of a deal paying $450 for just the performance. But then you have to be ready for them to withdraw the offer and give it to some other chump who will sign it without even reading it :(
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I got this BECAUSE I upped the price $50 because of them 1099'ing us to cover taxes, this was the response.
I dont need the $ but my singer and gtr player do they are full time musicians making peanuts .
 
#228
Did you notice that the contract was to perform 2.5 hours of music over the course of 3 hours with one 30-minute break and two 15-minute breaks?

I'd cross out 8, most of 11, 12, most of the second paragraph of 15, and the arbitration clause in 16, plus little things that irk me in the remainder of the agreement. Then I'd change $450 to $850 and sign it.
 
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#229
J-Mags said:
Did you notice that the contract was to perform 2.5 hours of music over the course of 3 hours with one 30-minute break and two 15-minute breaks?

I'd cross out 8, most of 11, 12, most of the second paragraph of 15, and the arbitration clause in 16, plus little things that irk me in the remainder of the agreement. Then I'd change $450 to $850 and sign it.
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LMFAO do you not read stuff ??? ok moving on , thanks for the reply anyhow
 
#230
I would sign it and enjoy playing. I love winery gigs and wouldn't sweat the petty stuff in some lame contract. Usually these gigs turn into good tip money, food, wine and a lay back vibe.
Last winery gig cost me a $1000...not because of the contract but because I listened to some wine drinker there tell me about a great campsite a few miles up the road. I ended up on a jeep only road in my small rv and destroyed my muffler along with some other minor suspension damage. Not the winery's fault though.
 
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#233
mrperkolator said:
There is an entire discussion/argument about "performing rights organizations."

I'm not going there. I will say, I'm happy it's not mandatory. I'm more than happy to just write my own music, and play it for family/friends. If I was forced to submit music every time, I think I'd quit writing. Which is a shame. I'm not going to be famous, so writing music is more a hobby and a soothing activity for me. Just my $0.02.
Click to expand...

As a 100% hobbyist in the capacity you mentioned, you likely will never have to deal with PROs in most cases. You don't ever have to register with a performing rights organization yourself unless you are a songwriter who wants to get paid on your publishing, and is pursuing making money with your music in some fashion either live or recorded... and when your songs are played by other people... or streamed... yadda yadda. It also costs nothing to register with BMI... but I don't know if ASCAP, SESAC, etc. charge you to join. Of course no one is going to 'force' you to join a PRO as a hobbyist playing 3-chord originals for family and friends in your back yard.... that's silly. But the minute you write music, copyright it, and want it distributed on digital platforms, in physical media, etc. you do have to do it. If you play other peoples' music then they technically are owed a performance royalty for you performing their music.... but most bands never submit their setlists to make it happen, and most bars and small venues likely never do it either... which is where the 'blanket license' thing started with ASCAP, BMI, etc.
 
#236
lermgalieu said:
Caveat: I know nothing about Belgian law, but wouldn't that only be if you had registered your original with the rights organization? I've only done that with a handful of the hundreds of songs I've ever written. If I go somewhere and play an original that I've never registered, no one has ever signed a contract with the rights organization or otherwise with respect to that composition or its performance, so how could it possibly be true that I would need to pay royalty fees?
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To get money from them you need to register your songs. Otherwise it's a very dubious law. If you want to play songs somewhere you need to pay them, if you say you only play unregistered songs they would doubt it and make you pay anyway as a solidarity charge.
And when you register songs and get more than a few cents, like 50 euro or something, they don't pay out but transfer it automatically to shares so you become a shareholder and get voting rights in there working. Isn't that nice of them
 
#237
Maki_Randy said:
To get money from them you need to register your songs. Otherwise it's a very dubious law. If you want to play songs somewhere you need to pay them, if you say you only play unregistered songs they would doubt it and make you pay anyway as a solidarity charge.
And when you register songs and get more than a few cents, like 50 euro or something, they don't pay out but transfer it automatically to shares so you become a shareholder and get voting rights in there working. Isn't that nice of them
Click to expand...
Sounds like a pain in the a$$, to say the least.
 
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