Getting paid, or not

The grapevine says a club owner who booked us for next month sometimes has
issues about paying bands if he doesn't think the music drew enough of a
crowd. Swell.
My view on this is that the club is a short walk to the river. where a body
would vanish quickly. so the club owner should reevaluate his practices.
Clearly. this may be an impractical approach on my part. My other idea is
that we should require half the money before we set up. and the rest at the
end. I'm interested in other options. although I like my first idea best.


Well the best option is to have a contract so you can take him to small
claims if he pulls that shit. Even with only a verbal contract it's
worth going to small claims just to screw up his day. It only costs
about $15 to file in most places and best case scenario is the moron
doesn't show up. then you get a default judgement against him. Barring
that you can have a bunch of your meanest looking friends hang around
till the end of the night looking like they're ready to bust up the
joint. This is always a good motivator to pay you and get you out of
there fast.

but eventually there comes
a time when a Contract is worth having....
you can't hack it without one forever - unless you're Chuck Berry.


then let him cast a stone at me for playing in the band.


You seem to have a lot of crappy bar owner posts. I'm over here in Buffalo and we always get paid. Find a better class of bar owner.

Conservatives are not necessarily stupid.
but most stupid people are conservatives."
- John Stuart Mill

I made it a point NOT to post in this thread until I read everyone else's
opinion. lest what I say draw attention from your post.
Contrary to thread. I would say you do not NEED a contract. If he's as
slippery as you say. shoving one in his face might guarantee that you don't
play there at all.
Nor is a contract a guarantee of getting paid. He signs contract. renigs on
payment. you sue and take him to small claims court. he ignores everything
you send him. and adds your judgment to the pile his LLC has accumulated.
End of story.
what you DO need to do is make it clear form the get go that
you intend to be paid no matter what. I like the half up front idea. just as you guys were loading in. I'd pull him aside and tell
him straight out. "Look. the rumor on the street is that you're not paying
guys what you promised. I hope that's not true. because I had a great paying
wedding call me just after I hung up the phone with you. I turned them down
because when I make a commitment to a gig. I honor it. So these rumors
aren't true. Are they? I'd play it with more shock and surprise than anger. There's a chance he
might throw you out right then and there. He wasn't going to
pay you anyway. More likely. he'll know your on to him AND feel guilty about
your wedding.
If it REALLY looks like your not gonna get paid. start looking for some "in
kind" compensation that will move out the door quickly. Cases of liquor are
an excellent choice. and easily traded for cash. I came VERY close to that
once. but the guy finally broke down and paid us.
Conservatives are not necessarily stupid.
but most stupid people are conservatives."
- John Stuart Mill

No. I only see one of those posts about once a year. We try to keep our dirty laundry indoors but once in a while someone pulls something egregious.
And there are two sides to every story. Usually. bar owners pay. Occasionally a bar is in its final throes and there are all kinds of rumors. You'll often know before you play. If six of the 7 tap handles have cups over them on a Saturday night....
I have been playing in Buffalo for 30 years and know a lot of people. Word spreads fast. When you're just starting out. there are too many pay to play or door gigs and thats where I see the new guys get taken advantage of.
Watch the Blues Brother when they play Bob's Country Bunker
Watch "standing in the shoadows of Motown". Even they talk about getting worked over by sleaze bags.
You seem to have a lot of crappy bar owner posts. I'm over here in Buffalo and we always get paid. Find a better class of bar owner.

Contracts are of course good practice for establishing clearly the myriad
details of an engagement. such as load in times . equipment
supplied. food and beverage hospitality.
merchandising and of course. method and time of payment. Establishing
these things in writing makes for a smooth discrepancy free enagagement for
all involved.
They're next to useless if you're dealing with someone who doesn't give a
rat's ass about fulfilling them.

(gigabit) wrote;
Contracts are of course good practice for establishing clearly the
myriad details of an engagement. such as load in times .
equipment supplied. food and beverage hospitality. merchandising and of course. method and time of payment.
Establishing these things in writing makes for a smooth discrepancy free
engagement for all involved.
But.
They're next to useless if you're dealing with someone who doesn't give
a rat's ass about fulfilling them.
No they're not useless if you're willing to follow up and take the jerk
to small claims court which i've done on three separate occasions and
won all three. Some would argue that you're burning your bridges with
that club by suing. but do you really want to continue doing business
with an asshole like that ? One guy told me i'd never be able to collect
on the judgement I got against him. boy was he surprised when they
showed up to padlock his doors on a friday night. he paid. I even filed
small claims on one guy on a verbal contract. when he got the summons he
called me and paid up rather than lose a days work going to court. I'm
not saying be a dick and sue everyone. If there's an honest mistake like
a double booking or the weather kills the event. i'll work something out
and cut them some slack. but if they're just being assholes forget it. I
also sell them on the contract by saying did you ever book a band that
didn't show up. or have a band take way to many or to long breaks ?
well this contract protects you as well as us because it spells out
exactly what you're getting. Remember though that you've got to live up
to the contract too.