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One time gig with agency, venue wants us back


mike6lee6

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An agency found my band on a band website and offered us a six night engagement at a resort for the week following Christmas, including New Years Eve. We played the gigs and the resort wants us back for two weeks of gigs, one in the summer and again after Christmas of 2017. Is the band obligated to pay the agency a fee, or can we deal directly with the resort? We signed a one time, six gig agreement with the agent.

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You had a one time agreement...and you fulfilled it, so no, there is no obligation [based on your statement]. You might send the agent a nice note and thank him for opening that door for you, though. He/she might have other opportunities coming up, and keeping a positive relationship is teh best way to be considered.

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I know we have no other obligation to the agency' date=' but I'm wondering if the resort and the agency have anything binding regarding our future gigs there.[/quote']

 

 

 

That's what I was thinking, and in that case it gets a bit more complicated. The resort might only book through that agency. Then pay the fees I guess.

 

In that case, maybe you could get some extra perks, like a weekend(s) free stay, free meals and use of the resort, for you and your families. Kinda the VIP treatment for there star performers.;)

 

 

I'm just saying, you got to eat, ya might was well be eating prime rib, cooked by someone else.

You'll need full access to the bar and a professional spa treatment too. Just to kind of relax and work out the kinks after a show, if ya know what I mean. Rain checks work too, on the VIP treatment, just incase you are busy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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If the resort booked you directly, it is on them to determine their relationship with the agency. If the agreement between them has been abrogated, that is not your issue, it is between them. Odds are the agency is retained to find and present talent to the resort on an ongoing basis. The business relationship between you and the agency is completed. You do not need to know what the deal is with the resort and anyone else but your band. Don't complicate the process. Look forward, not backward.

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
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Several years ago when I was a member of the Amercan Federation of Musicians I put small group together. I contacted a booking agent I knew and invited him to come hear the band with the idea that he may get us some gigs. Despite several of these calls and invitations he showed no interest in the band and never came to hear us.

 

Then one foggy New Year's Eve he called me in desperation looking for a last minute fill in band at a local hotel bar. We were able to oblige and the gig went really well.

 

The hotel liked the band and wanted to hire us for one week a month every month for a full year. The band was a great fit for the room so we took the gig.

 

Because the band and the agent were members of the AF of M (musician's union) we had to pay the agent comission on the hotel gigs for six months even though we booked and earned the monthly gig ourselves.

 

In the year that we played the hotel gig, the agent never once came to hear us play nor did he get us any other gigs - even though we had helped him out of a jam and were paying him a tidy sum for our efforts.

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Some agents are great at what they do, and some as @$$#0!3$...I've dealt with both. One who I worked with in the late 80s kept us very busy, so busy we never got a week off until we finally refused to re-sign with his agency after nine months of playing 5 nights a week. We all had day jobs, and the gigs were always at least an hour commute. The money was great though, and none of us wanted to be the one to kill the golden goose, until, at one rehearsal, I mentioned I wanted to take a vacation....then the dam burst.

The agent refused to work with us after we had a few months off...his loss.

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We had a hotel approach us about a St. Pat's day gig that they really wanted to book us for. Being the only Celtic act on the Island, that's the one day a year when we're the hot chick. The hotel manager later asked us to book through the 'agent' they use, who happens to be a local musician. We told them that we don't book through other musicians any more than they book through the competing resort next door, as it's a conflict of interest. They gladly signed our contract and booked us a year in advance for the following year.

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