Standard gigging contract

[ian6string]

Does anybody have a link to, or a copy of a standard band/venue contract? My band is in the mid-stages of gigging, you know, where you start booking gigs, and they fall apart at the last second, or the money comes up short, or whatever, we're looking for something thats binding so we dont waste our time driving out to perform, or even preparing for a gig that gets cancelled (double booked) at the last minute!

 

What do you guys use besides baseball bats to get the money out of bar owners who promise one thing but deliver another?

[fastplant]

I don't have a copy, but it basically read what the band was to be paid, what the band gets if something happens and they can't play, but have set up (ie: weather). Also states issues like start times, breaks, etc.

[ratthedd]

Try this thread over at the Live Sound and Production Forum:

 

http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=979825&highlight=contract

[ian6string]

Perfect, thats exactly what I've been looking for! I see the search function is now working...that makes me happy on the inside.

[The_Idiom]

small problems with using contracts that i can see

 

if your already having that many problems with gigs, then chances are the bar/club/promotor will never ever agree to signing anything and thenyou may loose gigs..

 

also if you do have a contract and a club backs out of a gig, they may not care.. and if you actually wanna go through with getting the money, it will probably cost more than you'll get, and then also blacklist your band from clubs

 

just something to remember

 

Brandon

[Craig Vecchione]

 

Originally posted by The_Idiom small problems with using contracts that i can see if your already having that many problems with gigs, then chances are the bar/club/promotor will never ever agree to signing anything and thenyou may loose gigs.. also if you do have a contract and a club backs out of a gig, they may not care.. and if you actually wanna go through with getting the money, it will probably cost more than you'll get, and then also blacklist your band from clubs just something to remember Brandon

 

 

Losing a gig that probably won't pay is no loss at all. Any business owner (and that's an important thing to remember...these guys own a business, and have to sign and honor contracts all the time) who's unwilling to sign a contract has something to hide that you probably don't want to be exposed to. Conversely, an honest venue that has the money to pay you will have no problem signing a contract.

 

Having said that, I'll state what I often do; our court system is not a collection agency, and legal proceedings are the last thing anyone wants. So get your money when you still have leverage. It's not at all unreasonable to demand half when you arrive to set up, for a new venue with unknown reputation to you, and half before the last set starts. This is important...the last thing you want to do is chase down the owner at 2am with an empty bar and a load of gear to get into the truck. If there's no payment at the last set, the show's over and you go home early. Folks, even 1am drunks, will get the picture that the place is a hole, and this might be enough incentive to the owner to pay.

 

Perhaps most important is to make it clear by your words and actions that your band is a professional business, not a motley collection of music sluts who'll do anything to play in front of people. The simple act of showing up at booking time with a contract clearly stating terms goes a long way to promote this image of professionalism.

[The_Idiom]

 

Originally posted by Craigv Losing a gig that probably won't pay is no loss at all. Any business owner (and that's an important thing to remember...these guys own a business, and have to sign and honor contracts all the time) who's unwilling to sign a contract has something to hide that you probably don't want to be exposed to. Conversely, an honest venue that has the money to pay you will have no problem signing a contract. Having said that, I'll state what I often do; our court system is not a collection agency, and legal proceedings are the last thing anyone wants. So get your money when you still have leverage. It's not at all unreasonable to demand half when you arrive to set up, for a new venue with unknown reputation to you, and half before the last set starts. This is important...the last thing you want to do is chase down the owner at 2am with an empty bar and a load of gear to get into the truck. If there's no payment at the last set, the show's over and you go home early. Folks, even 1am drunks, will get the picture that the place is a hole, and this might be enough incentive to the owner to pay. Perhaps most important is to make it clear by your words and actions that your band is a professional business, not a motley collection of music sluts who'll do anything to play in front of people. The simple act of showing up at booking time with a contract clearly stating terms goes a long way to promote this image of professionalism.

 

 

 

i find it hard to beleive that most bars would agree to sign a contract... for say a $100-300 garuantee... actually i know promotors that will never sign anything, and two of them are by far the nicest people i have ever met while on tour and actually paid more than our garuantee just because he had a good night

 

i agree a band should act professional.... but when a band is not a very large drawing band, and they go into a club showing contracts almost any club/promotor i have ever dealt with will probably laugh at you... not saying this is right, but just how i've noticed it is

 

i think its very unfair to say all bar owners that will nto sign a contract have something to hide and are not trustworthy

[ian6string]

With my band, we tend to draw a very good crowd every show, between 100-200 people consistantly (an excellent draw for this area). We dont plan on using a contract when entering a new venue, I'd be skeptical too, but after we've proven that we DO draw a crowd, we'd like to be secure in knowing that they can't just push us around when it comes to being double booked, or shorting us on cash. We normally play for the door, but we've discovered recently that one venue's door man/ manager shorts us at the end of the night for whatever reason. We found this out by having OUR guy sitting near their door guy clicking a tally counter. We plan or remeding this by using our own door guy and a contract. Hopefully we'll be able to keep a better eye on the income because every penny counts! There are many places to play in this area, and most places wont refuse a 100-200 person draw. It actually amazes me that we've been shorted in the first place...thats just bad bad business!! But double booking is our main concern...there are a few bars with a single promoter, and they dont seem to have their {censored} together. Hopefully a contract will remind them that they've booked someone for the night and should probably think about booking this out of town band instead of us.