How do deal with employing touring musicians?

Ok, so I'm a solo artist operating under a band name. I write and record everything myself. I'm getting ready to play live and I need to come up with a plan for dealing with employing musicians for playing live. Obviously, we will be making next to nothing in the beginning and it would seem fair to cut them in with an equal percentage or gig profit. But at what point do you start paying them a set amount? I mean, if end up pulling in 5 or 10k a night down the road, I'm obviously not going to split it with people who did absolutely nothing for my song writing and recording and are probably doing very little promotion/etc.

Should I cut them in on a percentage of certain royalties to encourage them to stay loyal, play hard, and self-promote or how is it usually done in these situations? And then, do I relate the amount of time they dedicated to the stage to the size/length of royalties? Should their be a trial period before certain incentives kick in (I.E. You don't get anything beyond each event's pay if you only last a month)? Thanks for any help. I've been struggling for a while now to figure this all out.

Orion

I used to get signed contracts, hire an attorney. And you have to report the money to the IRS and issue 1099's for the income to them as an independent contractor.

Fortunately for you, there are plenty of people around who are willing to take a cut of a small pie, in the hope that they'll be cut in when the pie gets bigger. Of course, when that happens they get dropped & some "real" pros hired on.

The non-douchebaggardly thing would be to pay them for their time & trouble from the get-go, even if it means you not making much or even losing.

Are you loony? Cut them in on the profits? NO ONE does that if they are hiring musos.

You'll be lucky to make any......

Hire them as sidemen; contract labor. A specific amount per gig, no matter what you are making. Also give them a per diem while you are out on days you don't play, if you can. Even if it is $5 bucks.

Make sure they know that under the terms of contract labor, that they are responsible for their gear that they use to do their job at all times; that they know that the only time you are responsible for their gear is when it is in your trailer.

No need for a contract. A signed 1099 incurs enough implied consent that you are not responsible if something happens to them or their gear outside of your insured travel vehicle.

You get a few bux in your pocket and gigs start working and paying, etc., then you can pay them more, but keep it contract labor.

Good luck!

Thanks for the replies. I didn't know if it would be a good idea to promise some type of share in royalties to make up for the lack of good pay at the beginning, but apparently not?

How do I determine how much to pay them at the start and how much do I increase their pay as gigs get bigger?

Find out the going rate for musicians at the skill level you are looking for.

Round these parts its like this:

Sidemen for signed artists with good gigs (sheds, theaters etc.), get a $25-$50 per diem and between $175 to $500 per gig depending on per diem and driving duties. Musical Directors make more and have other benefits.

Guys working for unsigned acts usually try to get what they get when they play at home: $75 to $150 per gig and no per diem.

Here's the per diem harp...If you have more than 2 days off and you are out on the road, give your guys something...$5 even...

One thing to consider I guess would be if you are looking at putting together a proper band that will stay with you or something that will change as you, and they, see fit.

If it is going to be a stable band then royalties might be on the cards if you would be looking for more creative input and help with songwriting.

If it is literally session musicians you require it would be a bit different. Are you going to make enough off guaranties from the gigs to pay them, or will you be doing some out of your pocket? You could agree a split of the gig money somehow and you keep any cd/merch sales.

Do you know any guys that would be interested, even in other bands who will have space in their callender for a tour?

You can't have your cake and eat it too. If you don't want to split the 5-10k you hope to make one day, you should pay the going rate for a gig today, even if you lose money. If you choose to book gigs that you make beans on, that shouldn't be your musicians' problem. If you pay them a set amount that's acceptable to them from the very beginning, and you take off, it's to your benefit.

Be upfront about your arrangement above all. If you really want/need loyalty and promotion, you need to be willing to give up a fair share of the potential reward, no matter how great it might turn out to be.

Yeah, I'll definitely be upfront from the beginning. I've put up ads that make it clear I'm just looking for musicians to play live - no creative collaboration. No one will get into this with me not knowing what the arrangement is.

Take your time getting to California...you won't earn enough here playing clubs to pay session people.

+1

If you want to retain ownership of your songs, band name, etc. you need to pay them and not make any promises.

Ok, here's another question. What do I do about recording/selling live performances? Should they get some extra money for this upfront? If so, how much?

And how are payments from gigs usually handled? I just don't want to be handed a check for $300 bucks, have them tell the IRS they paid me personally $300 when I might only see $50 or nothing after paying my side musicians. I guess I would just have to register as a business and then write them off as expenses.

To tackle this in 2 steps, one per question,

If you're selling live performances that they are playing on, there will be terms to be worked out...they will be playing stuff live that isn't verbatim what you wrote because that's what musicians do, you will be recording their work...they may go for a up front fee, and may expect a cut of proceeds from it...you definitely shouldn't expect them to give you free material since you're paying them to play your stuff...

you would want to set up your band as a business, most likely a LLC, then the band pays them and pays you...the band shows income from the gigs, then you show what you actually made. It's alot of work, but eliminates the tax burden from you officially...