“Creative minds are stubborn!” This is true for about 99% of musicians (bless their creative souls). Creative souls are notoriously difficult and complicated; most express their emotions either through their art or by throwing and breaking things.
What do you call 4 or more of these complicated souls stuffed in a single garage or a bassment???
A Band!!!
For some reason many young musicians have these grandiose ideas of what it means to be in an upcoming band. A band can mean camaraderie, great performances, late nights with groupies, photo shoots, video shoots, and classic moments.
BUT… as a band member you take the good with the bad.
A real band is your lead guitarist not showing up to an important show in Hollywood when label execs are watching; the drummer routinely showing up two hours late for practice (so you tell him practice is at 6pm and tell everyone else 8pm); the bass player whose dodging his parole officer and/or ex-wife for child support; and the lead singer that believes he’s going solo in two months because he’s the greatest thing since the Snuggie!!!
When these different personalities clash, which is almost certain to happen, it is important to have rules and procedures in to determine what happens next (i.e. What happens when the bass player gets sentenced to 3 months in jail? or when the drummer misses 4 straight practices?). Is the band able to expel a member, and if so, what is the process for expulsion? Where’s the band agreement? Do we have band agreement???
More importantly, if you’re a band starting to generate revenue, how is the income split? Do you split royalties evenly, or do you give the member that writes all of the songs a larger share? Are members allowed to perform without the group?
A wise person once told me that the law is primarily about order because without order there can be no fairness. Your band agreement is the law, it’s your band’s U.S. Constitution!
While the average upcoming band is focused on creating art, and not the business side of art, when the money starts flowing, the lack of a band agreement can create chaos. The band agreement provides a framework for solving problems. The agreement should address all the major questions that your band may face with special emphasis on profit/publishing splits and leaving members. (the 2 major divisive issues in any band).
Defend Sound Sample Band Partnership Agreement
“Ask not what music can do for you, but what you can do for your music”
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August 5, 2010
nice post. thanks.