Criminal Justice Lawyer
Q.A booking agent has been booking my band for a couple of months and has been doing a pretty good job. However, they want us to sign a contract saying they get 20% of all gigs we play (15% for gigs paying under $1000) and we work exclusively through them for 2 years. The agent says any gig we book on our own we don't have to pay them, but the contract doesn’t read that way. Also, it reads if we get signed by a major label and start playing on a national level for $4000 or more they will release us from the contract. Is this normal or should I run (not walk) away. I'm the only one in the band who is not ready to sign. Any opinion???
A.In my experience, 15-20% is pretty reasonable. Put yourself in their shoes. If it's a relatively new, unknown band, those 20% probably won't amount to more than $75-$100 per gig. Now that's not a lot of money. The idea is, of course, to get a _lot_ of gigs & better paying ones as well, so everybody ends up making more money. Find out if they're good at what they do, like what they have actually done for/with who, & how that band/those bands rate their experience with the agent. For a 2-yr. contract, they'd better have established contacts not only regionally but nationally. Also, if you're talking to a lawyer, make sure it's an entertainment lawyer. A divorce lawyer or some such won't know all the ins & outs of this quirky business. We have spoken to a lawyer (criminal justice lawyer) and he said the same thing about a one year contract with an option to re-new. We offered this to the booking agent and he refused. Our website is www.bishopblack.com. BTW if you look at the gig page, 95% of those gigs we booked ourselves.
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