Musician’s Notebook

Bands on major record labels are frequently on long tours; one year, eighteen months, sometimes even more, of constant globe trotting while the executives lean back in their big stuffy chairs at home and enjoy the green smell of cash, cash, cash.

It’s true that when you’re getting your band off the ground, a hard-slogging tour will get you off the ground and develop a nation-wide fan base.

It’s true that those hard-slogging tours keep established bands in business.

But isn’t there a smarter way to do it?

Here’s where the record labels have all their thinking mixed up: long tours mean more money, right? Wrong!

These horrifically long tours can (and almost always do) cause a variety of problems that mean that all parties concerned will be losing out on money in the long run.

• Health concerns and physical exhaustion
• Musical and creative burnout
• Band tension and subsequent break-ups
• Family tension and subsequent break-ups
• Self-medication as a coping mechanism; drug and alcohol addictions are just one example

When the band is suffering from the listed issues caused by excessive touring, money should be the last concern of anyone involved with the band; helping them fix their problems, their health, repair their families and bands, and kick addictions should be the first order of business.

But we know that money is always the first order of business for the record companies; they don’t really care about the wellbeing of artists.

And while we’re looking at this from the company’s point of view, shouldn’t it be obvious that excessive touring leads to loss rather than profit? Well, no, because these people barely passed business school (if at all) and don’t have the smallest bit of foresight. A sustained brand like the Rolling Stones is sure to bring in more money over time than a one-hit wonder, no matter how big that hit is.

My band’s policy documents have a very important clause in them.

When my band’s manager asked me to form some policies that I and the other band members would like to see included, the first that came to mind and I subsequently included went something like this:

We will never, ever tour so excessively that we alienate each other, our families, or ourselves, or cause serious damage to our lives in any other way.

This is a policy we make binding between ourselves and with any companies we deal with. If a person or company doesn’t like this clause, we go elsewhere.

A band can still do a hard-slog tour and form a following, but it has to be done in such a way that the band, and the band’s families, can handle it. That means frequent breaks, and not on the other side of the world, but at home.

I have a wife and a son. If I could not take them with me, the most I’d ever stay out on the road for would be a month (and even that would be excruciatingly painful). However, I do have plans in place to allow me to take them with me at minimal cost. We’ll talk about how to do this another time.

Make reasonable touring and tour breaks a matter of band policy, and never back down from band policy when dealing with external forces, especially record companies.

Today I came across this article, The Problem With Music, which was originally printed in the Baffler. The article isn’t really about the problem with music, though. It’s about the problem with the music industry. And it’s a big problem, a very worrying problem to all musicians out there, big and small. This article exposes one part of the extensive corruption that these charlatans who call themselves the ‘music industry’ have engaged in. They are not in the music industry, though; they’re just as bad as those guys with Tommy guns that claim to be in the ‘waste management’ business.

Steve Albini

The article was written by Steve Albini who, aside from his obvious flair for high-quality and inquisitive writing, is a singer, songwriter, guitarist, audio engineer and music journalist. He’s been around the music biz block enough times to be credible in what he’s saying and joins a myriad of other voices shouting the same thing: it’s time for this music industry to clean up its act. Now that it’s become so much easier to launch an independent music career, however, their power is waning and we may soon see the day when they actually have to clean up. One can hope, anyway!

Check out The Problem With Music and remember: even a good lawyer may not save your ass from these vultures, so know what you are doing and how they operate.

The exit clause is perhaps the most important clause in the band agreement. It stipulates the conditions under which a band member may leave the band, and outlines the actions that can be taken when a band member must be terminated, and for what reasons this may be done. It prevents long, drawn-out arguments over these particularly sensitive issues of band life and prevents one member’s departure from creating problems, or even a collapse, for the whole band.

The purposes of the exit clause are:

To facilitate the departure of band members in as clean and professional a manner as possible;

To ensure that the departure of a band member does not jeopardize the band financially, structurally, perceptually or with regard to intellectual property issues;

To ensure that the information the media and public receives from the band and the departing band member is uniform and consistent;

To ensure that a replacement can be brought in smoothly, trained in the songs that the former band member played on that instrument, and with no legal roadblocks to recruitment left in place by the departing band member.

A good band agreement will have a thorough exit clause that meets these goals and resolves any issues arising from them, and will typically contain the following stipulations:

1. Media Release on Exit

A media release must be developed on the exit of any band member. This is a joint public statement which can be sent to media, or on a smaller scale, placed on the band website so that loyal fans have a unified view, and not opposing views, of what occurred between the exiting band member and the rest of the band.

2. Payment Withholdings

Any payments/settlements owed to the departing band member will not be paid until they have worked with the band to craft and publish a media release, under the agreement that they will not make statements that contradict the release.

3. Completion of contracted performances

No band member intending to exit the band will put contracted performances in jeopardy. This one is a HUGELY IMPORTANT one. Imagine it: you’ve just scraped up the huge amount of cash it takes to put on your own tour, and one of the band members wants to leave. They’ve not only sent you broke with no means to recoup that money, but hung you and the band out to dry. The condition must be that the member will give sufficient notice to the band and complete any remaining contracted performances. If this is disregarded, there are grounds for legal action and the band will collect damages.

The band can also use their discretion to determine whether the exiting band member is reasonable in wishing to leave before the completion of contracted performances.

4. Transfer of professional relationships

If the exiting band member is the holder of professional relationships directly affecting the band, the exiting band member must transfer this relationship to the band before leaving, without damaging or defaming the relationship between the band and the professional.

5. “Negative position”

The exiting band member should not leave the band in a negative position that could allow the band to sue the exiting band member.

6. One month’s notice

The exiting band member must officially notify the band at a meeting one month before exiting. This condition is superseded by (3) Completion of contracted performances, so if there are contracted performances a month and a half from the official notification, the exiting band member must attend them. Again, the band can use their discretion to determine whether the exiting band member is reasonable in wishing to leave before the official exit date set in the meeting.

7. Successor recruitment

Depending on the way in which the band member leaves, they may be expected to assist in recruiting a replacement and teaching the band’s repertoire to them. The exiting band member must do as best they can within their skills to document any musical notation or tablature for their instrument, or obtain help to do so.

The second clause, regarding the withholding of payments, can be modified to stipulate that all exit conditions must be met before payments are issued, but otherwise, the consequence is often legal action.

Having a band agreement with a strong exit clauses is one of the best things you can do for the longevity and success of your band. Get to it!

Read more about the Band Agreement in the Establishing Your Band series.

Edward Hatton of the Intellectual Musician has a great article on dealing with singers. Singers tend to be the most egotistical band members, though I think that some singers’ need for ego-stroking comes from a place of deep insecurity and not always from a self-obsessed ego. It is, after all, the most personal of all instruments.

Click through to Edward’s article for more.

The role of Business Manager is a very important one, and requires someone with both a strong imagination, and a thorough, realistic knowledge of business practice within the art & entertainment industry. How can a manager set you apart from the crowd without an imagination? How can they help you create a stable income and career without business knowledge? Too often, good managerial skills are overlooked for the sake of ‘having a manager’. Young independent bands don’t know what a manager is really for.

What should you look for? Perhaps one of the greatest qualities, and the one I find most important in my own business manager, is that they could be another member of the band. They grok the band and its philosophy, they grok the humor and relationships and get along well with each member. You’ve hit the money when it wouldn’t feel right to go on tour without them.

This is reflected in your financial agreements, too. Like band members, the manager or management company receives a certain percentage of the band’s income. The manager is an equal participant in the business of being a band.

So, when you’re scouting for a manager or get a management offer, ask yourself - no matter the qualifications of that individual - if they’d be a welcome addition to the band, too.