Venue witholding payment for gig - now sorted

rich75

So my band played at a new (to us) venue on Saturday. We turned up, said hello and asked where they wanted us to set up, and the landlady/manager cleared a small space for us in the corner of the pub. We set up as instructed and then started the gig at the agreed time.

By the time we started (and pretty much throughout the gig) the place was rammed and the crowd seemed to be really enjoying it. Then, during our break, one of the punters (who had had a few by this point) tripped on a small step right in front of where we were playing, fell into a fruit machine and tried to use one of our PA speakers (which was carefully positioned behind the fruit machine so as to be out of the way) to break his fall. This resulted in the speaker toppling over and, despite our singer's best efforts to save it, it fell against a window and broke a small (about 8" by 8") window pane.

One of the doormen saw the whole thing, laid the blame completely with the punter, and said there was nothing we could have done differently to prevent it. They quickly patched up the window and we then went on to do our complete second set followed by an encore.

Fast-forward to Monday and the booking agent received an email from the landlady/manager stating that she was withholding the entire payment for the night because apparently "our singer was drunk (she definitely wasn't) and tripped over the dangerously positioned cables and knocked the PA speaker into the window!" She also complained that the band wasn't very good either, and then completely backtracked on that later in the same email!

I should probably also mention that the doorman also told us that the place usually empties out quite quickly when they have bands on and that it was the busiest it had been in some time. We also had a lot of the audience coming up to us at the end to say how much they'd enjoyed it.

The really frustrating thing is that it was the first gig we had done for a new booking agent, and you probably couldn't blame them for thinking that its more hassle than its worth (despite it being total bull***t). We've had to leave it with the agent to sort out for now, but it's so annoying that a venue would latch onto any excuse and then change the facts to wriggle out of paying anything.

I'm not sure what else we could have done really other than perhaps asking the manager to inspect all the gear after it was set up to formally confirm that she was happy with where it had been located. I'm not even sure that would have helped very much in this case though.

Phil_aka_Pip

MU

ThorpyFX

small claims court if you dont get paid.

richardhomer

I would send a clear, concise catalogue of the events by e-mail (excluding any reference as to whether you were any good, or not - that's completely irrelevant) and state that they are in breach of contract, for which you will seek legal remedy, if payment is not made.

rich75

Thanks for the suggestions guys

EricTheWeary

Doesn't the booking agent have a vested interest in this as well ie they aren't getting paid their cut either? If so then what are they doing about it?

gubble

I'm guessing your contract is with the agent (rather than the pub itself) so he has to pay you regardless of whether she pays him or not.

Do you have any paperwork with the agent?

rich75

The booking agent has been in contact with the pub, so it is in their hands at the moment. The latest update seems to be that we are welcome to go back to the pub with the agent and view their CCTV footage from the night of the gig. However, the manager is apparently now "away" so we have to wait until the end of next week before that can happen. Let's hope they don't accidentally wipe the footage in the meantime.

Yes, the contract is with the agent (who, on top of not being paid has now also been sent an invoice for repairing the window). We do have an emailed booking agreement from the agent, which we have entirely satisfied the terms of. I guess we'll have to see how it pans out, but at the moment the agent appears to be on our side so probably best to give him a chance to sort it out first before getting into a disagreement with him. 

PolarityMan

Will public liabiltiy insurace cover the window? 

ICBM

The pub's own insurance will cover the window since it was broken by a customer.

I would get a solicitor to send a letter to the pub management stating that they're in breach of contract unless liability for damages caused by customers was specifically included (it won't be) and that failure to pay will result in a Small Claims Court action.

It will cost you the solicitor's letter fee but I would be surprised if the pub don't back down immediately when they know you're serious. They're just chancers.

rich75

Thanks for the good advice everyone - it's all much appreciated and certainly gives us a few options to explore

topomorto

Is the venue close to you? (I ask because if they're closer, it might be worth being friendlier - especially if you believe you'll be exonerated by he CCTV!)

Did your agent agree terms of payment time-wise with the venue - and if so, would the time period within which they suggested showing the CCTV take them beyond that? If so, they need to pay you in full or show you that the CCTV supports their version of events before 'when the manager gets back', which is none of your concern)

thomasross20

How do you get a booking agent? 

Do you have links to your band playing? 

Landlady sounds a right chancer!

rich75

thomasross20 said:

How do you get a booking agent? 

Do you have links to your band playing?

We've actually used three different agents over the last few months. One of them was an existing contact and the others are people we've met through gigs we've done who have subsequently approached us to do gigs for them. They all tend to have websites or Facebook pages. If they haven't already seen you play they usually ask for links to online video footage.

Yes, we do have a few clips on Youtube, although nothing with particularly good audio or video quality if I'm being honest. That doesn't seem to have held us back so far though. We keep talking about recording a gig with better equipment but it never quite seems to happen!

EricTheWeary

In my old band we just googled for agencies and tried whatever seemed likely. Our problem tended to be that they wanted bands more willing to travel but in the end we got about a gig per month off an agent who did all the bookings for a local pub chain. In this band we signed up with a national agency who just ask bands to bid for gigs. So, private party, 5 November, Clapham, rock covers. You say yes, how much you charge, send YouTube / facebook links and the customer decides. Pretty random process but actually our best paying gigs.
If you call a place and they say they only book through an agency just ask them what that agency is. The agencies tend to want decent photos, YouTube links, etc. Invariably they aren't booking for great music venues but for hotels, parties, that kind of thing and its not particularly rocknroll.

thomasross20

Thanks for the info, guys!

rich75

So, after what seems like ages we finally got paid in full on Monday. It got held up by the fact that the venue was stalling and it then had to go through Event UK and the booking agent, but we got there in the end. 

Apparently the manager of the venue caved in when the booking agent tried to make arrangements for us to go back to the venue to view their CCTV footage!

John_P

Glad to hear you had a good result in the end.       

One of my gigs this weekend the landlord handed over less money than agreed but he caved instantly when I pointed it out.   I hate having to have these kind of confrontations but it's all part of gigging I guess.  Luckily I haven't had any as bad as this for a long time.