I am so sorry but could I please book a harpist instead? I found that my partner really loves the harp. We've experienced a client breach that has forced us to take up-front payments to be considered booked in. We're now only inking dates once 100% payment has been received in full.
This case explores how a simple change of heart has:
Read More... Employment Agency vs. Employment Business MM Things got confusing... Too personal?Remember that in the past, Red & Black Music was critiqued for being "cold, rigid and impersonal"? Well, here we are again...
WB's behaviour at Imperial College, London, triggered not only the cancellation of the following gig at Girton College, Cambridge, but also the withdrawal of Diáspora from all the agencies. This, in turn, led to liquidation: a comprehensive, 18-month management review - the 8th, and most extensive undertaken in Diáspora's 15-year history. Since 25/07/2023:
This is by no means an exhaustive list, but captures the main strands of information uncovered. Where has Red & Black Music come out in all of this?Late in this process, the label got fired from two of the UK's biggest agencies for questioning the agency's booking/contracting processes, whilst simultaneously pursuing an unresolved query with a client - thus making a mockery of the efforts put in to restore confidence, trust, and faith in humanity (more on that story later).
Aside from that, RF's advice still prevails: Not sure of what you said about the future of Diaspora, but please try hard and don't give up never, and also find different musicians in London too, reliable people...it takes time but better having people who don't create problems, like cancel short time before or that don't answer emails... Things got out of control. For a while, between 2018-23, Red & Black Music let go of the ball, eased off, and musicians just walked all over it, yet again. We have come full circle. Clearly, we are back at the place of needing a tighter management structure, an authoritative environment where musicians are held to account. In 2012, a musician asked "I received a friend request from Red & Black Music. What is it all about?" To which the reply was "Red & Black Music is everything to do with music, apart from music." No, and again, no... People are a liability unto themselves. A tighter management structure is needed so that future clients (and agents!) are not let down. Red & Black Music will be looking for a relationship manager in the coming months. To give it a 'human' touch. Without getting too personal. Read More... Emails Event Diary (2) Less Talk, More Action. What Happened To Diaspora Collective? [18/07/2023, 16:37:46] WB: Hi Rory Red & Black Music has had its fair share of tricky clients over the years. Actually, it is quite compelling to sit back and reflect on some of these experiences and we can thank our lucky stars we made it through. Here is a ranking of the absolute worst. 12. MP (2015)Request for "gutsy" music. The audience abandoned the artist mid-performance and expected the artist to follow them out into the garden when he was performing with a wired amp. MP was critical that the artist did not play any of the "gutsy" music she requested. Clearly, the interpretation of "gutsy" did not quite hit the mark. From: MP 11. OP (2022)On the night, OP continually moved the goal posts, changing the running order, timings and even complaining about the band being too loud. The band were not supplied with a proper dressing room or rider, resulting in lots of musician complaints. In the end, the band ganged up on OP and almost pushed him into a corner. It was an incredibly stressful evening. From: Rory Duffy 10. Emma (2014)The clients caused issues in the organisation of the event due to their continual insistence on doing business verbally over the phone. Although the performance was succesful, she was critical of the band's management and described it as "horrific". From: Claire Maillot 9. Zara D (2018)There were two issues with this engagement. The first issue was the unsubstantiated client critique regarding the music on the night. The client booked a jazz band and expected a function band. She continually interrupted the band telling them that they were not "upbeat" enough and requesting music that people could dance to. The second issue was that the final payment was made to the agency and this was not picked up until three months later. From: Production 8. KF (2019)When the performance was delayed due to unforeseen circumstances, KF's father (who was drunk) physically threatened the artist. The artist relayed this information to the agency. Unfortunately, the clients refused to pay, despite the artist travelling from London to Wiltshire. Fortunately, the travel expenses were covered, but the clients also misrepresented rider-related that the artist had said during the course of the event, framing the artist in a negative light to the agency - using this, as a justification for not paying. The sax player before hand seemed brilliant letting me know that he was getting the train and what time it arrived so this put my mind at rest and felt really chilled going in to it! When Rory arrived became and introduced him self to me and let me know the plan. So at this point I was really happy and excited as I know this was going to make my husbands night! 7. RM (2021)RM complained about the dress code, even going to such calculated and cold-blooded lengths as filming the artist without consent during the performance and sending in the footage to the agency. He also alleged that the artist departed five minutes before the end of the performance. He threatened to pursue a refund and accused us of lying. Fortunately, we had learned from the lessons of Zara K and obtained settlement the day before, otherwise it would have been very difficult obtaining payment afterwards. From: RM 6. DM (2013)Not only did Diáspora supply a heavily discounted performance, but also made an additional journey down to Surrey ahead of the performance to discuss the client's needs in person. On the day, none of the timings reflected what was agreed beforehand. DM positioned the clients far away from the seven-piece band, such that the band were effectively performing to no-one. Afterwards, DM ghosted the band's attempts at obtaining feedback for three years, but finally came out of the woodwork and commented "disappointed with the performance you gave on the day, as we felt whilst it was professional and competent, it completely failed to ignite any passion in the audience." He was offered discounted tickets to the band's performance at Jazz Café but no further reply was received from him. The clients failed to realise what a bargain they secured, and should have been charged much more. The event was a whole-day operation and it was an ambitious venue to reach, with little to no phone signal, involving a convoy of about three or four cars and the purchase of a brand new PA system. From: M 5. AO (2016)The wedding timings ran behind. The bride refused to communicate with the artist on the day. The artist was not put in touch with any event coordinator. The artist was left to their own devices, to languish, all the time sensing that the wedding was not running as planned yet powerless to do anything about it. The artist remembers running around madly trying to ask people what was going on and why they would not allow the performance to go ahead. Even the photographer seemed equally confused. Afterwards, the bride accused the artist of not sticking to the contract and said "do your job". She expected the artist to stay longer than contracted, but no one actually made this request explicit. She held the artist responsible for her first dance request not being performed on time. This client was a classical example of poor on-the-day communication. From: Rory Duffy 4. AF (2016)Expected an upbeat performance with the sort of ferocity one might expect from a full band, from a duo. Placed the duo at the opposite end of the building to the guests and claimed that the duo did not interact with the audience. Even went to the length of claiming that some of the guests were laughing at the duo as they departed. There were other issues. Such as expecting the duo to operate wirelessly without having specified this at the point of contract / show advance. Or booking a Latin duo to play Spanish music. AF was not there on the night but seemed to be spying on the duo via CCTV. Not satisfied with leaving negative feedback with the band manager, AF went above and relayed this negative feedback to the agent, endangering the band's reputation. This client is a classic case in compensation culture and expecting more than was actually paid for. From: Claire Maillot 3. Guy Swindell / Jason @ Book Live (2014) 🥉After transporting a full PA system via taxis / trains to Leeds Football Club and back to London, booking some of the North West's top-class Latin musicians and even staying overnight in a hostel. The engagement itself was long, around six hours, with several performances interspersed with complimentary DJ sets. On the day, although the clients paid no attention to the music, Guy Swindell (the lead client) was very praising. Months down the line, Jo uncovered some unsubstantiated client critique that failed to correlate with the positive feedback received on the day. On sharing this with the agent, Jason @ Book Live, in a valiant effort to resolve the unaccounted for issues, Jason struck the band from his books without even notifying us! When questioned, Jason came up with an alternative wording suggesting that Guy had provided separate feedback to him and not to the band. However, when Jo questioned the integrity of this feedback, Jason refused to provide any further information; instead accusing the band of behaving impersonally. On 1 Dec 2015, at 09:56, Jason @ Book Live wrote: On 30 Nov 2015, at 12:13, Jason @ Book Live wrote: On 10 Sep 2014, at 13:15, Guy Swindell wrote: 2. MM (2021) 🥈MM booked Diáspora to perform for a law firm event. He used the phone as a means to bully, intimidate, and manipulate: both with the initial cancellation request and with the unnecessary phone call disguised as "Show Advancing". The Musicians' Union advised "go with 100% cancellation fee as an initial position" and subsequently failed to provide any useful advice on interacting with this cold, calculating individual. On the day, the client attempted to cancel a third time while the band were on our way to the venue. Before and during the event, he repeatedly implied that the bandleader was acting careless and reckless for adhering to the contract, while ignoring the fact that the government had not prohibited office parties. On the night, he was not present and all correspondence was carried out remotely via exchange of e-mails from Colombia. He tricked the band into suggestively "forfeiting" its contract, exploiting the bandleader's autism / communication difficulties to sabotage our fulfilment of the contract. Finally, he threatened legal action. Ultimately, he used his position as treasurer to bully and intimidate the band into backing down when we refused to cancel without charging a cancellation fee. The Musicians' Union issued a directive to stop sending e-mails unless there was a real problem and subsequently did nothing despite membership fees paid. As a result of this escapade, we quit the Musicians' Union a year later. On the night, it was declared that this was the worst client. In hindsight, we withdrew this superlative. While it was certainly the worst Diáspora client, the repercussions were short-lived: the client did not pursue legal action and nothing happened after the fateful night. Hence, on the basis of lasting repercussions (in the subsequent case of three months), the trophy for the worst client remains with Zara K. From: MM 1. Zara K (2018) 🥇The infamous Jewish wedding. Not only did the band prepare accordingly with song requests that were not charged for, rehearsals, specialist Klezma lessons and expensive equipment, but they were asked to stay for two hours longer than agreed, for no extra money. The groom lied to W Entertainment about the bandleader "throwing down the sax" and "storming out" on four occasions, endangered the bandleader's reputation with both agency and musicians and tried to use his lies as a justification for not paying. The clients took three months to pay (during which we had already paid the musicians, leaving us hundreds of pounds out of pocket, despite the weeks of preparation) and only with Musicians' Union intervention. The gig impacted knock-on effects for other clients and relationships and fundamentally changed the way in which Red & Black Music does business, i.e., taking down payments for all Employment Agency clients going forward. In all possible ways, these clients were rotten eggs. Rude, manipulative, devious, and untrustworthy. Psychological abuse tactics involved triangulation (with the involvement of the bride's father, RK), gaslighting and other forms of manipulation (e.g., painting the bandleader out to be incapacitated). From: AT Today, I delighted in feeding back to the Musicians' Union about why I have quit. The 10 Old Bailey incident (Read More: MM). Remember how I was e-mailing the Musicians' Union all week, pointing out the various risks, and they asked me to stop e-mailing them and only get in touch if there is a real problem. Well, I did. Still, I have not heard a peep from them. Not in over a year. Why am I still paying membership? 🤷♂️ I wish I had done it sooner. I might have saved myself over £3K over the course of 13 years. Never mind. That is such a shame when they are supposedly looking after musicians. The Musicians' Union encourage a Virtue Signalling culture. They give musicians a stick to beat one another with, an inflexible complacent "one size fits all model" that does not account for the realities and nuances that occur. None of what happened at the Old Bailey would have happened if I had not taken Musicians' Union advice. Possibly why I haven't heard back from them. Have they e-mailed back? Of course not... Why would they when a haphazard phone call might suffice? 🤪 Read More... MM Musicians' Union Rates (1) Musicians' Union Rates (2) Musicians' Union Rates (3) Risk Factor From: Rory Duffy Diáspora + Fiesta Latina + Phasma + Rory Going under new co-management! Pam @ Tiger Music Entertainment will be managing Red & Black ensemble bookings going forwards. For the past 3.5 years, I have enjoyed the ride, but it has challenged me in ways which fall outside of my comfort zone and do not play to my strengths. Once again, it is time for me to hand the leadership baton to capable hands. I must be honest about neurodiversity and social anxiety: coping with change / upheavals, picking up the phone, and confidently navigating interpersonal relationships. We are all unique in many ways, and each of us has something to offer. As recent experiences have shown, my quiet, admin nature is not suited to the fluid, fast-paced music management role as I would have liked it to be. Therefore, Pam is now our primary contact regarding gigs, money and contracts. She will be facilitating mainly "warm" projects Diáspora & Fiesta Latina, plus "cool" projects Phasma & Rory as and when the opportunities arise. This adjustment will allow me to focus on the creative aspects I thrive in — composition, arrangement, Logic / FileMaker / Weebly-based work and album recordings - whilst improving the working conditions for the musicians. Win Win! Red & Black Music will remain the creative force behind the 4 projects. The only change will be in the way that the live engagements are managed and produced. My trusted partners Tiger Music Entertainment, Pam (management) and Harry (production) will be incorporating all activity in this area. This will give me a bit of a much-needed break, help me simplify my life and enable me to shift my focus back to the artistic vision. Please note that this will affect hire costs and information will be updated in due course. I look forward to working with Pam and restoring a more music-based relationship with everyone!  CM (booking agent) asked ED (artist liaison) to reach out to me regarding some new payment protocols that I have put in place regarding deposits and client contracts, i.e., taking 50% deposits to contract/ink agreements for Employment Agency engagements. From what has been explained to him, he wanted to catch up with me and hopefully get some texture and context, as it had the ability to make quick decisions on the client's behalf virtually impossible with the added steps that I have imposed. Nothing is ever set in stone on the agent's end. So, if they could make my life easier, they would do just that, within the confines of their business structure. ED could see a lot of unnecessary friction down the line and wanted to minimise that for all involved. I thanked ED for reaching out. I was planning on doing so myself, but I was unsure when the appropriate moment would arise. Therefore, I was glad that he e-mailed me, and I appreciated it. I explained the background, and we followed up with a more in-depth conversation once he was back. A law firm booked Diaspora (Dispersion) on 16th December 2021. The client (MM) requested a cancellation due to Covid-19. The MU advised me to charge 100% since the government had not explicitly prohibited office parties, and ’normal’ cancellation conditions applied. With W Entertainment's backing, the client reinstated the performance, but he attempted to cancel a further 2x (including when we were en route to the venue). I had to put my foot down and refuse to subject the musicians to such ambiguous treatment unless I received payment in full. On the night, the client made us sit in an empty lobby for 6 hours while he e-mailed me remotely from Colombia about a sham event that did not exist. It was an extremely anxiety-provoking experience for everyone involved. The musicians were fully committed to the date, and although supportive, they looked to me for the full payment of their fee. It is not only this incident that has led me to this position. In 2018, I experienced two lengthy payment delays from W Entertainment clients, which put me severely out of pocket. On 6th May 2018, a wedding couple (Zara K) kept us at the venue for 2 hours longer than contracted while withholding information about the fluctuating changes to the schedule and held us responsible for the resulting deviations. With MU intervention, it took them until 29th August, almost four months, to pay (via cheque!), and I had to offer them a discount to pay at all. As a result, I made a loss for a booking that I had put considerable time, expense and thought into preparing for over several weeks and months. The situation left me feeling rinsed and exploited, with my faith and trust in humanity decimated. Read More: Zara K The other 2018 incident was a corporate client (Zara D), for who we performed on 1st June 2018. Through no fault of mine, it took them until 30th June 2018 to pay due to an oversight in their invoicing / payment system. Read More: Zara D Over the years, there have been other examples (thankfully, not as serious!). Read More: Late Payments NB: the common ground has been where I am paid directly by the client, and I am left exposed. After the events of 2018, I started re-contracting agency clients with standard MU contracts. Understandably, the practice caused friction with agencies as it was perceived to be a form of undermining. Read More: Contract for LC Contract for LF Stacy The MU could not advise on working via agencies other than reiterating that I needed to use their standard contracts. So, I had no other option but to withdraw from this practice. Regardless of whatever occurs on the client-side, I always pay the musicians the day after the performance to reduce impact. The 16th December incident forcibly reminded me of the risks that I am taking when hiring (as well as being hired). I decided that the simplest way to minimise the risk would be to take 50% deposits from clients when hiring musicians. Voting with my feet seemed like the only way forward. Thus far, W Entertainment and LMM have accommodated this practice even if I am subject to their contracts. That said, I am making exceptions for trusted clients, i.e., Employment Businesses (as opposed to Employment Agencies): where the agency manages the payment rather than the client directly. As such, I remain protected. I have had a fantastic relationship with AN over the last decade. I wished to check with them because there might have been a misunderstanding. In the past, their clients paid me directly. Perhaps this changed? Incidentally, in 2013, I had a cheque bounce from one of their clients who had recently come out of a divorce and was attempting to pay out of her ex-husband’s bank account. Luckily, she made a transfer as soon as I reported it. Sadly, not all clients are as lovely and honest as her. Read More: BACS Payments For the Kew Gardens and Duxford Airfield engagements, AN managed the payment. That is a much safer scenario. If this is the case, and our agreements are with AN (rather than the clients), I would feel comfortable to ink musicians and show advance without taking deposits upfront. I am full of praise for CM, who has worked wonders on the last two bookings. I cannot thank her enough for her kindness, patience, flexibility, perseverance, diligence and understanding (and sense of humour!) at all stages of the negotiations. Of course, I would love to liaise with ED on the best way forward, as it sounds like they are continuing to take all the necessary precautions, for which I am most grateful. ED expressed how he read my e-mail in utter dismay. Clearly, we have been through the mill. Lightheartedly, I apologised for the "drama". I clarified that this protocol was due to a build up of incidents over several years (although it is largely attributable to the MM incident, which was the final nail in the coffin / cherry on top of the cake / straw to break the camel's back). I explained to him about how I used to re-contract and found an alternative way around it by requesting 50% deposits. ED explained that AN can "front" my payment, i.e., they will put on our contracts that payment in full is required 21 days in advance and that if it is not received by that point, AN will step in and manage the payment / cancellation route if it comes to that. He had his managing director on messenger while he was calling. This shows what ramifications one client can have on multiple businesses and relationships. As a musician, I should not even be having to deal with these issues. I recounted what happened with the phone call (14/12/2021). After he had attempted to cancel the 1st time, MM attempted to cancel a 2nd time. On the phone, he was questioning my professionalism and whether or not my actions would put people in danger. He was discussing contractual topics that should not have been discussed with me, least of all verbally! I told ED about how he had me on my own without the safety net of the agent and the Cc. It was intimidating. ED was dismayed and apologetic that I had to go through this. He reassured me that I am well within my rights to end such a telephone conversation by saying that I would need to liaise with my agent and get back to him. This is what I did, to get MM off the phone. As a musician, I am not qualified to have these types of phone calls. These should be handled by the agent. This is why it is much more secure working via agents than directly. ED has now set up our 21 days payment information which will feature on the front of our contracts. In turn, it would be my responsibility to invoice the client well in advance of the event to ensure that the payment terms are upheld. Some corporate clients have a 30 day payment system in place! So, I must invoice early!!! With every enquiry, it might be worth reiterating that this system is set up with advice from the Artist Liaison Team as it is not something that is done as standard for all acts. Subsequently, the terms and conditions of the contract would protect me up to 7 days before the event if the payment has not been made, where a decision would need to be made by me with advice from AN. I have thanked ED for his call and for arranging that. I will continue classifying AN engagements as Type Employment “Agency” (Employment Agency), as I understand that there is still 1 joint contract rather than 2, but I will invoice the client directly at the point of Show Advance (finer details). I will carry out the Show Advance at the point of signing the AN Contract rather than additionally waiting for a deposit before doing so. If the Show Advance happens within 21 days of the event date (i.e., if the booking is short notice), I may need to call ED in again for further advice but hopefully we can cross that bridge if/when we come to it. I understand that this is not standard practice and I appreciate him making a special arrangement for us! From: Rory Duffy
This client has had drastic effects on other events and relationships. It will have profound repercussions on Red & Black Music and Diaspora in terms of how we operate as a business going forward.
The Christmas situation was a COVID-19 cancellation. The client attempted to cancel 2x - both a week before and on the day of the gig (16th December) - due to COVID-19 reasons. The pandemic has brought out the worst in people. At the time, the government had no restrictions. The agency was well aware of this. The Musicians' Union advised charging 100% for the cancellation. Since we were not safeguarded, we might have been liable to lose £100's in musician fees plus legal costs if the client refused to pay. The client acknowledged that the government had not explicitly prohibited office parties. But he refused to comply with advice (from both the Musicians' Union and the agency) that standard gig protocols apply. We liaised with HC, NW and JP at the Musicians' Union London office. While they advised us to go with 100% as an initial position, they could not advise further due to staff shortages. So, we were pretty much left exposed (although the agency thankfully stepped in). From start to finish, this client employed Cloak & Dagger, Hidden Agenda / Ulterior Motive and bullying / coercion / intimidation tactics to get out of the agreement without accepting any financial liability. Once the agreement was reinstated, he deliberately tricked me into phoning him so that he could get me on the phone, alone, without the safety net of the agent and Cc. While he had genuine questions about the performance, these were an alibi to distract the phone call from his true intention: to get me on my own and intimidate me into standing down. He played games with everyone, including the agent. It was unhealthy. The entire band, too. On the night of the performance, he made all 5 members in the band wait in a deserted lobby for 6 hours. He did not feed us as promised. He drip-fed vague updates about a health & safety outbreak as if to reinforce his grounds for his initial non-compliance. He attempted to trick us into forfeiting our side of the agreement by waiting until musicians had gone outside to fetch food as a calculated ruse to claim that the band had not upheld our side of the agreement. Above all, we felt unsafe. His behaviour was shady, dark and disturbing. His correspondence was passive aggressive and toxic. It was an ugly situation. All of the time, MM was communicating with us / fiddling circumstances remotely from Colombia where he was staying with his wife. The entire booking was a setup. A sham event that did not exist. He tapped the reception to spy on us. Although the day receptionist (Eva) seemed uncomfortable and tried to help us, the night security guard was in on the conspiracy. From: MM At the end of the night, after I had sat there alone in the lobby for a further half hour, MM sent me an e-mail threatening us with legal action. Pam & I managed to get some of the other musicians back onsite. The security guard refused to testify that we were in the building. I took a selfie with the security guard and e-mailed it to the Musicians' Union. The situation escalated further. The security guard noticed. He became aggressive and defensive. Once HH & RQ managed to calm him down, the three of us recorded a video outside the building to prove that we were onsite. After the events of that night, I kept my phone off until 21st December. Miraculously, when I turned it back on again, I had heard nothing from MM, W Entertainment or the Musicians' Union. Read More... How was everything resolved with that weird gig just before Christmas? Booking on 16/12/21 with Latin ExplosionFrom: Red Black Music Invoice - Latin Explosion - 16/12/2021From: PW Show Advance - Latin Explosion - 16/12/2021From: Rory Duffy 08/12/2021The client (MM) phoned me via WhatsApp audio. Recollection of the phone call: Unfortunately, due to the ongoing situation with the new variant and the uncertain times, he said that he needed to postpone our booked engagement with Diaspora (billed by the agent as “Latin Explosion”) next Thursday 16/12/2021. He said that it had been a tough decision, which had involved many meetings and he has not taken the decision lightly. He has said that he would like to re-book us for January, but he did not specify a date. Immediately, I said that I understand and appreciate how hard it is, but that our standard policy is that any postponements are treated as a cancellation due to the fact that the musicians have turned down other bookings in order to honour this one. I had booked the musicians. We had already rehearsed and invested time in this booking. The client sounded understanding. I said to MM that I would need to speak to W Entertainment to find out what their policy is on this and get back to him on how much that cancellation would be. We would hopefully be able to come back to him tomorrow to iron everything out. First off, there were 2 problems with this communication:
As such:
Show Advancing aside, this was a contractual topic. As such, it was not a conversation that should have taken place directly with the musician. And it should certainly not have happened on the phone! Regardless, W Entertainment needed to know what was on the horizon. Instantly, I reported it to the Musicians' Union. Missed voice call at 3:34 pm From: Rory Duffy 09/12/2021Before I contacted W Entertainment, I checked with the Musicians' Union what sort of percentage I should be asking for on this occasion. I was leaning towards 75% - 100%. Given the circumstances, I did not wish to act unreasonable. However, my main concern was not inconveniencing the musicians who I contracted using the Musicians' Union standard L2 agreements. They had played their part in accepting the engagement. This was a corporate client. Was there a standard Musicians' Union policy / clause that I could cite or was it unusual circumstances given the pandemic? In that case, what percentage should I be asking for? In my e-mail to the Musicians' Union, I included the following:
That way, the Musicians' Union would be sufficiently briefed in the details of my case. HC reiterated the standard "once a gig is contracted, the full amount is due if the hirer cancels, subject only to an obligation to mitigate the losses by trying to find alternative work for the date in question. This can sometimes be more complex if a third party, e.g., an agency, is involved." HC explained how the Musicians' Union standard contracts work in relation to the sliding scale cancellation fees included in other contracts. She also explained the legal risks of using sliding scales. She advised me to go with 100% as an initial position citing that the musicians could look to me for 100% of their fee. I reiterated all of the above to PW (agent) @ W Entertainment. Regrettably, since we were within a week of the event, I would need to charge for the full 100%. But I needed to check W Entertainment's position on this before going ahead and invoicing MM for the 100%. From: HC 10/12/2021
From: MM From: Rory Duffy From: Rory Duffy 11/12/2021From: MM The following morning, I read MM's response. He was not happy. Wishing to "nip it in the bud" and keep my reply as short, sweet and simple as possible (without engaging with MM's negative content), I paraphrased Claire's e-mail template (Read More: Latin Night) in my reply back to MM. My understanding was that this sort of endearment might suck the power out of his argument. While still showing empathy and warmth (acknowledgement towards his frustrated feelings), of course. At this point, the cancellation had not been confirmed. The musicians were still in the dark. I needed to allow some time for the possibility that MM might backtrack. With the Latin Night example mentioned above, LH backtracked. To this date, none of the musicians booked on the 04/09/2016 Diaspora @ Jazz Café were aware that the performance was nearly cancelled. They did not need to know what was going on behind the scenes. Claire stepped in and saved the day. Ironically, I remember discussing the Jazz Café incident in the car with LA and RB on the morning of that fateful journey up to Staffordshire. LA said something along the lines of "being the Jazz Café, they think that they can get away with anything, because musicians around London want to perform there". From: Rory Duffy From: Claire Maillot From: Claire Maillot 13/12/2021
As predicted, MM backtracked. Annoyingly, 4 hours after I notified the musicians. Admittedly, I was half-hoping that he might proceed with the cancellation payment. But he was playing games. The situation was already causing me stress and anxiety. His response sounded sarcastic. He appeared to believe that we were doing this purely for fun. While there is a musical/enjoyment element, there is also a work element. It is not completely Red & Black (one way or another). His response seemed to focus only on the musical/enjoyment element. It did not acknowledge the reality that the musicians had declined other work to honour his booking and were at risk of losing income if the performance was cancelled. Apart from that, his response was ambiguous and cryptic. There was a Cloak & Dagger element to it. Fundamentally, we needed to clear the ambiguity and bring about clarity in our response back to him. Immediately, I informed HC. Shortly afterwards, I updated the musicians. At 13:41, PW tried calling me and left a voice mail. She had been reading through the e-mails with MM and wanted to talk through it with me on the phone. I was a little hesitant about speaking to PW on the phone without first speaking to HC. Just in case she threw in any curveballs of her own. I felt pressurised to respond instantaneously on the phone. I did not know who to trust. At this point, HC referred me to her colleague, NW. We agreed on communication needing to be made in a written form. I paraphrased one of Claire's e-mails about written communication plus a line from the How not to bomb your offer negotiation blog article that she recommended me, to safely articulate this message to PW. For the rest of the day, I did not hear back from PW. I needed to give her another 'heads up' that I would e-mail MM the following morning with the drafted message inside the drafted message. That evening, I updated the musicians on the situation. My message to the musicians needed to articulate that the cancellation might not go ahead while addressing any concerns that they might have about mitigating losses etc. The e-mail needed to be clear and unambiguous, with a clear call to action: to continue inking. Understandably, the bassist contacted me to clarify the confusion over whether or not the performance was cancelled. MM's fluctuating behaviour was confusing everyone. NB: correspondence is presented in reverse order.
From: Rory Duffy From: MM From: Rory Duffy From: Rory Duffy From: Rory Duffy From: Rory Duffy From: HC From: NW From: Rory Duffy From: NW From: Rory Duffy From: Rory Duffy From: Rory Duffy From: Rory Duffy From: Rory Duffy [10:09 pm, 13/12/2021] DI: Good evening Rory. Sorry for texting you so late. I just went through all the emails from today and I’m quite confused… is the gig still going ahead on Thursday? 14/12/2021The following morning, I sent my drafted message to MM. He replied with an even more ambiguous and cryptic message. It sounded sarcastic. Apparently, there was no longer an event. It seemed as though he intended us to perform in an empty office to no guests as a form of 'punishment'. It was not clear how I should respond. Immediately, I ran it past NW, HC and the London office (I received an out-of-office from NW). I felt left in the dark by the Musicians' Union. Fortunately, PW stepped in and sent the tabbed contractual terms and conditions to MM. She suggested that she mediate the communication between myself and MM for the time being. This is what I was hoping she would say. I felt uncomfortable negotiating with him directly. She also asked me to clarify what the cancellation fee would be if MM cancelled and clarified that this must exclude transport. PW reached out to MM and persuaded him to agree to the contractual terms. Shortly afterwards, PW came back to me and informed me that MM had decided to go ahead after all but that we would be performing to just a couple of people in a near empty office. She relayed to me that MM had asked if I could give him a call to go through the details. PW stepped up and reminded him of the terms and conditions and had a chat with him separately. It seemed like he had thrown his toys out of the pram because he had not understood that there are no government restrictions in place to stop events and parties going ahead. The deal was we would be performing to an office of 2 or so people. I reckoned that there would be more of us in the band (5) than actual audience. And they were ordering pizzas and drinks for us! Again, I expressed my reservations about having a phone call to PW. She insisted that it would be a sensible idea to connect with MM on the phone. Knowing that this would be a recipe for disaster, I tried to contact the Musicians' Union to find a conceivable way out of it. I am a musician. Phone calls are not my job and certainly do not play to my strengths. The Musicians' Union were not responding. Now that MM had agreed to pay in advance, I had no other option but to comply with PW's request to connect with MM on the phone. I was cornered. With no way out. NB: correspondence is presented in reverse order.
From: Rory Duffy From: Rory Duffy From: MM From: Rory Duffy From: Rory Duffy From: PW From: PW From: Rory Duffy From: PW From: Rory Duffy From: PW From: Rory Duffy From: Rory Duffy From: PW From: Rory From: Rory Duffy From: MM The phone call...As predicted, the phone call with MM did not go well at all (why did I even fall for such bait?). This critical moment is possibly the point at which the relationship deteriorated beyond repair.
"Hi MM, how are you doing etc.?" "Fine etc." Rory: "So, just giving you a call to check that you are happy with everything and to go through any additional details." MM: "No, I am not happy." Rory: "Good." * long silence * Great start to the conversation. 👍 In my nerves, I accidentally said "good" when he told me that he was not happy. Well, what else what I was supposed to say? "I am sorry you are not happy" might have felt odd, contrived and superficial. I had nothing to be sorry for! Any Self Subjugation might have encouraged further attacks. Perhaps I might have taken the time to properly plan and think through my responses? Oh yes, I forget. It was a phone call. He was on the end of the other line, waiting for me to stumble blindly into his tricks and traps. I felt so pressurised that I let the first words slip out that came to mind. 😑 First, he asked me what music we have been rehearsing. Briefly, I regurgitated to him the genres from our set list (attached). I explained to him that we have stuck to the brief that he asked for:- Wife is Colombian and the client listens to a lot of Cumbia. Generally happy to go with the SALSA + LATIN POP set lists. It would be maybe interesting to slip in a couple of BRAZILIAN (RD can cover those songs if need be). But mainly SALSA + LATIN POP. Well, that was pointless. Why did we have to have a conversation about it? It was written in the e-mail! Read More: "Bookings" in which we. breath deeply down the phone and orally stress the contractual points until they sink into our deeper subconscious, for gentle, nurturing purposes. 🙄 If he wanted PERSONAL, I would give him PERSONAL. Second, he asked me whether the soft drinks arrangement is acceptable. I confirmed that this was completely 100% fine. Next question? 💁♂️ Third, he asked me to confirm which members of the band are arriving at 16:30. I said definitely myself and most likely our percussionist who will be helping me carry the PA. Subsequently, I went on to say that I had set a call time of 16:30 with the musicians and that we should therefore all be there at 16:30. WTF - why was I even needing to explain or justify myself? I did not have the musicians Show Advance in front of me so it took time to formulate my answers. It was a quick fire conversation. Again, why a discussion about the time when it was written in the e-mail? If in doubt, find a clock! Finally, he started asking me ambiguous questions regarding the contractual details in relation to the latest COVID-19 outbreak. Heaven help us. The questions were open-ended, open to interpretation/nuance, something like “do you still think that it is a good idea to go ahead?” I decided to stick with the facts. I explained that I have no choice in the matter. He asked what I meant by that. I reiterated that the musicians have invoiced me for the full fee regardless of whether or not it goes ahead. MM said that he had other suppliers that had no issue with postponement. My impression: he seemed to be implying that I was acting unreasonably. I asked if he could please discuss any contractual details with W Entertainment. He said that he has already done that. He wanted to find out my take on it. He started asking me ambiguous questions about my professional opinion (independent of W Entertainment). I cannot remember the questions. They were asked to me verbally and my mind was in a spin. I said that I would need to formulate a response and get back to him. He demanded why I could not simply give him a straight answer, there and then. Eventually, I cracked. I expressed my discomfort at having a conversation about contractual issues verbally over the phone. I asked him if we could have this conversation in a written form, via e-mail / WhatsApp. What? Another long, awkward silence. I felt like I had said something obscene! Shakily, I persisted. Could we please have this conversation in writing? He said that he did not have time. I asked him if he could please grant me time to formulate my answers and speak to him later in the afternoon. He questioned why I would need to think about it. I admitted that I did not understand what he was asking me. He reiterated that he was asking me a simple, straightforward question. Why could I not answer it? Eventually, I managed to say that I would come back to him later in the afternoon. Just to get him off the phone. He relented. Despite my alarm, I managed to maintain a cheerful, positive and upbeat tone throughout the conversation and expressed my appreciation for this time. These are all the details that I can remember. Exactly as I feared — this conversation should not have happened over the phone. It was sickening. It did not resolve anything. It made matters worse. As a result, the heated exchanges were lost, unmonitored, untraced and unaccounted for. All that I remember is that the tone was sour. How should we proceed? Now, there was an unhealthy atmosphere with this client, despite how much I attempted to appease him. I re-iterated all of the above to PW and expressed my gratitude for her support. During MM's enforced drama of a phone call, I had deliberately put the phone on speaker and started walking around the office when he was interrogating me (I was at work). That way, it was broadcast in close proximity of any colleagues who might be working nearby. My colleague, Maria, overheard the phone call. She demanded me to let her talk to him. She did not like the way in which she was speaking to me. Half the time, I was in shock, pointing at the phone with my mouth half-open and my eyes wide. Afterwards, I felt sick and trembling. The rest of the evening was a disjointed blur of e-mails and phone calls with PW, Pam and Graham from the Musicians' Union London office and WhatsApp with LA. PW was extremely sympathetic and understanding. She seemed apologetic that she had exposed me to this and suggested that she mediate with MM to clear the air. Everyone seemed to agree on the possibility that MM had an ulterior motive. Apparently, his phone call was a calculated ruse to provoke me into cancelling. That way, the client might be 'let off the hook'. If such a cancellation were my doing, that might give MM the grounds to insist that he had honoured his side of the agreement. Thereby disqualifying me from any cancellation fees. Regardless, I resolved to continue treating the booking as a contracted engagement. What a mess of emotional angst over something as clinical as a contract! 🙇♂️ From: Rory Duffy From: Rory Duffy From: Rory Duffy From: Rory Duffy From: Rory Duffy 15/12/2021By the end of the previous day, PW & I agreed to wait and see if the payment would arrive by 10:00. And take it from there. By 10:00, the payment had still not arrived. At this point, PW passed on a message from MM clarifying the question that he tried to ask me on the phone the previous day. I was shocked that MM was still questioning contractual points when he had cancelled, backtracked and tried to cancel again. Basically, MM must pay us. Regardless of whether the actual performance would go ahead or not. We were committed to the date. Payment must be made either in remuneration for the performance or in the form of a cancellation fee. This had progressed too far. I relayed this to PW that it was too late to discuss contracts. PW phoned MM and was 'straight' with him. She explained to him that this was the situation: he had made a booking, the band needed paying. She gave him a deadline of 15:00 to make payment (although we would wait until 16:00 before taking any further action). She explained to him that if payment was not received by 15:00, the band would not be turning up and the matter would be re-routed to a cancellation for which a full 100% cancellation fee was due. I understood that she had also spoken with JP @ Musicians' Union. She explained to MM that if payment is not received, the band were entitled to take legal action and "go through the court". PW phoned MM again. MM insisted that he was fully committed to paying. He said that the payment would be made by 17:00 (within working hours). He also asked PW if the band would consider accepting a separate booking next year and putting some money from this booking towards that booking (subsidising it, effectively). Instantly, I said no. Treat it as a separate booking, it was too complicated (you see, I have manifested what agents have said to us). Given the undue disruptions to this booking, I would rather focus on this booking for the time being. Any discussion regarding future date/s will be a completely separate conversation. The situation had been a headache for all parties (and all musicians) involved. Charging MM in full was completely warranted given the time that we had spent working through this together. Besides, how stupid did MM think I was? My confidence in him as a client had already been completely decimated. Did he truly think that I would trust him with another booking? My main priority was to get myself and the band out of this sticky situation he had already landed us in. MM indicated that he would like to go ahead with tomorrow's performance. He had every intention of paying. Was he aware of the 15:00 payment cut-off point? I understood that he was brief on this in this first phone call with PW. No. He explained that the payment would be with us "within working hours". This did not mean anything to me. If payment was not received by 17:00, we would not attend and the matter would become subject to cancellation terms. PW would put that in an e-mail to MM and Cc me. MM mentioned that he would be the main contact. For the band's peace-of-mind, we would prefer not to have to deal with him on the day. It would be preferable if the receptionist's details could be used instead. Originally, Daisy and Gemma were delegated as on-the-day contacts. Since everything changed, MM stated that the receptionist would be the main on-the-day contact. PW e-mailed MM clarifying:
Finally, MM made the payment. I notified PW, the Musicians' Union and the band that everything would be going ahead as agreed tomorrow. The same afternoon, MM reiterated that he had offered me a reasonable alternative to performing tomorrow, which I had rejected. In his e-mail, he held me accountable for the consequences of my actions and decisions. From: Rory Duffy From: Rory Duffy From: PW From: Rory Duffy From: Rory duffy From: "Musicians Union (London Region)" From: NNW From: Rory Duffy From: Rory Duffy From: Rory Duffy From: Rory Duffy From: Rory Duffy From: PW From: Rory Duffy From: Rory Duffy From: PW From: Rory Duffy From: MM 16/12/2021 - The Big Day[2:29 pm, 16/12/2021] Rory Duffy: How you getting on? At 14:30, I started moving the instruments and equipment downstairs. At 14:47, HH arrived to help me load the Uber, although he was mainly there for morale-boosting purposes. I felt apprehensive. Somehow, I sensed that this might be a precarious day. The taxi driver seemed bemused at the amount of luggage that we had between us. I explained to him that we were performing for a legal firm. The taxi driver went off on one about 'corporate bastards who control people with money'. When I recounted to him how the client had already tried to cancel 2x, the taxi driver's advice was to take our money and run. As we were driving past Waterloo, I checked my e-mails and read the e-mail that MM had sent 20 minutes earlier. It was an ultimatum. For those initial moments, I felt indifferent and turned a blind eye to it. The message seemed superfluous and it did not register. It was like reading a foreign language. Suddenly, it hit me. He was trying to back out again! Before reacting/thinking about it further, I immediately e-mailed him back to let him know that we were on our way. No further discussion. For the rest of the taxi journey, I was in hysterical disbelief that the client was trying to back out this late in the day! It was unbelievable! I was both amazed and apprehensive. If he could try to do this, what else could he try next? Fortunately, he had included PW on Cc. There was no need for me to relay anything to the agency. They could see exactly what was going on. Mentally, I resolved to keep the agency on Cc throughout the evening (even if they might not pick up until the following day). And all conversation in writing. Just in case something weird happened. At 15:33, HH & I arrived at 10 Old Bailey. We unloaded the gear and reported to the receptionist, Eva. It felt slightly odd walking into such a corporate, bureaucratic establishment with our musical instruments and brightly-coloured stage costumes. We looked a little out of place. It also seemed an unlikely venue for a salsa performance. Regardless, we understood that the party itself would be happening in the offices in the floors above. I was slightly apologetic to Eva for being early as we were not due until 16:30. I clarified with her that we would be happy to leave our instruments in the building and grab a coffee for an hour. The real reason for arriving early was that I did not know what lay ahead of us and I wanted to be on the "front foot" at all times. Eva told us that we would not be able to go upstairs to the performance space until 16:30. But she was perfectly fine with us leaving our belongings there. She smiled and offered us a mince pie. HH & I left the building. Half-way up the street, I remembered that we needed to take our lateral flow tests. We walked back and dashed into the building. I mentioned it to Eva on passing (just in case she was wondering why we were back soon). HH advised me that it would be sensible to take the lateral flow tests in the bathroom rather than publicly in a coffee shop. Eva pointed us in the direction of the bathroom where we took our lateral flow tests. We went and bought coffees in the Pret A Manger opposite St Paul's Cathedral. Unfortunately, the café was closing as soon as we arrived. We needed to take away. We wandered around St Paul's for a short while before finding some tables outside to sit and drink our coffees. At this point, Pam phoned back and spoke to both of us on speaker phone. We had a quick chat outside the coffee shop and agreed that we need to be aware of what was going on. Just in case Mark tried to play any more games with us. We returned to 10 Old Bailey at 16:30. We reported to Eva and told her that we were ready to move our instruments upstairs. She made a phone call. It was possibly MM on the other end. I tensed up. She relayed to us that the clients were in a meeting and MM had instructed us to wait in the lobby. She assured us that someone would come down shortly and show us up. At 16:50, we were still sat in the lobby. The other musicians had arrived. MM was keeping us downstairs in the lobby and instructed Eva to keep us there while they prepared the space upstairs for us. Eva did not think that there was anyone upstairs in the performance space. She advised me to wait. MM would notify her when we could go upstairs. Mindful that the set up and sound check required 2 hours (remembering the infamous Galvin La Chapelle fiasco of 03/10/2015, Read More: Yesterday), I raised my concerns with the Musicians' Union. A shorter set up and sound check might put additional, unwanted pressure upon us in what already was a highly pressurised situation. The client was instructed both verbally and in writing via our Show Advance e-mail that we require 2 hours to set up as standard. I wanted to keep everyone in the loop so that we were on the front foot in all respects. Shortly before 17:00, I began to develop a paranoia. My anxiety was over whether the late set up / sound check might be a deliberate ruse to sabotage our fulfilment of the contract. I remembered what happened with Zara K and how her wedding party put us in a position of not knowing what was happening around us. I was imagining all sorts of horror stories. Regardless, my main priority was to ensure that I, at least, responded to the shifting, evolving eventualities in the best possible way. Thus, I needed guidance at each and every step. Should I have e-mailed MM and asked him what was going on? Should I have reminded him that we needed the 2 hours? I did not wish to come across pushy. At the same time, I was aware that if I did not do anything (as what happened with Zara K), MM could claim that the set up / sound check was late and try to hold the band responsible. Shortly after 17:00, I persuaded Eva to e-mail me a confirmation that me and the band arrived at 10 Old Bailey, London, on 16th December 2021 at 15:33. I took a screen shot of a map with a time stamp and some photos of us waiting in the lobby. These would also have time stamps when they come through to my Photos app. Despite these precautions, JP @ Musicians' Union assured me not to worry. We were there on time and were going to play the gig. At the moment, JP could not offer me any further advice as we were paid for the work which seemed to be going ahead. He assured me that I could get in touch after the gig if there were any issues. At 17:15, Pam advised us to get into our stage costumes and be as show ready as we can before they let us into the performance space. Since I was already in my stage costume, I directed the other musicians to the bathrooms and asked them to get changed and also mount their instruments. If the set up and sound check were due to go ahead, at least this might save us some time. I was unwavering on the 2 hours needed, though. I knew that if there was further delay, the performance start time might be delayed. I continued to document everything with JP @ Musicians' Union and Pam via e-mail and WhatsApp. JP requested me to stop e-mailing the Musicians' Union. He advised me to keep a record of what happened and reminded me to get in touch tomorrow if there were a problem. I could not believe it. I have been a paying member since 2010. At 17:19, MM e-mailed to report that their meeting was overrunning and that they would allow us access when they could. I drafted a quick response. My main concern was flagging up that a late set up / sound check could delay the start time. Just in case he wished to tweak the performance timings accordingly (e.g., condense it into 1 set). Although Pam advised me to follow up the e-mail with a phone call, I was adamant that all communication must be made in writing. In retrospect, I am glad that I stood my ground. A few drafts later, I replied to MM with an open-ended response. At 17:00 (approximately), on recommendation of the musicians, I asked Eva if there was a room near the function room where we could get ready to make it faster for the client. Eva had no idea and we began to wonder whether we should ask Mark this question. As 18:00 steadily loomed, my anxiety increased. Since the Musicians' Union were no longer available to advise me, I bit the bullet and started making contact with the agency to update them on the situation. I left them a voicemail alerting them of our confusion. The musicians were asking me questions. What was going on? Shortly before 18:00, LA declared that someone from the client's side needed to come down, explain to the musicians what was going on and, if they were able to, escort us upstairs to the performance space. At 18:00, the lights in the glass-covered rooms around the lobby went out. Eva was no longer at her desk. The building was eerily silent. I went to check that the revolving door at the front was not locked. Initially, it did not open. Fortunately, it opened after a brief moment. I was worried that they might lock us in. However, I started to grow concerned about the safety of the musicians both physically and psychologically. I felt responsible. This was on my shoulders. I began to develop dark imaginings. Desiderata taught me that such fears were born from fatigue and loneliness. Although I was surrounded by friends, I felt lonely. Again, I e-mailed the Musicians' Union. I hypothesised whether or not it might be safest to extricate the musicians and evacuate the building while we were still able to. I could not have it on my conscience that anything could happen to them as a direct result of my decisions and actions. As expressed in the e-mail from MM. Internally, I began to question whether this was not to do with COVID-19 but actually a veiled threat of retaliation for standing my ground with regards to the cancellation fee. The demons were starting to devour my mind, clouding my judgement. I tried to think clearly. I was worried about our security. Equally, I was conscious that the client requested us to stay until 21:30. There was something about the ultimatum e-mail that rang true. Inwardly, I resolved to stay until 21:30. Regardless of what the other musicians might decide what to do. I asked the Musicians' Union if my concerns about our security were well-founded. Had the Musicians' Union ever dealt with band hostage situations? Or was my mind playing tricks on me? Was I freaking out for no reason? At 18:17, having heard nothing from either Musicians' Union or W Entertainment emergency number, I decided to reach out directly to MM. I formulated LA's request into milder terms. It would be great if someone could escort us upstairs so that we could set up and start promptly for him / them. With an open-ended request for any updates. Immediately, MM reported some health and safety issues. The message did not reveal any more. Again, we were left to speculate. Had someone not carried out a risk assessment? Had someone had an accident? Or, was the performance space not ready / adequately-equipped for the band? A few moments later, MM followed up with a second message asking if we were ready. This seemed to indicate that they would be able to proceed with the performance shortly, albeit slightly late. I took this as an opportunity to remind MM what we had discussed previously in our Show Advance: We needed at least 1 hour to set up our instruments and equipment. Usually, we allow for / request 2 hours. Knowing that there might be at least a slim chance of someone at W Entertainment being on the line, I confided in them that the musicians were starting to debate whether they should stay until 19:00 and leave if no further progress was made. They were starting to seed doubt that there was an event happening or that MM would like us to perform at all. I felt powerless. Everything (apart from the timings) appeared to be consistent with what was on paper. The band had been paid. The gig would be going ahead. Of course, I wanted to reassure them of this and persuade them to stay. But as time was slipping by, there appeared to be less and less reasons for justifying this. What was happening in actuality was not reflecting what was happening on paper. There was a disparity between actuality and account that was so fundamentally wrong, I could not get my head around it. For the moment, all I could do was thank MM for the update and hope that the musicians would agree to sit tight. 18:30 (our scheduled performance time) came and went. Something was definitely wrong. I could feel it. I started to tremble. I needed to focus on my breathing. Pam reminded me that I was around friends and to keep relaying everything to her. Ensure that the musicians were dressed and ready to perform (at short notice, if need be). I decided to get out my saxophone and blow some licks. This would help both the breathing and the professionalism. Two birds. One stone. At 18:36, MM e-mailed me a longer message. It did not explain anything or provide us with any guidance regarding the immediate situation and timings. It only described the wider situation at large. It finished with a vague request for our continued patience. Nowadays, I realise that this was a Cloak & Dagger legal move. On paper, the court might look favourably on this communication and perceive the client to be upholding his side of the agreement. Specifically, by the absence of permission for us to leave. However, I did not read between the lines. I did not engage with any of its cryptic, illusory content. Instead, I thanked him for the update (as always) and asked a closed question. When did he envisage that they would be able to inform us of the performance start time? I requested an approximate timeline. In hindsight, it appears that Pam and the musicians advised me to stick with the specifics. Not to let the conversation wander into ambiguous territory. I could sense something fishy was going on. I was ill-equipped in knowing how to respond. I was receiving a lot of help from the people around me. Stick with what I do know sounded like sensible advice.
All we needed was an approximate timeline. Regardless of the wider context and/or implications. We were well beyond discussing contractual topics. All we needed to do was focus on the job/task at hand and ensure that the performance went ahead. As 19:00 came and went, the musicians continued to debate how long they should stay. We discussed the possibility of ordering food (since the client had offered to feed us), but my mind was not functioning properly to make a concrete decision. Despite our contract, I felt as in the dark as the other musicians. Pam & I speculated what we had discussed a couple of hours previously. The possibility that there was no event. Although we were relieved that I had evidently requested specific instruction from the client, we were struggling to keep the morale up with the musicians who were growing tired and hungry. They were looking to me for instruction. Whether they should stay or fetch food. Pam advised me to relax and not try to control circumstances. Repeatedly, I insisted that I would be staying until 21:30. Apart from that, I would not make any decisions on behalf of everyone. At 19:27, MM e-mailed saying that he was waiting for someone to come down to us and give us an update. DI popped out to fetch food. LA, seeing that I was not in control, stepped up herself. She decided to march upstairs and ask if we could leave. She went and spoke to the night security guard who was now sitting on reception. Unfortunately, no-one could authorise us to infiltrate the internal security doors and there was no apparent staircase in sight. DI changed into his casual clothes and came out of the bathrooms. Initially, I did not recognise him and thought that he was a staff member working in the building. Such was the extent of my mental disorientation, by this point. At 19:45, I e-mailed MM with a straight, closed question. What time would someone be able to come downstairs and update us? LA departed to fetch food. I could see that she was visibly upset. She explained that unless she eats something, she was going to end up acting rude to whoever eventually came downstairs. The uncertainty was affecting all of us. The situation was uncomfortable. We needed to calm everyone down. Pam highlighted the terms of the contract and the fact that we were meeting them. She explained that the situation was more complicated than meets the eye, but not personal. Shortly after 20:00, HH & RQ went out to eat. I continued sitting there discussing everything with Pam via WhatsApp. Another half an hour passed. I knew that there was only an hour remaining until I could leave. I was perfectly happy and content to sit there and wait. If the clients arrived and requested a last minute performance, I still had my saxophone, my backing tracks and my PA. And my voice (to sing). Even if the rest of the band were no longer there. Gradually, my breathing and my heartbeat returned to normal. The post-panic attack bliss felt like it did when I sat in the garden of Northbrook Park. I was going to get through this. I was going to sit tight and enjoy the tranquility. Nothing more. Nothing less. It gave me time to think. A nice, quiet time. I could take a step back from my life and consider things from a distance. Like why I was working as a musician, at all. The events of the evening had made me question everything. I was indebted to Pam for all that she had done to help me. And for all the comfort and support she had provided me on the end of the phone throughout the evening. Still, was it worth it? Slightly stunned and numb, I continued to sit there and wait for another half hour. Shortly after 21:00, I picked up an e-mail from MM. He had found out (from the concierge) that the musicians had left the premises. He was threatening me with legal action. The upshot was an ironic manifestation / confirmation / articulation of what I had feared all along. If it were not for the grave situation, my first emotion was relief that my fears and suspicions were well-founded. And that I had been right to pester both the Musicians' Union and W Entertainment. Trust in myself. Critically, I needed either Musicians' Union or W Entertainment to step up and tell me what to do in this situation. But they were unreachable. Instead, I had received nothing but silence. It was a frustrating, disempowering situation to be in, having raised a cry for help and received nothing back. The knowledge that I might have prevented much worse from happening if I understood what I needed to say and do. Knowing that I might have been able to prevent such an outcome from happening had I received legal advice from the invested parties. The next few minutes were a blur of emotions. Pam managed to call RQ & HH back to the venue. She instructed me to call LA, which I did. LA, although shocked and surprised, assured me that there was nothing that the clients could do, legally. There were no grounds. A few minutes later, RQ & HH returned to find me in a trembling, sobbing mess with Pam at the other end of the phone helping me to take deep breaths. I grit my teeth and made a decision, there and then. I would obtain proof that we were there until 21:30. By hook or by crook. Even if I had to go down on one knee and beg the concierge. I was not leaving this building until I had an e-mail from him. Just like I had an e-mail from Eva. The security guard owed it to me. If he were responsible for reporting to MM that the band had left the premises. Single-mindedly, I continued contemplating this decision while HH & RQ were asking me what I wanted to do. I might have explained my decision to them. At 21:30, I marched up to the reception and asked him if he could send me an e-mail. Stating that the musicians were onsite at 21:30, as agreed. Initially, the security guard looked quizzically at me. Steadily, I recounted to him how Eva had done the same for me that afternoon. The security guard explained that he did not have access to the e-mail system. I asked if he could send me one from his phone. He shook his head. I tried to give him my e-mail address, but he continued shaking his head. I lifted my iPhone and took a photo of him while he was talking to me. He did not notice. Suddenly, I realised that I would need to be in the photo for it to be justifiable as proof. Given what had happened, I might not have been thinking straight. I waited until he finished talking. I tried to distract him by pretending to call over HH & RQ. I took 2 selfies with the security guard in the background. This time, he noticed and tried to shield his face. He stood up from his chair and came outside the glass of the reception. He asked if I took a photo of him. Instantly, I said no. I needed time to think. I started walking around the lobby. With my back to him, an arc around the lobby allowed me enough time to surreptitiously take out my phone and e-mail the photos to the Musicians' Union as proof. He might have noticed and/or questioned my intentions with RQ & HH. When I came back, he was in full-on defensive mode. He said something along the lines of "I know you have been having trouble with MM". He demanded what I was doing. Innocently, I said that I was there to play the saxophone. I reminded him that we were performing earlier. He laughed bitterly and warned me not to play games with him, calling me a smart arse. He demanded what I was doing, walking around taking photos. Did I realise that I could be arrested for doing what I did? Feebly, I explained that I was admiring the Christmas decorations and wanted to capture them so I could show my family back at home. He asked to clarify if he was in the photo. Still, I needed time to think through my responses. I continued lying and tried to avoid him. Hurriedly, I began to pack up my equipment. The security guard was bearing down on me, growing aggressive by the second. He demanded me to hand over my phone. I refused. I clarified that I did not know him and that I would not hand over my phone to a stranger. He continued demanding why I did not show him my phone. I disengaged. I was not willing to engage with him any further. By doing so, I might be putting myself in danger. I managed to get my cases and luggage outside. I waited outside and began to order an Uber. Suddenly, HH came out. He was panicked and distressed. I had never seen him like this. He looked at me square and urged me to step back inside the building. Perplexed, I asked why. HH warned me that if I did not comply, there might be worse consequences. I paused for a second. Quickly, I took out my phone and deleted two of the three photos, leaving just one. The one with the security guard in the background, hiding his face. I held my phone out to the security guard and showed him while keeping the phone safely gripped in my hand. The security guard seemed to be satisfied. He wondered what all the fuss was about. I was like, "well, you tell me?" I went to help HH carry his kit out of the building. On my way out, I cheerily wished the security guard a pleasant evening. My mind was racing. Outside, HH filmed a video of me and RQ showing the time and proving that we were still at the premises, as per our contracted time. I ordered an Uber. The security guard came outside and started smoking a cigarette. Which did nothing to help my anxiety. HH assured me that it was OK and we had "cleared the charges". The security guard had nothing on me. RQ departed separately for the tube. HH & I loaded our gear into the Uber and hopped in. HH encouraged me to continue collecting evidence. I had the Uber receipt e-mailed to me. I phoned W Entertainment explaining what had happened. I arrived home at about 22:15. After saying goodbye to HH, the first thing that I did (before even thinking about food) was to pay the musicians. That way, I could at least get them off my conscience. I was not going to let this bring them down with me. Once I had paid the musicians, shortly before the Tesco was due to close at 23:00, I went out to fetch food. On the way back from the Tesco and while cooking my meal, I spent an hour on the phone with Pam, relating my anxiety of having told W Entertainment "I am still here". It is good to have her to talk to. She offered to speak with W Entertainment and the Musicians' Union, if need be. I think that this was a good idea. Basically, I was tricked and manipulated by the client. I did not understand what was happening around me / process everything quick enough because of my ASD and having to "read between the lines". They were horrible. RQ was sorry that I had to deal with that! His last e-mail read calculated like he had drafted it earlier in the evening and was sat there watching us with 1 finger on the trigger. It was cold-blooded. I should not let him intimidate me. It was calculated. Fundamentally, MM had used the phone call to identify a weakness in me. He saw my docile nature as an opportunity. He was acting opportunistically. He knew that I would not be able to keep the musicians onsite. He exploited my weakness. But it was OK. I had done nothing wrong. We (the band) were still there at the contracted end time. We had gathered enough evidence. All I needed to do was let the storm pass and lie low for a week or so. I stayed up until 01:00 unpacking and packing for my wedding gig the following day. Finally, I settled down and managed to sleep. From: MM From: Red Black Music From: MM From: Red Black Music [4:50 pm, 16/12/2021] Rory Duffy: Ok situation is; the client is keeping us downstairs in the lobby and instructed the receptionist to keep us there while they prepare the space upstairs for us. From: Rory Duffy From: Rory Duffy [4:58 pm, 16/12/2021] Rory Duffy: Basically, I am a little anxious that this is a deliberate ruse to delay the setup and sabotage our fulfilment of the contract. From: Rory Duffy From: Rory Duffy From: Reception [5:06 pm, 16/12/2021] Rory Duffy: Eva (receptionist) has confirmed verbally that we were there and signed in from 15:33, she will email me on this address From: Rory Duffy From: Rory Duffy From: JP [5:10 pm, 16/12/2021] Rory Duffy: I have forwarded you the receptionists email,
From: Rory Duffy From: JP From: MM [5:20 pm, 16/12/2021] Pamela: Do u have Mark number From: Rory Duffy [5:31 pm, 16/12/2021] Rory Duffy: === From: Red Black Music [5:34 pm, 16/12/2021] Rory Duffy: I am a paying member and have been since 2010, I can’t believe this 😱 From: Red Black Music From: Red Black Music [6:02 pm, 16/12/2021] Rory Duffy: I am really bugging out now. The lights in the glass boxes around the lobby just went out. The receptionist isn’t here. I went to check that the revolving door at the front is not locked. It did open. From: Rory duffy [6:11 pm, 16/12/2021] Rory Duffy: I have sent this to the MU. From: Red Black Music [6:18 pm, 16/12/2021] Rory Duffy: I have reached out to the client with the agent on Cc From: MM From: MM From: Red Black Music From: Red Black Music From: Red Black Music [6:29 pm, 16/12/2021] Pamela: Are u all dressed and ready
[6:31 pm, 16/12/2021] Pamela: Just do what u can
[6:33 pm, 16/12/2021] Rory Duffy: I will get my sax out From: MM From: Red Black Music [6:46 pm, 16/12/2021] Rory Duffy: No time to run it through grammarly as I would usually 😓 From: MM [7:34 pm, 16/12/2021] Rory Duffy: DI has left now From: Red Black Music [7:46 pm, 16/12/2021] Pamela: Look at ur contract do u need too all be there for conditions of the contract to be met
[7:52 pm, 16/12/2021] Rory Duffy: And then there were 3 
From: MM [9:03 pm, 16/12/2021] Rory Duffy: This is precisely why I insisted on staying as I feared that this might happen From: Rory Duffy
From: Rory Duffy The ramifications...Since December 2021, for all ensemble (2-piece and above) quotes, we require a 50% non-refundable deposit to secure the booking. The remaining payment is due, at the very latest, 48 hours before the contracted arrival time. This applies only to Direct + Employment Agency bookings (Employment Business bookings are exempt). AN - DuxfordFrom: Rory Duffy From: Rory Duffy From: CM From: Rory Duffy From: CM - AN From: CM Begin forwarded message: From: Rory Duffy AN - KewFrom: Rory Duffy LMMOn 13 Feb 2022, at 22:55, SM wrote: We have not heard anything from the client, agency or Musicians' Union. Nothing. Not a peep. Hopefully, we will not! At least not from the client.
What should we have done? In case that ever happens again? Pam reckoned we should have asked all of the musicians to stay until 21:30, even if I had to order in food and drink (since, after all, they had agreed to feed us; they were effectively breaking that part of the deal). But she continually reassured me that it is OK, just a minor detail. The fact that I was there was enough, and we managed to persuade RQ & HH to return. What happened afterwards? I asked the night security guy to e-mail me with the time that we departed the premises. Like the day lady (Eva). He refused, saying that "he did not have access to the building's e-mail system". Convenient, since it was him who informed the client about musicians leaving. Anyway, I took a selfie with him and e-mailed it to the Musicians' Union. Apparently, that was illegal. I was not acting in a rational mindset. The security guy noticed and became aggressive with me. HH & RQ tried to calm him down. I left the building to order an Uber. Eventually, I was forced to step back inside the building. When we resolved the situation and came back outside, HH filmed a video of me & RQ outside the building, panning the camera shot to the sign "10 Old Bailey" and the times on our phones, as evidence. LA was shocked by the whole incident. It felt like the security guy was in on the conspiracy. The phone call with MM (client) was the point at which the relationship deteriorated. Pam might have been better-placed to make such a call. Or, at least, I should have asked MM what he wished to talk about before picking up the phone, so that I was prepared. Rather than being lured to the phone in the dark. The phone call happened after PW (agent) re-sent MM (client) the T&C and 'sorted him out'. Subsequently, PW urged me to call MM, which I did, without investigating beforehand the reasons why he wanted to talk on the phone. The whole point of his phone call manifested as a way of getting me on my own, intimidating me without the safety net of the e-mail and the Cc. PW is not to blame. She probably felt as intimidated / oppressed by MM as we were. Communicating in writing (e-mailing him back and forth with the agent on Cc) throughout the evening was definitely a sensible idea. ✅ I was right about that. I recommend doing that, if ever LA or her bands are in a similar position (which I hope she would not be). Although, it is an unusual situation to be e-mailing the on-the-day contact during an event. It is crazy that the whole interaction was carried out remotely from Colombia. LA thinks that this guy might have planned the whole thing in advance. Read More... MM
Classic Ghosting. EP applied and auditioned as a trombonist for the 2nd Diaspora album. EP was approached for the paid recording work. He took from 04/09/2019 to 18/11/2019 (after the photoshoot) to indicate non-acceptance of the offer (not even to decline the offer). During this interim period of 2.5 months, the enquiry was sent:
The defendant was advised always best to respond to a query even if the answer is "no". That way the other person knows where they stand and can safely make alternative arrangements if they need to. Read More... Pending Text Messages From: Rory OCT 7, 2019, 8:43 AM iMessageiMessage with [phone] [08:42, 07/10/2019] Rory: Hi EP You created group “Diáspora Photoshoot 2” On 21 Apr 2019, at 17:30, TW wrote: A couple of issues here:
The ultimate fact at stake here is that the Burgandy show in March was an excellent promotional opportunity for Phasma. As a support band, the incentive that the performance offers was greater. Hence the cost per musician to perform as part of Phasma in their standard format (lineup, stage costume and music stand banners) is less than the cost per musician to perform as part of a backing duo dressed all in black without music stand banners - not to mention the extra rehearsal time it would take to learn the music. In addition, the duo would be transcribing lead sheets for an original artist that they would not be able to perform anywhere else. The work/effort would need to be factored into the total time in terms of the asset value of the resources produced (number of future uses). Music for Kevin show at PizzaExpress 11th October 2019From: TW Other potential 2019 shows...awaiting confirmation...From: TW Most of our bookings are private and clients don't really want them to be filmed. Offering discounts is great but that will eat into your profits. Your rates should be at least £150 per person as I think that is the minimum I would pay musicians. Ouch. Pretty soul-destroying words. A kick in the teeth? Despite asking us to think about reducing our price, the agent insists we should pay at least £150 per musician, regardless of the engagement species.
Firstly, let's re-clarify our position with regards to Musicians Union Rates.
Why has this been posted? Because we feel that there is nothing we can say to the agent in this particular dialogue that will help matters. The agent has effectively undone all of our suggestions. We feel uncomfortable in imparting our own opinion in the small hope that this might influence the agent, lest this grate on the agent - just as Work Not Play campaigners can't preach an 'all or nothing', one-size-fits-all approach to the rest of the world. The views expressed in this blog may be considered controversial: we'd rather house them here in our own arena - a safe, virtual space - as opposed to forcing our viewpoints upon someone who won't necessarily understand or agree. Secondly, let's point out, at face value, the contradictions...
The agent advises against filming their events. This drastically reduces bands' capability to generate new promo materials. By extension, in advising against asking clients for permission to film events, the agent advocates bands spending more money on music video shoots - which does nothing other than to open up additional financial and logistical problems for bandleaders, as is well-documented in this blog. See Empower the individual and Risk Factor for some tasters, and culprits such as Delfina and Alexandra. How else would the agent expect bands to generate new promo materials? Thirdly, let's quickly review the Phasma budget.
These are merely the capital costs and exclude money spent on costumes and travel expenses for the studio rehearsals and recordings estimated £200 - £300 excess. While the label managed to save money in some areas (thank you to those who made that possible), how many musicians do you know of who have invested this kind of money? Also consider the quote from SLV Studios: £495 DRY HIRE (not including videographer, retoucher and musicians and the potential expense that this would add to the bill. Fourthly, let's look at the implications of some of these statements. From: SM Hi.
I'm reaching out to form a business partnership. I'm looking for someone who can give me a boost of confidence in dealing with people, developing and maintaining positive rapport with colleagues and clients, establishing mutual trust and certain aspects of team building, human interaction and relationship management I've improved in (albeit still struggle with from time to time!). Someone who can be counted on, a shoulder to lean upon, who shares my values of honesty, integrity and occasional inappropriateness; yet understands PEOPLE, possesses a high level of emotional intelligence and employs empathy, diplomacy, and sensitivity of style, expression and tone in writing, speech, thought and deed. I'm indebted to Jo and Claire who have both done a wonderful job the last 5 years. I'm hoping to help someone as much as they have helped me in return with my organisation skills, tenacity and attention to detail. I'm open to existing suggestions as well as new ones (as I'm not always clear where I stand with people); local or remote; mutually beneficial bartering arrangement or something more formal ... Don't necessarily need to be one person either. I'll consider each possibility individually on its own merits. Email or pm me, I'd love to hear from you. Thanks! RD, Verbally Challenged, London This is an example of musicians choosing integrity over financial gain. It reinforces the belief that there is little worth in appeasing clients who aren't accountable, communicable or welcoming - despite how much money they might seemingly have. sax / piano jazz duo gigs available (2)From: PB Show Advance - Rory - 29/11/2018From: Rory From: Rory sax / piano jazz duo gigs available (1)From: PB
It's been a dramatic few months. Let's review...
We understand that there are 3 types of agreement:
We've revised our booking procedures for all 3. Direct
Employment Business e.g., MSH, FM
This is subject to the terms of the agent. Usually the agent sends us a contract and we sign it, and then it’s legally up to the agent to make payment. It’s not in the agent’s interests to refuse payments because they are a public entity and their address and contact details are universally accessible. Employment Agency e.g., W Entertainment, LMMus
This is where things get complicated… W Entertainment have rightly stated that it’s unprofessional for us to request an additional signed contract and deposit, but they have said that they would provide the client’s address details if there are any legal issues/unpaid or cancellation fees that we are unable to resolve and the matter needs to be taken further. With this in mind, should we request a BACS payment 28 days in advance, before we sign W Entertainment's contract? We doubt W Entertainment would be willing to change their standard template. But we'd feel happier about doing this given that their contract is not a standard MU contract (i.e., doesn’t have the client’s address details). Alternatively, a compromise would be getting the client to do a Signable regardless of whether it’s direct or 3rd party, but leave the deposit arrangements to the 3rd party? That way, we’d still be protected legally but the client wouldn’t be required to pay an additional deposit. The solution?We've decided to get it in writing to the client (in the Show Advance) that we need payment 3 weeks in advance of the event — for all Employment Agency contracts. We'll also invoice at the point of Show Advance. Should we encounter any issues or late payments, we'll contact the MU at that point in time (3 weeks in advance of the event) before acting upon anything. If we receive any future contracts from a new agent we've not worked for before, we'll run it by the MU for checking — regardless of whether it’s Employment Business / Employment Agent. This will be a 1-time process for each new agent. From: SM This approach throws up further legal issues. If we did say we won’t go, then:
As we have seen from the other Zara (Zara D 1st June) case, we did invoice 3 weeks before but W Entertainment didn’t notice that the client had paid them and not us directly, which falsifies SM's comment about invoicing in time. The bottom line is we'd like to have our own standard safeguard in place for 3rd party agreements that’s both MU-compliant and doesn’t undermine our agents, to keep things simple. If this isn’t possible, we’d prefer to run individual 3rd party contracts by the MU to check whether they are OK. The Zara K case has had drastic repercussions, and triggers some major changes in how we do business. We understand things don't always work out as planned. Rather than withholding information and exploding in a fit of emotional angst, we prefer to transparently dismantle, communicate and account for the what, why, how, when and where in an open, honest, neutral and unbiased way, so we may learn from experience and grow, develop and strengthen ourselves and others as individuals. Red & Black Music was set up in 2012 to stop musicians cancelling. Conforming to our striving for information transparency, this blog is an open source of KLU (Knowledge, Learning and Understanding). It reports breaches of agreements and unscrupulous traders, communicates problems to be aware of, documents incidents, resolutions and future implications and explores and analyses ongoing issues/topics in music management and production. Full names, addresses and contact details of private individuals are omitted for the purposes of GDPR. I’m happy to do the recording as agreed with Rory, with completion by 31st Aug 2018, with the conditions you state on your email below, as well as the condition that the content of emails/communications/potential contractual disputes are not posted on websites/social media by either party. We've experienced our worst ever client since we opened business in 2012. This has had drastic effects on other events and relationships. It will have profound repercussions on Red & Black Music in terms of how the label operates as a business going forward. Summary Despite months of preparation between Rory, Claire, Zara and Mike, the day itself was characterised by zero communication between the venue/clients and the band/musicians, with several spontaneous changes being made to the schedule, and (without someone mediating) the band/musicians not being adequately briefed on these changes in advance but simply expected to respond instantaneously in the heat of the moment without instruction. Compare & Contrast Compare Adetola where a similar situation occurred. Contrast Yesterday (cited in Rory's referral to Nick J) where the on-the-day communication was mediated by the venue's event coordinator and the artist/client relationship was safeguarded. Rory cites how he has worked as a professional wedding musician now for 10 years and never experienced behaviour like this both during and after the event. At face value, there is nothing on paper / in the pre-event correspondence to suggest or indicate that the clients would behave in the way that they did, making it therefore impossible to flag up any possible recourses to prevent this from happening again. In hindsight, this abusive behaviour manifests itself in the client's cloak-and-dagger style of communication and seeming reliance on "Common Sense" e.g., "it was obvious on such a hot day that after 15 minutes everyone was clearly exhausted" and "I always thought that bands provide all their own equipment." Why did it all go so wrong on the day? We've put this down to bad luck. We got it bad with one client. Unfortunately, this means we've had to enforce red tape and take serious measures to prevent such occurrences from happening again. It's a shame one client - a small 1% minority - has had so many ramifications for all of our other clients - the 99% majority (see Rory's Reviews page). However, such is life. Repercussions:
It's interesting to note that while the original contract itself was made via the bride (Zara), the resolution and settlement of the final balance was made via the groom's father (Raymond). Raymond's indemnification request suggests that the client/s conceivably attempted to escape paying completely. It's plausible that Zara hadn't budgeted for the live music and had to be 'bailed out' by a family member. By extension, the apparent negligence of the musicians on the day combined with the abrupt mid-performance interruption could be interpreted as a deliberate, calculated ruse to sabotage the musicians. Perhaps to send them the message that they weren't needed for this event after all, and to use the musicians' demoted involvement as a grounds for non-payment. On the day, Claire noticed that there was another set of musicians booked for the wedding ceremony who were also performing "Siman Tov". Perhaps there was budget for only one set of musicians? Perhaps a member of the family had booked a separate set of musicians and not notified the bride and groom? Perhaps a 'double booking' was involved? Given the clients' veiled communication style, it's reasonable to foster suspicions. At least, it's enough to raise questions surrounding internal communications within the family. Even if these propositions aren't true, they are certainly possible - not necessarily for this case - but for future cases. Affected events and relationships... Contract for Latina Carnivale Contract for Latina Festivale Stacy Related Posts... Employment Agency vs. Employment Business Fees Update Zara D Live Agreements Read More... "Busy" "Common Sense" Adetola Artist Review BACS Payments Emails Jason @ Book Live Yesterday W Entertainment Booking - Song Requests 06/05/2018From: Production From: WM 
Show Advance - Rory & His Jazz Band - 06/05/2018 (External)From: Claire 
From: Production IMPORTANT - Final Details of Your BookingFrom: Claire Klezmer wedding setFrom: Rory Israeli MusicFrom: Rory Klezmer songs 6th MayFrom: Rory W Entertainment Booking - Song Requests 06/05/2018
From: AT Thank youFrom: Claire Contract for your booking on Sun 6 May 2018 through W EntertainmentAT CONFIRMATION RE: New Enquiry for Sun 6 May 2018 from W EntertainmentFrom: Claire Before On 31/05/2017, Rory & His Jazz Band were contracted via AT from W Entertainment to perform for the wedding of Zara & Mike on 6th May 2018. On 01/06/2017, AT advised that his client opted to add in a jazz singer who could accompany the band. Between 17/10/2017-20/10/2017, Rory discussed options directly with Zara. Between 27/11/2017-29/07/2017, Zara confirmed the booking of jazz singer Claire Benjamin to perform her song requests “To My Daughter” (Charles Aznavour) and “Call On Me” (Janis Joplin) plus a selection of Israeli dance music. On 22/02/2018, Rory contacted Zara to discuss her music requests for 06/05/2018. On 14/03/2018, Zara requested a selection of Israeli dance music, in addition to the 2 song requests. The band didn’t charge for this or any of the requests (see emails dated 28/11/2017 and 16/03/2018, despite the charges quoted on the email dated 20/09/2017). During the months between February – May, in the run-up to the event, Rory and Zara exchanged several emails regarding the planning of the music for the occasion. See the following email threads for correspondence between Zara and Rory:
Rory and Claire rehearsed 4 times:
Rory spent the following dates transcribing and arranging the material for the requests:
On 13/04/2018, Rory spent £10 on printing of the song requests (see attached receipt). On 22/05/2018, Rory spent £40 on a Klezmer clarinet lesson to prepare himself for the repertoire requirements of this particular event – see attached BACS payment and thread “Electronic Empires VIP Reception – RSVP”. On 04/05/2018, Rory spent £15 on printing of the song requests (see attached receipt). On 05/05/2018, Rory spent £190.14 on clarinet and saxophone accessories specially for the event – see attached receipt. This was purchased on clarinet professor’s advice – see previously mentioned email thread.
During The day itself was characterised by a general lack of communication between the venue/clients and the band, with several changes being made to the schedule on the spur of the moment and the band/musicians not being adequately briefed throughout the day. Rory tried to contact the venue organiser (Chris R) on to discuss the arrival – see attached screenshot.
The ceremony, which was due to start at 15:15 (see attached schedule), started 10 minutes ahead of schedule at 15:05. Thus, the band were not able to sound check. After the ceremony, the band weren’t informed that the event was running behind and were performing to an empty room between 16:00 – 17:30 while the guests were having their photos taken. It’s not a nice feeling turning up to the event on time and being ignored, side-lined and totally left in the dark by the venue/clients regarding the fluctuating circumstances of the event. When the ceremony/photos overran and there were no guests in the Orangery, we weren’t sure what was expected of us. I spent a lot of time running around, politely asking questions to the guests, seeking assistance and guidance from both parties, and constantly coming up against a brick wall. None of the guests seemed to know what was going on. I shouldn’t have been bothering the guests or the groom on the day because it’s their special day and there should have been someone coordinating, but there wasn’t. It’s equally unsettling sensing that schedules are constantly changing around you, yet not being briefed on these changes and feeling inadequate/ill-equipped to know how to respond. At this point, Rory finally managed to establish who the venue organiser (Chris R) was and made contact. To his dismay, the venue organiser’s schedule that didn’t correlate with the schedule Rory was holding that had been agreed between himself and Zara. Chris’ schedule didn’t include the agreed 1st set that was due to take place between 16:00 – 17:30. The band were advised to stop playing at 17:00, and to start again at 17:30 for the Israeli Dancing portion. The band were cut off by the best man and the bride 5 minutes into the prepared Israeli dance portion that the band had prepared especially for the client. The way in which the best man and the bride came up to the band and cut us off mid-performance was so abrupt, it took everyone by surprise. Despite the circumstances, I responded in a calm, dignified manner because I understood that this was their wedding, and I was there working in a professional capacity, to provide a service. The band were not advised of when to start performing again. Still, afterwards, I received no information about when to start playing again (because I knew we had another set following the Israeli Dancing). No sign or cue to turn on the iPod music. No attempt from the event organisers to even make contact with me to provide me with any further instruction. From our side, it appeared that they didn’t want the band to play at all, or at least until their signal, which never arrived. There were other points during the day at which the band were unexpectedly prohibited from playing. The band received no advance notice on any of these occasions.
The band were not fed until 19:30, half an hour after agreed time. The speeches and prayers overran, meaning that the final set, due to happen at 21:00, was pushed back to 21:30. Rory was not informed of this by the clients or the venue organiser. Between 21:30 – 22:15, people were walking up to band, asking to change the songs on the spur of the moment from the requests arranged with Zara and Mike to something more upbeat. Fortunately, we were able to do this because we had plenty of prepared material left over from the 2nd set that hadn’t already been performed which we could incorporate into the 3rd set to accommodate these requests. Still, it wasn’t easy being put under pressure to respond instantaneously to the clients’ ever-changing requests and I’m surprised that they mentioned this when we succeeded to adapt accordingly. Rory was present for the final set. Rory was not present for the final song because the band had agreed to finish at 22:15 — 1 hour 15 minutes after originally contracted (21:00), see attached contract. The band was lenient enough to not charge for the extra time that they performed. The band was also lenient enough to not charge for the special request songs that were transcribed, arranged and rehearsed specially for the clients — at the extra time/expense to the musicians. After On 07/05/2018, Zara was invoiced for the fee of £[amount] due to artist as stipulated on the contract. On 08/05/2018 at 15:06, AT emailed to advise him of the client’s complaints – see email “W Entertainment Booking - Song Requests 06/05/2018” On 08/05/2018 at 16:07, Rory refuted the claims. On 08/05/2018 at 16:22, AT acknowledged the reply and asked Rory to let him know about the temperament issues they pointed out, throwing down the sax etc. On 08/05/2018 at 16:41, Rory speculated that the client may be referring to the point at which the bride told them to stop playing, and explained what happened, recalling no incidents of temperamental behaviour, nor throwing down of the saxophone. On 17/05/2018 at 13:53, AT passed on some additional feedback from the client. On 17/05/2018 at 15:17, Rory clarified what went on from his side. On 18/05/2018 at 12:38, Rory requested AT for Zara’s address and postcode. On 18/05/2018 at 14:36, AT explained that they are still mediating with the client regarding full payment. See email thread W Entertainment Booking - Song Requests 06/05/2018 for full correspondence regarding the points in this section. Concluding comments All of these the things that happened on the day point towards an overall lack of communication. It wouldn’t have been an issue had the clients stuck to the arranged plan but they didn’t. What was a contracted engagement turned into something else entirely, and the band wasn’t informed. But there was a simple unwritten/unspoken expectation, to stay for longer, to go beyond the call of duty, for no extra return. I’m dismayed at the way that the client has responded; refusing to pay, let alone provide a testimonial. It hints that the client hasn’t budgeted properly for the band during the booking process and is trying to justify not paying for a service. The clients were fully aware of the cost beforehand before booking. It’s comparable to a customer going to a restaurant, ordering a meal and refusing to pay for the meal because they didn’t like the taste. It amounts to a band of musicians doing a load of work for free. Correction, not even for free, — at a loss. Because I, personally, knowing that the client was aware we’re not a specialist Jewish band, spent over £200 out of my own pocket on professional development for this event: £40 on a clarinet lesson with a specialist in the field, £100 on a new mouthpiece, £30 on a new ligature, not to mention all of the printing that was involved. Claire, who comes from a part-Jewish background, also spent her own money on a Jewish singing lesson, to refine her training in preparation for this event. Those were only the financial costs, not mentioning the 4 evenings of unpaid rehearsal and hours of unpaid transcribing/arranging done between February-May, apportioning large chunks of time out of album recording schedules to ensure that the event got the care and attention it needed. It’s an abusive way to treat musicians. At a deeper level, it indicates that the clients have no concept, no regard, for what goes on behind the scenes, what financial/temporal preparation and energy goes into producing music for engagements. The event took months of work to prepare for, and we did everything asked of us and more to ensure that the bride and groom got the entertainment that they deserved for their special day. I quickly realised that regardless of this preparation, the band/music was the lowest priority, and it’s for that reason I wasn’t comfortable playing an encore beyond the specially arranged finish time of 22:15. At the end of the day, the band has delivered a service — more than the service contracted. Whether or not the client liked the service is completely up to them, but the fact remains: the band stayed that extra time and went that extra mile to deliver a service, and that is what they got. None of the client’s statements have been substantiated via concrete evidence. Please find forwarded all correspondence (including all attempts to refute the claims set out by the client), and attached all documents relating to this event. Thus far, Rory has received no payment, having already paid the musicians on 07/05/2018 and 08/07/2018 – see attached payment documents. Best wishes, Rory W Entertainment Booking - Song Requests 06/05/2018From: AM Rory & His Jazz Band 06/05/2018 MU MemberFrom: Rory I feel sympathy for Rory's medical condition which must be quite debilitating given his occupation as a musician fronting a group. It may be that he might have thought twice before agreeing to entertain us that evening as performing at different venues under varying conditions must be very stressful - especially for someone like Rory. Yeah, we may want to be careful what we tell RK for the time being. He may 'transform' what we tell him into slightly different nuances. Keeping conversations on email helps everyone to track back properly. Note how RK takes Rory's medical admission and uses it as a weapon against him. In legal terms, this might have been interpreted as 'evidence' of Rory's perceived incapacity as a musician fronting a group. Or, at the very least, a statement challenging Rory's ability to carry out his job effectively. Should Rory have been so honest? In hindsight, perhaps not. Although Rory's intention might have been good-natured (possibly in hope of eliciting empathy in light of Zara's depression), it was misplaced. Unfortunately, it's not possible to trust everyone apart from your own family (as we have seen - see Jason @ Book Live). This response amounts to an abuse of trust. From: SJ We understand from this email that the client is now refusing to pay. We've tried offering a discount. We intend to phone AT and establish whether this is true or not. We can't afford to lose out on payment for this booking — it’ll destroy our career and we don't know if there will ever be any way of recovering from this loss. It’s a very odd message from the client indeed and also suggestive that they don’t intend to pay. Our main concern is our legal position on this given that their address/postcode details aren’t on the agency contract (nothing to suggest however that the agency won’t provide these details unless there is a GDPR restriction in place). Meanwhile, we’ve gone through all of our future Employment Agency events (5 in total: 2 via W, 3 via LMM) requested address/postcode code details and we'll be sending them MU L1 contracts and taking down payments — despite having had Employment Agency contracts. Even if it’s aggravating agents, at least we won’t be at risk in future. From: Rory The client is now questioning the internal fees. This is not the client’s concern. Our agreement with the musicians is a separate agreement that has nothing to do with the client. However, we can say that the £130 only accounts for the performance on the day, and does not account for the months of preparation that went into the performance beforehand. In truth, we were not aware of any comments from the guests about the music and we even had a couple of people who came up to the band on the night and were very complimentary. With all of this in mind, it seems that they are trying to play tricks on us, especially as we feel that the discount is very generous. How should we proceed? It seems to us he either doesn’t understand what goes into it or he's trying to invalidate the prior work that went into the event. The underlying issue is that we prepared these requests for the clients, but they asked us to do something differently on the day. They’re trying to use their non-consumption of the requests as a justification for not paying. Analogy: someone going into a restaurant, ordering a plate, eating 1/2 the plate and using that to justify only paying 1/2. It’s the same thing with what the groom mentioned about the band appearing ‘disorganised' between sets. The reality is that people kept coming up to us and asking us to change the prepared set list on the spur of the moment, which we did. With this in mind, might we make him aware of the correspondence between ourselves and Zara leading up to the day? We had hoped for a more positive response from Ray. What is positive in the situation is that he’s at leastresponding/communicating, which possibly signifies that they’re not intending to 'do a runner' … So far, the client has failed to substantiate any of their complaints. We've tried to help out by attempting at an explanation of their claims, but they’ve failed to acknowledge any of our explanations. Now, we've already offered them a discount as a gesture of good will. Apart from that, we’ve done everything as set out on the contract and the client has no further grounds to refuse payment. In pushing for further discount, Raymond (on behalf of Zara) attempts to invalidate any of the work done beforehand. We're a bit wary of this. The £180 discount is to address what may/may not have happened on the day itself. But no one’s so far complained about anything that was done beforehand. By digging, it seems that they're trying to erode all of our involvement in the event full stop — regardless of what might be on the contract. From: Rory It seems he doesn’t check his emails often or is busy. From: raymond Just got this cryptic message from Raymond. How to interpret and recommend best course of action? We would just go back and say "can I ask why you need my address" and then see what the response is like. We'll find out why, but we think (probably at this point) we're going to have to say "please correspond with the MU from here". Going on the title of the email we think he wants to send us a cheque. We're wary about cheques because we know that they bounce sometimes (it’s happened to us with a client before), and Raymond possibly knows this too. If we continue to get nowhere with this the MU will draft something from themselves. It all feels very dubious. Intermittent emailing on Rory's personal account, from different threads/subjects etc., first questioning both discounts, second asking for his address… Seems like he’s hoping to send us a cheque from a bogus account so it bounces, gets 'lost in the post' etc. Given our reservations, we'd feel more comfortable with a more ‘secure’ and official exchange of money to cover our backs, these people have come across as people to be very wary about. Just a thought, The business address is in Google Maps anyways and he could of course find it there. It’s probably of no consequence but just thought we’d mention. He’s possibly playing games. From: Rory Did he ever respond to our previous email about the address?
No he didn’t. We presume he found it off Google. We would like the Musicians Union to step in at this point just to say that they've been speaking to us about it to find out more information about why they're questioning the details from us. It's a bit strange that they haven't responded to our other email, and now they're asking us for Rory's full name, even though Rory's full name is given in the email address. From: SJ From: raymond This is the first the MU have heard from Mr K since their email so we're not sure why he has given a deadline. We're happy to provide these details but we're worried that:
Is there no way he can do a simple BACS payment? That would be a more secure and traceable means of payment and we'd be more protected. We can provide an invoice if necessary, and a receipt for when it comes through. We also have a PayPal account and can send the details for that if need be. Basically, we're happy to receive a cheque but we'd want to ensure that we're taking all the correct precautions in the unlikely case that they are truly dishonest. If there's anything that the MU could do or recommend for our case then that would be brilliant, as we've no expertise on where we are placed legally should this happen. From: SJ We'd still like to run by the MU any recommended recourses we can put in place to safeguard us against a similar situation happening in future. Read More: Employment Agency vs. Employment Business Rory We do take the client’s billing address upon confirmation, however as explained below, we keep this on file for our records and will only provide you with those details if there are any legal issues / unpaid or cancellation fees that we are unable to resolve and the matter needs to be taken further. As discussed, we agree that W Entertainment should put the clients’ address on their agreements. However, it is positive that we now have it writing that they will supply us with the address if we are unpaid or cancelled. We've been advised to keep that on file.
Please refer to the below email conversation where we discussed the W Entertainment agreement in more detail. The agency will never be liable if we have an unpaid fee or cancellation unfortunately. We did talk about some things that should be addressed though. This included the address, which they won’t budge on, but also the payment method. ‘Client’ to pay ‘Artist’ by cash on the day of the event prior to the performance. Alternatively, artist can request a BACS payment 2-3 weeks in advance of the event. This as stated, leaves it too open. If W Entertainment refuse to change it then we need to make sure we get it in writing to the client that we need payment 3 weeks in advance of the event. We should also invoice the client with the pay by date on it. We're concerned about breaching our part of the agreement if they don’t pay, and we don’t turn up. There is no way to easily resolve this but if we invoice the client with the pay by date and ask them to confirm they are happy with / accept the details, we should have something to fall back on. In any case, if we were not paid on time we would contact the client to discuss. If we are booking musicians separately then we are taking on a role that puts us at risk of having to pay cancellations. This would only change if we were signing agreements collectively or in a partnership. Read More... Contract for Latina Carnivale Contract for Latina Festivale Employment agencies and businesses (HMRC) Live Agreements Zara D Zara K From: "NE" From: Claire We've just received this email from LH regarding 1 of the 5 employment agency clients we’ve contracted/invoiced directly, for a future Employment Agency booking that’s set up directly between ourselves and the client.
As it’s a knock-on effect from the same agency, we’ve drafted the below response to LH and were planning to Cc AT. We wanted to run it past the MU before we do that. We need to be careful here as obviously AT could pass anything we say back to the 6th May clients. This booking is for July 2019 and the client has paid a 50% deposit already to the agent. Contractually if the agreement has said they just need to pay 50% now and the rest at a later date, then they do not have to pay the rest now. Basically, this is an employment agency agreement, similar to the 6th May, where the client pays the artist directly. Again, there is no client address on the agency contract, so protection is limited in the event of a client breach. That’s why we've gone through all 5 employment agency agreements and contracted/invoiced directly, because although their deposit is to the agent, ultimately the agreement is between the artist and the client and that’s why we feel the need to protect ourselves, hence the 50% of the deposit to us and an MU contract. In terms of the areas we're worried about mentioning to AT, It’s these sentences: I’m sorry for the extra hassle but the reality is we’ve recently experienced a very serious client breach for an event that took place on 6th May, 2018. As W Entertainment’s contract was set up directly between the artist and the client, we're now at risk of making a significant loss. Rory is currently liaising with the client to recover these costs, and I’m happy to say that positive progress is being made. We wanted to check no damage to the 6th May case would be done if this got passed back to AT, and then to the 6th May clients (there may be a risk of ‘provoking’ the 6th May client if the tone sounds accusatory). However, we must make it clear how the 6th May booking has had repercussions on future contracts regarding the need to protect ourselves, and therefore it must be explicit that this is a direct consequence in order to justify.
We need to write back to LH justifying why we're taking the precautions we're taking, especially as it’s through the same agency and no doubt LH and AT will be talking to one another. If we are unsure about what we can mention to AT, we do not need to mention the specific date of the gig case we are dealing with. We are right to try and protect ourselves but payment issues should ideally have been mentioned on agreement of the booking. Getting the client’s address on the agency agreements is really important. Have we taken this up with them? We can’t see it being an issue for them to include the client’s address. We can see the confusion from the client if our agreement wasn’t provided when making the booking and they have paid a separate deposit. We notice that the agency agreement states: ‘Client’ to pay ‘Artist’ by cash on the day of the event prior to the performance. Alternatively, artist can request a BACS payment 2-3 weeks in advance of the event. The client has agreed to pay cash on the night, or by BACS 3 weeks before the event if we send an invoice. Obviously that is not ideal and something more concrete would help to put our minds at ease. Perhaps in future the agency would be willing to change this clause to say that payment needs to be made by BACS 4 weeks before the event, or more even? It is definitely a conversation worth having and obviously the sooner it can be paid the better. The agency agreement also states that W Entertainment should be notified of any contractual changes. They could deem that our agreement and changes to payment is a contractual change to theirs, and we agreed to this term on accepting the booking. The best thing to do is speak to the agency about both making it a requirement to include an address on their agreements and seeing if we can change to payment timings/methods. If we can get it agreed that a deposit is paid to us as well as the agency then great. They may argue that in this case though, the booking contract was agreed before we expressed our own changes. It’s very complicated. We're happy to accept employment business contracts because our agreement is between ourselves and the agent, and therefore the client is more traceable. But when it comes to 3rd party agreements, it’s a bit of a minefield and we'd feel more comfortable — given our recent experience — of taking a 50% deposit so we can at least cover my own overheads. We don’t know what AT would say if Zara doesn’t pay, and we're not entirely convinced he’d speak in our best interests. We're imagining a situation whereby he’d simply repeat back to us the client’s feedback and use this as 'evidence' for claiming that the agreement wasn’t honoured on our side, which would be a terrible thing but certainly possible. We're not sure if we trust him not to do that and that’s what we're worried about. We do not need to discuss the Zara case with AT at all. He does not need to be involved from here and we don’t think we should directly be discussing that case with him anymore, unless necessary. We established before that the agent is not liable if the client fails to pay, and our understanding is that W Entertainment got their money from Zara. Our email opens conversation to a better booking agreement so we think it is fine. We'll use that email to respond to LH. We’ll leave AT out of it. From: LH It’s interesting what they have said. By ‘client billing details’ we assume they are referring to their address? If that’s the case then it would seem that they do take the client’s address on booking and would provide it to us should we have an unpaid fee or cancellation. It would be worth clarifying that with them. Without an address it is difficult to make a money claim and it certainly couldn’t go as far as a small claims court. From: "NE - W Entertainment" 2 issues.
Please see below for full correspondence and analysis. The tabbed sections have been split between these 2 sections, as there are 2 separate issues at play here. From: Claire Issue #1: Unsubstantiated client critiqueWe've compiled all of Zara's pre-event correspondence regarding the musical style prior to the event.
In all fairness, Zara has specified that there must be "singing as well as the music" and mentioned dancing on 3 separate occasions. Rory testifies in his post-event producer's report that the band did get clients up and dancing but were constantly interrupted because the music did not fit the brief of the event. Although the singing and dancing is mentioned, the musical style is not specified in any of the pre-event correspondence and the band performs jazz as prescribed by the act name "Rory & His Jazz Band". From: Zara Ever since, we include the following standard disclaimer on our Show Advance. Let's start by finding out some background information about the event. Please would you be able to give us a general description of the event so we can understand the context? How will the music play a part in the event, and what was the inspiration for the music in the first place? Does the event have a theme? It's always useful for us to know this as soon as possible so we can plan and prepare repertoire accordingly. Any other information about the event you feel might be relevant? This provides an opportunity for the client to stipulate the musical style and any requests before the event to avoid confusion or misunderstanding on the day. Despite such measures, the Show Advance is invariably not read or understood and problems do end up occurring on the day as a result of this. From: Claire Issue #2: Late paymentAlthough the artist invoice is sent on 22/05/2018 (2 weeks before event date), and includes all of the correct bank details and contact details, it isn't read or understood by the client.
Interestingly, MR mentions ‘terms and conditions’ and ‘legal action’ in his email to Zara, noting late payment fees beyond 14 days. Upon realising that the payment was made to the agent rather than the artist directly, MR appears to 'backtrack' in his subsequent email mentioning: 'the payment wont be made until towards the end of the month [July] when the client does the next payment run'. From: MR We've received this email from the same agency W Entertainment concerning a separate June 1st booking for which we're still awaiting payment (in this case, the client is also called ‘Zara' which confuses things somewhat! Just to clarify, this is a different Zara).
It mentions ‘terms and conditions’ and ‘legal action’. We're not sure if MR's words carry any weight behind them or if he’s 'winging it’, but it suggests that there is a legal basis behind the W contracts and perhaps they should be saying something similar to the other Zara regarding 6th May booking. We're not going to do anything on either without instruction from the MU — just thought it might be useful in case they're able to persuade AT to do something similar re: 6th May. From: Claire We've now received remittance and got them to confirm which bank account they’ve sent it to and at what date/time. They’ve sent it to the wrong account (possibly W's account). We've re-checked the invoice sent to them on 22nd May, 4th June and all of the reminder emails. They all have the correct details on them. So we’ve politely highlighted this to them, as it’s clearly an error in their accounts dept.
With regards to W's terms and conditions of booking, we've found: Where the outstanding balance has not been paid within 14 days, the amount may be sought via legal processes or referred to a debt recovery agency by the ‘artist’, which will incur additional fees. The ‘agent’ is not responsible for the collection of booking fees due to the ‘artist’. So, yes, in this case, we think MR is ‘fronting’ the artist but not acting on behalf of the artist.
Those terms were as we expected and are quite common with agencies. It is good that MR has used the wording he has in the email to the client, and shows some support at least. From: SM This approach throws up further legal issues. If we did say we won’t go then:
As we have seen from the [Zara D 1st June] case, we did invoice 3 weeks before but W didn’t notice that the client had paid them and not us directly, which falsifies SM's theory about invoicing in time. From: Claire From: SM We've been re-contracting Employment Agency clients (5 bookings in total — where the client pays the artist directly), and, as predicted, this has caused a bit of friction among agents. While we appreciate and respect SM's proposed solution, the problem is that if the band refuse to go on account of not being paid, then we (Red & Black Music) would still be responsible for making that call as 'bandleader' and also paying cancellation fees to the other musicians affected if such a call is made (if it looks like the booking is cancelled on our account) — something we don’t feel comfortable about. Is there a standard/recommended way of doing this? Obviously we don’t wish to put ourselves at a position of risk but don’t wish to upset agents either. But using the L1 contract templates provided by the Musicians' Union seems a necessity given the minefield of probabilities that the third-party contracts have thrown up. Read More... Contract for LF Employment Agency vs. Employment Business Fees Update Late Payments Live Agreements Show Advance Zara D Zara K Contract for LC: Saturday, August 11 2018 QY - West Dean - LC between LMM.com Ltd and Rory Duffy is Signed and Filed!From: Claire Contract - Diáspora - 11/08/2018From: Claire Contract - Diáspora - 11/08/2018From: Claire From: Claire From: SM We've been re-contracting Employment Agency clients (5 bookings in total — where the client pays the artist directly), and, as predicted, this has caused a bit of friction among agents. Is there a standard/recommended way of doing this? Obviously we don’t wish to put ourselves at a position of risk but don’t wish to upset agents either. But using the L1 contract templates provided by the Musicians' Union seems a necessity given the minefield of probabilities that the third-party contracts have thrown up. Read More... Contract for LC Employment Agency vs. Employment Business Late Payments Live Agreements Stacy Zara D Zara K SM understands about the email trail etc., but always asks phone calls are available as people like to be able to speak to the Manager/artist. While this may be true, it throws up an additional minefield of complexities and logistical possibilities, as we've seen from previous experience. Yesterday An example of a show advance being carried out verbally, thereby spawning knock-on implications and problems on the day. Read More... Emails Empower the individual Less Talk. More Action. Productions vs. "Bands" What happened to Diaspora Collective? From: SM Employment agencies Employment agencies find work for work-seekers who are employed and paid by employers. This is often called ‘permanent employment’ because once the worker has been taken on, they’re an employee of the company they’re working for. However, different rules apply to entertainment and modelling. Employment businesses Employment businesses engages a work-seeker under a contract who then works under the supervision of someone else. This is normally called ‘temporary agency work’ or ‘temping’. Workers under these arrangements are paid by the business instead of the company they’re supplied to. How does this apply to music?Employment agency
This type of organisation sets up the contractual agreement between the artist and the client. The agency takes their deposit and assumes no legal responsibility. Any non-payment disputes must be resolved between the artist and the client directly and it's the artist's responsibility to take the client to the small claims court if payment is not made. Employment business This type of organisation buys the services of the artist and sells them on to the client. The organisation acts as a 'middle man' and the artist invoices the organisation for the payment rather than the client directly. Due to recent difficulties in obtaining payments from clients, Red & Black Music has now implemented the policy of contracting and taking deposits from clients directly in situations whereby the agent is acting as an Employment Agency (despite having had contracts from the agent). This means that for Employment Agencies:
We realise that the above implementations will have potentially negative implications on our agents. However, due to a couple of recent non-paying agency clients that have crippled the label out of pocket, Red & Black Music is now having to take precautionary measures for future engagements and use standard MU contract and deposit procedures (in addition to the agency protocols) in order to protect the livelihood of our musicians. Please accept our apologies and attribute these implementations to the defaulting agency clients. From: JH JH reasonably advocates an approach whereby a musician is obliged to confirm acceptance of the details in writing to be booked in. Red & Black Music listened. Ever since this scenario on June 1st, Red & Black Music operates a two-stage confirmation process whereby musicians are now obliged to confirm acceptance of the details in writing at the point of contract, in addition to at the point of enquiry. JH's words have had direct implications on OD, and on TH. OD believes himself to be booked in, yet he hasn't confirmed acceptance of the details in writing at the point of contract. The situation is extenuated by the fact that TH takes over 24 hours to confirm acceptance of the details in writing at the point of contract. After this 24-hour period has elapsed, Rory enters into conversation with OD, who is the 2nd person to contact Rory. Unfortunately for OD, TH confirms acceptance of the details in writing during the intermittent period after Rory answered OD's 3 questions. How would you have handled this situation? What decisions would you have made? How would these decisions have been traced back to your policies and procedures on written confirmations and contracts? Is there a definitive dialogue model/script for booking musicians that's 'out there' in existence or should musicians be booked via socialistic/cloak-and-dagger conversations? The Musicians' Union encourages its members to use standard L2 contracts for engaging musicians. Regardless of the circumstances, a contract hasn't been issued in this scenario. Should the musician have requested a contract, or was Rory's confirmation of the details pending final written acceptance sufficient? At what point of the conversation was there a divergence of interests? Finally, should OD have cancelled his prior appointments/commitments at all, just because he received a more 'lucrative' offer elsewhere? As it turns out, OD wasn't available for this engagement after all: because he had already been booked for teaching on that date, and was therefore unavailable right from the word go. OD's willingness to cancel his prior teaching for a performance that may or may not go ahead raises a question mark with regards to his level of commitment. Suppose OD had been booked for this engagement, and was offered a higher paid engagement elsewhere subsequent to the point of contract? Would he have felt entitled to cancel his performance? bethnal green on tuesday (2)Booking musicians is a minefield! You never know when you're going to get caught out.
From: Rory Rory, I’m free for the Bethnal Green gig on 3rd July. (2)From: Rory bethnal green on tuesday (1)This is the point at which Ozenc should have confirmed acceptance of the details.
From: Rory Rory, I’m free for the Bethnal Green gig on 3rd July. (1)From: Rory Red & Black Musicians MarketplaceRory Duffy is looking for recommendations in Bethnal Green. JHJH has been contracted for Kit in Rory on 01/06/2018. He's waited until 2 hours before the event (having received a written contract and several Show Advance emails) to suddenly announce that he's no longer available. Oh dear! Do we have a replacement lined up for him at all? Can he suggest someone? On our side, I'd be keen to make sure that we deliver the advertised 4-piece band rather than a 3-piece band. However, in this case, this is the kind of thing where there's nothing much to do. If we do not have a suitable replacement, it might be preferable to warn as rapidly as possible the agent for the event and discuss risk minimisation jointly with them; I would suggest a quick update to the event details, unless JH's part in the band is crucial in which case they may have a suitable suggestion of replacement. Please let me know whether we have replacements and its feasible to onboard them as well as what instrument and how crucial JH's part is? JH's action has had knock-on effects for the label. Primarily in alerting the agent, it's made the label look unprofessional (although we were able to find a replacement drummer ourselves). W Entertainment also views our appeal for a replacement drummer as an issue in terms of data protection. What would you have done in this situation? What wording would you have used? What measures would you put in place to stop such a situation from reoccurring? ZDW Entertainment's assessments throw up a number of questions. Is there a 'universal set standard' detail of information that must be included in posts? Where can these be found?
It's true that the guidelines for the posts are not easily accessible/understandable. So in this case, yes, we don't have much recourse. From: Claire Rory - 01/06/2018Previously, we've put the brief details (date, instrument, location) in posts and an email address for more information. Dom K requests all information is included, which is why we've posted the contract details on Facebook. Perhaps there is a middle ground that we need to aspire to in this scenario? Note that although Dom K requests all information to be included, he then sabotages that trust in deeming the offer as 'derisory' later on. Who can win?
Note also MR's preference to resort to angry angst down the phone in contrast to clean, direct and transparent emailing. The irony is that none of these lessons would have been learned, committed and carried forwards had this conversation been made verbally. MR's words would have vanished down the telephone line and obliterated into the wider aether of nothingness. It was useful to follow up on this and for MR to qualify his statements in writing, because it's enabled us to carry this forwards into a template which we can use for future situations such as this. Moreover, if anyone critiqued this template in future, we have the written evidence to justify and consolidate why we have this written template in the first place. It's a win-win situation! From: Claire Meanwhile, over on Facebook...Keith cites the fixing template as the 'pompous way it is advertised'. Perhaps Keith might like to have a look at this article and come up with his own fixing template?
Claire Red URGENTFrom: JH Rory - 01/06/2018From: JH Show Advance - Rory - 01/06/2018From: Claire Rory - 01/06/2018 (Bcc closure)From: Claire Maillot Rory - 01/06/2018From: Claire Maillot Red & Black Music Mall is an additional Facebook group to help connect clients and artists. This group is for artists who wish to be notified of available engagements, and for clients who require great music. It’s also a place to report unscrupulous traders. This is a free service. This group is unmoderated and unregulated. Please feel free to email [email protected] should you have any specific queries or complaints, and we will do our best to resolve these :) If you’re a musician, please use our sister group Red & Black Musicians Marketplace.  |
BlogRed & Black Music was set up in 2012 to stop musicians cancelling. PurposeAt Red & Black Music, we believe in accountability = learning from experience. This blog serves as a record of challenges we’ve faced and how we’ve worked to resolve them. By sharing this, we aim to demonstrate our commitment to professionalism, problem-solving, and continuous improvement. Archives
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