NWB - Community Blog

15 Jan 2009

AN UPDATE ON THE GRANDSATND BAR EPISODE

Filed Under : Rants , Other

Posted By : james luke | Comments : 13

update on the grandstand episode

I recently posted on a blog about venues cutting money or not paying at all..well just to let you know the story.
I was booked to play at the grandsatnd bar in southport in november of last year..
I confirmed the gig and sent out the posters and all was well I thought , until I turned up on the night to be met with "ooo mate I don't think it's going to happen tonight " "hang around for 10 minutes and see what happens".....mmmmmm

so you're telling me at 8 oclock at night that a gig thats been booked for 2 months and confirmed is now not going to happen...."well yes....is there a problem".....well actually there is I want my money....."oooo can't pay you ,I am only a volunteer " ..."but you booked me" I said...." and ?????"

well big do's and little do's...i decided that I had had enough of hearing about this and it happening to me on a couple of occasions..so I put in a claim through the small claims court online...
well just to let you know I won the case AND they had to pay the court fees...it would have been cheaper to let me play.
I know I'll never get offered another gig there and possibly a couple more in that area will be put off....but ...and this is the big but....this is my living ...if you are going to cancel or you think that its going to be a quiet night...say so ...up front...we are very approachable people and do understand what is happening in the world today, we dont just come out of our cell 3 or 4 times a week play and then return to another plain...
rant over

Comments

# Posted by Ian from Bolton - 15/01/2009, 17:19 (GMT)

Nice one. Well done.
It's good to name and shame the rogue venues.

# Posted by Shell - 15/01/2009, 17:33 (GMT)

Thats just terrible to treat any band like that whether its local or a 60 mile trip. same goes for bands that just dont turn up too. There's absolutely no excuse. Good for you for making them pay when most people would have let em get away with it.

# Posted by ~ THE SUG4R BULLETS ~ - 15/01/2009, 19:14 (GMT)

Not good that fella but thanks for keeping us all informed anyhow - some venues just really don't understand the amount of time, money and effort it takes for us to do this. But likewise I'm sure there are bands/artists that don't understand how hard running a pub is. If a pub closes theres nothing we can do about it but treating folks like yerself like that ain't helping an already heavily-declining industry. The sad thing is though, in these hard times, money that doesn't HAVE to be spent isn't and thats where we all lose out.

# Posted by Rumble Fat Band - 16/01/2009, 16:00 (GMT)

Well Done that man. The Small Claims Court might be a good weapon to use on venues that don't pay up as agreed.
We have had to use the threat of "Musicians Union Solicitors" with agencies who drag their heels when paying us.

# Posted by james luke - 16/01/2009, 16:04 (GMT)

the small claims court can be done online very quickly, you pay your fee upfront but if you win you get it all back...lets hope we don't have to use it that often though eh !!!

# Posted by Scott - Metalleeka - 16/01/2009, 17:00 (GMT)

that's really handy to know. We got double booked by The Oxford in Blackpool last year and I was really angry at the time but didn't take the matter further. Especially as I only found out a few days before after I contacted the venue. If I had've known about the online claims thingy then I would definately have put in a claim.

# Posted by delete 79 - 22/01/2009, 10:34 (GMT)

fucking legend!!!!! that is a gr8 way of maikng sure that not only venues treat bands fairly but the other way round. i presume it would work that way as well.
we've had a few issues similar to this so from now on im gonna use this weapon!!!!

cheers m8 and best of luck int future

# Posted by george VI - 22/01/2009, 11:41 (GMT)

can that work both ways, we have had 2 occasions in the past bands have not turned up at all and not even contacted us after we have confirmed they are ok. when this happens we lose alot of money in revenue. bands that have played here no how busy we are and if the other pub in hindley have got bands on we lose all that custom.

# Posted by ~ THE SUG4R BULLETS ~ - 22/01/2009, 13:35 (GMT)

Yes agree 100% - if a band gets booked they should turn up and play as per the agreement. If a band has to cancel they should give the venue as much notice as possible to find an alternative, perhaps even help with that as I've seen on here a few times.

# Posted by james luke - 22/01/2009, 13:41 (GMT)

I completely agree, its not just venues that need to contact bands but also vice versa, I have been lucky enough upto now to have never been in a position where I ave had to let a venue down, but all venues may rest assured that if it did ever happen I would do my utmost to ensure a replacement was arranged or that I gave plenty of notice..this is only possible if we as bands know there is going to be a problem. fire floods etc are just out of our control..haha...well most of the time. but yes if a band were to let a venue down , without a reasonable excuse, then the tables SHOULD be turned and the venue should be able to claim compensation for loss of trade.

# Posted by george VI - 22/01/2009, 14:19 (GMT)

we know on rare occasions things can be out of ones control, but theres no excuse for venues double booking, and yes if bands cant make it at short notice and help out to try to get a replacemnt it would make things easy and we would all be happy and not have to go down this stupid road to the small claims department :-)

# Posted by WOLFPACK - 22/01/2009, 15:06 (GMT)

The only way both sides would be protected are contracts, though i doubt either side could be bothered drawing them up really? You can be assured that if you booked a band via an agency that he'd be looking for full payment and then some if you cancelled on them! This is why bands and venues should work together to gain mutual respect. If we can't doa gig we'd make every effort to line up a BRILLIANT replacement before even worrying the venue with it all.

# Posted by james luke - 22/01/2009, 15:12 (GMT)

again I completely agree, I did draw my own contract up with cancellation fees on for certain time limits eg 2 weeks notice 50% of fee , going up on a sliding scale to full fee for on the nigh cancellations, but lets be honest..I dont want to hand contracts out whe I book my gigs, I like to think that we have a mutual respect and agreement for the gig, and while I do this for a living , a contracts seems a little impersonal and I do class the landlords/ladys as friends and not employers...maybe I'm wrong and I should go back to contracts, but I'd like to think we can all get by without them

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