A Musician in the Middle of a Mess

There was a flyer circulated by an agent at Main Event Talent Agency (Main Event) related to a dispute with a World of Beer franchisee (WOB) over money owed to a number of bands that Main Event represents. I’m helping to disseminate it for at least two very important reasons. First, I play in two of the bands that are owed money, so in a way I’m suffering twice as much as anybody else! Second, I believe in fairness, and when a business does not honor its obligations, it should be known far and wide so that people can make an informed decision and take their business elsewhere if necessary.

It is for the second reason and fairness that I must also call a spade a spade. A large part of the blame for what has happened here lies directly with Main Event. As intermediary agent between the bands and the venue, it is Main Event’s responsibility to do their due diligence. This means that Main Event must ensure that the venues it deals with hold up their end. Main Event should also have a legally binding written business agreement (contract) with all parties involved, so that if anything like what’s currently happening goes on, it has the necessary evidence to seek damages in a court of law. My understanding is Main Event does not have such a contract with WOB, which would be a plain old bad business move.

Despite a number of invitations extended to Main Event’s agents over a period of many months, none of them has ever gone to see either of my two bands perform, not even once, even though they’re making money off our performances! So, if Main Event is hiring out bands that none of its agents has even seen live, how can anyone reasonably expect Main Event to have done its due diligence when establishing business with WOB? If they had done so, might not this whole situation have been avoided?

I don’t know where all this will end up. Hopefully, WOB will do the right thing and pay what it owes to all the bands. After all, they received valuable entertainment services which contributed to their sales. The honorable thing to do is to pay up promptly. As for Main Event, despite its normally successful track record, hopefully this experience will teach its agents to be more diligent. Oh, and while they’re at it, getting to know the product they’re selling a little bit better can’t hurt, either!

So, what can we the musicians, caught in the middle of this mess, do? After all, for us, dealing with sleazy and shady characters has been an occupational hazard for as long as music’s been around… and that’s just within a band itself! When it comes to venues, managers, agents, and all the other people who want a piece of the pie for bringing musicians and audiences together, well… we need to stand united and not provide our talents for the benefit of those who do not value it!