bigtoe said:
Glen - all due respect to ya...i've never had a contract in the studio, i'll never sign a contract in the studio and i also advise anyone who is asked to sign one to just look for a different studio unless it is for a substantial amount of money. Do you actually use one? To be honest i'd be surprised if you do. You seem to have more than enough people skills to get paid without resorting to that.
Yeah, my people skills are pretty good. But that's entirely beside the point, IMHO.
I am also a very good driver. I rarely drink, when I do it's never to excess, I have better than 20/20 corrected vision, have not had a ticket or an accident of any kind in over 20 years. But that does not mean that I want to drive without insurance (legal requirements aside.)
Yes, when I'm working with a new and/or unknown client - meaning one that's not one of my regular acquaintences that are pro musicians and that I either have known and trusted for many years or can be vouched for by one - the terms of service and payment are spelled out in the form of a quote/downpayment receipt (remember from an earlier post that I insist on 20-50% down from the outset.) The terms of the quote, a description of the service authorized/requested, along with terms of payment are detailed.
If it's someone like one of my musician associates of 25 years, a handshake would be fine by me, but often times such a form would be generated and signed anyway, for two reasons; because my friends tend not to be very dumb, and because they would often be willing to submit a downpayment of their own volition. In the first case a quote would be generated, in the second case a receipt. Those are basically the same thing, it's just that the receipt has the extra fields filled in showing the down payment received and the new balance.
Again, it *looks* nothing like what many norally think of as a "contract". All it is is a service quote or a bill of sale that includes the terms of service on it. Again, exactly like a work quote you'd get from your car mechanic or cable installer. Nothing fancy. But when supplied with the client's authorized signature (just like the mechanic or installer) it becomes a written work contract good in any claims court.
The only times I have been stiffed is when I've done pro bono work as a favor for someone or another, in which case I have gotten stiffed on my time by their dragging the sessions out and taking advantage of my good will. But I have never been stiffed by a paying customer. Whether or not it has anything to do with the fact that I actually generate paperwork like a legitimate business, I don't know. But like the car insurance, just because I have not had trouble with a client in the past doesn't mean it's not going to happen tomorrow or next week or next year.
And I can't vouch for how things are in your orbit of the musical solar system, but where I'm at, *nobody* I have ever dealt with as a private business owner has ever had anything other than respect for the professional way in which I counduct business, which in fact has won me work away from competition in the past because the client told me that they just didn't consider the other guy to have his shit together and presented a very amateurish and sloppy front, part of which was the nonchalance in which they handled the deal.
This is a business, not a sex, drugs and rock n' roll party. Sure we can have fun doing it (if I didn't have fun with this racket any more, I'd quit and do something else, to be honest), but that doesn't mean we act like idiots and not properly manage the business end of it.
And maybe you're right, maybe my people skills do have something to do with it. Again I package the whole thing as not only protection for me, but protection for the client as well. They are getting on paper exactly what they can expect from me, so there's no chance of any misunderstanding or ambiguity that might allow me to pad the bill or stiff them on service. Such agreements are a win-win situation for both sides. Compared against some pot-reaking mullethead who's entire contract is a high five and a "No problem, dude, I'm down with it.", my service style looks very attractive to just about anybody..other than maybe that mullethead.
Hey, bigtoe, what works for you, works for you. Do what works for you. But to advise that having a written agreement is too costly and too off-putting just does not add up by my math and my experience; not to menton being very suprising advice coming from a combination small business owner and paralegal such as yourself.
Is it something some kid making a couple of bucks in his garage helping a couple of his friends absoluetly has to do? Of course not. But when the question comes up in a forum about how to charge and deal with "clients", I see absolutely zero harm, extremely minimal cost, and - if one actually deal with a client who has to have something to show the IRS for their cost deductions - to incorporate the terms into the proper minimal business paperwork, And in fact as shown, such business practices can increase business, not chase it away. It's a no-lose, win-win situation for everyone involved.
G.
) Not so in Ohio - you have to do it yourself. it's astate by state thing. However, most of these musician types? They don't have shit to collect on...
