Band purchases

hotpickups

I'm sure this may have been brought here before but. When an item is purchased as a 'Band' purchase etc who actually keeps it if all the band members leave the band eventually? The band leader? What happens with the kit if the band folds?

IvanMC

If you guys can't reach an agreement just sell and share out, I reckon.

citizen68

When we bought a PA we agreed if band ever stops then we sell it & split the proceeds.

hotpickups

citizen68 said:

When we bought a PA we agreed if band ever stops then we sell it & split the proceeds.

More often than not though members leave gradually and possibly only one original member remains probably the band leader. Does it become his then?

Jimbro66

Straightforward if a band folds but trickier if someone leaves. There was a previous thread on this subject and guys had differing views on how it should be handled to be fair (or not fair).

Cirrus

hotpickups said:

I'm sure this may have been brought here before but. When an item is purchased as a 'Band' purchase etc who actually keeps it if all the band members leave the band eventually? The band leader? What happens with the kit if the band folds?

If it was a company, if the company dissolved you'd sell off the assets, pay off your creditors and distribute any remaining funds between the shareholders. I think.

If it's a band, you either decide amicably among yourselves what happens or the band is a legal entity that owns the equipment and you go by agreed contract or the law.

hotpickups

I suppose an idividual can buy something and rent it to the band or take a slightly bigger fee to pay for it and any maintenance costs etc?

John_P

Sometimes storing and transporting gear can be more of an issue than who owns it.   

Just have a conversation and make an agreement - someone leaves then they leave the gear  or  they band pay them back their share (perhaps adjusted for current market value).   

I try to avoid shared ownership or keep it between a couple of core members and avoid the hassle that comes later on - gear is so much cheaper these days that it's less of an issue than it used to be. 

hotpickups

John_P said:

Sometimes storing and transporting gear can be more of an issue than who owns it.   

Just have a conversation and make an agreement - someone leaves then they leave the gear  or  they band pay them back their share (perhaps adjusted for current market value).   

I try to avoid shared ownership or keep it between a couple of core members and avoid the hassle that comes later on - gear is so much cheaper these days that it's less of an issue than it used to be. 

Yeah you're right. A lot less hassle if an idividual buys and uses it whilst in the band. I don't have lights or monitors but other band members do. I just own the PA so we all need each other I guess on that front. I think I'll bite the bullet eventually and get some lights at least so I'll be covered there at least if the band who owns the lights leaves etc

Roland

The easiest answer For most amateur bands is where each member owns some of the equipment. It doesn't always happen because some individuals don't have the funds or storage space, especially if you have to buy a new PA.

If the band is making sufficient income to run as a company then the answer is different.

hotpickups

Roland said:

The easiest answer For most amateur bands is where each member owns some of the equipment. It doesn't always happen because some individuals don't have the funds or storage space, especially if you have to buy a new PA.

If the band is making sufficient income to run as a company then the answer is different.

LOL the latter is definately not the case with my band

EricTheWeary

Some band purchases you couldn't recoup anyway, like insurance or a banner. Share the cost and wave it goodbye.
Things like PA I'm quite wary of joint purchases. With bands sometimes people leave in less than amicable circumstances and someone gets out of pocket and nose out of joint. If one person makes the purchase and keeps it with an agreement to be paid back or hire it back to the band I'd be okay with that. In one of my old bands our sax player owned the PA and it lived in his garage with his Alsatians, so first job each gig was pulling long dog hairs off the cabs.

hotpickups

EricTheWeary said:

Some band purchases you couldn't recoup anyway, like insurance or a banner. Share the cost and wave it goodbye.
Things like PA I'm quite wary of joint purchases. With bands sometimes people leave in less than amicable circumstances and someone gets out of pocket and nose out of joint. If one person makes the purchase and keeps it with an agreement to be paid back or hire it back to the band I'd be okay with that. In one of my old bands our sax player owned the PA and it lived in his garage with his Alsatians, so first job each gig was pulling long dog hairs off the cabs.

I certainly feel for your sax player who had to cart around the PA each gig. I really pulled the short straw when I purchased mine in hindsight

Danny1969

Almost all the bands I play in have expensive PA's and dedicated band vans as well where all the gear is permanently stored. You would think there would be arguments but in 30 years of doing this it's never been an issue.

The rule is if you leave or are sacked you leave with nothing ........ seems to work

EricTheWeary

hotpickups said:

EricTheWeary said:

Some band purchases you couldn't recoup anyway, like insurance or a banner. Share the cost and wave it goodbye.
Things like PA I'm quite wary of joint purchases. With bands sometimes people leave in less than amicable circumstances and someone gets out of pocket and nose out of joint. If one person makes the purchase and keeps it with an agreement to be paid back or hire it back to the band I'd be okay with that. In one of my old bands our sax player owned the PA and it lived in his garage with his Alsatians, so first job each gig was pulling long dog hairs off the cabs.

I certainly feel for your sax player who had to cart around the PA each gig. I really pulled the short straw when I purchased mine in hindsight

He was a big chap with a big pick up truck. As a saxist ( spell check suggested sadist, not far off...) he didn't have much else to carry. Besides in all bands I've ever been in it's always all hands on deck so the lifting of everything is split in-out the venue at least. 

bobblehat

Danny1969 said:

The rule is if you leave or are sacked you leave with nothing ........ seems to work

This has also worked for us.

On the rare occasion a band folds completely then sell the gear and split the cash.In my experience this very rarely happens.

Grunfeld

Danny1969 said:

The rule is if you leave or are sacked you leave with nothing ........ seems to work

Had a guy who insisted on his pound of flesh when he left. 
Gave it to him.  (hey ho).
He hasn't worked again.

stratman3142

Danny1969 said:

The rule is if you leave or are sacked you leave with nothing ........ seems to work

Yes I agree with that as well. I (amicably) left a band recently and didn't expect to get anything back. Maintaining good relationships is worth more than anything else, and might lead to future work/collaborations.

As it turned out, I've since done a couple of deps for them, which was probably worth more that I would have come away with anyway. 

Hoof

We own ours between us. Me and the bassist already owned a basic PA from our resident practice room from our old band and the other guys 'bought in' to that. We added everything else from gig earnings and it's now a company asset, unofficially.

We all store bits of it at our houses. The bassist keeps the core of the system as he uses it for the odd DJ gig. If anyone leaves or is fired we'd give them their share of the PA's value from the band cash fund. If we split we'd sell the lot and split the proceeds 4 ways. We're all pretty good mates and this arrangement works for us.

If I was in a 'strictly professional' act then I'd get something official written up.

We keep the band fund around £500 to cover anything we might need or to replace anything that breaks down/blows up/goes walkies and split earnings equally.

bigjon

I own and store (and transport) the PA and the lights and I take an extra band member's share of gig money to pay for them. I also hire stuff out occasionally. I replaced my gear 2-3 years ago and I'm probably about half-way towards paying it off.