Dear friends,
I'm just getting started as a solo performer playing with recorded accompaniment at wedding receptions and fancy birthday parties. I don't understand much about contracts and deposits, but I think I need to begin, to avoid getting stiffed. I would be grateful if you could share your opinions on the questions below.
Assuming the example of a four-hour wedding reception in Atlanta, charging about $125 per hour, these are my questions:
1. How far in advance is the minimum that you typically require for your customer to pay a deposit?
2. How much of a deposit is the minimum and the maximum that you would require?
3. Do you both sign duplicate contracts and each get a copy?
4. When does the customer typically pay the balance? a) days prior to the party? b) at the beginning of the party? c) at the end of the party?
5. Do you give the customer a receipt for the deposit and also a receipt for the balance paid?
As for the contract itself, I have another unrelated question:
What if you agree to play for four hours, but the party has lots of announcements on the agenda, such as speeches, a video, special numbers from a kid on a violin, a time where the newlyweds dance to a song for which they have their own recorded accompaniment, joke-telling time, games for the adults, and other similar events where it would be preferable for the saxophonist not to play. Are there typically any special arrangements that I should make about these things beforehand in the contract, or does my being present and on stand-by alone count just the same as play-time for which I am “hired” and paid?
Thank you so much for your answers to these questions.
I'm just getting started as a solo performer playing with recorded accompaniment at wedding receptions and fancy birthday parties. I don't understand much about contracts and deposits, but I think I need to begin, to avoid getting stiffed. I would be grateful if you could share your opinions on the questions below.
Assuming the example of a four-hour wedding reception in Atlanta, charging about $125 per hour, these are my questions:
1. How far in advance is the minimum that you typically require for your customer to pay a deposit?
2. How much of a deposit is the minimum and the maximum that you would require?
3. Do you both sign duplicate contracts and each get a copy?
4. When does the customer typically pay the balance? a) days prior to the party? b) at the beginning of the party? c) at the end of the party?
5. Do you give the customer a receipt for the deposit and also a receipt for the balance paid?
As for the contract itself, I have another unrelated question:
What if you agree to play for four hours, but the party has lots of announcements on the agenda, such as speeches, a video, special numbers from a kid on a violin, a time where the newlyweds dance to a song for which they have their own recorded accompaniment, joke-telling time, games for the adults, and other similar events where it would be preferable for the saxophonist not to play. Are there typically any special arrangements that I should make about these things beforehand in the contract, or does my being present and on stand-by alone count just the same as play-time for which I am “hired” and paid?
Thank you so much for your answers to these questions.