This post is for musicians. Especially musicians in the cruise line industry.
If you are like most people I know, you are probably surprised by the title. Agents are not bad. They serve a purpose. To those that need someone to broker employment contracts, agents are essential. If agents are not corrupt, then, how do they receive such a bad rap?
It starts with you.
In my time as a contractor and a leader, I have received thousands upon thousands of requests to help sever agent agreements. Nine times out of ten, musicians would say the agent is doing nothing for them. In many instances, that's probably true. I have been in that musician's position before; I don't like it. However, it is the situation we deserve because we signed the contract.
I am not going to write about awful musicians, how to get out of unfair representation contracts, or how to get your employer to get in the middle. No.
I am going to write about how to understand a representation contract. I will write about the transactions that customarily occur behind the scenes. I will write about these subjects with the hopes that you can apply this knowledge to your current situation.
There will be several posts over several days:
Covenant restrictions.
Commissions - Who Pays What When.
Tortious Interference - Don't Get In the Middle.
Do Not Pay to Play.
Starting Your Own Agency.
My goal is not to interject too much opinion, but rather, arm you with information. I do have my views about many talent agencies. For the most part, they are good people trying to do honest work. There are some that I don't agree with their manner of doing business, and I have shared my concerns with them — no need to spread bad vibes here.
I hope you'll join me and follow along in the explorations of agents. They are not bad. They serve a purpose to those that need someone to broker contracts of employment. Like most things, use them the way they were intended. If they don't serve your purpose, they're not for you.