TimR Posted July 6 Share Posted July 6 There's a whole thread on shared ownership. You've done extremely well out of the deal if they've returned what you've paid out with no depreciation factored in. My take has always been: someone owns the PA and they get an extra "PA cut" for maintaining, storing and transporting the PA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassfinger Posted July 6 Author Share Posted July 6 Oh no, I appreciate that while the gear was very expensive high quality kit it is now well used. With that in mind I was only asking for 25p in the pound. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jezzaboy Posted July 6 Share Posted July 6 When my band needed a pa due to guitar boy legging it along with his pa, I mentioned it to the band that we could all chip in for a new one. Cue tumbleweed rolling across the desert. I managed to get the cash together to buy a set up and so I own the lot, if it all ends at least I won`t have the problems that the op has had. It can be such a minefield regarding who owns what and how to divvy it up if it folds so I`m glad that you managed to get it resolved. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nilorius Posted July 6 Share Posted July 6 I left my last band 6 mounth ago, they quickly found a replacent for me, but now they destroyed the band completly, for the same reasons - i left. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asingardenof Posted July 6 Share Posted July 6 (edited) Am I missing something here? Why can the remaining band members not cut their fee percentage to pay the dep while also paying you back for the gear? Edited July 6 by asingardenof 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete.young Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 Glad you were able to resolve it. If I were about to join a band and they said "by the way you owe £x for a share of a well-used PA", I'd walk away and find another band. Does anyone else feel like that? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ossyrocks Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 2 minutes ago, pete.young said: Glad you were able to resolve it. If I were about to join a band and they said "by the way you owe £x for a share of a well-used PA", I'd walk away and find another band. Does anyone else feel like that? Yes, I do. I've done the shared ownership twice before, when I was quite a bit younger, neither ended well. As musicians, we invest a lot in our own equipment. I'm fortunate to have built up quite a bit of valuable kit, and the musicians I play with have done the same. But I have met singers who think that they've spent a fortune on gear when all they've done is buy a nice microphone, and that they shouldn't have to buy their own PA to use it through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackroadkill Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 11 minutes ago, ossyrocks said: I have met singers who think that they've spent a fortune on gear when all they've done is buy a nice microphone, and that they shouldn't have to buy their own PA to use it through. Same here, although the waters can muddy when instruments are mic'd, I suppose. My band is currently debating whether or not to invest in a PA, and after that there will come the who-pays-for-what discussion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 14 hours ago, martin8708 said: Gear that is collectively owned by the “band “ is always a headache when someone leaves or the band splits . I think your quite fortunate in getting your share of the gear paid back to you , my experience has been very much the opposite . I now leave all PA purchases to the vocalist , If I buy any peripheral purchases , they come home with me . I like this approach too. Vocalists usually have spent the least. Sometimes not even a solitary microphone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulWarning Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 when the band I play in lost 2 members the remaining members, me and the singer, paid off the leaving members, so me and the singer now own the PA, you can hardly ask someone just joining the band to fork out for the PA but we do take a small fee (round down there share of gig money) off the new members to pay for it's upkeep 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssexBuccaneer Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 (edited) I genuinely don’t get inter-band squabbles about ownership contracts and all that nonsense. You have to trust each other and accept that some expenses are lost as soon as they’re paid out - or you don’t have a band. We have a simple system. We as a four-piece all own our own gear. The PA belongs to the band, as does the lighting rig. They’re sunk costs. Money from gigs goes into a band kitty/account, and will be used to buy any merch, plus strings, drum skins, sticks etc. If anyone leaves, they owe the band nothing. The band owes them nothing except 25% of the kitty as their share. This stuff should be kept simple, and friendly - no good comes from arguing about what percentage of equipment you ‘own’ as an individual. Edited July 7 by EssexBuccaneer 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 There's no shortage of people on Basschat with way more band experience than me, but ALL my experience has taught me that there is simply no substitute for personally owning all the gear you use. In the (three) bands I play in, each member owns their own instruments & backline, a couple even own their own mics and stands, but pretty much everything else is owned outright by @Silvia Bluejay and me. Sure it costs more money that way, but there has never once been any sort of argument - or even discussion - about shared kit, who owns it, who's not putting in enough money, etc. We could start those rows tomorrow by announcing that in future we would be taking an extra 'share' of the gig money as a fee for supplying the PA, an extra 'share' for the sound guy (who is, of course, Silvie), and deffo an extra 'share' as our finders' fee for bringing in every single gig played by all three bands. But we're not going to do that, are we Silvie? Silvie??? 2 1 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 2 minutes ago, Happy Jack said: But we're not going to do that, are we Silvie? Silvie??? Far easier and less controversial to de-retire and re-join the job market... Er, no to all. 👍 2 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newfoundfreedom Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 I've managed to avoid all this kind of hassle by having never been paid for a gig. 😂 2 1 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 I co-own the PA with my drummer. I've been playing with him since 2009. I think it's safe enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supernaut Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 On 06/07/2024 at 10:18, Bassfinger said: Team, I recently quit my main band. I wont go into the reasons, I freely admit it was as much my fault as theirs but I work on the basis that I do it for fun and if it should no longer be fun then it's not worth doing. So I quit. Politely, no hard feelings, wishing them all the best. Having done so I immediately mesaaged the unofficial band leader, the guy who'd set it all up, to apologise to him. He was fine about it. I also said that I'd cover one last gig on the 13th, as that'd be short notice to get a dep, for him to learn our arrangements and different keys etc, then I'd shake their hands, wish them the best and be on my way and they can buy me out my not insignificant share of the bands equipment (all documented who paid for what.) For reasons I don't understand (not that it matters) our drummist doesn't want me there, and wants to use another bassist. Fine, if he doesn't want me there then it's not likely the atmosphere would be brilliant so I'm happy to stand aside. However, if they're bringing in a replacement who is going to be earning a reasonable sum per engagement they need to buy me out of my share of the gear first. You can't expect me to pay for lunch and someone else to sit down and eat it, particularly as I'd already offered to eat it myself. They've clearly done the maths and realised buying me out would wipe out the new guys first fee and more, and he'd essentially be playing for free. They either don't want to do this, or he's not willing to play a gig or two for free, and are trying to guilt trip me that they'll have to cancel the gig, etc. Well, no they don't have to cancel because I specifically offered to cover that engagement so they wouldn't have to cancel and their reputation as an act wouldn't be damaged amintlocal venues. So it's a stalemate. They dont want me to play, I won't let them bring in a replacement and allow him to earn decent money using geat that I paid towards, and want buying out. I've told them I don't want to argue, it's a simple binary choice. They're going to have to buy me out at some stage and I'd rather not get MU legal services involved. Am I being unreasonable in not wanting to simply gift them hundreds of pounds worth of gear so that someone else can make money using it? I'm not hard up and plan to donate it to a worthy national charity, so it's not even like I'm insisting upon being bought out due to some sense of greedy avarice, but I feel they're trying to extract the wee wee and I'm not willing to just roll over. Jesus... just move aside and let it be. You threatening them with legal will not help. I wouldn't want you back either! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassfinger Posted July 7 Author Share Posted July 7 Get your facts straight. I didn't threaten them with anything. It was something I quietly considered and ultimately discarded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meterman Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 Although music is still technically my day job, I haven’t been a full time, official member of a band since 1993. When we were active we barely gigged so only owned our own instruments. After our album came out we split up, and I drifted into session work and three of the rest of the band became the backing band for a singer songwriter. They had a system where every penny they earned went into a band bank account to pay for PA, a van, lighting, band merch, insurance etc. Although they had management, they slogged around the country for 4+ years without managing to sign to a label which was their #1 aim. The idea was to hopefully sign to a major label, get an advance and finally have some cash, but it never happened and they eventually split up. Dividing up the gear and the costs of the van and all of that, was absolutely poisonous, it pretty much ended all their friendships and after all of it they never saw a penny for themselves over the five years they were together. Super sad way to go. By rights they should have made it, but they made some bad collective decisions (don’t sign to an indie label, hold out and sign to a major was the biggie) and it cost them badly. A couple of them haven’t spoken to each other since 1998. All because of the way the band split was handled. All of them now have day jobs and none of them play at all. I think the way their band split put them off music forever. Proper shame. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
police squad Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 I've owned my own PA, on and off for over 35 years. Occasionally and only very occasionally i take it for someone elses benefit (my mates) I was recently asked if I fancied joining a band and doing half the singing with the guitarist doing half. Which means i would have to use my PA as they dont have one But it's not a band I want to do at the moment (the guitarists and drummer are utterly superb though and we do a blues rock gig once a year together, which I take my whole kit too and love it too) The last proper band I was in, the band bought the van, on the understanding if you left, you got nothing. The bass player and original singer owned the PA but when the singer left, he gifted the PA to the bassist. (I played guitar and sang in this band. Everything was put thru the PA and we left everything bar guitars in the van) It worked very well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Starr Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 I own the PA. I'm not sure anyone would want to play with me if I didn't 5 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Dare Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 On 06/07/2024 at 10:28, Mickeyboro said: You’re not in a very strong position, unfortunately. When do they propose paying you off? If it’s just the one gig I am not sure I’d be fussed. After all, how can you stop them playing? Not necessarily the case. Were I in BF's shoes (in answer to his question, I think he is being very reasonable), I would take an item of items of equipment equivalent in value to the agreed buy-out amount and leave the band to sort out replacements. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickeyboro Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 49 minutes ago, Dan Dare said: Not necessarily the case. Were I in BF's shoes (in answer to his question, I think he is being very reasonable), I would take an item of items of equipment equivalent in value to the agreed buy-out amount and leave the band to sort out replacements. Thankfully it seems it’s not coming to that. But take it from where? The studio? The lockup? The stage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Browning Posted July 7 Share Posted July 7 I own the PA and the van. All I need to do is ingratiate myself with some talented, but cloth-eared musicians. Done that on a couple of occasions now! I don't charge for use of either, don't really feel comfortable charging mates for things. Tend to be the same with anything music related. Guess I'll never be rich. 6 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12stringbassist Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 (edited) Post edited as I have now seen OP's post about an agreement. Edited July 8 by 12stringbassist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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