General Music Chat

I would like some feedback and helpful tips on using and making a contract to get gigs in bars etc.Mainly for protection of getting screwed out of the money ,perhaps some type of advice of what to include in it for just playing part time in bars.we are not pros ,just old guys wanting to get back out there and jam after years of a layoff.

HolyCow,
Contracts have nothing to do with GETTING gigs.
They do spell out and help insure the fulfillment of terms of the engagement. They are always a good idea for both contracting parties.
You can write a contract any way you want, but the standard for gigging in the U.S. is the form used by the American Federation Of Musicians. Consider joining, but even if you're not a member, you can still use a version of their contracts. (Without the AFM letterhead, of course.)
good luck with the band ,
Howlin'

thanks for the advice,perhaps I should have worded it differently,like,after we get a gig should we use a contract?

Not that a contract is a bad idea, but I will relate a story about a friend of mine...

My friend Rob has a cover band that gigs regularly on a pretty solid rotation. He plays on the "animal circuit", i.e., The Eagles, the Elks and other fraternal orders.
It seems like, on a regular basis, he gets beaten out of a scheduled gig or two-even though he always has contracts with these places.
Having been involved in one of those organizations, I am well aware of their political nature.
The bottom line is that the members of the governing body change, and even though he has a contract, they can invalidate it simply by saying that the officer who approved it is no longer in office. He or she made the contract when the gig was originally scheduled, but because a few months have passed, that person no longer has authority to honor it.
You think you have a steady sream of gigs, and then you lose a handful of them because the "new" officer likes another band better.

It sucks, but it happens all the time. I guess that the trick would be to get some kind of clause put in the contract that says they have to honor it, no matter what. I'm sure Rob has thought of that himself, but so far, it's the same old sh!t.

All the gigs I've booked myself I have never signed a contract. Only one time out of all those gigs did some idiot threaten to pay us less than agreed. It was a weird deal. We were supposed to play four sets for three or four hundred dollars. We get to the bar and set up our equipment and the manager comes out and says we can't play until the Chiefs game is over (about midnight), he forgot it was on tha night. He wants us to wait until then and then we're only getting $100 because we are only playing one set. I told him here's the deal. We've come out set up on time and are expecting on 3 to 4 hundred. If you want us to wait all night and play we get 3-4 hundred, otherwise we're leaving NOW. The guy was really pissed off and agrees to pay us the full amount. He didn't want anybody to leave after the game. The Chiefs were blown out and by the beginning of the second half most of the people in the bar (who came primarily to watch the game) had left because their team had no chance to come back and win. We play the last set for just about nobody and the manager pays us the full amount and then tells us we're never playing there again. I said boo-hoo, a deal is a deal. For me a handsake is as good as a contract. I give people whatever the deal is, and they pay us right at the end of the show, period. If you feel more comfortable getting something in writing that's what you need to do. I've never had a problem with an oral contract, which damn better be as binding as a written agreement if we fulfill our end of the deal.

HJ's Basic business....101
a deal is a deal whether its documented or verbal.

Written contracts are generally better because they are more enforceable.

Playing for money, if its your main source of income means you are playing "professionally". (most professionals are top notch players, but that has nothing to do directly with them being defined as "professional".)

Most professional musicians play under contract and ( if you're playing in the USA) pay income tax .

Most semi-professional, part time, or just for fun players, can agree to play at a local venue without a written contract, hopefully without any adverse repercussions.

My personal advice to a self managed band leader is to discuss the policy concerning method of payment to the potential venue manager, determine if a written contract is necessary, and use your own judgment.

Union affiliation has its benefits, depending on the professional level that you're playing on.

(disclaimer) I ain't no lawyer, so take it for what its worth!
Howlin'