Good heavens: that kind of miscommunication sounds like no fun at all to deal with. I'm grateful (especially now that I'm taking on booking responsibilities!) that we now have a very clear payment system figured out in Montpelier.
After we take out our overhead, and pay the sound guy, we split what's left evenly between the folks on stage, with a limit on band size. So: 2-person band (3 people on stage) = 1/3 to caller, 2/3 to band 3-person band (4 on stage) = 1/4 to caller, 3/4 to band 4-or-more-person band (5+ on stage) = 1/5 to caller, 4/5 to band We also have a minimum guarantee if we have a lower turnout, which isn't all that often. We subsidized 7 of our 28 dances last year, but we had 4 dances with a huge turnout and well more than that with an above-average turnout, so it all comes out in the wash. We make special exceptions to this VERY rarely: for example, last time our dance was on New Year's Eve, we paid the band and caller a little extra to stay past midnight. It took us a while to iron all this out as a committee, but it was well worth it for the lack of confusion we have now! Dana Dwinell-Yardley Montpelier, VT On Wed, Feb 26, 2014 at 12:00 PM, <[email protected]>wrote: > > >Jerome Grisanti wrote: > > Make sure you let the treasurer know who is getting paid, and how much ... > I've been in the uncomfortable situation of handing someone money and > having them say, "this is not the agreed amount." I've also been the > caller when the person with the bank asked, "how much do we pay you?" > ... Of course, it's not about the money, but smooth relations. > > AMEN ! > > In my experience, lack of clarity on money happens all-too-often. > It's usually not a big deal, but occasionally makes a mess. > > I still have uncomfortable feelings about a glitch like this -- from > over a decade ago. At the break, the treasurer came up to me and > began, "We should have talked about this in advance ..." It turned > out that instead of the standard payment (which I had been led to > expect), they wanted to apply a different formula (reducing my pay) > because of an unusual band situation. I didn't know what to say, but > observed that I had traveled hundreds of miles, which might also be > considered unusual ... We concluded the discussion (which occupied > the break, and would have been more happily spent socializing, and > planning the 2nd half) with me saying "Just do whatever seems best to you." > > The organizer felt ruffled and grumpy, I felt ruffled and grumpy. I > suspect that whatever compromise was achieved was explained to the > band, so they felt that way, too. Ugh ! A lot of unnecessary > annoyance over $50 or so. > > As Jerome observes, "it's not about the money, but smooth relations." > It's really worth the extra communication to avoid putting performers > and volunteer organizers in awkward situations. > > (postscript: there was a blizzard on Sunday, and I totaled my car on > the way home. Definitely not my favorite dance weekend of all time ...) > > > Scott > -------------------------------------------- > [email protected] > http://www.scotthiggs.com > -- Dana Dwinell-Yardley graphic design & layout Montpelier, Vermont 802-229-4008 [email protected]
