Legal Issues and Musicians

[Mark]

I assume that you have a copy of the book, This Business of Music. The outline of that book would be a good start on an outline for a course.

The topic that is not covered well in that book is the specific needs of symphony musicians. Employment contracts, union issues, etc.

[windshieldbug]

Lisa,
My take on this, for professional musicians, are all working environment issues.

According to every contract I've ever reviewed, the conductor of the moment is the employer's representative, yet I cannot recount the examples of what an unreasonable work environment that this creates. Intimidation, wrongful assertiveness, dismissive attitudes and just plain sexism are the norms in an industry where the recipients have doctoral equivalency by any standard. And to paraphrase someone's signature, that's just the good part...

[MaryAnn]

Lisa,

I'd like to know whether with a music business in my home (giving lessons) I'd be better off tax-wise and legal-wise to be an LLC. Like, can the business own my home and car, pay me a salary and save me a lot of tax money?

Or would I be better off to give my lessons in a music store, from an LLC point of view?

MA

[Rick Denney]

Hypothetical: If you had two hours of free consulatation with a lawyer, what legal questions would you have pertaining to your work as a musician (whether it be as a student, a pro, or an amateur)?

I'd spend the first 15 minutes on the question: I play in a community band that is a tax-exempt charitable organization under Section 501c(3). Can I deduct the cost of my tuba? I spend over 90% of my time with that instrument playing, rehearsing, or preparing for the performances of that group.

I'd save the other 1.75 hours for later. It would likely include a request for general instruction on how to read and negotiate a typical contract for performance.

Rick "thinking most musicians forget the contract parts that describe things going wrong" Denney

[Rick Denney]

Band Directors and "Little Girls"

The moral of this story is when receiving such a note, go to the principal immediately and threaten to sue the school for not protecting the reputation of its teachers against unstable little girls.

Seriously, I wonder what the outcome would have been if he had gone to the principal immediately instead of calling the girl into his office? He might have had the notification upper hand. Or, if he had asked the parents for the conference, with the principal in attendance.

Rick "who would probably have stood his ground and then sued for defamation of character" Denney

[windshieldbug]

Band Directors and "Little Girls"

The moral of this story is when receiving such a note, go to the principal immediately and threaten to sue the school for not protecting the reputation of its teachers against unstable little girls.

Seriously, I wonder what the outcome would have been if he had gone to the principal immediately instead of calling the girl into his office? He might have had the notification upper hand. Or, if he had asked the parents for the conference, with the principal in attendance.

Rick "who would probably have stood his ground and then sued for defamation of character" Denney

Sadly, I suspect that if a 12 year-old child is going to be able to make up a rediculous lie about that, and the administration is going to back her version, no matter how absurd, then I don't think it matters WHO you call as a witness. Yet I can't think that that is all there is to it, or I would expect every district in the country that has a troubled pre-teen to be shedding teachers right and left, in fact, even administrators...

[Rick Denney]

It is the way things are here.

I can believe that. And I can guess as to the reasons why, but I won't. Don't send me any names; none of my business and I don't want to know.

I hear you on being depressed about aspects of where you live. That's not an uncommon malady. But you can't expect everywhere to be as great a place to live as San Antonio. And even SA ain't what it used to be, and you know that better than I.

As for being too old to audition, well, you know the foolishness of that statement. But it doesn't get any easier, does it?

Rick "who misses SA" Denney

[LoyalTubist]

I know a few band directors in California that are in prison because of statutory rape. Those who honestly have an illicit relationship with a girl deserve punishment. But those who are accused and found to be innocent have to face a bad reputation for the rest of their lives, even if the little girl was doing nothing more with trying to screw up the life of a teacher she didn't like--in this case, she usually succeeds...

Even if, in a court of law, he is found to be totally innocent. He might even be asked to resign, thereby ruin his chances to be hired by anyone else for the same sort of job.