Four musicians unexpectedly fall ill before a performance. The band plays anyway, with only eight musicians instead of 13. The audience likes it, but the organizers don’t. cut fees. “Espresso” says whether musicians should put up with such dissonant notes.
Drummers have been creating a good atmosphere for over 40 years. The steel band exudes Caribbean sounds at summer parties, weddings, and club events. This was also the case in the spring: a large local association booked the band for a meeting. The plan was for 12 to 13 musicians to play, president Jörg Perchinger wrote. But after booking, individuals withdrew due to illness or family reasons. The “drummers” perform anyway, “only” with eight people. “The audience loved the show,” Perchinger wrote. The band had to give a comeback.
After the performance came the nasty surprise: the local association adjusted the fees and transferred only 600 francs instead of the agreed 900 francs. Frustrated musicians now want to know from SRF consumer magazine Espresso: “Should we put up with it.”
Reducing fees is difficult from a legal point of view
Musicians perceive fee reduction primarily as a snub. But the local association’s approach is also legally sensitive. Reductions in fees are justified if one party performs the agreed service poorly or not at all. If the singer fails to sing a duet, the singer cannot complete the performance as agreed. It’s different with the Barrel Drummers: the band performed the agreed-upon service and thus fulfilled the contract.
The local association stands by its opinion – the musicians must complain
In addition, postal history shows that there may be deviations in the number of musicians. Against this background, the band would not have to put up with the reduction in fees. “I had to” because the local association sticks to its position even after the intervention of “Espresso”. In his statement, the president wrote that performing with 12 or 13 musicians would be a different sonic experience. In addition, changes to the agreement regarding the number of musicians were not contractually agreed upon. Since individual musicians were canceled on short notice, unnecessary costs for parking and restaurants could have been incurred by the association.
The band would have to sue their claims in court, which isn’t worth it given the small amount in dispute. So that the amateur band never has to deal with such issues again in the future, they are now considering a notice on their website that there can still be deviations in the number of musicians even after a reservation has been made.
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