I have a situation with a client that I would like to ask opinions and advice on. Since I am involved as the audio engineer, I may be biased. I will take painstaking measures to just stick to facts and leave my bias aside.
I agreed to record, edit, mix, and master 3 songs for a 5 piece band (drums, bass, vocals, 2 guitars) for a flat fee, no hourly fees, just a single project fee.
Even though the fee is low, I agreed to begin work and move forward allowing the band to make payments along the way.
On the day of basic tracks, I received 32.5% of the total fee. I was very happy and proceeded to complete the tracking of the basic tracks.
In the following weeks (working around everyone’s schedules) I completed the entire overdub process.
I then completed all the editing, still not having received one cent since the basic tracking day.
After the editing was completed, I stopped working on the project. Several months went by and I heard nothing from the band, received no payments, nothing. So I did not move forward either.
Now, on Sunday, March 10^th, 2013, just 3 days ago, I received a payment that when combined with the first payment, equals a total of 60% of the total flat fee.
The band asks if I could deliver one complete song while they come up with the rest of the payments. I agreed and started working on the mix of that one song.
Later that Sunday I presented a first version mix of one song. The band went over it and gave me a list of the mix notes. Things are now going back and forth as I tweak the mix to everyone’s liking.
I took yesterday off to handle some family issues. I then received a text from the band indicating that one of the members thinks things are taking too long and is now questioning the possibility of getting the raw tracks from me and mixing somewhere else.
At this point I won’t tell you guys what I think about this because I want to hear your opinions about it without being influenced by anything else but the facts.
 
So, what do you guys think?
-Charles

do you feel lucky?


well, do you, PUNK?!



heheh

in other words, take a gut-check, does your gut tell you this will work out?
does your head tell you 'look at the facts up to this date"?

do you love working on this project?

are you ready to cut your losses if you DON'T love working on this project?

are there other downsides from cutting them loose?

does anything in the original contract state that you'll provide raw files outside of mixing it yourself?

sounds like chances are high these guys will walk anyway.....

I don't work in the studio for pay..... but my take on this from running a business and dealing with customers is as follows. 

You set a price to do the whole job on 3 songs.  

They are slow payers. 

Then when you deliver one to them they don't like it because they pick it all to pieces and ask you to "fix" what they don't like. 

Now they think you are working too slowly.

they are wanting the raw tracks to the songs so they can now have someone else mix and master.  

OK... here's my take.  First, are you happy with the 60% they have paid as payment in full for recording them? 

If so, yeah, send them the raw, unedited tracks. Or if you want to be nice, you can send the raw but edited tracks. I would do one of the two depending on how nice they were about firing you. 

It sounds like they would be a real PITA to work with on the 3 songs. 

Of course, if you have this in writing as Bat mentioned, you should have them sign some sort of release from the original contract (we call them change orders in the business I'm in) and it should indicate the amount paid already as full payment for raw tracks to 3 songs. Hand over the raw tracks on a disc and wish them well.

As bats says, if the raw tracks are yours (not contractually obligated to deliver them) and you're beyond wanting to work with them, it's probably time for you to left them walk, and refund some portion of the 27.5% second payment. 

IOW if you feel based on the mix notes that you were 80% there, refund 20% of that 27.5% payment.

And, as bats says, they are probably ready to walk or they want the rest of the project at zero additional cost and are using the "walk" as a negotiating strategy.

Sorry it had to come to this.

BTW, if it were me and I "owned" the raw tracks, I'd not deliver them (since I did not deliver the mixes) until I got the 40% balance. But that's just me. Seems like a prime case for siting good/bad faith gesture and all that rot.

What a mess. 

Cut your losses. Let them walk away and don't give them the stems. Only copies of the master should be given in which case it seems they didn't even get to that stage. All this should have been in the terms. 

Masters? Studios can also charge extra per-copy (masters, not to be confused with mastering costs, hourly rate)! 


In General - to whomever happens to stumble on this thread:  Every professional recording studio I've been involved with charge by the hour and usually IIRC it's up-front deposit and then paid in full on the day just prior to the session, or in advance (optional)

For all bookings, copies of receipt/invoice along with cancelation policy must be included; outlining in clear terms that at least 48 hours notice of cancellations must be given should the client request a refund in full or for the deposit, or simply wishes to change the day and length (hours) of the session.

Most studios have a 'minimum hourly rate' for example, 4 hours for multi-track recordings, 1 hour for mastering. Some studios may offer discounts for longer sessions and/or well in advanced bookings.

Some studios may also be generous enough to allow up to 2 hours over-time to get the job done at no cost to the client. A courtesy gesture I guess LOL

In clear terms; setup time is at the expense of the client (included in the hourly rate)! That is why it's advised that clients have their act and their gear together before making a booking.  I've had my fair share of experience over the years to know, NOT to run a pro rec studio business LOL!!  There is just too much involved; opened for all types of bookings, long hours, staying up-to-date, cleaning, maintenance and being competitive are just some examples.  

Standard or Advance Sessions:  Some studios also charge more (hourly rate) for additional studio gear.  A request that is not included in the standard booking.  I've seen this arrangement done because sometimes gear requests for more expensive brands seem so extravagant and sometime not necessary but just to please a stubborn client LOL.  But there is a workaround for the struggling studio and that is to hire gear from a third-party (pro gear hire) cost are weighed in the booking fee. 

My experiences are based in Sydney, Australia. I have no idea if the offers and terms are exactly the same elsewhere. And I have not been involved in the business for a long time = things may have changed since. 

You offered to raise a calf, slaughter, butcher and pack it for a set fee. Now the calf is half grown and they want the calf and out of the deal. This kind of a deal suits everybody until it doesn't. 

The problem is figuring out what part of the contract has been completed relative to the payment. On the face of it, the contract is binding until the work is completed and final payment made. But if their understanding of the deal is that your final work must meet their approval, the job may never be over, so maybe the wise thing to do is get out with what you can  reasonably expect for your work. If you have a written contract that breaks down the amount they will have to pay for each part of the project, you can figure out what they owe for how far you have gotten. If not, you need to figure it out for yourself and be able to justify the division in order to discuss what they owe you.

If they are willing to take the raw tracks and let you keep the money, you are probably doing pretty well, depending on how much time you planned to do on the mixing and mastering. But if they are asking for some or all of their money back in addition to the tracks, it is more problematic. You are probably within your rights to hold the unfinished work hostage (so long as you have completed the work to date within the terms of your contract), until you get them to sign an agreement that says they are satisfied with the what you are giving them and you are satisfied with the payment you have or will receive for it. Without that kind  of an agreement, they might come back at you later. If you give them what they want, you will have very little leverage if you think you are due more. 

In any case, if you have gotten yourself into this mess, and it is the first time, you are probably not a major player, and not in the position of wanting this band to bad mouth you with other potential clients. So playing hard ball may not be a good long term business choice.

Hi Charles This can be an issue for sure and I have encountered it a few times. Here are a few ideas that I work by anyway that might help in helping you what to do next.

Firstly I never just do anything like that for a fee. Yes you can work out a decent fee. Give yourself a decent hourly rate and divide that into the fee and see how many hours are involved. I stipulate that once those hours are exceeded then extra costs are involved and hourly from then on. 

By charging a decent amount to start with you actually avoid most of the clients you would not want to work with in the first place. You will be left with good people who basically won't do the sort of stuff your current clients are doing now. And they will pay and pay properly and regularly.

They need to complete all payments before you give anything and I mean anything to them from now on. 

Why would they take the raw sessions and go somewhere else to mix. If they are going to spend even more money doing that why can't they stay with you, pay you at least the original fee plus extra to do a great mix which I am sure you can do. Try and talk them around. (unless you seriously want them out of your life all together)

They have messed you around, not you messing them around. 

If you really want them out of your life forever then give then what they want and have no further contact with them again. Think of it as a learning curve and a positive experience.

Just make sure in future if you are negotiating fee structures make sure that fee relates to HOURS and if those hours are looking like they are going to go well over, further payment will be required. I don't mind a few hours here and there going over that is cool. But if it is looking like a lot of hours over then extra payment should be necessary. 

I have been caught many times. I am ruthless now. I charge a lot, top rate, high hourly rate. I am very very very good at what I do. Period. People have to and will pay for it. I get the best people coming to me to do this sort of stuff. Great musicians, great payers etc.. That is what you want.

Danny Danzi will probably have some good info on this. I hope he chimes in.

Jeff makes a good point. An hourly fee gives the client the incentive to not make you go back and re-mix a gazillion times until your mix is as good as they imagine they can sound. Unless they are wealthy, they will want to quit when it reaches as good as they actually sound, or at least when they run out of money.

But in any case, you need to spell out (before the job starts) what happens, to their tracks and your payment in the event they decide to go elsewhere, in order to avoid this kind of problem if they decide you are not their best choice in the middle.

This is a little tough.  I assume you did not really get a contract in writing so...... try talking them into finishing, and deliver them the best mix you can deliver- one they will want to show off.  Ends upo with good PR for you.  The worst they can say about you is that it might have been a bit slow, but they can't argue with the sound quality (which is what it's all about in the long run.)

If that can't be done, I myself would give them a final mix of the tune they "finished" (whether they like it or not), keep 50% of the total fee (refund other 10%), send them on their merry way, and make them feel good that they only had to pay 50% because you were probably more than 50% complete with the effort required.

Just a thought.

Good luck!

I have printed up some time sheets and keep them handy when starting new projects. I still note down all the contact details, the session dates, times and hours and what was done etc. Everything is put onto the time sheet. eg setups, backing up etc.. You may or may not charge for it but you will never remember all that detail.

Even with jobs for example that I might have say 80 hours to do 4 songs complete to mastered stage. This means approx 20 hours per song but it is good to know how many actual hours were spent on it. It might be 24 instead. The time sheets tell you this. So next time when a very similar situation comes in I am going to say look it is going be 96 hours really not 80. I will then adjust the hourly rate and fee to represent the new more accurate times.

The more you talk, discuss, put down in some form of agreement the better it will always be. Money must be discussed right up front, not only the amounts but the full payment details too. So you can be guaranteed of a regular income while you are engaged in a larger project like this for weeks on end etc..  It is so easy to get excited about a job like this and just get into it. But as tempting as that is, it is better to sit down and talk out all the options etc. And also what happens re multitrack sessions, are they provided or not, what the client will get exactly at the end of the project and also any information relating to pressings being included or not etc..

Even if a job turns sour towards the end with all that info written down and agreed on, the parting is usually much easier and better because the clients cannot make things up.  Jobs that are well organised rarely turn sour anyway. And if the client does not want to do all that prep and just get into it then that should alert you to some alarm bells. It might be a situation where you decide to turn that type of client away instead.