Foreign Gig Fiasco

marite · June 17, 2007, 9:23pm

UCDalum:

I think a large part of the problem was that the arrangements were not made by Binx’s son; he had no control over much of his itinerary, so when things went awry because of the weather, his hands were tied much more than if he had been on his own. Then once he was in Korea, he was overcontrolled, told only a few minutes beforehand what was going to happen next. Binx’s son was trying hard to accommodate someone who’d made promises but turned out to be totally unresponsive.

For the record, I came to this country at 17. I had to make a connection; it turned out that the airline’s attendant swere on strike, so I could not get onto my flight. I had to book into a hotel and come back the next day to the airport. I did not quite know what to do with my luggage, how to book into a hotel, but I managed because I knew enough English to ask for assistance. By the time I arrived at my destination, it was 1am. My host had young children and could not come to the airport to meet me. So I got into a taxi. I did not feel helpless thanks to being able to speak English (however badly at the time). But I would have, if I’d been to Korea instead of the US and did not speak a word of Korean and had no idea what awaited me or what I was supposed to do once I reached my destination.

binx · June 17, 2007, 9:32pm

My H is an engineer, and has experienced some of what UCDalum writes about. There are a few differences:

<ol>
<li> My H always knows in advance where he is going, and how he is getting there. His company gives him his dates of travel, airline ticket, rental car info, hotel info - all of that - in advance. He even gets names and phone numbers of people he’s going to be meeting with, so he can call them if something unexpected happens. His entire itinerary hangs on our fridge while he is gone, so we can contact him quickly.</li>
</ol>

The issue wasn’t that my S had to take his own transportation. The issue was that he was unexpectedly separated from his group, had no contact info, and no info on how he should get where he needed to be, because the woman in charge refused to share it. He literally did not know what was expected of him when he got off the plane in Korea, and had to make it up as he went along.

<ol>
<li> If my H gets “stranded”, the company pays the bills. If my H gets delayed, perhaps he might have to extend his trip, but there is never any question of whether or not the company will refuse to pay him. My S was at risk of breaking the contract and encurring huge consequences if he did not get to where he was supposed to be at the right time.</li>
</ol>

I don’t think this is a musician/engineer difference - perhaps a self-employed / company rep difference. My H never has to worry about the details of an individual contract when he travels on business.

<ol>
<li> When my H travels, he might work long hours, or extra days, in order to make the best use of his time. But it is always his decision. And his time away from the office is his own. He is going to Germany next week, and already planning his weekend. </li>
</ol>

I guess I fall under your “protective parent of adult children” umbrella. S and I were discussing my “interest” in his trip and his contract the day I drove him to the airport. As an analogy, I used his almost-18 year old sister who is learning to drive. We did not say: the state of GA says you’re old enough to drive - here’s the car keys. The fact that we have been teaching her, and gradually increasing her competence has absolutely nothing to do with whether we are overprotective, have raised her right, trust her, or anything else. The reality is we have more experience, and are eager for her to learn some things “the easy way.”

There is no rule that once your kids are grown up you must stop helping them, or that they cannot learn from you.

violadad · June 17, 2007, 9:38pm

UCDAlum- Perhaps you missed it in the initial reading, but a specific promise was made that he would be met at the airport. He was also promised he would be given the cell phone contact number prior to his arrival. Neither happened. Breach of promise.

Promised itinerary. Breach of promise. In a well written contract, then this could easily be breach of contract.

Additional unspecified performances… quite simply, breach of contract.

Unspecified use of the artist’s image in TV and other media… depending on the level of performer and the specific terms of negotiations, it could well result in additional compensation beyond straight performance fees.

I find it difficult to believe you’ve overseen/performed on site installations without the existence of a contract or purchase order between the corporate entities involved (unless of course it was an intra-corporate job).

I agree being met at the airport for corporate travel is unlikely, except at the highest levels. As it is throughout the majority of the performing arts world.

I also agree that corporate schedules, like battle plans, are useless once the interaction begins.

However, the number of performances is directly linked to compensation, and rehearsal times are normally contractually regulated.

I’d also wager you’re not likely to hold a high professional opinion of a business contact, be it client, customer or associate if your dealings with them were continually laced with broken promises.

Foreign Gig Fiasco

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