Page 27 - July 2017 inLeague and Conference Program

to have the check waiting at the theater for the artist's manager on night of show.” Randy
added that all overages, percentage deals and the like are paid within 10 days via business
check. “We have never had an artist or agency squawk at that. We don't pay in cash for
ANYTHING (including buyouts, which we rarely agree to anyway) and won't do wire transfers.
It's the only way we feel we can maintain strong fiscal management of our organization's
finances.”

Jon Elbaum, Executive Director at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in Troy, NY, seems to follow
the same trend as the others. “We almost always issue a company check night of show.
Some artists require a certified check but not very often. If the agency prefers a wire it is next
business day after the show. We never do cash except for meal buyouts etc.”

But just when I thought that maybe my days at the Paramount were the exception to a new
rule, we heard from Craig Sumberg, Executive Director of the Fox Tucson Theatre Foundation.
Craig’s experience is similar to what I remember. “We pretty much do whatever the tour
manager requests, though our preference is a business check. But we've certainly done
wire transfers, bank checks, and even partial (or in very rare circumstanced full) payment in
cash.”

I don’t know if it is true or not, but I had heard a story that some of the older artists remember
the days of mafia-controlled monopolies and smoke-filled backroom deals. In those days,
if you didn’t get your cash up front, you might not get your cash at all. I would imagine, as
each year passes, the requests for cash get fewer and fewer.
Anyone had an artist asking to get paid in Bitcoins yet?

I’ve been in your shoes.
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413 297 3619
www.palmerwestport.com
susan@palmerwestport.com

Helping theatres transform communities since 2005

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