BOOKING INFO 413-774-2411; Business Manager, Lynn 413-219-6975
FEES
The organizer/organization bringing Tom in assumes all costs of obtaining and using a venue, sound equipment, engineer....
College fees generally run from $400-$1000. MPTF Grants from the musicians’ union are available for school, library, and museum educational (all my shows are educational) programs. They are not fund raisers. They are free and open to the public.
The union also has grants for senior centers. Grant funded concerts pay Tom's fee and the pension contribution.
Check with Tom to discuss teaching residencies.
Fees for concerts generally range from $400-$600. For a fund raiser, you keep everything over the concert fee. Or we can do an 80-20% (Tom-you) split of the gate with a $300 guarantee. And some promoters give Tom the whole gate.
With the 80-20 split, if the gate is $600 = Tom gets 480; you get 120;
If the gate is $400, Tom gets $320 and you get $80
If the gate is $300, Tom gets the 300 which is the guarantee.
The suggested donation is usually $15 -25 dollars at the door. Fundraisers generally slide higher to whatever amount you choose as a ceiling. No one is turned away.
In support of AFM Local 1000's living wage for its musicians, a pension fee of 5.4% is requested on top of the concert or church program fee. For example, a $500 fee x .5.4% pension fee = $527 total fee.
If you want to support Fair Trade Music and be listed with AFM Local 1000 as a Fair Trade Venue, you can pay a 10% pension fee instead of 5.4%. The musicians' union much appreciates your support.
There is no Live-streaming or recording of the concert without an agreement. See Below.
Sunday Church Services have run $200-400 plus the pension fee.
The American Federation of Musicians has a streaming fee for church services. These have just been updated.
A Live Stream with no recording is 20% over the fee. Therefore, a $200 church service that includes my music, that is Live Streamed will be $240 plus the pension fee already mentioned. This contract will continue to use the LS1 form that many of you have used from previous bookings with Tom and with other union musicians.
Recognizing that music cannot be recorded without permission, if the program is to be recorded and put up for 30 days, it is 40% of the fee so the $200 program would be $280 plus pension fee and a separate contract (B7) must be signed with the AFM.
If the recording were to be made available past 30 days, the On Demand Streaming Agreement would need to be used. That would have to be completed by John Painting at the AFM. The amount of this Agreement would be $394.40, plus pension ($61.49 at 15.59%) and Health ($24) for a total of $479.89.
*** If you want us to hold a date for you, we need a $100 non-refundable deposit. If we are holding a date for you, it means we are saying “No” to someone else. Nine out of ten people (Seriously!) who say they want a concert or other program don't follow through. Uncertain dates make it difficult to form a route and schedule other programs so we have had to request the non-refundable deposit. If you haven't firmed in 30 days, then the date will no longer be held for you and will be available to others. If you should then book after the 30 days with the same date, the $100 will still apply towards the concert fee.
*** With the exception of tornado, earthquake, flood, fire, plague, public health concern, lock down.., if you cancel a program (aka break a contract) within two months of its date, $400 compensation is expected or the otherwise agreed upon fee.
*** Unless you want something more formal (which we can provide) our emails can serve as our contract.
*** If Tom is being brought in for an event at a distance, travel money is requested. If it is a stop on his tour, no travel money is necessary.
CONCERT NEEDS
Barring transportation snafus, Tom likes to arrive 1½ to 2 hours before the show. He needs a table for his CDs and literature. A card table will suffice, but a six foot table is much better, as he often has other information. The table should be in an area that can be lit and accessible during intermission and after the show.
*** There is no recording of the show pursuant to Union regulations without a recording agreement.***
STAGE NEEDS: We know it is not always possible, but is nice to have a quiet room to tune and prepare. Tom needs a small table or stool to put picks, capos, other props, and a glass of water.
He needs a black metal music stand. He travels with one, but if he doesn't need to bring it in to the venue, it's one less item to carry.
SOUND
Tom does not travel with sound equipment. When sound support is needed, he requires 2 mics for voice and guitar. OR a voice mic and a patch into the sound system. He has a 1/4" input. Two voice mics are necessary if he has a back up vocalist, but we will know that well before the show. The sound check should be done before the audience arrives, one to 1 1/2 hrs before the start time. An engineer (someone familiar with the sound system) is required to set up and run the equipment during the show.
LODGING
Any spare room will do. No smoking please; No smoke from fireplaces; cats and dogs ok. Noise at night is un-desirable. Tom travels with a sheet, pillow and sleeping bag to keep his footprint small. If he and I are traveling together, then the footprint is a little larger and we need a bed.
FOOD
Tom doesn’t have to be fed, but people always feed him and for that he is very grateful. At home, his diet is mostly plant based, organic; He avoids GMOs, non-stick (PFAS) and aluminum cookware.
SMOKE
Tom can't play or stay where there is smoking , fireplace smoke or in the case of an outdoor concert, a campfire or bonfire smoke. B-B-Q smoke and wood smoke are Group One carcinogens. Smoke is poisonous. It makes him sick and unable to sing.