MU Experiences a Bumper Year for Fee Recovery

Last year’s best result in my opinion was a £10K-plus settlement agreement negotiated on behalf of a member we represented in the workplace. She had returned from maternity leave to experience “the worst fortnight (of her) professional career”.

This was negotiated over the Christmas period, which involved out of hours calls and emails to help finalise. Morrish Solicitors also assisted with the advice, and also final due diligence and sign-off on the settlement agreement itself.

Big moral wins

We also advised and supported a member who was fired from a band. Being the only female member of the band, having recorded on original albums and set to play some big festivals, she was unceremoniously given the boot.

We supported this member with unpaid fees for the cancelled and unpaid work and the £1500-plus recouped represented a big moral win for this musician.

There were also numerous musicians who went unpaid for many months following work for Hard Rock Hell (HRH) / Chic festivals across several events in the UK. We were successful in advising several members in recouping unpaid fees, with one invoice alone totalling £1K.

Fee recovery advice for members in 2023

• Use a signed contract for live work
• Don’t agree buyouts for session work
• Always use a songshare agreement when co-writing
• Raise non-payment of fees or salary ASAP don’t delay in taking proactive steps
• Use the Contract Advisory Service before signing record, publishing or management deals
• Demand a ‘written statement of particulars’ and contract of employment, at the start of any direct employment
• Seek advice from the Musicians’ Union before digging deeper into any dispute