I'm a person who tries the best I can to believe in and trust people.I believe there is good in all people. I am sorry to say that my faith is dwindling. There is a real shift in our society. I find many people these days have lost the value of true friendship and trust. In the music business trust,reliability and talent is what fuels long term relationships and friendships. I've seen it over the last 35+ years. It's unfortunate but business and friendship are tied together. You're ability to have have people trust you for money and your word are paramount in the music business. For years now nobody who works for us asks about money first. My reputation of paying in a timely fashion and paying fairly is pretty solid. It's taken many years to get to that place. It's because of trust and respect. I've always been involved with great artists and paying for their talent and their trust in me is an accomplishment.
I was contacted a few months ago by a musician out of Australia. He really wanted me to produce him. I thought he was very talented. I understood his financial situation as well and gave him a ridiculously low fee to make it happen. I am here to help. It was not a great experience. He always questioned my decisions. We finally finished the song. I was happy it was over and I moved on. a couple of months later he contacted me again about doing another song. I decided to give him another chance. We decided on a fee and I sent him a confirmation email. He agreed,told me the money was just a couple of weeks away and lets get started. He sent chart etc. I started the song and sent him the track. He then said "I can't pay you now and I'm putting this on the back burner I have a family problem." I was and am not very happy. I did the work because of trust and our agreement. Not only that but now he refuses to answer my emails. Of course we all understand everybody has problems at times but that doesn't change the premise. I trusted him and he betrayed my trust.
Situations like this can set a career back because without trust between us there is nothing. I recently did a session with a very famous musician who I've known and worked with for decades. He came in and played and it was a beautiful session. Tt the end of the session he looked at me and said " I forgot to ask how muchI'm getting paid for this? " I told him ,he said cool and that was that. The trust we established over the years made him not think twice about not even bringing up money first. Good news never travels,bad news does. Never put yourself in a situation where someone questions your trust. It can take years to recover. Your word and trust is your bond in this life
Peace, Jason
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