| Afircan Bands wanting to record in US- all scams? [message #310380] |
Tue, 29 January 2008 22:59  |
springman
Messages: 75
Registered: May 2004 |
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Dear Forum Folks- I've had a couple email interactions with a producer named Evans Jones, who claims to be representing a band from Ivory Coast named Ozone band International. They want to book 22 days at my studio in late March and early April. I laid out some pretty stringent requirements for advance payment, checks clearing etc, and they're still nibbling. Here's one of the emails he sent me-
"acknowledge the receipt of your mail. My clients are to come from Coted 'Ivoire and the name of the band is Ozone Band International. They are now on a music programmed outside their country and cannot be able to contact you now but you will have to discuss any other thing with them directly when they return from the live show. For now, you can call me for any relevant question that you have regarding this issue. They will be recording 6 days in a week.
They will also come with their own producer and engineer but I believe your studio engineer can all the same be of assistance to them. More so, they have to present their DEMO to you when they come over so you can listen and make other necessary arrangements together with them. Let me know the total cost of this 22 days that I booked in your studio so we can proceed with any further arrangement. You can book other clients for any of the evenings within the specified time frame.
Do you have accommodation in your studio? If so, get back to me with the daily rate of the rooms so I can make the reservation too instead of contacting any other hotel. Do you have Credit Card Terminal in your studio? Note that I can only make payment by Credit Card or Cheque. Regarding to this arrangement, you can email me for further explanation on this issue if you have further questions".
So what do you think of the odds of this being a scam? The band has no web site, no hits on google, yet he claims they're on the road and can't be reached... Am I about the most naive studio owner since the Beatles hired Magic Alex?
Your stories/experiences are much appreciated.
Thanks,
Eric Kilburn
Wellspring Sound
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| Re: Afircan Bands wanting to record in US- all scams? [message #310420 is a reply to message #310380 ] |
Wed, 30 January 2008 05:42  |
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 Fletcher
Messages: 1982
Registered: April 2004
Location: Foxboro, MA |
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The next step is they'll send you a cashier's check for 15, 20,000 more than the price of the gig and want you to return the "overage". We've acutally been down this path... they tried to hit for $45k more than the agreed upon amount ... they then wanted us to wire the "overage" to another account.
The best way to treat this is to tell them that the only acceptable form of payment is wire transfer in advance... well in advance, like a month in advance [use a low dollar account or one that isn't crucial to your main business].
If they wire the funds, immediately shift them to another account. If there is an overage when the funds appear explain to them that no refund will be accomplished until 10 days AFTER the session has concluded.
If they go to do the gig... do the gig... but make sure you have alarms and "panic buttons" all over the building as there is another scam where an "artist" books time... gets everybody in the facility to "love" them... so when they get relaxed and comfortable with the client... and it's only them and the assistant... that's when the duct tape comes out and the truck rolls in and all the equipment in the building gets moved out in 4-5 hours... oh, and they're not careful abour "de-installation"... they pretty much do it with bolt cutters to the snake lines.
If your assistant has a direct line [you know like the "I've fallen and can't get up" kinda worn around the neck panic button kinda thing... then you'll be OK.
In the meanwhile, watch how it plays out. Go in skeptical but watch them unfold the scam. After all... you've built a pretty solid reputation for your studio, it could be real. I'd say it probably has a 5, maybe 6% chance of being real... but it could be real so play it like it is... all the while expecting that it isn't.
Best of luck with it!! ...and please let us know how it plays out and which of the scams they're really trying to play.
Peace.
Fletcher
Mercenary Audio
mwagener wrote on Sat, 11 September 2004 14:33
We are selling emotions, there are no emotions in a grid
"Recording engineers are an arrogant bunch.
If you've spent most of your life with a few thousand dollars worth of musicians in the studio, making a decision every second and a half... and you and they are going to have to live with it for the rest of your lives, you'll get pretty arrogant too. It takes a certain amount of balls to do that... something around three"
Malcolm Chisholm
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| Re: Afircan Bands wanting to record in US- all scams? [message #310438 is a reply to message #310398 ] |
Wed, 30 January 2008 08:41 |
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| Barry Hufker wrote on Wed, 30 January 2008 01:04 |
All of them, without exception, are scams.
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Yes.
The Ebola Monkey Man makes a CD.
http://www.ebolamonkeyman.com/
Absolutely have nothing to do with these people.
They are only contacting you to get your money.
One recently wanted us to pay their "arranger" out of funds they would wire, because the "arranger" was from another country, and they "couldn't pay him directly."
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), but the last interaction I had with a touring band, their tour manager was easily reachable by cell phone. 
