Ralston and Sink’s Virtual Podcast sat down with Ben Zito of The Crane Wives to talk about how this successful Grand Rapids band is run like a business – and how musicians can get into financial hot water.
On-Stage Fun, Off-Stage Work: Ben Zito of The Crane Wives at Centennial Sound. (Photo/Local Spins)
As RSVP Music Chat co-host Ralston Bowles put it, “There’s a lot more to it than just, ‘Let’s start a band.’ ”
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Indeed, just ask Ben Zito, bassist and business manager for the popular and successful Grand Rapids folk-rock band The Crane Wives.
Ralston Bowles and Ben Zito (Photo/Local Spins)
“The fun part is the two hours you’re on stage,” he says. “The rest of it is very much work.”
And a lot of that work comes in running a band’s operations as a business – booking, accounting for expenses and income, filing taxes, drawing up partnership agreements, ordering and keeping track of merchandise inventory (from CDs to T-shirts).
Avoiding those tasks – and tax rules – can get musicians into trouble and cripple a band in the long run.
So, Bowles and Local Spins publisher John Sinkevics recently sat down with Zito in his renovated Centennial Sound studio on Grand Rapids’ West Side to talk about how being an “adult musician” in a professional band is a lot different than just jamming and having a few beers after a show.
Listen to the wide-ranging and revealing podcast, which also included the notion that artists who ask other musicians to perform or record with them should also pay them. “Money in this business is scarce and if you see value in someone, you should pay for their time,” Zito says.
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PODCAST: RSVP Music Chat (4/27/18)
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Check out previous episodes of the RSVP Music Chat online here. And email John at john@localspins.com for information about boosting your business’ profile by sponsoring and advertising on the RSVP Music Chat.
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