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17th December 2014

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The Mariachi Games Incident

UPDATE AT BOTTOM OF POST

I would like to preface this by saying that I have done everything possible to avoid having to post this, and that I also recognize my own mistakes made in this situation. I’ll do my best to point them out as we go. This is meant to serve as a warning to other musicians not just against working with Mariachi Games, but also to be aware of some of the things that can happen as an independent (or otherwise) artist. I am aware this is a bit of a read, but it’s necessary.

In June of this year I was approached by a company based in Mexico called Mariachi Games. They wanted to know if I would be interested in playing a concert they do each year in Monterrey which features video game musicians. I am technically not a video game musician but in all fairness that’s how a lot of people know me, and I’ve grown fond of the scene around indie games. There’s a lot of really great people involved. Because of this, because I had never played in Mexico before, and because I like playing shows, I was definitely interested and we began talking about terms over skype and email. Here is what we agreed upon and what was put in the contract-

1) Flights plus hotel for myself and a videographer, both from LA. I wanted to bring someone along to film the show and the trip, and also because I had never been to Mexico before and wanted a friend to experience it with me. I also agreed to pay him for his work out of my fee, which I now cannot do.
2) A performance fee. I won’t give the real number even though legally I can, as the contract was broken. In the interest of making me look important, let’s call it 1 million dollars. This is not a real number, obviously, but it feels right.
3) Of this fee, I was meant to be paid half ($500,000) upfront two weeks before the show, and the remainder the night of the show.
4) All equipment provided for the show.

While negotiating this contract, something I had done before but never many times (most contracts I deal with are for licensing), the first couple of red flags were raised. First, they agreed to cover the flight and hotel for my second man, but didn’t want to put it in the contract, for reasons I was not clear on. I insisted, and they obliged. Second, they announced that I was playing the concert before we had signed an agreed-upon contract. There was a social media blast including artwork.

Eventually, however, the contract was finalized and signed, the flights were purchased, and the response online from people excited to see me play was growing. It was the response from fans, and my own excitement for the show, which distracted me from red flag number three; the 50% I was supposed to get before I left LA, that cool half million (again, not a real number), was never sent. Having never done a show with this many people involved, and at this scale, I chalked it up to the organizers being busy getting everything ready. This was the first major mistake I made. I shouldn’t have stepped on that flight. But I was excited to play, so my videographer and I got on the plane and we went to Monterrey.

Now, I must admit the concert and everything else in Mexico was great. The people from Mariachi couldn’t have been nicer to my friend and I in person, the other acts were great and it was fun getting drunk on tequila with them, the fans I met were rad, and my set went smoothly. All in all a great experience for my first Mexico trip. Except I ate a street taco which turned out to be a huge mistake.

Then, I wasn’t paid the night of the show either. Red flag number 4. Actually I don’t think this even counts as a red flag. If the red flags are warning signs, this is what they were warning of. But I had just played a great show, enjoyed the company of some great people, and some great Mexican party favors. We returned to LA the next day, having slept a total of 3 hours across the weekend. Then, the real nightmare began.

-I sent the first email looking for payment the day after I returned to LA, November 11th. No response.

-The second went out on the 13th- “I’m just waiting on the ticket company to deposit the sales. It will be ready soon.”

-Then the 17th- “Hey! The ticket sales are ready on Friday, I’ll PayPal your fee that same day.”

-The 21st (answered on the 23rd)- “Sorry for the delay in response, still waiting on the deposit, It sucks working with big ticket companies.” To this one I responded noting it had been two weeks, and that I hadn’t got the 50% upfront, which wouldn’t have relied on ticket sales.

-It continued into December. I sent another on the 2nd. I noted they had broken contract- “Hey! I’m a little delayed, but will get this sorted out ASAP. I’m sorry for the trouble.”

-On Sunday, the 7th, I sent them this email- “Hey, It’s now been nearly a month since I played. I was supposed to be paid half two weeks before the show, which didn’t happen, and then half the night of. I haven’t seen any of that money. I’m sorry, but if I don’t receive the full [amount] by wednesday I’m going to have to contact a lawyer.”

To which they responded- “Understood. We’ll have it by Wednesday, I’m sorry for the delay.”

Of course, Wednesday came and went. On the advice of a lawyer, I informed them on Friday, December 12th, that if I did not receive payment in full by Wednesday, December 17th, I would write the post you are currently reading, detailing how a company screws over independent artists with signed contracts. I would then do my best to send this to everyone in the VGM world I knew, to make sure no one in their right mind works with them again.

Now, some of you may ask, “why didn’t you sue them?” If I had actually been promised $1 million, I would have. However, the real fee was much smaller. And while it is a significant amount of money for me, as music is my sole source of income, it doesn’t make financial sense to hire a lawyer in Mexico (where the contract is under law) to fight them. They obviously know, and are counting on this. So, that’s what happened. As a matter of fact, I know of two other artists that were screwed over in similar fashion by Mariachi Games, but I do not want to speak for them without their permission. I have reached out to them in order to see if they want to share what happened, but until they get back to me I won’t share that information.

Suffice to say, do not work with Mariachi Games. Do not attend their events. And do not sign their contracts. They are meaningless. And if you are an independent artist, be careful about who you work with and always protect yourself as best you can.

Sorry this was so long. Please share it so people don’t continue to get fucked by this company.

UPDATE 10/20: I have been paid! The full amount owed has been paid by Mariachi Games. It got a bit nastier than I would have liked but it’s done. However, they did own it and pay. Thanks to all who have shared this post.

Tagged: indie musichotline miamivideo gamesvideo game musicvgm