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Boogie Coverage

“We were asked to sign individual liability waivers after we were loaded in and set up.” Robin Henkel says that prior to a recent gig at a local community college (he’d rather not specify which one), campus representatives asked each member of the band to sign contracts that would waive liability and hold the college harmless. “I think that what they are mostly concerned with is maybe somebody falls because they were boogying too much to the music and sues the venue for damages.”

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Henkel says it’s increasingly common for him to be asked to sign contracts that contain a clause to “indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the organization hiring me for the performance.” The dark side to signing such a document but not having liability insurance is unthinkable to Henkel. “Any working musician I know would be financially ruined if they were contractually obligated to pay the legal defense of a corporation, college, or what have you.” He researched the cost of liability insurance and found it expensive relative to local gig fees. Henkel consulted an attorney and was advised not to sign. “My job is to play music,” he says, “not to indemnify large organizations.”

“In modern times, musicians are classified as independent contractors,” says Edward Arias, a representative for the American Federation of Musicians. Dinging local musicians for liability coverage is a development that he says first surfaced here about eight years ago. Venues, he says, don’t want to be responsible in case of an injury or an accident. Among those known to the AMF to commonly request proof of liability coverage include the Del Mar Fair, Seaport Village, Horton Plaza, local hotels, area college campuses, and the San Diego public library system. The AMF endorses a carrier that writes liability policies based on a sliding scale, but Arias agrees that “it’s disastrous for someone who has to post $300 to buy insurance for a gig that pays $300.”

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“We were asked to sign individual liability waivers after we were loaded in and set up.” Robin Henkel says that prior to a recent gig at a local community college (he’d rather not specify which one), campus representatives asked each member of the band to sign contracts that would waive liability and hold the college harmless. “I think that what they are mostly concerned with is maybe somebody falls because they were boogying too much to the music and sues the venue for damages.”

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Henkel says it’s increasingly common for him to be asked to sign contracts that contain a clause to “indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the organization hiring me for the performance.” The dark side to signing such a document but not having liability insurance is unthinkable to Henkel. “Any working musician I know would be financially ruined if they were contractually obligated to pay the legal defense of a corporation, college, or what have you.” He researched the cost of liability insurance and found it expensive relative to local gig fees. Henkel consulted an attorney and was advised not to sign. “My job is to play music,” he says, “not to indemnify large organizations.”

“In modern times, musicians are classified as independent contractors,” says Edward Arias, a representative for the American Federation of Musicians. Dinging local musicians for liability coverage is a development that he says first surfaced here about eight years ago. Venues, he says, don’t want to be responsible in case of an injury or an accident. Among those known to the AMF to commonly request proof of liability coverage include the Del Mar Fair, Seaport Village, Horton Plaza, local hotels, area college campuses, and the San Diego public library system. The AMF endorses a carrier that writes liability policies based on a sliding scale, but Arias agrees that “it’s disastrous for someone who has to post $300 to buy insurance for a gig that pays $300.”

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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