#tw conventions

When a convention gets started and the stage for inviting guests begins, the agents of the guests and the organizer of the event go into negotiations. Within these negotiations many different things are discussed and agreed upon like:

A. the guaranteed fee for the guest

B. flight accommodations that will be covered by the organizer (A majority of the time the guest will then have a choice of letting the organizer book his/her flights or he can accept a buyout amount of for example $1500 to book his/her own flights.)

C. the per diem the guest will receive while attending the event (The amount of money each day so as to be able to purchase food, etc.

D. transportation services that will be covered by the organizer (cars, trains, etc)

E. hotel accommodations that will be covered by the organizer

F. the sort of events the guest will participate in (photo ops, panels, autographs, meet and greet, cocktail party, karaoke, concert, etc)

G. overage agreements (A guest is contractually obligated to do a certain # of photos/autographs, for example 400 photos and sign 800 autographs. If he goes over these amounts he is owed a certain amount of money per photo or autograph each count over the agreed upon amount.)

Once these specifics above are agreed upon, the guest and the organizer will sign the contract, and the deal is in place. Then there is just a matter of fulfilling the necessary obligations before the actual event takes place. For example:

A. Tweeting and posting a certain # of posts before the event so as to promote

B. A majority of the time the organizer is contractually obligated to pay portions of the guest's fee up front BEFORE the event has even taken place. So for example in my case:

1. A % of the appearance fee was due upon the signing of the agreement

2. A % of the appearance fee was due 28 days prior to the event

3. The remaining fee was to be paid at the completion of the event

4. Flights or flight buyout is to be taken care of a certain # of days prior to the event

Cancellation:

So obviously there are occasions where a guest or the organiser must cancel the appearance. We are all very familiar with this aspect, as #Insurgence9 suffered many cancellations prior to the event taking place. Below are a few specific points that are listed in most if not all event contracts in regards to cancellations:

A. Should the organiser cancel for any reason the air line tickets advanced to the guest shall be returned within a pre-agreed upon time contained within the contract. Any money sent for flights that have not yet been booked shall be returned within a pre-agreed upon time within the contract to the organiser.

B. The guest has the right to cancel for any reason, up to and including the day of travel. Every effort shall be made to give reasonable notice to the organiser. In the event of such cancellation, all money and airline tickets advanced to them and their representative shall be returned to the organiser within a pre-agreed upon time within the contract of written notification to the organiser.

C. Should any of these payments be missed, with the exception of Acts of God or War, the guest shall retain any money paid and the contract shall be cancelled.

D. Should the organiser fail to comply with the financial conditions of the contract, the guest shall have the right to pursue payment plus damages and costs to recover under the laws of the state within the USA the guest is located upon signing of the contract. Please keep in mind that pursuing an organization or individual who does not have money or is bankrupt does not just make money appear out of thin air.

Now for the specifics of what and how I was not paid:

-I did not receive the appropriate % of the fee upon signing of the contract.

-I did not receive the appropriate % of the fee 28 days prior to the event.

-I did not receive the amount of money necessary to book my flights until a few days prior to the #Insurgence9 convention after I was already in Europe for my tour.

-Cars and transportation had not been booked for me for the event till a few days prior to the event.

Normally when the first and second points are broken, a guest will cancel. There were already many rumors flying around prior to the event taking place that Rogue was having cash flow problems, hence guests were cancelling...

Now I do not know nor would I say eve if I did know the reasons that any other guests cancelled. That have full right to do so, especially if Rogue does not follow through with their contractual obligations. What I knew was that were panicking fans who had invested a lot of money into #Insurgence9. I was already In Europe, and I would be damned if I wasn't gonna do everything I could to still attend the event no matter how many contractual obligations had been broken. It was at this point where I decided it was more for getting to play music, party and be with the fans. I was fully aware that I may not get paid. The biggest payment for me was getting to show you guys my music, Cypress Bayou and hopefully bring you on board with my plans for the future!

Was I really hoping I was gonna be paid? Yes I was. This money was something that was going to be very helpful for the rest of my year. Does it hurt? Yah, it definitely does.

In the end, as I have said before, I knew going in that payment might not happen. Not even the concert money did I receive, because I was not ruthless enough to demand it at the end of the night. I was excited. I had just had a great time with all of you and my adrenaline was flying high. I was giving Rogue the benefit of the doubt, and was trusting that because everything felt like it was going so well, that there shouldn't be any issues at the end of the event on Sunday. Obviously that was not the case.

So here we are, the event has ended, and I hope that you at least understand many aspects of potentially why this event went the way it went, and why it has ended the way it has ended.