How do you collect from "deadbeat" clients ?

[d-dmusic]

:mad:
This happens from time to time.
Too frequently in the music biz.

What to do when you have a client that ignores your calls, ignores your invoices and is pretty much unwilling to pay.
:o

What do you guys and gals do ?

Call "Bruno" with the crooked nose ?:D

[TimOBrien]

Having a big burly friend with a baseball bat doesn't hurt.

Another good ploy is to have a friend (?) who is a lawyer and can put out a nastily-worded letter on his legal letterhead threatening action. If done properly this usually gets the attention of most legit businesses.

After that you're looking at investing some money in a small-claims suit. A court-filing and process-server fee usually runs $100-$200 in most states.

[David Klausner]

Back when I ran my own studio as the sole source of my income, I had a rule that nobody ever left the studio with any sort of tape (yes, this was before CDR's) until I got paid. I only broke that rule three times, and guess what - I got stiffed three times! Always negotiate your payment schedule ahead of time, stop the recording process if it isn't met, and never give them any product until you are paid in full!