Parlotones battle for money
SOUTH Africa’s most successful rock band is embroiled in a battle with its former manager over contracts, millions of rand in fees and royalties, and intellectual property.
The 12-year relationship between The Parlotones and Raphael Domalik ended in July when the four-man band learnt that their manager, as well as the record label, Sovereign Entertainment, owned everything – their music, their name, and their money.
Lead singer and guitarist Kahn Morbee, drummer Neil Pauw, bass and keys player Glen Hodgson and guitarist Paul Hodgson allege that all they received from Domalik over a decade was a salary, with zero royalties.
“Most of the money we got was from performance fees,” said Morbee, who spoke exclusively to The Independent on Saturday’s sister paper, The Saturday Star, this week.
“Traditionally, what would happen is that the management and agencies would take a certain percentage and the rest filtered to the band. That’s the model. All the money would go into one pot. We would draw a salary and the rest of the money would be invested, we were told.”
Morbee said the money all “went into one account, Domalik’s account”. This included, live-performance fees and album sales. “All we got were salaries. Other than that we wouldn’t see a dime. We had a casual kind of contract. We know we will never get any money back. It’s history.”
Last year Domalik released a book as well as some of the band’s unheard songs which sold in music stores in the country. But the Parlotones successfully stopped the sale and the material was pulled. The tracks are available on iTunes.
The band, which returned from the US after a two-year stint, said Domalik was convinced he was in his rights to release the tracks and the book.
“We don’t agree, but his lawyer says yes. The only person who can answer that question is a judge. But it is a waste of time to go to court. It is money we can spend elsewhere.”
The band, which now manage themselves, sent Domalik, who is in the US, a letter to try to resolve the matter.
All the band wanted was to own their work, said Hodgson. “Everything we record and release now is ours. In April or May we will release our first album without Domalik.”
Morbee said the battle felt like a bitter divorce, like business that got too personal.
Domalik, co-owner of Sovereign Entertainment, responded: “I have no idea why the split occurred. Just two weeks before I received the first indication of this situation, Kahn and I were discussing his solo future in my LA apartment. My best guess is that The Parlotones changed their mind about trying to break America, a move I felt was the only way to save the band’s career and ensure longevity. I guess our aspirations and ambitions were no longer aligned.
“I did not consult Kahn on the track listing for The Singles 2004-2014 album. As co-director of Sovereign, Kahn was behaving in contradiction to his fiduciary duties and all his actions since the decision to dissolve our working relationship were not in the company’s best interest. The decision to release the singles compilation was an attempt to recoup at least a portion of the R5 million that had been invested in the US and is now lost and unrecoverable.
”The band’s claim that they did not receive any other money apart from salaries is not accurate. Morbee was instrumental in every decision made. The salaries were primarily derived from the performance income but most often than not were not sustainable from this alone, due to other expenses that had to be covered.
”Morbee is a 50 percent member of the company with access to the financials at all times. As a 50 percent member he has to sign off the books every year before they can be submitted to the receiver. I am not sure how I have been withholding the financials when Morbee has signed the books off every year as part of his fiduciary duties. During the 12-year relationship Kahn has been the representative and has acted on behalf of the band.”