This happened to me a while ago, and I probably should've posted it when it happened, but it's been festering and now I'm pissed.
Basically, a couple months ago, one of my fellow students approached me and asked if I wanted to join his band. He told me that time was an issue, that they had to get stuff done, but everything was legitimate, everyone was talented, shows would be done, and people would be paid. He asked me if I could come over to his place for a couple weeks to track some drums for the bands upcoming album. Told me I would be a permanent member of the band.
Sounds good right?
WELL. Here's how it went down. He called me everyday, 4 or 5 times a day, any time from 5 in the morning to 11 or 12 at night. Keep in mind I'm a university student and my classes are at 8 30 in the morning, so I need my beauty sleep. He kept trying to get me to reassure him that I wasn't going to bail on the project, that they were going places, that he needed me to stay. It was frustrating, but I stuck with it. Whatever, he just wants everything to turn out great. I can empathize with that.
I spent two weeks in his studio after school for hours and hours, sometimes til 11 at night recording. I got 5 songs done the first week, and 2 more the second. Keep in mind I was making the parts up on the spot, and hadn't heard the tracks beforehand. Pretty good, I would say. After the recordings are done, he tells me I did a fantastic job, and that he'll send me the masters when they're done. Sweet deal.
I recorded this stuff the third and fourth weeks of September. The masters were due in the end of October. I ask for the masters October 31st. I get nothing from him. He tells me there's a photoshoot scheduled for the band on Thursday (the day he tells me this is Wednesday) I tell him I have my commencement, but I can do the photoshoot from anytime before 4, because I have to be at a my highschool commencement for 7. He says it's fine.
So, on the day of the photoshoot, he calls me at 5 in the morning telling me he cancelled it. I say that's fine, it gives me time to relax before my commencement. I check the band's facebook page the next day. Guess what I see? The photoshoot pictures. I'm pissed off, of course, so I call him up and he tells me he wants to talk about upcoming shows, etc. I'm telling him times I can do, he agrees, says he'll get back to me on when we can meet up. Never calls me back. The guy went from calling me more times in a day than my girlfriend does in a year to no calls at all.
I send him a few emails/facebook messages. No replies. So I stop, maybe he's stressed about the upcoming album release. Didn't hear from him for a while. When I check the band's facebook page about a month later, my name has been replaced with another name. I've been kicked out of the band and he didn't have the balls to tell me, after everything I did for him.
Oh yeah, and he's using my drum tracks on the album. And not giving me credit. And I don't get the mastered copies either, or the pay he promised me. I was stupid and should've got a contract written up so I have proof so I could take it to court.
Is there anything I can do, legally? The only proof I have are witnesses who can testify that I was at his house. He also told some people that I was recording for him. Do I have a case against him to get ANYTHING from him? I want compensation for my time, since he wanted to go and treat me like S@$&.
I'm so pissed about this. I really need some advice on what I can do.