CCB Magazin

In our new series "How are you in form?" we ask which legal forms are the right ones for creative professionals: GbR, GmbH, gGmbH or all of the above? How do you organize yourself? The twelve-member a cappella band Stimmgewalt opted for a GbR, represented by three partners. We spoke with two of them.  
 

INTERVIEW  Boris Messing

CCB Magazine:Hello Matthias and Heike. Together with ten others you form the a cappella band Stimmgewalt. First of all, what kind of music do you make and how did you find each other? Are you all professional musicians?

Matthias Busch:Stimmgewalt has been around for over ten years, but like Heike, I joined later. In the beginning, before my time, there was still a kind of band leader who made all the decisions. Today, we decide everything grassroots. We mainly sing metal, gothic and rock arrangements and, as far as our vocal background is concerned, we have a wide range, from professional to ambitious amateur. Our own compositions were added more recently. One of the reasons was to get more opportunities to perform with our own songs and to be taken seriously on the market. We simply didn't want to be just cover band XY.

CCB Magazine:How many gigs do you have per year? Were there any special highlights?

Matthias Busch:That fluctuates a lot. Interestingly, during the pandemic, although we sang less, we decided to professionalize further and seek more active performance opportunities. That's how performances came about that we hadn't expected at all. For example, we were asked by the Urania Foundation if we would like to sing for the Courage Award ceremony. We performed a Rammstein arrangement in front of Robert Habeck and Klaus Lederer, among others. We also sang the backing vocals for Joachim Witt at the annual "Gothic meets Klassik" event in Leipzig and can be heard on his live album. That was a big milestone for us. 

Heike Blauert-Lühe:In the middle of the pandemic, we also had a concert in the Passionskirche in Berlin, where we ourselves were the organizers. That was an absolute highlight for me personally. The mood in the audience was very good, because I think everyone was happy that something like that could take place at all.

Matthias Busch: Most bands form a GbR, choirs often organize themselves as an association. We are something in between, but above all wanted to appear professional to the outside world and therefore decided against the association

CCB Magazine:A year ago you decided to turn Stimmgewalt into a GbR. What were the reasons for that? Why a GbR?

Matthias Busch:For many years our band ran as a hobby on the side. Individuals of us accounted for gigs and related income through their self-employment. But with increasing income from gigs and at the same time larger expenses, for example through our album production, it became necessary to approach money matters more professionally. Such an album production is often in the five-digit range, an individual can no longer easily account for his self-employment. Accordingly, we thought about what we could do and decided on a GbR. Most bands found a GbR, choirs often organize themselves as an association. We are something in between, but above all we wanted to appear professional to the outside world and therefore decided against the association.

Heike Blauert-Lühe:In the choir scene, it is often the case that there is one choir director who sets the tone and the others are something like interchangeable organ pipes. That's exactly what we didn't want. We make decisions on a grassroots level and act more like a band than a choir. In this context, the partners of the GbR of Stimmgewalt are like a task force that takes care of all the financial stuff.

Matthias Busch:So with the GbR, we wanted to spread out the tasks that had to be done. It's much easier to take care of the finances with three people than with twelve. This makes us more capable of acting and saves us time that we have left over for creative work.  

The whole HardChor in one picture. Photo: Marta Witak

CCB Magazine:Stimmgewalt currently has three partners. As partners, you are entitled to profits from performances, merchandising, etc. How have you regulated this contractually? Or in other words: Does the fact that some of you are partners and others are not change anything in the band structure? 

Heike Blauert-Lühe:Of course, the construct has its loopholes and has not been thought through to the end in the event that we should ever be more successful. It's true that as partners we are entitled to the income, in theory. At the moment, however, we spend what we earn. When we went for advice back then, I also spoke to a woman from the tax office who said that she was glad that we had registered at all and were claiming our sales tax. Many bands remain in illegality, and we didn't want that. But yes, if Rammstein would ask us to accompany them on a tour, we would have to rethink the construct.

CCB Magazine:One tax disadvantage of the GbR is that it is subject to top income tax rates of up to 45%. Is the GbR financially worthwhile for you at all? 

Matthias Busch:We are just doing our first tax return, so we don't know yet. But I don't expect we'll have to pay much. If at all.

Heike Blauert-Lühe:So far, the income covers our expenses. But in the long term we have to be in the black numbers, otherwise the tax office will say that what we are doing is nothing but a hobby. But you have a few years to grow. 

Heike Blauert-Lühe: The partners of the GbR of Stimmgewalt are like a task force that takes care of all the financial stuff. But in principle decisions are made by all of us in a grassroots democratic manner

CCB Magazine:As partners, you are liable with your private assets. Does this play any role at all in practice in your case?

Heike Blauert-Lühe:We have given this a lot of thought, but have come to the conclusion that the risk is manageable. Let's say one of us spills a glass of water over the mixing console during a performance, then he or she is liable with his or her private liability insurance. And we simply wouldn't sign contracts that would make us liable for large amounts under certain circumstances, for example, if we didn't show up for a gig.

CCB Magazine:A stupid question: What happens if one of your partners leaves the GbR?

Heike Blauert-Lühe:We have arranged this contractually so that it is possible to leave or join the GbR. We could also continue with just the two of us.

CCB Magazine:Where do you want to go in the long run? Is it your goal to be able to live off your music?

Matthias Busch:I would like to be able to make a living from it, but realistically that is difficult. We are quite broadly positioned in terms of genre, because on the one hand we serve the classical choral sound and on the other hand we present soloistic belting or folk singing. But all in all we are in a niche. In the medium term I see us with more famous acts on stage and offer more backing vocals. And I can also imagine a stronger festival presence.

Heike Blauert-Lühe:I think we are at a turning point with our latest album production, which we financed via crowdfunding. We want to put it on the market soon and hope to get a label interested in it.