What a Japanese Television Drama Teaches Musicians About Band Agreements

In Quartet, the Japanese television drama about a string quartet called Quartet Doughnuts Hole, Maki, Suzume, Iemori, and Beppu meet in a Tokyo karaoke bar. Maki, a semi-retired professional, plays first violin. Beppu plays second violin, Iemori plays viola, and Suzume plays cello.

The quartet picks its unusual name because Beppu’s family owns a donut factory, where he works part-time. They move into Beppu’s family villa and begin performing at Nocturne, a local restaurant. The setup sounds ideal: four talented people, a villa in a beautiful mountain setting, and plenty of time to practice, bond over meals, and perform.

But as so often on television, everyone comes to the quartet with baggage, secrets, or personal agendas. Maki’s husband has disappeared, and her mother-in-law believes Maki killed him. Beppu has had a long-time crush on Maki and orchestrated the meeting to try to get close to her. After finding her playing cello on the street, Maki’s mother-in-law has hired Suzume to get close to Maki and spy on her.

Iemori is hiding after being followed by some not-very-nice people connected to his ex-wife’s boyfriend. Like Suzume and Beppu, Iemori didn’t meet Maki by chance. He had met Maki’s husband (who is very much alive but hiding after committing a crime) from the hospital and was hoping to use what he learned to blackmail Maki.

These back stories and what happens as a result not only add up to an interesting television drama series but also demonstrate the pitfalls of forming a musical group without a written contract. A group may think that its purpose is solely to create beautiful music, but the reality is that a quartet or band must address business, personal, and legal issues starting with the first rehearsal.

This article discusses why it’s important for a band or other musical group to take the time to consult with an attorney and sign an agreement up front and how doing so can save time and money, and maybe even prevent a breakup later.

Why Musicians Resist Band Agreements and How An Attorney Can Help

Musicians often view their endeavors solely as art and believe a contract will interfere with artistic creation. A new group may feel fragile as it tenuously seeks a unified identity. Plus, the musicians may be excited and inspired to move forward and view taking the time to discuss contract terms as an obstacle to success. The reality is the opposite. A contract should facilitate art, not interfere with it. By protecting the conditions that nurture art and outlining individual responsibilities and rights, a contract can prevent future disruption of musicmaking efforts due to the need to address misunderstandings or disagreements.

Bringing an attorney on board at the beginning to help with the contract is helpful because the attorney is outside the emotional center of the band. A lawyer representing the band is not there to represent each member individually. Rather, the band’s attorney can raise and facilitate answers to the questions the members may be avoiding – or not even see -- because they are so focused on creating. However, by avoiding those decisions, resentments can build quietly and fester until they interfere with the creative process.

Outlining Musician Commitments

A band agreement should outline the musicians’ commitments to the band, whether it be time or money.

Quartet Doughnuts Hole appears to have a sweet deal – a free place to live and a regular gig. But the business issues are brewing from the start because the musicians haven’t defined what each musician is expected to contribute to the group.

They all live and rehearse in a villa owned by Beppu’s family and use Beppu’s vehicle, but haven’t defined whether the musicians must pay rent or for the use of Beppu’s vehicle. If rent isn’t required, how does that affect Beppu’s status in the quartet? If he’s replaced or quits, will the members owe him back rent?

A band agreement should describe the expectations of each member. How frequently must they be available to rehearse and perform? What instruments and equipment are needed, and who will own them? What preparation is expected prior to rehearsals?

For instance, Maki has an apartment in the city and only lives in the villa on weekends. So, she’s not available to rehearse as much as the others. Because she’s a professional, maybe that’s okay, but Quartet Doughnuts Hole’s contract could outline whether it’s acceptable for her to devote less time to rehearsal.

Musicians rarely make all of their income from one project – at least at first. They teach, freelance, record, compose, substitute, and play with other groups. A band agreement addresses competition and conflicts. Can members play with other bands in the same genre? Can they accept gigs that conflict with band rehearsals or performances? Can they use the band’s arrangements in other projects? Can they solicit the band’s clients, venues, students, donors, or sponsors for a competing group?

Every band needs someone who handles the bank account, bookkeeping, scheduling, and marketing. The members should decide whether they want to form an LLC or operate as a partnership (which is what will happen if they do nothing) and who will handle tax returns. These issues are the less glamorous part of the music business and the types of things that musicians might not think about without guidance from an attorney or manager. But they are just as important to the group’s financial success as creating music itself.

How Will Decisions Be Made?

Quartet Doughnuts Hole shows the problem when the group is offered the opportunity to perform at a large festival, which will provide them with publicity and possible additional gigs.

Maki immediately refuses because she wants to avoid scrutiny due to questions about her husband and background. Although some musicians would welcome performing for a larger audience, for Maki, that broader professional exposure is unwelcome. Beppu views the opportunity as the quartet’s big break. He begs them to give up their individual dreams and to unite in a single dream for Quartet Doughnuts Hole.

A band agreement should outline which decisions require unanimous consent and which are decided by a majority. And for a quartet or other group with an even number of members, the agreement should include provisions for breaking a tie vote. Plus, it can become tedious if even the smallest decision must be put to a vote. A band agreement can describe minor decisions involving small dollar amounts that individual members can make on their own.

Who Owns the Band’s Name and Copyrights?

A band’s name is bigger than any individual member; it represents what they have created together. At one point, Suzume, Iemori, and Beppu play on the street without Maki. Maki hears them and comments that the performance is not very good without the first violin.

That scene raises a legal question -- can three members use the group’s name without the fourth member’s consent? A band agreement should state who can use the band’s name. If one member leaves, can the others continue under that name? Or, is the name to be tied solely to these musicians?

Will the band be like Fleetwood Mac, the Temptations, or the Lark Quartet or Fine Arts Quartet, which lasted for years with personnel coming and going? Or, will they be like Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, or Nirvana, which didn’t perform under that name when a member died or decided to take a break from the group?

And who has the right to use the band’s name in promotional material? Can the band only use its collective? If a member leaves the band, can they mention their prior involvement when advertising their future performances, by saying, for example, “Beppu, formerly of Quartet Doughnuts Hole?” Or, if Maki wants to perform a solo recital while part of the band, can she promote the recital as “Maki, first violinist with Quartet Doughnuts Hole?” These decisions are important because they could affect the reputation.

If the band records, who will own the master and be able to distribute or license it? And how will the band share the royalties? If the band continues after a member leaves, will the departing member still have the same rights to the band’s recordings?

What if the band writes or arranges its own music? Who will own the copyright? And how will they divide royalties? Will it be evenly shared, or will individual members’ contributions to the creative work govern? The band agreement should address these intellectual property issues, as well as ownership and control over social media accounts, photographs, email lists, and merchandise.

Privacy and Reputation

Privacy may be one of the clearest contract issues raised by Quartet. Most bands will not have secrets as dramatic as Maki’s identity issues or Iemori’s blackmail plan, but musicians still will have private lives. A member may have a family issue, financial problem, prior lawsuit, immigration issue, health issue, relationship problem, criminal matter, or other issue that could affect the band.

The other band members might not know about these issues, but perhaps they should know, given the possible impact on the band. Or, due to the close nature of a band relationship, the other members could learn about issues that a member wants to keep private and reveal them in an interview or memoir.

A band agreement might require members to keep certain personal and business information confidential, including financial information, unreleased music, disputes between members, personal information, health information, members’ family issues, business strategy, and private communications. The agreement also might address who may speak for the band, who may post on band accounts, and whether members may discuss internal conflicts online.

The agreement also can require disclosure of issues that could directly affect the band. That does not mean every musician must reveal every private fact. Finally, the agreement might address how individual members can announce personal information that might draw attention to (or from) the band.

While the band’s attorney’s duty will be to the band as a whole and not any one member, having a detached third party can facilitate disclosure of sensitive information to the other members.

A Good Agreement Frees the Musicians to Develop Their Unique Style

Musicians might view a band agreement as an unpleasant necessity and sign a form they pull off the Internet or ask AI to write for them. However, not all bands are alike. A band agreement should reflect the band’s unique culture and vision. The agreement should address necessary business issues in the context of the band’s culture, while leaving room for the band and musicians to grow and develop.

Quartet Doughnuts Hole’s lack of an agreement and unified purpose, and the members’ focus on their own problems and agendas, made for good television drama. But bands don’t need drama – they need to create music and make money. Rather than leaving a hole in the middle by operating on a handshake or one-size-fits-all form agreement, bands that take the time to address business concerns up front can then focus on creating music without fear of unexpected disputes and drama.

© 2026 by Elizabeth A. Whitman

Any references to clients and their legal situations have been modified to protect client confidentiality.

DISCLAIMER: The content of this blog is for informational purposes only and does not provide legal advice to any person. No one should take any action regarding the information in this blog without first seeking the advice of an attorney. Neither reading this blog nor communication with Whitman Legal Solutions, LLC or Elizabeth A. Whitman creates an attorney-client relationship. No attorney-client relationship will exist with Whitman Legal Solutions, LLC or any attorney affiliated with it unless a written contract is signed by all parties.