Jess J Jones Jess J, Jess Jones, Get Money Stop Hatin' Tour, DBBS Entertainment Ripped Off by Tour Promoter Internet

Jess J. Jones contacted me on March 24^th about his upcoming tour. He told me about his plans for the 6^th annual Get Money Stop Hatin’ Tour and how I could be involved. I worked with him once on a show he had in my city a few years prior. I approached him about a few artists that I knew and told him I could be of assistance in booking talent. He agreed, and I gathered a few artists to perform. Most of them backed out at the last minute, saying that the registration fee was too costly. About 3-4 of them performed and I was paid a whopping $20. The registration fee was $100, but he was very hesitant about even giving me the $20.

Fast-forwarding to 2014, after talking to him, he seemed to be a better businessman. I was also more comfortable working with him this time because he said that he would have documents written up outlining our agreement. After our call, I contacted him every other day looking for the agreement and documents he was supposed to send. He said that he’d been busy with his kids, etc. He emailed it to me and I was relieved to be familiar with almost just about everything he’d have me doing. He said, “I know you’re familiar. That’s why you’re the first person I called. Hope your work reflects that familiarity.” I was excited but also a little alarmed by the fact that the first show was only about 2 months away and he didn’t even have most of the venues booked yet. He told me that he’d have another person working with us.

Since I was working with another event company at the time, I sought to get permission to work with Jess’s company and was granted it. Before I got the documents, I had already been telling close associates who are also artists about the tour. Jess told me that our first priority was to pitch the co-headlining acts and tour packages. So, that’s what I did. I went to a few events and told the artists about it and handed out my business cards.

The agreement was for me to book venues, artists, promote the shows, etc. Each of us would have a job at the actual shows too. At the end of the tour, he would make all of the deductions for expenses, and would split the profits. We would get extra if we signed an artist up for a multiple show package. This was the original deal.

He walked me through the venue rental details April 4^th. I began sending emails and calling venues about rental. A lot of the shows were in cities I didn’t know that were big on hip hop at all. I found out a couple of them had banned the genre from being played/performed in venues. He emailed some documents and I noticed someone was CC’d. I concluded that this was the third person we’d be working with. She and I took it among ourselves to introduce us since clearly he didn’t.

I didn’t have a laptop at the time, so I did my networking in person and on the phone and tablet.  Using only these tools, I had been able to successfully coordinate 4 shows with my other company. Still, I made efforts to get a laptop, and use library computers if I needed to. I referred a number of artists to Jess about tour packages and dates. He told me that I wasn’t giving them enough info, but I hadn’t received his scripts for cold calling/emailing yet. On April 9^th he went over tour packages with me.

April 13^th he finally sends the scripts. Now I could contact a lot more artists that I didn’t know personally. I made an additional Facebook, Twitter, and ReverbNation account, per Jess’s opinion. I reached out to countless artists using his words from his script and through blog and event sites. In the beginning, I only listed his contact info to receive responses. He added more dates and divided them up between the 3 of us. Little to my knowledge, however, there was someone else working with us as well. I started seeing the same scripts that he gave me everywhere in the cities I was assigned to. They were working all over me.. BUT somehow he complained saying that he wasn’t getting any responses in my cities.

I’m not sure if he suffers from memory loss, or his workload is too heavy, but he’d talked to me about artists I’d referred. He seemed very agitated and I was confused. How could NO ONE have contacted me when I was using his own words to contact 100s of artists every couple days. I told him that I would be getting a laptop to work more efficiently on and that’s what I did. I worked even harder. Sending emails, making phone calls, leaving comments, posting flyers online, creating ads, etc. A few days later he still stated that he got “zero” calls.

This pattern would repeat while the first date was quickly approaching. I wondered when he would tell me my travel arrangements to the first show halfway across the country, but he didn’t. Finally I asked if he wanted me to do something else, or just do cities close by. We agreed that I would work on cities surrounding me. In my honest opinion, I don’t believe he ever planned on having me out there.

Nonetheless, I began work on the shows newly assigned. He still complained about not getting any responses when I knew for certain that he did. I was on the GMSH site and noticed that an associate of mine had signed his group up for multiple dates on the tour. When I confronted Jess on it, he told me that someone else had put him in contact with him. The guy was one of THE first artists I talked to about the show early in April and had even given him Jess’s number to talk.  Jess insisted that the lead come from someone else. Another person I talked with about it and know personally, also said they signed up and performed. Then another. I can only imagine how many people he’d lied about.

While Jess and the others were out working the shows, I was being insulted constantly. I was working long days and into the early morning trying to make it right but not according to him. The date of the shows I was working on was quickly approaching. Again, he didn’t tell me anything about travel arrangements, so I came out and asked if I was even going to be apart of it. We both agreed that I would back out of it, but he promised to “pay me for the time spent.” I guess working 2 months and contacting hundreds of artists equates to $100 in compensation because that’s what he offered me. One hundred dollars. He stated that “I must be struggling” since he figured I was being unrealistic in wanting to be paid for working. I was extremely offended and too upset to argue properly. Needless to say I turned down the offer. I sent him screenshot upon screenshot of the work I'd completed. He responded saying he's busy and he'll look over it in 2 weeks. After that,

Following that, I’ve been seeking legal advise regarding compensation. I wanted to make a complaint in small claims court, but by him being on the opposite coast, it wouldn’t be cost effective. I’ll figure something out, but for now I just wanted to warn those who plan on working with this man or this company. Artists, be careful. Check out the venues he rented and make sure you’re getting quality for what you pay for. Booking agents, don’t go into business with him unless you have a solid contract and means of getting your money. He's said that I sabotaged his tour, but how can that be if I used YOUR methods and your own words to work? Also, how can that be when he had other people working on the same shows?

I sent him screenshots upon screenshots. He said that he was busy and would look them over. He still sticks to his opinion that I wasn't doing anything. Crazy.

Just be careful. He always has some issue when it's time to pay up.