Case Study Of The Van Halen Rock Band

In 1982, the Van Halen rock band decided to include a controversial clause in their contract rider; have a full bowl of M&Ms in the backstage, but with the restriction of not even a single brown M&M in it. This requirement was used by the band to ensure that the promoter had read throughout all the points in the contract, and if this particular request was not paid enough attention that might indicate that even other more important information was neglected. As it was explained by David Lee Roth in 2012, the famous clause was made up for security issues that would save the band from potential problems with the stage set up. The case described in the above-mentioned article is a resemblance of the One-Shot game because whenever the clause …show more content…
The band wins because the concert has been a success, without any unpleasant situation to them and the public. The promoter also wins because will get paid for the job and might have the chance to work again with the band in the future.
~The Nash equilibrium is defined by the players’ combination of strategies, and consists of the situation in which the promoter does not put M&Ms vs. the band does not make the line check. It is a Nash equilibrium due to the fact that none of the players wants to change the strategy because they are in accordance with the common desire of winning.
In the 80s, Van Halen was among the first rock bands that would take the incentive to make huge and complicated productions part of their concerts. Unfortunately, the buildings that hosted the concerts did not have the appropriate guidelines to do so and many problems could emerge. As described in an article for Entrepreneur website “Old floors could buckle and collapse, beams could rupture, and the lives of the band, their crew and fans could be at serious risk” (Jones). Thus, for the band, there were possible physical threats if some of the fixtures would not be installed properly, but the financial threats were not present because even in the case of the contract annulation the band would get fully compensated. The financial risk is a burden only to the promoters in case of not respecting the contract. They would have to compensate the band …show more content…
These specific and controversial clauses ensure the contract writer that the promoter is attentive to all the requirements and reliable to work with. The promoters are being paid a lot of money to do their job, so instead of spending more money on something you have already paid one can find a way making the contract rider stricter and more detailed. The M&Ms request resulted to be very effective in the 80s, but when the trick behind it was discovered people decide to use similar clauses to assist their decision of working with a promoter or not. All in all, specific rider terms make it much easier for the employer to distinguish the reliable employees and as a result, the contract will achieve its goal of ensuring a symbiotic and successful