Who handles the "non-playing" aspects of a band? | Scheduling, finances, and promotion – and what to communicate when recruiting.

1. The parts for the performance have been decided, but nothing else has been decided by anyone.

When forming a new band, or when new members join, the first thing that's usually decided is "who plays which part": vocals, guitar, bass, and drums. Discussions about the genre, whether to focus on covers or original songs, are usually shared relatively early on. However, when it comes to the "non-performance" tasks that are needed next—booking studios, scheduling, collecting and managing money, transporting equipment, booking gigs, and promoting on social media—it's not uncommon for activities to begin without explicitly deciding who will do what.

In the early stages of a band, this isn't a problem. When there are few members and practice is infrequent, whoever notices something needs doing can simply take care of it as it comes. However, as the band continues to perform, plays live shows, and members start to change, this "undecided" state quietly accumulates as a burden. The articles I've written so far on this blog about things to decide before forming a band , as well as about money and rules , have all focused on "what to decide," but in this article, I'll go a step further and organize the division of labor, which is difficult to name, by considering "who will actually carry out and carry out what has been decided."

The work outside of performing is often mundane and inconspicuous, and the more successful things are, the less visible "what's being done" becomes. That's why consciously writing it down, considering who will handle it, and communicating this when recruiting new members if necessary, can reduce friction later on.

2. Try listing everything about the band *other than* playing music.

First, try to make an inventory of all the "non-performance" work that accompanies your band activities, as far as you can think of. You'll probably realize that even though each task may be small on its own, when you list them all together, it adds up to a surprising amount.

If looking at this list makes you think, "All the members of my band are played by the same person," that's not unusual. In the next chapter, we'll consider why that's often the case.

3. Why does it often come down to one person? — It's a cumulative effect of "whoever notices something takes action."

There's a reason why tasks other than performing tend to concentrate on one person. In most cases, it's not that someone is "trying to take over the role," but rather it's simply a series of "whoever noticed and took on the task at the time." The person who first booked the studio naturally becomes the one who makes reservations next time. The person who first created the social media account becomes the one in charge of posting. It's usually a process where small, unintentional requests are repeated, and before you know it, the workload is concentrated on one person.

This situation can occur even in large bands. After the sudden death of their manager, Brian Epstein, on August 27, 1967, The Beatles lacked a clear role within the band regarding external negotiations and business matters. When Paul McCartney tried to take the lead to fill this void, the other members perceived it as self-serving, and the friction between them escalated to the point where, on May 8, 1969, McCartney's proposal regarding the contract with Alan Klein was rejected 3-1 ( Beatles breakup issue - Wikipedia ). Of course, the scale and background are vastly different from those of amateur bands, but the structure itself—where "when it's not decided who will handle tasks other than playing, and someone takes on these tasks, it's perceived as arbitrary"—can occur regardless of the size of the band.

There's nothing inherently wrong with one person handling everything. Sometimes, it's more efficient for someone with the necessary skills to take on the responsibility. The problem arises when this situation continues not as a deliberate decision, but simply as a result of circumstances, and neither the person responsible nor the other band members are aware of it. Those juggling a full-time job and band activities are often the first to suffer when this burden accumulates.

4. Four ways of thinking to determine who will take on the responsibility

There are four main approaches to assigning tasks other than playing music. There's no single right answer; the most practical approach is to combine them based on the nature of the tasks and the number of band members.

For a band of around four people, it's practical to apply different approaches to each task: scheduling is rotated among members, financial record-keeping is assigned to one person who's good at it, and equipment transport is handled by someone with a car. The important thing is to at least communicate and share which approach you've adopted with the other members.

5. Scheduling — The most difficult and least appreciated task.

Even aside from performing, scheduling is often a particularly burdensome task. Composing several possible dates, gathering everyone's availability, readjusting if someone is unavailable, and then contacting everyone again if there are last-minute changes—handling this entire process solely through messaging is far more time-consuming than one might imagine. A survey targeting social clubs for working adults also showed that "the hassle of scheduling" and "financial burdens such as membership fees and activity expenses" were among the top complaints and anxieties, alongside "interpersonal relationships within the club" (Cross Marketing Inc. "Survey on Social Clubs for Working Adults," 47 prefectures nationwide, ages 20-69, n=1,100, conducted February 21-23, 2025). While this survey is not limited to music and bands, it is a useful reference as it illustrates the burdens common to activities involving multiple people.

To reduce this hassle, one option is to use a dedicated scheduling tool. "Chosei-san" has a page specifically for bands, and you can confirm attendance simply by sending a URL without needing to register as a member or any usage restrictions ( Chosei-san - Bands ). Another common method is to use Google Calendar's shared calendar feature to synchronize everyone's schedules ( Google Calendars ).

Membo 's recruitment posting form actually has a field for "Date and Time." However, this field only appears when you select "Event," "Open," or "Jam" as the recruitment type; it disappears when you select "Member Recruitment" (instead, a field for selecting parts appears). In other words, there is no dedicated field for specifying the days of the week or frequency of activity in member recruitment posts. There is also no field on the profile side to register the times you are available. Therefore, you will have to write about your activity frequency in the free-text "Detailed Description" field and the self-introduction field. However, this is a field to give a rough idea during the search and recruitment stage, and it is not a function to share the schedules of multiple people within a band after they have joined. Membo does have a function aimed at group schedule sharing, but this is planned to be provided in " Membo+ " in the future, and currently it is displayed as "Under Preparation" and is not available in the public version. For the time being, scheduling itself will be done using the external tools mentioned above or through direct communication.

Regardless of who takes on this role, if you notice that "the same person is always suggesting dates, following up, and compiling them," it's a sign that the burden is unevenly distributed. It's a good idea to start with small adjustments, such as rotating the tasks or dividing up the work of suggesting dates.

6. The person in charge of booking the studio and the person in charge of communicating that booking.

Booking a studio isn't just about "making a reservation"; it also involves another crucial role: "correctly communicating the reservation details to everyone." These two roles don't need to be handled by the same person, and some bands find it more effective to divide them. The basic booking process and cancellation policies are covered in detail in our "Complete Guide to First-Time Band Practice ," so here we'll focus on "points to consider when assigning roles."

Studio booking methods and cancellation policies vary considerably. For example, comparing the following two companies clearly illustrates these differences.

Even looking at just these two companies, the methods for making reservations and the timing at which cancellation fees begin to apply differ significantly. In other words, "deciding on a reservation person" is not simply about deciding "who makes the phone calls," but also about "having one person in the band who knows what percentage of cancellation fees the venue charges and from how many days in advance." It is important to have someone clearly in charge of this information so as not to panic if someone is absent on the day or cancels at the last minute. If you have different people making the reservations and communicating the details to the whole group, it is reassuring to share a brief statement about "who made the final confirmation" to prevent any communication breakdowns. For how to make the most of your practice time in the studio, please also refer to our article on how to make the most of two hours in the studio and tips for efficiently practicing in the studio . This article covers how to find studios and live music venues nationwide.

7. Money Management — Just decide who will be in charge of collecting and keeping records.

The "rules regarding the details of money," such as how to divide studio fees, how to handle transportation expenses, and how to settle quotas, are already explained in detail in the section on money and rules that we discuss when new members are decided . In this chapter, we will not go into the details of the rules regarding the details, but will focus only on "who will actually take on each role."

The person in charge of finances has two main responsibilities: collecting money and keeping records. For collecting money, you can either collect cash on the spot at each practice session, or you can use PayPay's group payment function. By creating a group and entering the amount, each member can simply click "pay" to settle the payment ( PayPay Group Payment ). Since there is no clear information about fees on the official page, it is recommended to check the latest conditions before using it. For keeping records, even just leaving a simple memo or spreadsheet noting who paid what and when will make it easier to check later who is still paying what they owe.

If this responsibility is fixed to one person, that person will inevitably bear the brunt of any financial troubles. The job of reminding people to collect money is rarely appreciated, and if left ambiguous, it easily becomes a source of resentment. That's why, for the person in charge of money, having other members express their gratitude verbally is a simple but effective measure.

8. Transporting equipment — a problem that relies entirely on people who own cars.

In bands with equipment that is difficult to transport without a car, such as amplifiers, drum sets, and pedalboards, the burden of transportation tends to fall disproportionately on the member who owns a car. This is a typical example of "③ The person who is physically closest and has the right conditions should do it," as mentioned in Chapter 4, and while it is a rational distribution, if the same person drives every time and also bears the cost of gasoline and parking, resentment will gradually build up.

Possible solutions include sharing the cost of gasoline and highway tolls for transportation with other members through the money management team mentioned in Chapter 7, increasing the number of members who can drive so that multiple people can take turns driving, or checking if the studio or live venue has rental equipment to reduce the amount of equipment brought in. You don't need to decide on just one solution; the first step to preventing the situation from becoming fixed is to bring it up once you feel the burden is too great. The fact that someone can drive is a valuable contribution in itself, and simply putting that into words and sharing it will change the burden on the member who is driving.

9. Booking the live performance and managing the event on the day.

Negotiating gigs at live music venues is a job that requires a certain level of external confidence, even outside of performing. Contacting venues you want to play at and negotiating dates, co-performing bands, and performance quotas requires a certain amount of experience. If one person is continuously handling this role, it's worthwhile to cultivate at least a second candidate, as their departure could mean the entire band loses performance opportunities.

On the day of the event, a whole new set of "non-performance" tasks arise. Coordinating the order of equipment setup, supervising sound checks, handling merchandise sales, reception, taking photos and videos, arranging the MC duties, and many other detailed tasks suddenly increase.

If it's difficult to manage all of this with just the regular members, you can also consider enlisting the help of support members or helpers who can assist only on the day of the event. Even if they don't participate in the performance, it's perfectly acceptable for them to help with "non-performance" tasks such as reception or photography.

10. Promotion, social media, and photography — If no one is doing it, then it's okay not to do it.

Promotional work, such as announcements on social media and taking photos of live performances and rehearsals, is an area where the difference between those who are good at it and those who are not is particularly clear. In the band "Uchikubi Gokumon Doukoukai," it is known that vocalist and guitarist Atsushi Osawa handles almost all of the songwriting and composition, excluding cover songs, and also manages the official X (formerly Twitter) account ( Uchikubi Gokumon Doukoukai - Wikipedia ). Examples of one person handling both "creation" and "communication" can occur regardless of scale.

The important thing is not to make promotion itself the goal. If no one in your band is good at using social media, there's no need to force it. At a minimum, having a website and social media accounts that can be used for announcements and recruitment for live shows is sufficient. Membo 's recruitment posting form has a "Website/Social Media" section where you can link and post URLs for your activity announcements and social media accounts. Just posting an ad and linking existing social media accounts to it will prevent putting an excessive burden of promotion on one person.

11. Decide where to store the audio files and data.

Recordings of rehearsals, demo tracks, photos and videos of live performances—these kinds of data accumulate the longer a band continues to be active, but surprisingly many bands don't decide "where to put them," and before they know it, they're scattered all over each member's smartphone or computer.

You don't need a complicated system; simply designating one shared folder is enough for it to function. For example, Google Drive comes with 15GB of storage for every Google account (total for Google Photos, Drive, and Gmail), and you can share folders with different permissions for editing, commenting, and viewing ( Google One ). You don't need to decide in detail who will upload the music and who will organize it, but if you decide on a single "place to put it" from the beginning, it will greatly reduce the time it takes to search for things later.

12. The choice not to over-decide

We've looked at the various tasks outside of playing in detail, but not every band needs a detailed list of roles. For small bands, such as a three-person ensemble, scheduling, equipment transport, and publicity can often be handled by whoever is available at the time, and the band can function perfectly well with this flexible approach. Being too rigid can actually create a sense of constraint.

On the other hand, there are bands where one person holds the title of "leader." In SEKAI NO OWARI, Nakajin has served as the leader since 2013, primarily handling guitar, lyrics, and composition, while arrangements are often done by all members ( Nakajin - Wikipedia ). What can be confirmed here is that his leadership is solely in the creative aspect of songwriting. There is no evidence that one person handles administrative tasks such as scheduling and external negotiations for live performances, and it is important to note that the title of "leader" and "who handles the practical work other than playing" are not necessarily the same thing.

What's important isn't deciding on names for roles, but rather having members periodically verbalize and confirm with each other "what's working well right now, and what's leaning too much towards a particular person." If you can do that, most bands probably won't need a detailed list of roles.

13. How to write "what responsibilities you want them to take on" when recruiting.

From here on, we'll consider this from the perspective of the party recruiting new members. If there are other responsibilities you'd like them to handle besides their playing part, we recommend mentioning them when you post your recruitment notice. Membo 's recruitment posting form doesn't have a dedicated section for registering "roles" or "responsibilities." While there are fields for part, genre, activity location, prefecture, desired age group, and desired gender, any responsibilities other than playing will need to be written in the free-text "detailed description" field.

For example, writing it like this makes it easier for applicants to visualize the details.

• "We rotate scheduling among the group members. Those who are good at it are very welcome, but it's not required."
• "It would be helpful if someone could provide a car for transporting equipment, but it's not a requirement."
• "We also welcome those who can help with posting on social media."

The important thing here is to distinguish between "required" and "welcome." When requesting roles other than playing an instrument, if you write them all as if they were mandatory, it may cause people who meet the requirements in terms of playing an instrument to hesitate to apply. It is better to write with a more nuanced tone, such as "it would be helpful if possible" or "welcome if you are good at it," so as not to narrow the pool of applicants. For general tips on writing recruitment notices, please also refer to the guide on writing member recruitment advertisements . After applying, communication will proceed as a one-on-one message exchange via the "Message Post" button on the Membo recruitment details page. There is currently no group chat function that allows multiple people to participate simultaneously, so the negotiation of conditions will basically be done individually between the poster and the applicant.

14. Applicants — Communicate how you can be helpful in ways other than performing.

Conversely, for those applying for a band, it's also effective to highlight not only your musical abilities but also how you can contribute outside of playing. While many applicants only list their playing skills and years of experience, adding a phrase like "I can drive," "I have experience managing social media," or "I work in accounting and am good at collecting payments" will make a stronger impression on the recruiter. We also cover the mindset of an applicant in our section on how to read band recruitment notices , so please check that out as well.

Membo profiles include sections for performance-related information such as instrument played, years of experience, and favorite genres, as well as a free-form "self-introduction" section. Since there isn't a dedicated section for describing what you can do besides playing, you'll need to use this self-introduction section to write about it. You can also register your "activity area," "years of experience," "favorite genres," and "official website/blog." After filling out the performance-related sections, adding a brief mention of what you can do besides playing in the self-introduction section will help recruiters get a better overall picture of your skills.

When considering how bands actually select band members , they unconsciously consider not only the technical level of performance but also whether the applicant seems like they would be able to share the burden of the band. As mentioned in the article about being invited to join a band , confirming the expected part and role for oneself is an important perspective for those joining. Simply adding a brief explanation of what you can do in areas other than playing can potentially reduce mismatches with the recruiting band.

15. How to recover when you've become too focused on one person

In many cases, the burden has already fallen disproportionately on one person before anyone realizes it. Scheduling, managing finances, transporting equipment—before you know it, that same person is handling everything. To rectify this situation, the first thing needed is not to "blame one person," but for all members to review the inventory list introduced in Chapter 2.

An effective approach in this situation is not for the person bearing the burden to bring it up as a complaint, but rather to raise it as a band-wide topic by saying something like, "I'd like to take a moment to check if the workload has been unevenly distributed lately." Treating it as someone else's problem can easily make things awkward for both the person being criticized and the person being criticized. If you frame it as a structural issue, it becomes easier to discuss.

If discussions fail to bring about improvement and the person responsible for a particular role ends up leaving the band, it will create a gap not only in the performance but also in other areas of work. It is recommended to review how to handle situations when a member suddenly leaves , and to reassess not only how to fill the gap in performance but also the other responsibilities that the person was responsible for.

16. Frequently Asked Questions about Roles Other Than Performing

Q. Can I share group schedules within a band using Membo ?

The public version of Membo currently does not have a feature to share the schedules of multiple members at once. This group functionality is planned to be available in " Membo+ " in the future, and is currently displayed on the screen as being under development. Scheduling will be done using external scheduling tools, as introduced in Chapter 5, or through direct communication.

Q. Is it absolutely necessary to decide on roles beforehand?

No. As mentioned in Chapter 12, in smaller bands, it's often possible to manage things without detailed role assignments, where whoever is able takes on a task at the time. The important thing is to make it a habit to check from time to time whether the workload is unevenly distributed.

Q. What should I do if I want to change my assigned person midway through the project?

The first step is to express what you want to change without hesitation. Instead of suddenly announcing, "I'm quitting today," setting aside a handover period until someone else takes over will help avoid confusion.

Q. If I want to quit my job in charge of finances, how should I communicate that?

The role of handling money is often unappreciated and can feel burdensome. It's less likely to cause offense if you explain your situation by saying something like, "I'd like to take on other responsibilities, so I'd like to switch roles." For more information on money-related rules, please refer to this article .

Q. Is it okay to include detailed requirements for roles other than playing music during the recruitment stage?

There's nothing wrong with including it as a condition, but as mentioned in Chapter 13, writing it as a mandatory requirement too often will narrow the pool of applicants. We recommend using a range of expressions such as "welcome" or "preferably."

17. Summary | Place "Who will play?" next to "Who will perform?"

This article has examined the "non-performance" tasks involved in band activities, exploring why they tend to fall to one person, how to decide who will handle them, and how to communicate this during the recruitment and application stages.

1. List all your other responsibilities : scheduling, studio booking, managing finances, transporting equipment, booking gigs, publicity, data management—start by listing them all.
2. Recognize the structure that relies on one person : The accumulation of "whoever notices, takes action" can happen to anyone.
3. Choose how to decide : combine those who are good at it, those who have time, those who meet the conditions, and those who rotate the task—combine them for each task.
4. Have the option of not being too rigid : Smaller bands may not need a detailed list of roles.
5. Communicate this information both when recruiting and when applying : The recruiting party should write about what they can do or would like others to do besides playing music in the "Detailed Description" section, and the applicant should write about this in the "Self-Introduction" section.

Just as important as deciding "who plays" is articulating "who will do what." This is a simple but sure way to ensure your band lasts a long time. If you feel that one person is currently handling most of the non-playing responsibilities, try reviewing the inventory sheet in this article with your band members. When looking for new members, we recommend using Membo 's detailed description and self-introduction sections to communicate not only the playing responsibilities but also the division of other tasks. If you're unsure how to use it, please also refer to Membo's help page , user guide , app usage page , and author information page.