It always amazes me how many people begin a band without a basic understanding of the most elementary business concepts. Like who owns what?
I think many people go into a band from a creative need and then the rest of it is just an afterthought.
However, starting an LLC is dead simple. You go to the Secretary of State of <insert your state here>, find out how to register, enter some information into their form, pay a small fee and you are done.
First stop might be to the IRS.gov website and get you EIN number (Employer Identification Number).
If you have partners, draft up a simple partner agreements, slap it into the Operating Agreement, and you are good to go.
You can now call yourselves the “Kick Ass Band, LLC” and even open up a checking account in the band name, and get a debit card with the band name on it!
All pretty cool stuff…. if you are in it for the long haul. If you just want to bang around and play house shows, probably not necessary, however you are forgoing the protections you get from having an LLC operating under your name.
Think of it as cheap insurance and if you take this step, you are ahead of 95% of the other bands out there.
Good luck!
Just a Dude 