So, I’m a musician playing a gig at a restaurant. I’ve played this gig for several years and a few months ago I negotiated for a raise. I was getting paid $150 for the trio ($50/person). I negotiated for a raise to $80/person. This was fine until a band mate who had been on this gig for several years with me moved away. Then I started to hire different pianists. As I called other people and told them the deal they would then try to book their own gigs and they also asked for the same rate that I get. I’m all for this, frankly, we should be getting a lot more than $80 each for 3 hours of music. So this became an issue for the restaurant because other musicians are asking for more money and they don’t want to raise their rates. I’m playing a gig there this weekend and I have someone on the gig with me who has been playing there for several years under his own name as well. The owner wants me to call to ‘discuss payment’ before this gig. I’ve already told my band mates that we get $80 each + tips and food, so I suspect I’ll have to follow up with them to let them know that the deal has changed, but I’ll do that after I have that conversation with the restaurant owner. Any advice I should keep in mind before I make this phone call?