Statutes
The version put to the founding assembly on Monday, 2 November 2026 — outline, status of each provision, and the clauses that matter. The basis is the official German model constitution (Annex 1 to § 60 AO).
Outline
| § | Subject | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Name, seat, financial year | to be adopted |
| 2 | Purpose — promotion of art and culture, fulfilled through the association's own concerts, documentation, placement, active support and mentoring of young musicians and bands, listening skills, public relations; independence from venues | core clause · v1.1 |
| 3 | Selflessness, use of funds, prohibition on benefiting individuals | from model |
| 4 | Independence, conflicts of interest, related-party dealings — written form, arm's length, bar on voting, value thresholds, annual disclosure; venue operators excluded from the board | core clause |
| 5 | Membership: active and supporting; voting rights after six months (founders at once); playing does not require membership | to be adopted |
| 6 | End of membership, expulsion, appeal to the members' meeting | to be adopted |
| 7 | Dues — reference to the separate schedule of dues | to be adopted |
| 8 | Organs: members' meeting and board | to be adopted |
| 9 | Members' meeting: convening in text form, two weeks, hybrid attendance, quorum independent of attendance, majorities | to be adopted |
| 10 | Board: chair, deputy, treasurer; two represent jointly; ceiling for acting alone; up to two assessors; three years | threshold open |
| 11 | Remuneration, volunteers' allowance, expenses — authority of the members' meeting; fees are fees; the hat belongs to the musicians | core clause |
| 12 | Audit of accounts by people outside the board, two years | to be adopted |
| 13 | Data protection — a data-protection policy set by the board | to be adopted |
| 14 | Formal amendments by the board (registry court, tax office) | to be adopted |
| 15 | Dissolution and the binding of assets — art and culture, primarily in Herdecke | from model |
| 16 | Entry into force — founding assembly, Monday, 2 November 2026, Herdecke | to be adopted |
The three clauses it really turns on
§ 4 · Conflict of interest and arm's length terms
The association will put on nights in rooms belonging to others — possibly to a member or a company they hold an interest in. That is permitted, but only on terms a stranger would also receive, and only without the affected person taking part in the decision. The clause requires written form, disclosure to the members' meeting and an express bar on voting. Anyone who commercially runs a venue cannot sit on the board.
§ 11 · Authority to pay
Without this clause the board serves unpaid under § 27 (3) BGB, and any payment to it would breach the statutes. The statutes therefore expressly permit remuneration or an expenses allowance within § 3 nos. 26 and 26a EStG; the amount is decided by the members' meeting, not by the board. And: fees paid to musicians are fees, called that and accounted for as such — the hat is the musicians' income, not the association's.
§ 2 · A purpose that includes the association's own events — and young musicians
The purpose expressly states that it is fulfilled by putting on the association's own concerts, by documenting and placing musicians — and by the active promotion, support and mentoring of young musicians and bands: performance slots and rehearsal time, advice and passing on experience, help with gig preparation, sound, organisation and stagecraft, introductions to suitable rooms and to experienced musicians. Without those sentences the question later arises whether a concert is purpose-related activity at all — and whether a rehearsal night counts as association work.
Schedule of dues
The dues deliberately sit outside the statutes, in a schedule of their own. Amending statutes needs a majority, notarisation and a filing with the register. Amending a schedule of dues needs a resolution of the members' meeting and nothing else.