<font size='+8'>Contracts and Salaries</font>
The band won't work for free, you know. When you start a game, each member is under a short-term contract at a very low monthly salary. On the first of every month, you'll have to pay each member for their work. 
You can view your members' current contracts on their bio screens. Once a member's contract expires you'll be forced to sign a new one immediately. 
When the 'Sign Contract' screen appears, you can choose how many months you want this contract to last, so think carefully. The next time you try to sign your star they will want more, so it's sometimes wise to sign a longer contract even though it's more expensive now.