I've sot of done it both ways. I think it depends partly on the size of the band. Duos and trios can easily be democracies, even to the point of everyone booking gigs. Communication is, of course, important. The last six-member band I was in was somewhere in between. It was a democracy until a decision needed to get made but there wasn't a consensus emerging. When that happened, I listened to all the ideas and then made the decision. Sometimes six people can get bogged down forever in ideas for arrangements, with different people wanting to take the song in different directions. Most of the time, whoever brought the song in decided the general direction and feel for that song, everyone came up with stuff to do that supported that, and no problems. In that band, two of us did all the booking and stayed in touch with each other about what we were up to.

I don't think I would like playing in a band that was a complete dictatorship. If someone else was in charge, I'd get tired of not having any input. If I was in charge, I'd get tired of not getting enough input. One of the big reasons I play with other musicians is because I like their ideas, and like what their ideas and mine do when they meet. I suppose that if I got a chance to be in the band of some huge star, I'd buckle down and do what I was told, at least for a while.