Every summer, I get questions about how concerts are booked and how the relationships between band, manager, agent, and promoter work together. Many of the questions are based on an incorrect public perception that bands “just decide” to put on a show or “just decide” to go out on tour, or that the band hires a promoter.
I’m not sure where they got those assumptions, but the public literally has the process backwards. Maybe the plot of the old Mickey Rooney / Judy Garland “Let’s put on a show!” movies still lingers on in the media. The fact that artists are contractually prohibited from discussing deals doesn’t help, so when an artist talks about the latest tour, it can sometimes seem like all the planning comes from the artist.
For those who may have missed it on MusicBizAdvice.com, once again, here’s how concerts are booked:
This post covers the traditional, local promotion method of booking shows. Unless the artist is an established star artist with a 360 deal on a major label or is the opening act for a major artist's tour, the artist is most likely to book shows by multiple promoters over the course of a tour. (Top concert artists' tours are usually handled by one promoter for the entire tour.) [Specifically, top concert artists' tours are usually handled by one promoter for the entire tour, with various services contracted out to local promoters. Added for clarification by Randi Reed 9/16/15.]
Artist = band or performer. That may seem obvious, but I include it to prevent people and search engines from inquiring about paintings.
Manager = oversees all aspects of an artist’s career. The manager works with the artist to develop a long-term career plan and oversees all aspects of the artist’s business life. In the context of booking live performances, the manager helps the artist decide which employment offers are most helpful to the long-term career plan. The agent, not the manager, does the actual booking.
The manager has many roles in the day-to-day operations of the band’s career. A few examples include communications with the label, assisting the artist with hiring additional musicians, hiring crew members, and tasks that help the artist manage his personal life as well.
Agent (also known as Talent Agent) = Think “employment agent”. The agent seeks employment opportunities for the artist in the form of offers from promoters, presents the offers to artist’s manager, and then negotiates the contracts for the offers the artist accepts. The agent sees that all contractual obligations for the show are met by the promoter, and if something goes wrong with a booking, the agent works to resolve it on behalf of the artist. In many states in the U.S., a licensed talent agent is the only person who can legally negotiate an employment contract for an artist. Talent agencies are also governed by some of the same laws as employment agencies for other professions.
Concert Promoter (also known as Talent Buyer, aka show Producer, aka Presenter) = the artist’s employer for live performances. Specifically, the artist is an independent contractor hired by the promoter.
The title “concert promoter” is a bit of a misnomer, because the promoter’s job is everything relating to the entire show, from hiring the artist to advertising and promotion. Venue rental, permits, staging, local personnel, security…if it’s needed to make a show happen, the promoter is responsible for doing it. That’s why some show contracts refer to the promoter as “Producer”. (In some cases where the artist travels with their own staging or production, the promoter reimburses the artist’s costs. But not always.) Other show contracts refer to the promoter as “Purchaser” because the promoter is purchasing a service from the artist, but in context of live entertainment, they all mean the same thing.
The relationship between Agent, Manager, and Concert Promoter, and how they work together in a traditional booking arrangement:
1. The artist’s agent obtains offers for show bookings from promoters. For artists with an established reputation, promoters usually reach out to the agent with offers that include breakdowns of ticket prices proposed by the promoter, the expected gross, and expected expenses.
2. The agent presents the offers to the artist’s manager, who helps the artist choose the offers that stand the best chance of helping the artist’s career.
3. The agent then negotiates the contract for the accepted offer, issues the contracts, and obtains a non-refundable deposit from the promoter. The dollar amount of the deposit depends on talent agency policy and the promoter’s stature and reputation in the industry, ranging from 10% to 50% of the artist’s guaranteed fee.
4. The promoter does his part, the artist shows up and performs the show, and everyone gets paid.
You’ll notice I haven’t mentioned specific types of deals, or "standard" or “typical” percentages of splits, or “typical” artist guarantees. That’s because despite what you may have been told by an insistent promoter, there’s no “standard” type of deal or “standard” split between artist and promoter. I say this as someone who has worked on both sides of the contract, who has seen offers come in and go out for many types of artists, from local club band to international superstar, for every major city in the U.S. and abroad. There are many different types of deals and splits. Here’s why:
Ticket prices and artist guarantees are based on whatever the market will bear at a given time.
The conditions of the concert marketplace vary from year to year, as well as by artist (and that artist’s accompanying demographics and box office history), place (and that city’s accompanying demographics), and by what time of year the show will happen.
Other major factors include the type of show (Is it a one-off show or part of a tour? Is the show at the beginning of a tour? Or is it part of a string of added dates to a sold-out tour? Is the tour a reunion tour? Is the show at a special venue? What's the venue capacity?), where the artist is in the arc of their career and what’s expected to happen during the period the show or tour takes place, the number of artists of a particular genre who are on tour at that time, how many other artists with similar ticket prices to the artist's are out on the road at the same time, and how many artists with big ticket prices will be going on sale or will be out on the road at that time.
I haven’t even mentioned the overall economic conditions of wherever the concert or tour will take place: do people have money to spend, and if so, are they likely to spend that money on entertainment? Are gas prices expected to be unusually high or low? That affects the costs of touring. All these things are major considerations.
Given all those variables, you can see how types of deals and their accompanying ticket prices and splits can vary tremendously. Now throw in relationships and any favors one party may happen to owe another—remember, the music business is a people business based on relationships, favors, and timing. Suddenly, what might seem “standard” to one may be very low or very high to someone else.
At this point, you may be wondering, "What about agent-less booking apps indie musicians use to book shows?"
In that case, the artist is acting as their own agent, so everything the agent would do becomes the artist's responsibility.
In some ways, agent-less booking apps make it easier for artists who don't have access to a good talent agent. It's hard to get a good agent, and to get a good one, more often than not the artist must be signed to a label.
However...After a certain point, using an app instead of a good licensed talent agent can be detrimental to the artist, because apps tend to devalue the artist in the live music marketplace. A good agent constantly reassesses his clients' value in the live music marketplace and knows how and when to negotiate better offers to advance the artist's career.
Most importantly, if something goes wrong with a show, the agent is the artist's most important ally. In the legal agreement between an artist and a licensed talent agent, the agent agrees to represent the artist in matters relating to any employment he or she has procured for that artist. Not only that, in many states a licensed talent agent is legally bound to represent the artist when something goes wrong with a booking they procured.
Promoters know this and tend to treat artists with good licensed talent agents more professionally. Without a good agent, the artist is vulnerable.
My advice for artists? Use an agent-less booking app only as long as you have to. Meanwhile, never trust a promoter to do all the advertising for your shows. In live entertainment, the artist's only leverage is the number of people who actually buy tickets and concessions, so work your butt off to promote and advertise your band and your shows in order to consistently increase the size of the audience for every show. Then use the leverage of your ever-increasing draw to get a good licensed talent agent.
Randi Reed,
Founder, MusicBizAdvice.com
©2015 Randi Reed and MusicBizAdvice.com. All rights reserved.
Showing posts with label concert promoters. Show all posts
Showing posts with label concert promoters. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 07, 2015
Saturday, February 28, 2009
LIve Nation / Ticketmaster Merger and the Future of Live Music? Stuff Everyone's Forgetting
Lately there's been a lot of back and forth discussion in the industry about the proposed Live Nation / Ticketmaster merger and its possible effects on the music industry (particularly the live concerts end of the business). With the recent judiciary hearing on whether the merger should even be allowed, more of my colleagues, former bosses, mentors, friends, and even foes are piping in.
Do I have a solution? No. Just suggestions. But whether the merger happens or not, there are some points everyone seems to be forgetting:
1. Despite the current economy, Movie ticket sales are up because people are looking for an escape. They could be spending that money on music tickets instead.
Why aren't they? Because just 20 years ago you could buy a ticket to see a top act for only a little more than twice the price of a movie ticket. Now a concert ticket costs more than 10 times the cost of a movie ticket.
Doesn't anyone else in this business think it's insane that in many markets, an airline ticket is cheaper than a concert ticket? (In Los Angeles in recent years, I've seen fares to Europe that were cheaper than the face value on a ticket to see the Stones or Madonna.)
The music business is collectively putting itself out of business by way of greed, and it's gotta stop.
2. Everyone seems to forget the simple concept of perpetual audience growth: new customers across several demographics.
Whether it's Hannah Montana or the Jonas Brothers, or the Eagles or Bruce, when you break it down, the majority of "new" customers at big shows are the kids of parents who happen to be wealthy enough to take them. Since it's the parent buying the ticket, that means in reality, it's actually one demographic for all those artists. (As opposed to what would have been two or three separate demographics a mere 15 years ago.)
With such an ultra-targeted demographic (whose kids are off to college soon, and whose 401ks have imploded) how can there possibly be growth?
Hannah Montana and Jonas Brothers fans grow up. And God knows I love the Eagles, Bon Jovi, and Springsteen, but however much we'd like them to, they can't tour forever (though I'm starting to believe Bruce and Bon are part Energizer Bunny). Who's the next round of arena acts, and who will go to see those next acts? Remember what's happened to symphonies in the US during the past 20 years? The audience is literally dying off without a new audience coming in.
3. More on audience growth: In many areas of the US we now have an entire generation and a half of kids who haven't had music programs in their public schools. (I know a lot of you reading this have kids in private schools with great music programs, but your kids get tickets for free, so we're not talking about them.) How can you generate interest in something that doesn't exist?
Ask the average 17 or 18 year old who goes to a public school what was the last concert they went to. (Or better yet, if they've ever even attended one in their life.) I stopped asking intern applicants "what's the last concert you went to" long ago because most haven't been at all.
And in case anyone hasn't noticed, MySpace and Facebook are actually a passive, as opposed to an active, way to enjoy recorded music. It's thinly disguised as active, but the main attraction on MySpace isn't the music; it's how many Friends kids rack up to become "famous" themselves. (If music were really the main attraction, wouldn't they be called MusicPlace or MusicBook?)
4. Do we really need a new damn arena every 10-15 years???
New arenas = higher venue costs= higher ticket prices. Yes, in many cases fans voted for them to be built. But fans are concerned with economic prosperity for their towns, not show expenses. That's our job.
(And now that some of the banks from those branded arenas have imploded, now what?)
Suggestions for dealing with the challenges
I don't have a solution, but I do have suggestions. At first glance some of them may look like the ship has sailed, but in the right hands, I really don't think so. Everything comes back around, just in a different way.
1. Figure out a way to get back to basics: Music. Not ring tones (Muzak is dead, won't ringtones, which are essentially the same thing on a different device, die too?). Not texts. Not games. Not anything that doesn't put the music at the forefront.
2. Hire people who start in music and work their way up... Not former telecom execs, not computer guys, not your brother-in-law who worked at HBO...not people from other industries. Hire people with a passion for music and for making money at it. I'm not saying don't hire business-minded people. I'm saying, hire business-minded people who want to make money in music, not just make money.
After all, isn't that the secret to Irving's success? Regardless of what you think about him, the man knows music and the people who perform it.
Remember the first piece of business advice successful people always give to someone who's tying to figure out a career goal: "Follow your passion, apply hard work, and the money will follow."
And what about Clive Davis? The man worked with Bob Dylan 1963 and is still a name in the business because he gets the music.
3. Remember the concept of "Sell to the Masses if you want to wear a Rolex". We've gotta find a way to keep ticket prices at bay so more people can afford an escape.
Selling to the masses worked for Ebay. Selling to the masses also got our current president elected.
Some artists are doing their best to try to keep ticket prices at bay. But there's a hell of a lot of pressure to make those Boxscore numbers so people will keep hiring them, and it's become a vicious circle.
4. Work with team owners and city officials to find alternatives for building new arenas. Empty arenas would be everyone's problem, so everyone needs to be in on prevention.
5. Have more respect for the fans. Remember back when you were a music fan? (If not, I'm sorry, but you're in the wrong business.) Fans pay our salaries, so the least you can do is be grateful. If not for the fans, none of us would have ever had a music industry job in the first place.
And I'll let you in on something: more than ever, fans are aware of their importance. Why do you think over the past 15 years fans are more likely than ever to sue if something goes wrong at a show? It's because they resent the flat-out greed they've observed in the industry over the past 15 years.
We've gotta stop holding music fans hostage with ticket prices before we lose them completely.
6. Think like the entertainment moguls did during the Great Depression.
The media is filled with people comparing today's economic crisis to the Great Depression. Yet despite the unemployment rate of 25% in the 1930's, the entertainment business was booming. Expensively made movies were kicking *ss at the box office. It was also the dawning of the Big Band era, which ushered in commercial radio and the recording industry as we'd come to know for nearly 60 years.
In fact it was only a couple of decades ago that the entertainment industry was still thought to be one of the few industries that was "mostly recession proof" because people would always need an escape.
If people in the '30's took advantage of the opportunity to develop business models and multiple new technologies that created demand and made live music affordable for consumers, why can't we?
I haven't said anything in this we didn't already know. It's just time we remembered it.
Randi Reed
Founder / Editor in Chief, MusicBizAdvice.com
c 2009 MusicBizAdvice.com
Do I have a solution? No. Just suggestions. But whether the merger happens or not, there are some points everyone seems to be forgetting:
1. Despite the current economy, Movie ticket sales are up because people are looking for an escape. They could be spending that money on music tickets instead.
Why aren't they? Because just 20 years ago you could buy a ticket to see a top act for only a little more than twice the price of a movie ticket. Now a concert ticket costs more than 10 times the cost of a movie ticket.
Doesn't anyone else in this business think it's insane that in many markets, an airline ticket is cheaper than a concert ticket? (In Los Angeles in recent years, I've seen fares to Europe that were cheaper than the face value on a ticket to see the Stones or Madonna.)
The music business is collectively putting itself out of business by way of greed, and it's gotta stop.
2. Everyone seems to forget the simple concept of perpetual audience growth: new customers across several demographics.
Whether it's Hannah Montana or the Jonas Brothers, or the Eagles or Bruce, when you break it down, the majority of "new" customers at big shows are the kids of parents who happen to be wealthy enough to take them. Since it's the parent buying the ticket, that means in reality, it's actually one demographic for all those artists. (As opposed to what would have been two or three separate demographics a mere 15 years ago.)
With such an ultra-targeted demographic (whose kids are off to college soon, and whose 401ks have imploded) how can there possibly be growth?
Hannah Montana and Jonas Brothers fans grow up. And God knows I love the Eagles, Bon Jovi, and Springsteen, but however much we'd like them to, they can't tour forever (though I'm starting to believe Bruce and Bon are part Energizer Bunny). Who's the next round of arena acts, and who will go to see those next acts? Remember what's happened to symphonies in the US during the past 20 years? The audience is literally dying off without a new audience coming in.
3. More on audience growth: In many areas of the US we now have an entire generation and a half of kids who haven't had music programs in their public schools. (I know a lot of you reading this have kids in private schools with great music programs, but your kids get tickets for free, so we're not talking about them.) How can you generate interest in something that doesn't exist?
Ask the average 17 or 18 year old who goes to a public school what was the last concert they went to. (Or better yet, if they've ever even attended one in their life.) I stopped asking intern applicants "what's the last concert you went to" long ago because most haven't been at all.
And in case anyone hasn't noticed, MySpace and Facebook are actually a passive, as opposed to an active, way to enjoy recorded music. It's thinly disguised as active, but the main attraction on MySpace isn't the music; it's how many Friends kids rack up to become "famous" themselves. (If music were really the main attraction, wouldn't they be called MusicPlace or MusicBook?)
4. Do we really need a new damn arena every 10-15 years???
New arenas = higher venue costs= higher ticket prices. Yes, in many cases fans voted for them to be built. But fans are concerned with economic prosperity for their towns, not show expenses. That's our job.
(And now that some of the banks from those branded arenas have imploded, now what?)
Suggestions for dealing with the challenges
I don't have a solution, but I do have suggestions. At first glance some of them may look like the ship has sailed, but in the right hands, I really don't think so. Everything comes back around, just in a different way.
1. Figure out a way to get back to basics: Music. Not ring tones (Muzak is dead, won't ringtones, which are essentially the same thing on a different device, die too?). Not texts. Not games. Not anything that doesn't put the music at the forefront.
2. Hire people who start in music and work their way up... Not former telecom execs, not computer guys, not your brother-in-law who worked at HBO...not people from other industries. Hire people with a passion for music and for making money at it. I'm not saying don't hire business-minded people. I'm saying, hire business-minded people who want to make money in music, not just make money.
After all, isn't that the secret to Irving's success? Regardless of what you think about him, the man knows music and the people who perform it.
Remember the first piece of business advice successful people always give to someone who's tying to figure out a career goal: "Follow your passion, apply hard work, and the money will follow."
And what about Clive Davis? The man worked with Bob Dylan 1963 and is still a name in the business because he gets the music.
3. Remember the concept of "Sell to the Masses if you want to wear a Rolex". We've gotta find a way to keep ticket prices at bay so more people can afford an escape.
Selling to the masses worked for Ebay. Selling to the masses also got our current president elected.
Some artists are doing their best to try to keep ticket prices at bay. But there's a hell of a lot of pressure to make those Boxscore numbers so people will keep hiring them, and it's become a vicious circle.
4. Work with team owners and city officials to find alternatives for building new arenas. Empty arenas would be everyone's problem, so everyone needs to be in on prevention.
5. Have more respect for the fans. Remember back when you were a music fan? (If not, I'm sorry, but you're in the wrong business.) Fans pay our salaries, so the least you can do is be grateful. If not for the fans, none of us would have ever had a music industry job in the first place.
And I'll let you in on something: more than ever, fans are aware of their importance. Why do you think over the past 15 years fans are more likely than ever to sue if something goes wrong at a show? It's because they resent the flat-out greed they've observed in the industry over the past 15 years.
We've gotta stop holding music fans hostage with ticket prices before we lose them completely.
6. Think like the entertainment moguls did during the Great Depression.
The media is filled with people comparing today's economic crisis to the Great Depression. Yet despite the unemployment rate of 25% in the 1930's, the entertainment business was booming. Expensively made movies were kicking *ss at the box office. It was also the dawning of the Big Band era, which ushered in commercial radio and the recording industry as we'd come to know for nearly 60 years.
In fact it was only a couple of decades ago that the entertainment industry was still thought to be one of the few industries that was "mostly recession proof" because people would always need an escape.
If people in the '30's took advantage of the opportunity to develop business models and multiple new technologies that created demand and made live music affordable for consumers, why can't we?
I haven't said anything in this we didn't already know. It's just time we remembered it.
Randi Reed
Founder / Editor in Chief, MusicBizAdvice.com
c 2009 MusicBizAdvice.com
Friday, September 19, 2008
Mortgage Foreclosures / Credit Crisis Means Local Promoter, Club, and Small Label Crisis? How Musicians Can Avoid Getting Ripped Off
How does the mortgage foreclosure / financial crisis /credit crisis affect touring musicians and indie label recording artists?
This article on MusicBizAdvice.com explains how, along with giving you some simple tips to keep from getting burned.
This article on MusicBizAdvice.com explains how, along with giving you some simple tips to keep from getting burned.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Music Biz Savvy: If you're an indie artist, local band, or new National act who plays live shows…
Greetings from Los Angeles,
I wrote this on My Space a while back, but as my brain cells fail to come up with anything witty to say on this busy afternoon, thought I'd post this here to give even more people the heads up...
Lately I've been noticing a scary trend that affects indie and agentless artists who play a lot of live shows:
Young promoters who've managed to get hold of large sums of money to produce shows, but who don't know the basics of live performance contracts.
I see this trend growing, because lately MusicBizAdvice.com has been flooded with very basic questions from young concert promoters who have funding.
I find this troubling, because if someone doesn't know the basics of a live performance contract, it's highly likely they also don't know about local ordinances, OSHA regulations, event insurance, union rules, music licensing for live venues, or any of the ten million other details that go into putting on a safe, successful show.
There's a strong probability artists who work with them will get screwed over (from inexperience more than malice in this case). Or worse yet, the artist will be named in a lawsuit in the event of an accident--simply from the buyer not knowing what they're doing, and the artist getting tangled in the fallout.
So...If you're an artist who plays out a lot, know who the A-level and B-level talent buyers are in the cities where you play regularly, as well as for the cities where you want to branch out.
If an opportunity comes from a promoter you don't know, check them out. Find out what shows they've done in the past, and talk with some of the artists who were on the bill (better yet, their managers or tour managers)...Especially those at your level of your experience in the industry, and one level above.
A few things to ask...
Did they get paid? Were there any disputes/misunderstandings with the performance agreement? Were there any problems with the show? Were they resolved quickly? How did the promoter resolve them? Did Settlement go smoothly?
Meanwhile, take the time to learn your business so you'll know how to spot a bad promoter...and will know how to handle some of the problems that inevitably come from a promoter not knowing theirs.
Live your dreams,
RR
Randi Reed, Founder / Editor in Chief, MusicBizAdvice.com
Copyright 2006 Randi Reed and MusicBizAdvice.com. All rights reserved.
I wrote this on My Space a while back, but as my brain cells fail to come up with anything witty to say on this busy afternoon, thought I'd post this here to give even more people the heads up...
Lately I've been noticing a scary trend that affects indie and agentless artists who play a lot of live shows:
Young promoters who've managed to get hold of large sums of money to produce shows, but who don't know the basics of live performance contracts.
I see this trend growing, because lately MusicBizAdvice.com has been flooded with very basic questions from young concert promoters who have funding.
I find this troubling, because if someone doesn't know the basics of a live performance contract, it's highly likely they also don't know about local ordinances, OSHA regulations, event insurance, union rules, music licensing for live venues, or any of the ten million other details that go into putting on a safe, successful show.
There's a strong probability artists who work with them will get screwed over (from inexperience more than malice in this case). Or worse yet, the artist will be named in a lawsuit in the event of an accident--simply from the buyer not knowing what they're doing, and the artist getting tangled in the fallout.
So...If you're an artist who plays out a lot, know who the A-level and B-level talent buyers are in the cities where you play regularly, as well as for the cities where you want to branch out.
If an opportunity comes from a promoter you don't know, check them out. Find out what shows they've done in the past, and talk with some of the artists who were on the bill (better yet, their managers or tour managers)...Especially those at your level of your experience in the industry, and one level above.
A few things to ask...
Did they get paid? Were there any disputes/misunderstandings with the performance agreement? Were there any problems with the show? Were they resolved quickly? How did the promoter resolve them? Did Settlement go smoothly?
Meanwhile, take the time to learn your business so you'll know how to spot a bad promoter...and will know how to handle some of the problems that inevitably come from a promoter not knowing theirs.
Live your dreams,
RR
Randi Reed, Founder / Editor in Chief, MusicBizAdvice.com
Copyright 2006 Randi Reed and MusicBizAdvice.com. All rights reserved.
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