Entertainment Booking FAQ

Booking Major Entertainment Acts FAQ

© 2007 By C.J. Hays President. American Entertainment, Inc

This FAQ has been written in an effort to provide you with the basic qualifications you will need to secure an “A” list artist.

What do I need to have in place before I make contact with an agent for the acquisition of an artist?

1) Money

You need to have at least 50% of your total production budget in the bank prior to making any offers.

How much do I have to pay the artist up front?

At the point a contract is issued by the artist or agent, you will need to send a full 50% deposit at the time you send the contract back after you have signed it. This is usually within 2 weeks of the offer being made.

Can I pay 10% now and more later as we sell tickets?

Absolutely not! Setting the fact aside you need the 50% up front, by even asking this question, you are telling the agent you are not in a financial position to promote a concert.

When do I have to pay the balance of the artist fee?

Unless you have a “Door Deal” where the artist manager has control over the box office, the balance of the artist fee will be required when the tour manager gets off the bus.

What if our pre sales were slow and we know we will have the money after the show from walk up ticket sales?

This is not the artist’s problem. If the balance in not paid to the artist in cash or certified funds when they arrive on the day of the concert, they will get back on the bus and leave. Secondly, they get to keep the deposit AND they can sue you for the balance. So in other words, if you do not have the financial means you guarantee the performance fees, read no further as you should not be creating this event.

What else should we be prepared to pay when we pay the deposit to the artist?

Generally there will be a deposit for the venue along with any pre-production fees and talent acquisition costs.

2) A Date Chosen

Generally speaking, you should allow at the very least, 90 days for marketing your event from the date you have a signed contract with the artist.

Why is it important to book at least 90 days out?

Statistics show you need at least a full 90 days to market an event. You cannot promote an event until you have contracted the artist with the deposit.

Are there any benefits to booking 6 months out?

Yes, If you have at least 6 months or longer, you could possibly save money on the artist by choosing a date within the artists tour routing. Secondly, they would probably have all of their backline equipment with them.

What is “backline”?

If your artist is flying in to perform at your concert, they are generally only bringing their guitars and horns. At your expense, you would need to provide the drum set, keyboards, amplifiers, risers, special monitor equipment and other items listed on their performance rider.

3) Contract with a Venue

Artists will not contract until you have a written contract with the venue for the performance. First, you have to research to see if the venue you have chosen, based upon your forecast of ticket sales, will be available on the date you have chosen or the date that fits with a specific artists schedule.

Other then the venue rental cost, are there any other costs related to the venue that I need to be aware of?

Yes, there are many other costs to consider which you should allow for in your proposed budget. First, in addition to the venue rental fee, they may require a ticket fee or a small percentage of the gross revenue. They may require the ticket sales to go through Ticketmaster or other ticketing agency which would also have a ticket processing fee attached.

They may have insurance requirements, security requirements and may require you to use a specific stage, sound and lighting requirements. And, you will most likely be having to pay union labor rates. It is good to know all of these costs before proceeding to the talent acquisition.

4) Research

Do not ask for a specific artist until you have researched the artist. When was the last time that artist was in your city? Do they already have a gig scheduled in your city? Are they even available based upon their tour schedule?

What other events are scheduled the day/night of the show? You would not want to schedule a concert on the start of the World Series. What other similar Genre concerts are scheduled 2 weeks prior or after the show? In other words, if you are planning a Country music concert, is Tim and Faith scheduled to perform a week before your concert? If so, the concert goers you were expecting already spent their money they could have paid you.

5) Production Experience

If you do not have a track record producing or promoting concerts, you will have to partner with a company that does, especially on the larger dollar artists. If you do not have a successful track record you will NEVER get a major artist. Even if you are swimming in cash, it is the agent’s responsibility to conduct due diligence to determine the feasibility of the gig. Professionalism is everything.

Is this what a PROMOTER does?

Sometimes. The promoter is usually the client purchasing the artist and is responsible for all of the marketing and advertising and holds 100% of the liability including recipient of any profit or loss. What you are looking for is an event/concert management company who has long standing relationships with artist management and artist agents.

OK, so I have all my ducks in a row based upon the above information. Who do I contact to get the talent?

Every major artist has a Responsible Agent (RA). This is the booking agent who directly represents the artist on behalf of the artist and the artist’s manager. The RA usually works for a major agency. In addition to the RA, there are regional agents within the firm. In a perfect world, you would be able to contact these agents directly to inquire as to the availability and price of the artist. Even though this can happen, if you do not have a track record with the agency or do not know the business, your likelihood of success is very low.

Can’t I just make contact with the RA to get a list of all the artists and their prices?

Not usually. There is no set pricelist for artists. There are many things for the artist to consider and supply & demand comes into play. Also unless you have an existing relationship with the agent, you are not going to get pricing. You would need to make an offer, but in making the offer you would need to know where to come in. You could be too high or too low. And if you think you are going to get a “Top A List” artist for under $100k, you will be laughed at.

So what are my options?

If you do an internet search to book a specific artist, you will come up with a long list of sub-agents, entertainment brokers and promoters all “claiming” to represent the artist you are seeking. While they may not be the RA for that artist, some of them have direct contact with the RA’s and can negotiate for an artist on your behalf.

An advantage to using an outside agency is they generally know what an artist is going for and have an understanding of riders and other artist requirements.

But, It is the personal opinion of this author, that the “sub agent, broker and promoter” market is wrought with greed and fraud so you have to consider many things.

How do I choose the right sub agent?

1) Look over their website and look for a track record. Look for how long they have been in business. Maybe Google the company name or the name of the primary agent and look for positive references. Generally the agencies that have been around for awhile are a good bet.

2) When you make your initial contact, be aware of an immediate response that they can get the deal done. If they have not qualified you as a buyer or made any initial inquires as to the availability of the artist, prior to asking you for a deposit, you would want to proceed with caution as they are too eager.

3) GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING. If any details are discussed over the phone or promises are made orally, ask them to send you the details by e mail. Create a paper trail which is all you would have to stand on in court prior to a contract being issued by the artist. Again, GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING.

4) Never pay more then a 10% deposit to a sub agent, broker or promoter prior to a performance contract being issued. If the sub agent has integrity, they will already know that the artist you want fits within your budget, their availability and that you are OK with their rider requirements. At the time you authorize the sub agent to make an offer on your behalf, you will usually be asked to pay a 10% deposit to go along with your offer. Generally, if the offer is accepted by the artist management, and a contract is issued, and you choose to back out of the deal, you will lose your deposit. But, make sure you have a refund clause signed by the sub agent that if your offer is declined, that your deposit is immediately refunded. GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING.

Next, at the point the offer has been accepted and you have the contract in your hand, then and ONLY then would you send in the remaining 40% or 50% deposit along with your signature on the contract. And, pay the balance of the performance fee only after the artist arrives at your venue.

Note: I have investigated many fraudulent entertainment acquisitions over the years for Entertainment Lawyers throughout the Kingdom. You would be surprised to note that some of these companies are still in business and are even listed in the “top ten” search results on most search engines. On one deal, a deposit was made on a sweet 16 party before the agent even knew if he could get the artist. Once he found out the artist was not available, he kept the deposit and tried to force the client to take one of his other artists. The client declined and the deposit was not returned. The broker specifically told the client to go ahead and sue because her attorney fees would exceed what he owed her.

On a more recent deal, a buyer from overseas was led to believe a contract was going to be issued on a major artist which led the agent to demand a 50% deposit when it turns out the artist’s manager had never even been contacted by the sub agent.

Don’t get me wrong, there are many fine sub agents, brokers and promoters out there. Just do you homework and GET IT IN WRITING!!

Am I contracting with the artist or the agency?

This depends on whether the agent is reselling the artist to you or if you are paying them a fee to negotiate a contract directly between you and the artist.

What is the difference?

1) If your contract is with a second tier booking agency, and you are buying a lower level or regional artist, contracting with the agent is the normal deal. Accept that.

On most deals where you are contracting with a sub agency, broker or promoter and not the artist, they are conducting a buy/sell deal. Basically, because the buyer is a nobody and the agency has a track record, they are contracting with the artist/RA and are exposing themselves if the client does something wrong, like not pay the balance of the artist fee so this is also the norm. But, you don’t know what the markup is on the deal and could be as much as 50% of the usual artist fee. In other words, they are sharing in the risk but they could be making more NET Profit on the deal then the Band or Artist. I personally don't feel the agent should net more then the performers. The buy/sell method is the norm but can lack integrity and for me, integrity is everything in this business.

2) If the agency is offering a contract directly between you and the artist, they are either the “RA” for that artist or you are paying them a fee to act as YOUR agent in the negotiations for the artist. This is actually the cleanest method to acquire talent and ensures you get the artist at the lowest possible cost. If you retain an agency working under this method, expect to pay from 5 to 12 percent depending on the artist cost and the time to negotiate the best deal for you.

This is how we work for you with Professional Talent Acquisition

To recap…

Have the Money
              Choose a Date
                          Choose a Venue
                                        Research Research Research
                                                         Know what you are doing or Hire a Pro
                                                                                                    Make an offer
                                                                                                                 GET IT IN WRITING
                                                                                                                                       Have Fun